Alessandra Hool (MSc, MAS) studied philosophy and history of science and project management at the Universities of Bern, Switzerland, and Salford, UK, as well as International Law and Economics at the World Trade Institute (WTI) of the University of Bern. She worked as a project manager for various European and Swiss research and development projects, in which she was particularly responsible for the development, collaboration, and dissemination of new R&D areas through interdisciplinary events and the promotion of new partnerships. Alessa has been working for the ESM since 2013 and has been the foundation's managing director since April 2017. In this function, she develops and coordinates national and international projects and partnerships on the subject of critical raw materials and a more sustainable use of them.

Evelyne Hürlimann leads the administrative and organizational matters of the ESM Foundation. She has many years of experience as head of administration, project controller, with the design of work processes according to quality standards, as well as in the area of customer care. In addition to a commercial school degree and further language training, she has completed advanced management training and obtained a controller's certificate. Ms. Hürlimann had the overall responsibility for setting up and managing the administration of a new service company. She was also significantly involved in setting up a Request Management Center (RMC) and was in charge of it.