About us

Board of Trustees

The Foundation’s Board of Trustees serves as the ultimate decision-making body, offering strategic guidance for our initiatives and bringing extensive experience and knowledge to our key areas of activity.

Emiliana Vegas (Ed.D)

Emiliana Vegas (Ed.D)

Emiliana Vegas was appointed to the Board in January 2021. She is a professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). She holds a Doctor of Education degree from HGSE and a Master’s of public policy degree from Duke University.
Hans AmbĂĽhl

Hans AmbĂĽhl

Hans AmbĂĽhl joined the Board in October 2013 and was appointed Vice President in 2022. He was General Secretary of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education in Bern until 2017.
Jenny Abramson

Jenny Abramson

Jenny Abramson was appointed to the Board in January 2021. She is Founder and Managing Partner of the venture capital fund Rethink Impact. She has a master’s degree in sociology and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Joh. Christian Jacobs (PhD)

Joh. Christian Jacobs (PhD)

Joh. Christian Jacobs joined the Board in 1995 and was appointed Chair in 2004. Today he is active as an entrepreneurial investor. Since April 2015, he has held the position of Honorary Chairman.
Olaf von Maydell (PhD)

Olaf von Maydell (PhD)

Olaf von Maydell has been a member of the Board since May 2013. He is a tax consultant with a PhD in agricultural economics, and a partner in the Schomerus & Partner tax consulting firm in Berlin.
Sandro Giuliani

Sandro Giuliani

Sandro Giuliani, former Managing Director of the Jacobs Foundation, has served as Delegate of the Board since April 2015. He has been a Member of the Board since January 2020.
Ulman Lindenberger (PhD)

Ulman Lindenberger (PhD)

Ulman Lindenberger joined the Board in January 2012. He is a German psychologist and Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
William Egbe

William Egbe

William Egbe joined the Board in April 2015. He is an engineer with an MBA, and was Group Director Strategic Planning and Sustainability for the Coca-Cola Eurasia & Africa Group.

Former trustees

Name

Years in office

Patrick Aebischer (PhD)

President EPFL

2017 – 2022

Nathalie Albin-Jacobs

2012 – 2019

Paul B. Baltes (PhD) †

Director Max-Planck- Institute

1989 – 2005

JĂĽrgen Baumert (PhD)

2006 – 2012

Ernst Buschor (PhD) †

Former Member of the Government and Minister of Education of the canton of Zurich

2010 – 2012

Flavio Cotti (†)

Former President of Switzerland

1999 – 2010

Pascal Couchepin

Former President of Switzerland

2010 – 2012

Pierre Ducrey (PhD)

University Lausanne

1989 – 1998

David A. Hamburg (PhD) †

President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York

1991 – 1998

Michael Hubermann (PhD) †

Senior Reasearch Associate, Prof Harvard University

1991 – 1995

Klaus J. Jacobs (†)

Founder & Chairman

1991 – 2007

Walther J. Jacobs (†)

Honorary Chairman

1991 – 1995

Eduardo Missoni (PhD)

Bocconi University in Milan

2006 – 2011

Lázló Nagy (†)

Former President

1991 – 1998

Auma Obama (PhD)

2010 – 2015

Sir Michael Rutter (PhD) †

Institute of Psychiatry

1998 – 2003

Marta Tienda (PhD)

Professor, Princeton University,

1999 – 2021

Laura Tyson (PhD)

Professor University of California, Berkeley

2012 – 2017

Heinrich Ursprung (PhD)

Former Swiss State Secretary

1995 – 2003