The European Investment Fund (EIF) has appointed Jean-Christophe Laloux as its next chief executive.
He will assume his duties on January 1, 2027, succeeding Marjut Falkstedt, who announced in June her intention to retire next year.
Part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, the EIF is Europe’s largest venture capital and private equity financier.
The EIF has so far joined forces with institutional investors in a pan-European alliance to mobilise up to €80 billion for investment into innovative companies looking to scale up.
The board of directors of the EIF comprises representatives of the EIB, the European Commission and other public and private shareholders.
“Jean-Christophe has an outstanding track record as a leading financial expert, with a proven ability to design and deliver innovative financing instruments that support Europe’s technological leadership and competitiveness,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño.
“He will build on Marjut’s impressive legacy, as the EIF rolls out flagship initiatives to help Europe’s most promising innovators scale up and become global leaders.”
Laloux currently serves as Director General in charge of the EIB’s Lending and Advisory Operations within the European Union.
During more than a decade managing the EIB’s operations, he has overseen the development of several innovative financing instruments with significant impact across Europe.
These include venture debt products for high-growth technology companies, risk-sharing instruments, new project finance approaches, anchor investments in green bond issuances and counter-guarantee schemes.
Since joining the EIB in 1999, Laloux has held a range of leadership and operational roles focused on financing innovation, infrastructure, climate action and private sector growth.
Before joining the EIB, he worked as a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Laloux holds a degree in Commercial Engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven, a postgraduate degree in Management from the University of Ghent and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the United States.
“The EIF serves at the crossroads of European economic priorities: equity and guarantees for start-ups, scale-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Laloux.
“I shall work to get our future European champions the means they require to flourish and grow in the EU. Optimal synergies with the EIB and with the European Commission, as well as new forms of partnership with the private sector, will be at the top of my agenda.”
Since taking office in January 2023, Marjut Falkstedt has led the EIF through a period of growth and strategic development. Among the key achievements during her tenure was the launch and implementation of the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) and the preparation of its successor programme, ETCI 2.0, aimed at helping Europe’s most ambitious technology companies scale and compete globally.
Under Falkstedt’s leadership, the EIF also established dedicated financial instruments supporting the security and defence sector, successfully deployed the InvestEU programme, expanded green finance activities to account for more than a third of annual operations and increased the organisation’s equity investments to more than €7 billion a year.