Frans Nauta

Frans Nauta is an innovation expert with a passion for clean tech. He was the forerunner for the Climate-KIC Accelerator, a startup programme hat has served over 500 startups in 10 European cities. Frans is also the founder of Climate Launchpad, a competition for sustainable business ideas which will take place in 28 countries this year.

Frans is a frequent advisor to corporations, governments and universities on how to create innovation eco-systems. As a board member of the Dutchbasecamp foundation, he’s involved in promoting The Netherlands as a startup hub.

Frans likes to write about his work. In 2008 he published ‘Het Innovatieplatform‘ about his experiences as secretary of the National Innovation platform led by then Prime Minister JP Balkenende. In 2012 he published ‘Agents of Change: Strategy and tactics for social innovation’, describing eight different succesfull examples of innovation in the public sector.

Bragging rights:

• Designed national innovation policy as innovation secretary of the Dutch Prime Minister
• Trained >500 startups in >20 countries in the latest and greatest startup tools and skills
• Taught corporate clients, MBA & undergrad students at UC Berkeley and Utrecht University
• Designed and ran experiments for Apple with small and medium enterprises
• Was the first (and only) professor of public sector innovation in the world, figuring out how to boost innovation in public organizations and non-profits
• Set up my own think tank (www.kl.nl) to boost the knowledge economy in the Netherlands
• Ran an art house cinema in Amsterdam

Education

• MA Universiteit van Amsterdam (1986 — 1996)
• Harvard Business School (2012 — 2012)
• Harvard University Kennedy School of Government (2010 — 2010)
• Bachelor Wageningen University (1985 — 1986)
• Jan van Arkel (1979 — 1985)