Marieke is the Executive Director Impact Translator of GESDA. She joined the foundation at its inception in 2019. Her role is to implement the most advanced science diplomacy solutions ideated by GESDA, working towards their spin-off as independent institutions. This involves prototyping real-world activities, framing their governance and securing their funding. Marieke led the incubation of the Open Quantum Institute, culminating with its launch in March 2024 as part of CERN with the support of UBS.

Marieke’s expertise covers emerging science and technology, futures and foresight studies, practice-led multilateral governance, start-up and corporate innovation. Before joining GESDA, Marieke worked for 10 years for the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs. In her latest position, she headed the business section of the Embassy of Switzerland in London, where her projects focused on artificial intelligence and data-driven technology with applications in the financial sector, life sciences and performance engineering. Marieke holds Master’s Degrees in Business and in Dynamics and Economic Policy from the Sorbonne University and EMLyon Business School.