Executive Committee
Steffen Saltofte
CEO
MBA, IMD International, Lausanne, Switzerland
Bachelor, International Business & Economic and Strategic Market Management, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Danish citizen
Professional background
2017-17
Chief Operating Officer, EVP Global Commercial Operations at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health in France and Germany
2014-17
Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President and Head Business Operations at Merial (Sanofi-group) in France
2011-14
Managing Director Nordic at Syngenta in Switzerland
2009-11
Integration Manager, Merger & Acquisitions at Syngenta in Switzerland
2006-07
General Manager at Maersk Line in Denmark
2004-06
Manager at Maersk Sealand in Denmark
1999-03
Branch Manager at Maersk Sealand in Saudi Arabia
Gary Hughes
CFO
Honours Degree in Law of Leeds University, UK
British citizen
Professional background
2017-18
Interim Chief Financial Officer at Solifos AG in Windisch, Switzerland
2016-17
Chief Financial Officer at Equatex AG in Zurich, Switzerland
2013-16
Chief Financial Officer at Selecta Management AG in Cham, Switzerland
2008-13
Group Financial Controller at Selecta Management AG in Cham, Switzerland
2004-08
Head of Financial Reporting and Accounting at Ciba Vision AG in Embrach, Switzerland
2001-04
Senior Manager, Assurance Services at Ernst & Young in Manchester, UK and Zurich, Switzerland
1999-01
Financial Reporting Lecturer at Accountancy Tuition Centres in Manchester, UK
1994-99
Supervisor Assurance Services at Ernst & Young in Manchester, UK
Andrew Bird
General Manager MEA
MBA, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield
PhD in Organic Chemistry, University of York, York
BSc (Hons) Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich
Citizen of United Kingdom
Professional background
2017-18
General Manager Gulf, Eastern Mediterranean & Maghreb Region, Dubai
2011-17
Strategy & Operations Director Middle East, Africa & India
2016-17
General Manager Maghreb Region at Bristol-Myers Squibb
2013-14
General Manager South Africa at Bristol-Myers Squibb
2011-11
Business Director at Pase II Gulf, Dubai
2009-10
Regional Marketing Director Africa & Middle East (AfME)
2008-09
Senior European brand Manager at Pfizer
1999-07
Sales & Marketing roles at Janssen-Cilag Ltd. Uk & Ireland
1997-98
Medicinal Chemist at Cerebrus Ltd.
1996-97
Research Chemist at Glaxowellcome
1995-96
Production Manager at Croda International
Eugene Zaika
Head Ukraine and CIS
DBA degree (ongoing), International Management Institute (IMI-Kyiv)
MBA, International Management Institute (IMI-Kyiv)
PhD in cardiology, Research Institute of Therapy (Academy of Medical Science of Ukraine)
MD, Kharkiv Medical Institute, honors
Ukrainian Citizen
Professional background
2011-15
Takeda Cluster Head for Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Israel / General Director LLC Takeda Ukraine
2008-11
General Director, LLC Nycomed Ukraine
2005-08
Head of Represenative office of Nycomed in Ukraine and Moldova
2005-05
Marketing Manager, Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine and Moldova
2000-04
Marketing Manager, Aventis Intercontinental (Ukraine)
1998-00
East Ukraine Area Manager, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (Ukraine)
1994-97
Medical representative, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (Ukraine)
1993-97
Cardiologist, scientific associate in the department of clinical pharmacology, Research Institute of Therapy (Kharkiv)
Mario Ricard
Chief Operations Officer
Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science – Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sherbrooke in Canada.
Canadian citizen
Professional background
2015-17
Vice President – Plasma Manufacturing Europe at Baxalta/Shire, Zurich
2014-15
Vice President – Operations Strategy at Baxter, Zurich
2012-14
Vice President – Technical Services and BioSurgery Manufacturing at Baxter, Belgium and Switzerland
2010-12
Operations Director at Baxter, Belgium
2003-10
Plant Manager at Baxter, Belgium
1999-03
Plant Manager at Baxter, Canada
1992-99
Various roles in Production, Purchasing and Planning at Baxter, Canada
Anthony Durieux-Menage
Group HR Director
Biotechnology Engineer of Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, Toulouse, France
French citizen
Professional background
2017-17
HR Director Switzerland at Acino, Switzerland
2013-17
Senior HR Business Partner at Novartis, Switzerland
2012-13
Head of Operational Excellence & HR Site Head at Novartis, Switzerland
2010-13
Head of Operational Excellence & QC Head at Novartis, France
2002-10
Production Engineer/Unit Manager at Ajinomoto Eurolysine S.A.S., France
1997-02
Development Engineer/Production Unit Coordinator at Lesaffre, Belgium, Austria and France
Other members of Senior Management
Jens Feierler
Head of Corporate Quality Assurance
Approbation as Pharmacist (State Examination), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany
PhD in Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany
German citizen
Professional background
2017-19
Head of Quality Assurance / Qualified Person, Acino AG, Miesbach, Germany
2014-17
Laboratory Head / Manager Quality Control, Daiichi-Sankyo Europe GmbH, Pfaffenhofen, Germany
2012-14
Trainee (Quality Control & Production), Daiichi-Sankyo Europe GmbH, Pfaffenhofen, Germany
2007-12
Research Associate, Department for Clinical Chemistry & Clinical Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany
Alla Sorokolietova
Head of Medical & Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance
MD from National Medical University (Ukraine, Kiev) in 2003
PhD in Pediatrics
Ukrainian citizen
Professional background
2015-19
Director of Medical and Regulatory Affairs department, PV, QA for Ukraine and CIS Acino Pharma Start LLC in Ukraine
2012-15
Director of Medical and Regulatory Affairs Department, PV of Ukraine and Moldove, Takeda in Ukraine
2007-12
Head of Medical, RA & PV/QA, Nycomed in Ukraine
2003-07
Medial and RA Manager, Nycomed in Ukraine
Christina Peusch
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
German qualified lawyer, University of Passau, Passau, Germany
German citizen
Professional background
2013-15
Head of Legal EUCAN (Europe/Canada), Emerging Markets and North Asia, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International GmbH, Zurich
2012-13
Senior Director Corporate Legal Affairs, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International GmbH, Zurich
2010-12
Senior Director International Legal Affairs, Nycomed Germany Holding GmbH, Konstanz, Germany
2007-09
Director International Legal Affairs, Nycomed Germany Holding GmbH, Konstanz, Germany
2004-07
International Legal Affairs Manager, Altana Pharma AG, Konstanz, Germany
1995-04
Clifford Chance (prev. Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster), member of the Commercial Law and Corporate Finance practice areas and (chief) representative of the Beijing office; Frankfurt am Main and Munich, Germany, and Beijing, PRC.
Philippe Seminati
Head of Global Supply Chain
Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering – University of Metz, France.
French citizen
Professional background
2016-18
Freelance Supply Chain Consultant, accross Europe
2012-16
Director Corporate Supply Chain, Aenova Group, Germany
2010-12
Senior Supply Chain Consultant, BeOne Group, Switzerland
2010-10
Freelance Supply Chain Consultant, GSK, Belgium
2009-10
Freelance Supply Chain Consultant, across Europe
2008-09
Head of Supply Chain – Johnson Control Automotive, Germany
2002-08
Logistics, Supplier & Parts Manager – Smart France SAS (Daimler Group), France
Sara Vermeulen-Anastasi
Head of Corporate Communications
CSR-P Practitioner Certification (endorsed by CMI)
MBA, Open Business School, Open University UK
Swiss/British Citizen
Head of Corporate Communications and member of Group Management since November 2018
Professional background
2014-18
Corporate Head of Marketing and Communications, Panalpina Ltd.
2012-14
Vice President Marketing Communications, Leica Geosystems
2008-12
Director Marketing & Communications, Europe, Africa & Asia, ADM
2006-08
Communications Manager, Firmenich
2000-06
Corporate Communications Manager, Givaudan
1999-99
Marketing Manager, Supplies EAME, CHS Electronics
1995-98
Marketing Communications Program Manager, Hewlett Packard
Laura Galimberti
Head of Commercial Operations
MBA SDA Bocconi
Master Degree in Telecommunication Engineering
Italian citizen
Professional background
2015-17
Global Head of Commercial Excellence, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health in Germany
2011-15
Italy Office Manager, ZS Associates in Italy
2008-09
Business Consulting Manager, Cap Gemini in Italy
2005-08
Senior Consultant, Ernst & Young in France
2003-05
Business Consultant, Accenture in Italy
Martin Sandgap
Head of Commercial Transformation, Business Evaluation and Deal Structuring
Bachelor, Business & Administration, University of Lund, Sweden
Swedish citizen
Professional background
2014-18
Head of BEADS (Business Evaluation & Deal Structuring) at Acino International AG in Switzerland
2012-13
Director Global Marketing - Commercial Assessment External Opportunities at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland & USA
2011-12
Associate Director Global BD - Business Evaluation and Deal Structuring at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland
2010-11
Associate Director Global BD - Business Evaluation and Deal Structuring at Nycomed in Switzerland
2008-10
Senior Manager Global BD - Business Evaluation and Deal Structuring at Nycomed in Denmark
2005-08
International Product Manager at Nycomed AS in Denmark
2001-05
Nordic Product Manager at Nordic Drugs AB in Sweden
1997-01
Scandinavian Product Manager at UCB Pharma AB in Sweden
1996-98
Sales Rep at UCB Pharma AB in Sweden
Giuseppe Pileggi
Chief Information Officer
MBA (2011), University of Bradford (UK)
Diploma in Management (2007), University of Leicester (UK)
IT Diploma in Business IT (2005), Switzerland
Swiss citizen
Professional background
2011-14
Global Head Delivery & Demand for Commercial IT, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, Switzerland
2011-11
Senior Project Manager, Novartis Pharma, Switzerland
2010-10
Business Service Manager, Novartis Pharma, Switzerland
2007-10
Service Excellence Manager, Zurich Financial Services, Switzerland
2003-07
Head Application Service Management, Novartis, Switzerland
2000-03
IT Administrator, Radisson SAS, Switzerland
John Norman
Regional Director, English Speaking Africa
Bachelor of Commerce Majored in Marketing & Economics
South African citizen
Professional background
2017-18
General Manager Litha Healthcare, South Africa
2014-17
Managing Director Africa at Takeda
2007-14
CEO Takeda South Africa, Sub Saharan Africa & Indian Ocean Islands
1999-08
Marketing & Sales Director Janssen- Cilag Pharmaceuticals, South Africa
1998-99
Business Unit Manager Janssen-Cilag Consumer Pharmaceuticals, South Africa
1993-98
Regional Sales Manager Jannsen-Cilag Pharmaceuticals, South Africa
1991-93
Product Manager Adcock Ingram Pharmaceuticals, South Africa
1988-91
Product Manager J&J Medical, South Africa
1987-88
Professional Sales Representative J&J Medical, South Africa
Denis Glyadyaev
General Manager, Russia
The Russian State Social University. Finance
Russian Citizen
Professional background
2017-18
OTC Business Unit Director Russia at Akrikhin/Polpharma, Moscow
2015-17
Sales and Business Development Director Russia and Belarus at Kimberly-Clark, Moscow
2013-15
Regional Director of Caucasus countries at Kimberly-Clark, Baku
2010-13
Head of Marketing for Baby Child Care and Family Care at Kimberly-Clark, Moscow
2008-13
Head of Trade Marketing for Family Care & Baby Child Care businesses at Kimberly-Clark, Moscow
2006-08
Regional Trade Marketing Leader Russia and CIS at Dirol Cadbury LLC, Moscow
2004-06
Head of Trade Marketing at EFKO Foods, Russia
1998-04
Various roles in sales in Russian companies
1997-98
Credit Expert at 'SBS - AGRO' Bank, Moscow
Oscar Sentis
General Manager, Latin America
Six-month Program for Leadership Development (equivalent to executive MBA) at Harvard Business School. Cambridge (MA), USA (2015)
MBA from NYU Stern School of Business (NYU: New York University), New York, USA (2006)
Industrial Engineering at UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – Polytechnic University of Catalonia), Barcelona, Spain (1999)
Spanish citizen
Professional background
2017-17
Group Controller at Acino, Switzerland
2015-16
Finance Director Middle East & Africa (MEA) at Acino, Dubai
2010-15
Finance Director MEA at Amgen, Dubai
2009-10
Finance Manager Middle East at Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Dubai
2008-09
Finance Manager UAE at Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Dubai
2006-08
Marketing Controller Middle East at Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics, Dubai
2005-05
Finance intern at Pepsi Bottling Group, Massachusetts, USA
2001-03
Senior Management Consultant at Strategy Consultors, Barcelona, Spain
2000-01
Management Consultant at Getronics, Barcelona, Spain
Board of Directors
Håkan Björklund
Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Swedish citizen
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Chairman of the Board of Acino International AG since December 17, 2013
- Current term of office on the Board expires in 2018
Professional background
Håkan Björklund joined Avista Capital Partners in October 2011. Mr. Björklund is the former Chief Executive Officer of Nycomed, which was sold to Takeda Pharmaceuticals in September 2011. Under Mr. Björklund’s leadership, Nycomed grew from a predominantly Scandinavian business into a global pharmaceutical company with leading market positions in Europe, Russia/CIS, Brazil and Latin America. Prior to Nycomed, Mr. Björklund was Regional Director at Astra (now AstraZeneca) and, earlier, President of Astra Draco. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Lundbeck A/S, a member of the Board of Directors of Alere Inc., Coloplast A/S and Atos Medical AB. He was also a director at Danisco A/S until its recent acquisition by Dupont.
Tom Dean
BA, University of Virginia, USA; MBA, Harvard Business School, USA
Citizen of the Untied States of America
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since
December 17, 2013 - Current term of office expires in 2018
Professional background
Tom Dean is the Co-Managing Partner and Co-CEO of Avista Capital Partners. Prior to co-founding Avista Capital Partners in 2005, Mr. Dean led DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (“DLJMB”), serving as Co-Managing Partner of DLJMB since 1995 and Chairman of the Investment Committees of DLJMB I, DLJMB II, DLJMB III and DLJ Growth Capital Partners through December 2007. Mr. Dean currently serves on the boards of ConvaTec, Sidewinder Drilling, Zest Anchors, and VWR International. Mr. Dean formerly served as the Chairman of the board of Nycomed, Arcade, DeCrane Aircraft, Mueller and Von Hoffmann. He also formerly served on the boards of American Ref-Fuel, Argyle Television, BioPartners, Charles River Labs, Evergreen Media, Merrill, Safilo, Visant and IWCO Direct Holdings, among others.
Olof Faxander
MSc in Engineering from the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology and a B.A. Economics from the Stockholm University.
Swedish citizen
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since
April 18, 2018 - Current term of office expires in 2019
Professional background
Joined NC Advisory, Advisor to the Nordic Capital funds, in January 2016. Olof is head of the Operational Team which provides operational support to portfolio companies. Olof has extensive experience in leadership roles in large industrial companies where he spent the first 20 years of his career. Since joining, Olof has been driving the Operational Excellence effort and working on establishing and developing Nordic Capital’s Operations Team. Olof is board member of several of portfolio companies. Prior to joining, his most recent positions were as CEO of two large public industrial groups, Sandvik (2011–2015) and SSAB (2006–2010).
Kunal Pandit
M.A. and B.A., Cambridge University, USA
MBA, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, USA
Citizen of the United Kingdom
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since December 17, 2013
- Current term of office expires in 2018
Professional background
Kunal Pandit joined Avista Capital Partners in 2010. Mr. Pandit was previously at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (“DLJMB”) in London. Prior to DLJMB, Mr. Pandit was a member of the leveraged finance group and the investment banking department at Lehman Brothers in London. He currently serves as a director of Guala Closures.
Thomas Vetander
M.Sc. in Engineering Physics, Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm, Sweden
B.Sc. in Business Administration and Economics, Stockholm University School of Business, Sweden
Swedish citizen
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since December 17, 2013
- Current term of office expires in 2018
Professional background
Thomas Vetander joined NC Advisory AB, advisor to the Nordic Capital funds, in 2006. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Vetander worked as a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company in Stockholm. Mr. Vetander serves on the board of Handicare and as a deputy board member of Convatec.
Alex Yu
B.A., Northwestern University, USA, MBA, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, USA
Citizen of the United States of America
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since October 19, 2017
- Current term of office on the Board expires in 2018
Professional background
Alex Yu joined Avista Capital Partners in 2017. Mr. Yu is a Vice President at Avista Capital Partners. He joined Avista Capital Partners in 2017. Prior to joining Avista, Mr. Yu worked in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he worked as an Associate at Fenway Partners and as an Analyst in the Technology Group at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. He currently serves on the boards of Inform Diagnostics and Trimb Healthcare.
Johan Lundén
MSc in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
Swedish citizen
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since October 16, 2018
- Current term of office expires in 2019
Professional background
Joined NC Advisory, Advisor to the Nordic Capital funds, in August 2010.
From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Lundén worked in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs in London.
Mr. Lundén serves on the board of Greenfood and Quant Service.
Magnus Hammarström
MSc in Business Administration from Stockholm University
Swedish citizen
Board membership and executive mandates within the Acino Group
- Member of the Board of Acino International AG since October 16, 2018
- Current term of office expires in 2019
Professional background
Joined NC Advisory, Advisor to the Nordic Capital funds in April 2017.
From 2009 to 2017 Magnus worked at PwC where he has been within Transaction Services since 2011, most recently as a Senior Manager, and prior to that within Assurance since 2009.