Ann grew up in an Anglo-Finnish family in London. She has been working for the EU institutions for 20 years and has been leading work on social and inclusive entrepreneurship for the European Commission since 2015, including both policy and developing new funding instruments. During her EU career she has also led work on the cultural and creative sectors, the Erasmus+ programme in the education field, on education for innovation, and social dialogue and industrial relations. She studied in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Oxford and Paris.