The European Institute for Innovation and Technology has appointed its first director. The EIT Governing Board has appointed Gérard de Nazelle as the first director of the Institute. Mr de Nazelle will play a key role in guiding the EIT and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) towards full operationality, and will be responsible for the daily management of the EIT headquarters in Budapest. Gérard de Nazelle, a French citizen, holds an engineering degree from ENSIC (France) and a PhD in physics from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands). He joined Shell in 1990 and is currently Global Manager Innovation & Research, responsible for the development of new technology options and clean energy futures.