Erik Schultes is the scientific director at partners in FAIR since 2020. From 2018, Erik has been the Lead FAIR implementation at the GO FAIR Foundation and is currently Senior Researcher at the Metabolomics and Analytics Center, Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research (LACDR). Erik is co-author on the original publication of the FAIR Guiding Principles, co-developer of the first FAIR maturity evaluation service and architect of the now widely adopted FAIR Implementation Profile for driving FAIR Convergence. Along with Barbara Magagna, Erik created the Three-Point FAIRification Framework that is now deployed by partners in FAIR for building capacity. These efforts include the development of the first accredited and qualified FAIR awareness training programs for executives and front-line data producers. Erik is currently co-chair of the FIP & Practice Working Group of the FAIR Digital Object Forum. Erik is an evolutionary biologist with a data-intensive research focus and has held previous academic appointments at the University of California Los Angeles, The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Santa Fe Institute.