Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the Foundation’s supreme decision-making body. New members are chosen by vote of the current members, and the Board elects its Chair in consultation with the Jacobs family council. The Board is composed of distinguished international experts who have expertise and connections across the Foundation’s activity areas.

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.

Hans Ambühl

Hans Ambühl 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.

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.

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.

Dr. Joh. Christian Jacobs

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.

Prof. Dr. Ulman Lindenberger

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.

Dr. Olaf von Maydell

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.

Dr. Emiliana Vegas

Emiliana Vegas was appointed to the Board in January 2021. She is Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. She holds a doctoral degree in education from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

Former trustees

Name	Years in Office
Prof. Dr. Patrick Aebischer President EPFL	2017 – 2022
Nathalie Albin-Jacobs	2012 – 2019
Prof. Paul B. Baltes (†) Director Max-Planck- Institute	1989 – 2005
Prof. Jürgen Baumert	2006 – 2012
Prof. Ernst Buschor 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
Prof. Pierre Ducrey University Lausanne	1989 – 1998
Dr. David A. Hamburg (†) President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York	1991 – 1998
Prof. Michael Hubermann (†) Senior Reasearch Associate, Prof Harvard University	1991 – 1995
Klaus J. Jacobs (†) Founder & Chairman	1991 – 2007
Walther J. Jacobs (†) Honorary Chairman	1991 – 1995
Prof. Eduardo Missoni Prof. Bocconi University in Milan	2006 – 2011
Lázló Nagy (†) President	1991 – 1998
Dr. Auma Obama	2010 – 2015
Prof. Sir Michael Rutter (†) Institute of Phsychiatry	1998 – 2003
Prof. Marta Tienda, Ph.D.	1999 – 2021
Prof. Laura Tyson, Ph.D.	2012 – 2017
Prof. Heinrich Ursprung Former Swiss State Secretary	1995 – 2003

Strategy 2030

Learning is at the heart of what we do throughout our lives. We learn in the womb, at school, at work, and at play. In the early years, children have an enormous capacity to learn. However, the Jacobs Foundation’s three decades in child and youth development have shown us that learning systems often fail to nurture children’s full learning potential.

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