Europe leads the world in discovery — yet too often, its breakthroughs never become global companies.

Billions in research funding turn into patents, not products.

While others build empires from ideas, Europe risks becoming the world’s laboratory — brilliant, but broke.

That’s the paradox at the heart of this conversation.

In this episode, Karl Nehammer, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and former Chancellor of Austria, joins Christian Soschner live at BIO-Europe 2025 to discuss how Europe can turn its world-class science into world-class companies.

He shares how leadership forged in crisis can rebuild confidence, competitiveness, and growth — and why every crisis hides an opportunity to start thinking differently.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

1️⃣ Why Europe’s innovation system struggles to turn discovery into scale
2️⃣ How the EIB can bridge the gap between science, capital, and market impact
3️⃣ Lessons from leading through COVID-19, the energy crisis, and diplomatic challenges
4️⃣ Why changing culture and regulation is key to Europe’s competitiveness
5️⃣ The mindset Europe needs to move from surviving to building

💬 Quotes from Karl Nehammer

(00:03:33 ) “Every crisis is also maybe a chance — you learn a lot, decide quickly, and think in totally new ways.”
(00:07:00 ) “We have the knowledge now of what we must change — it’s a window of opportunity.”
(00:20:03 ) “Empower yourself. Don’t wait for another person — you can do it yourself.”

🧭 Timestamps

(00:00:00 ) Opening – Why Europe Struggles to Scale
(00:03:33 ) Karl Nehammer – Leadership Lessons from Crisis
(00:06:21 ) Europe’s Innovation Challenge – Science vs. Commercialization
(00:09:17 ) Life-Science Resilience – Lessons from COVID-19
(00:12:52 ) A Realistic Vision for Europe’s Future
(00:17:05 ) Inside the European Investment Bank – Building Bridges Between Capital and Innovation
(00:18:59 ) Empowering Founders – Karl Nehammer’s Message to Europe’s Builders
(00:20:14 ) Closing – Optimism, Collaboration, and Confidence

🎙️ Beginner’s Mind

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