2014 European CTOs of the Year



Dr Henner Wapenhans, Head of Technology Strategy Rolls-Royce plc received the Award in the name of Prof. Richard Parker.



 Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter of Avantium

2014 European CTOs of the Year

The first edition of the CTOs of the Year Europe was launched in 2014 during the EIRMA Annual Conference in Copenhagen.

The press release of the competition launch can be found here .

Prof. Richard Parker of Rolls-Royce and Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter of Avantium were awarded as CTO of the Year Europe 2014 representing large companies and SMEs, respectively.
The award ceremony took place at the Philips Museum (Eindhoven, Netherlands)  at the end of the EIRMA CTO meeting of 9 October 2014.


“I am amazed, very happy, privileged and deeply honoured to be the first winner of the CTO of the Year competition. Effective investment in industrial R&D is essential for European competitiveness. I am pleased that the strength of Rolls-Royce in this area is recognised by this award”, says Prof. Richard Parker (CBE FREng), Director of Research & Technology of Rolls-Royce plc.

Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter, Chief Technology Officer of Avantium from the Netherlands says that “I am honoured to receive this special award and I see this as a recognition for the pioneering work of the entire Avantium team, who developed a number of truly disruptive technologies in the renewable chemicals space. This required focus, commitment and support from the people around me, but also from our partners and investors. This award is a fantastic stimulus.”