Erika Mann

Erika Mann

Executive VP

Erika Mann was a German Member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 2009. As a MEP, she concentrated on trade and World Trade Organization (WTO) policy, transatlantic relations, digital economy, telecommunications policy, and research policy. She was a member of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the United States (Transatlantic Legislative Dialogue) until 2009 and the European Chairperson of the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) between 2003 and 2008. Erika Mann conceived the notion of a “Transatlantic Market” between the EU and US which led to the founding of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) and sat as member of the advisory board until 2009. She was the Speaker of the Committee for International Trade for the Social Democratic Group in the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009, and a member since 1994.

As a MEP, she was the Chairperson of the Joint Board which coordinates WTO matters between the Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), and worked to create a parliamentary dimension of the WTO. She has also served as the Chairperson of the European Parliament Delegation with Mexico, and has worked on EUROLAT, the EU-Ivory Coast Free Trade Agreement, Board of Internews, the International Education and Encounter Network in Belarus, and the European Parliament delegations to Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, EFTA-Countries, and South Asia.

Erika Mann was also a member of the Committee if Industry, Research and Energy in the European Parliament between 1994 and 2009. Through this role and others she has intensive knowledge of security-related technologies and policies (border and customs control, police, cyber security), European research framework programs, climate-change policies, and building regional ecosystems. She was one of the founder of the European Internet Foundation (EIF) and chaired EIF until summer 2009.

Erika Mann studied social science and philosophy in Hannover/Germany and ran her own company ‘philtec’ in Germany until she became a member of the European Parliament in 1994.

Erika Mann is the author of numerous articles and publications on the WTO, transatlantic relations, electronic commerce, and copyright in the information society. She has received awards from the European-American Business Council for exceptional transatlantic commitment, the International Informatization Academy of the United Nations (Academician), and Bundesverdienstkeuz am Bande.

In 2010 Erika Mann was appointed to the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).