Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle is currently Regional Director of Agriculture and Forestry for the Ile de France region and Vice-President of EFSA Management Board. Having held senior management and advisory positions at the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle was General-Director of Food of that ministry from 2000 to 2003. In this capacity, she was responsible for the management of health risks from food. She holds degrees from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon, from the Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural des Eaux et des Forêts and from Paris II. From 1991 to 1993, Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle worked for the European Commission in the area of risk management and risk assessment. Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle has widespread experience of serving on Councils and Committees, often in the capacity of chair. She was chair of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on General Principles in 2001 and 2002.

The Executive Director is appointed by EFSA’s Management Board for a period of five years, renewable. The appointment is made on the basis of a list of candidates proposed by the European Commission after an open competition, following publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and elsewhere of a call for expression of interest.

The Executive Director is the legal representative of the Authority and is, among others, responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Authority.