Romanian named 2023 Distinguished Fellow by Eisenhower Fellowships

Romanian Irina Anghel-Enescu has been named the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Fellow Award by Eisenhower Fellowships (EF). She is the first laureate from Central and Eastern Europe and the second from all of Europe in the 70-year history of Eisenhower Fellowships.

Irina Anghel-Enescu, an entrepreneurship expert at the Said Business School within the University of Oxford and an advisor at Harvard Innovation Labs, completed an Eisenhower Fellowship in 2008. Since then, she has been deeply involved in the Eisenhower Fellowships and in the work of fellows around the world, giving her time, energy, and resources to support Eisenhower Fellowships programs, events, and initiatives. As the country chapter head of Eisenhower Fellowships and a member of the Nomination Committee in Romania, she has boosted Romanian fellows and identified outstanding candidates for the program, turning Romania into one of the most active chapters in the EF global network.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she has been part of a broader effort by Eisenhower Fellows to actively support refugees fleeing war.

A promoter and advocate of the entrepreneurial environment, innovation, and venture capital investments, she served as CEO of the South Eastern European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting private capital and the venture capital industry and supporting entrepreneurship in Eastern Europe, between 2005 and 2020. She has served on the boards of various organizations, from large financial institutions to startups, social enterprises, and global nonprofit organizations.

Each year, the global Eisenhower Fellowships program selects a limited number of professionals from around the world in the public, non-governmental, and private sectors, who are leaders in their fields of interest and have a mission to solve some of the world's greatest problems. In its seven decades of existence, Eisenhower Fellowships have enabled more than 2,400 mid-career professionals to define their vision for social engagement and achieve their plans to make the world a better, more prosperous, and peaceful place through concrete actions. Among the program participants are people who later became heads of state or government, ministers, or leaders in the private or non-profit sectors.

Over time, among the more than 20 Romanian fellows of the Eisenhower Fellowship program have been Monica Macovei, Laura Stefan, Roxana Damaschin-Tecu, Catalin Tenita, Calin Zamfirescu, Dan Pascariu, Tudor Giurgiu, Vlad Mixich, and Vlad Voiculescu.

Along with the fellowships, since 2008 the Board of Directors has annually recognized a recipient of the Distinguished Fellow Award, an Eisenhower Fellow who has made a significant contribution to their professional field and demonstrates exceptional leadership within the global EF network. The post-fellowship activities of the recipients reflect President Eisenhower's commitment to peace, prosperity, and justice through direct person-to-person dialogue. The award is presented by the President of the Board of Directors at the annual Eisenhower Fellowships award dinner.