Cristina Fanjul holds a degree in Law and was awarded an extraordinary prize in the Master's Degree in European Law by the Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg. Her professional career has always been linked to innovation and European issues.

After a first stage in the innovation area of the Regional Development Agency of Asturias (IDEPA), she joined in 2008 as deputy director and later as director of the European Business and Innovation Centre of the Principality of Asturias, a position she has held since 2015. From this regional incubator and accelerator, she leads innovative and technology-based entrepreneurship initiatives, including business model advice, vertical acceleration programmes, open innovation initiatives, investment readiness and access to funding. CEEI Asturias works annually with more than 150 highly innovative business projects, supports the start-up of more than 30 highly innovative companies with a survival rate of 79% and leverages annually more than 2.5 million euros in public and private funding for Asturian startups.

At national level, it has promoted and coordinates the ANCES Open Innovation initiative, which has involved more than 40 national and international benchmark corporations in open innovation challenges. Very involved in European strategies and projects, she is since June 2021 president of EBN (European Business and Innovation Network), the leading pan-European network in entrepreneurship and innovation with more than 150 members in more than 30 countries. She is also an international evaluator of EIC Accelerator, the ambitious instrument to support the growth of innovative startups that supports startups with up to 2.5 million euros in grants and up to 15 million euros in equity; and member of European advisory groups related to European policies such as the MSCA Marie Sklodowska-Curie, a reference programme in scientific and technological talent; or Horizon Europe in R&D&I, the leading European agency in entrepreneurship and innovation with more than 150 members in more than 30 countries.

She is also an international evaluator of the most ambitious instrument to support the growth of innovative startups, EIC Accelerator, which supports startups with up to 2.5 million euros in grants and up to 15 million euros in equity, and a member of European advisory groups related to European policies such as MSCA- Marie Sklodowska-Curie, a benchmark programme in scientific and technological talent, or Horizon Europe in R&D&I.