Today, the European Commission has appointed Ms Doriane Givord-Strassel as Director of the Directorate ‘European Networks, Digital, Justice, Home Affairs, Migration and Border Management, Security, Values’ of the Internal Audit Service (IAS) with date of effect to be determined later and Mr Alberto Bacchiega as Director for the Directorate ‘Markets and cases III: Financial services’ in the Directorate-General for Competition (COMP) as of 16 April.
Ms Doriane Givord-Strassel, a French national, has spent over 25 years at the Commission during which she obtained substantial experience most notably in audits and in Commission management matters and international trade negotiations. Along with her strong management skills and her thorough knowledge of a variety of EU policy areas, these experiences will allow her to provide effective leadership at the Directorate IAS.A in charge of the audit of Commission services, EU decentralised agencies, and other EU bodies which will cover the areas of natural resources, European Networks, Digital, Justice, Home Affairs, Migration and Border Management, Security, Values. Ms Doriane Givord-Strassel is currently Head of Unit of IAS. Previously, she held several positions at the Commission, working among others as Head of the internal audit service of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) as well as assistant to the Director-General of DG AGRI and the Director General in the Directorate-General of Research and Innovation (RTD).
Mr Bacchiega, an Italian national, has worked for DG COMP of the European Commission for more than twenty years, where he currently leads the unit ‘Mergers’ in the Directorate dealing with financial services after having managed the ‘Task Force Financial Crisis’ and the ‘State aid to telecoms and media’ unit. His sound knowledge of competition law enforcement and financial services sectors, his experience in handling competition cases in the areas of antitrust, mergers and State aid services, as well as his proven negotiation skills make him particularly suitable to lead the Directorate which enforces the EU competition rules to make markets work better, by ensuring that all companies compete equally and fairly on their merit.
The European Commission has appointed today Mr Manuel Szapiro as the new Head of the Commission’s Regional Office in Barcelona, Spain. The date of effect is to be determined at later stage. Mr Szapiro has over 20 years of experience in EU affairs, particularly in the fields of policy-making, diplomacy, finance and human resources. He is also an experienced negotiator having represented the Commission in international negotiation processes. He has already worked at the Commission’s Region Office in Barcelona as a Political Reporter. As Advisor to the Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking Fusion for Energy (ITER Europe) he also helped set up the new Organisation in Barcelona. He is currently deputy Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Šefčovič, and is responsible, among others, for EU-UK relations, interinstitutional relations, strategic programming and foresight. More information on this last appointment is available in the press release.