Dr Janez Potočnik is an economist graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
In 2004 he joined the European Commission as Commissioner responsible for Science and Research; in 2010 became Commissioner for Environment. After the mandate he was appointed as a Co-Chair of UNEP Environment International Resource Panel. He is also Partner at SYSTEMIQ and one of the founders of the Systems Transformation Hub.
Prior to that Mr Potočnik served as Director of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development in Ljubljana. He was appointed Head of Negotiating Team for Accession of Slovenia to the EU and served as Minister responsible for European Affairs.