Silvana Koch-Mehrin, President and Founder of Women Political Leaders (WPL); Vice-President of the European Parliament (2009-2011) and Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014).
Bio: Silvana is the President and Founder of Women Political Leaders (WPL), the worldwide network of women Politicians. WPL is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit foundation that aims to increase both the number and influence of women in political leadership. Silvana served as Vice-President of the European Parliament (2009-2011) and Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014). Before her time in politics, she founded and ran a public affairs consultancy in Brussels, which later merged with a larger US firm. She also worked as Senior Special Advisor for EY and as Senior Policy Advisor for GPLUS Europe. In addition to her work for WPL, Silvana serves on the board of the Council of Women World Leaders, the network of female Presidents and Prime Ministers. She is also a member of the European Leadership Network (ELN), a Board Director of the Social Progress Imperative, and member of the Global Advisory Network of Apolitical Academy Global. Since 2016, Silvana has been representing the European Union in the Executive Committee of W20, an official engagement group of the G20. In 2018 and 2019, she was ranked as one of the 100 most influential persons in gender equality by apolitical. Silvana is a Young Global Leader Alumni of the World Economic Forum. She lives in Brussels, Belgium with her three kids and their Irish father.
