Astrid Bartels is a team leader for the COSME financial instruments at the European Commission, DG Grow, SME Access to Finance. Before joining the Commission in 2002, she was consultant for Bain & Company and also a corporate client relationship manager at Deutsche Bank. She has strong competencies in business strategy, holds a Vordiplom in economics from the University of Hagen and obtained an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Kenan Flager Business School, USA.