Board of directors

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JEANNE BOLGER

Chair of the Board

DR. JEANNE BOLGER

Dr. Bolger has over 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in management roles across R&D, Commercial and Business Development, and Venture Investments at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC and at GlaxoSmithKline. She has been leading investments across Europe in start-up and early-stage life science companies and represented JJDC on the Board of Directors of over a dozen companies. She is also a Venture Partner at Seroba Life Sciences Venture Capital and serves on several government taskforces and advisory boards. She is a visiting lecturer on the MSc Pharmaceutical Medicine program at Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Bolger received her medical degree from University College Dublin. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Ireland (RAMI).

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ERICA WHITTAKER

VP & Head of UCB Ventures

Board member

ERICA WHITTAKER

Erica is Vice President & Head of UCB Ventures, a €150 million strategic corporate venture fund which was set up to invest in innovative, longer term and higher risk therapeutic and digital health opportunities beyond UCB’s current focus areas. She is Chair of the Board of Rinri Therapeutics, and on the Board of Directors of two other UCB Ventures’ portfolio companies, StrideBio and Ally Therapeutics.

Prior to joining UCB, Erica spent 10 years as a top-ranked biotechnology equity analyst for Merrill Lynch in London (1999-2009). Erica received BA degrees in Biology and in Comparative Literature from Brown University (Rhode Island USA). She obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh, and later an MBA from Heriot-Watt University Business School in Edinburgh.

She enjoys running, cycling & family holidays, especially spending time with her two daughters, aged 13 and 16 years.

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JÉRÔME VAN BIERVLIET

Managing Director of VIB

Board member

JÉRÔME VAN BIERVLIET

Jérôme Van Biervliet is Managing Director of VIB and head of the VIB Innovation and Business office of VIB. VIB is an excellence-based, life science research institute with a long track-record in entrepreneurial commercialisation of scientific discoveries. VIB has started 24 biotech start-up companies, many developing novel therapeutics. Jérôme serves on the board of Confotherapeutics, Oncurious, Augustine Therapeutics and Vbio Ventures.

Prior to becoming Managing Director at VIB, he was Head of Business Development and Head of VIB Discovery Sciences, VIB’s early drug discovery unit. Jérôme was a consultant at Bain & Company, a strategic business consultancy, and Clinical instructor in veterinary internal medicine at Cornell University. He holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the KU Leuven, a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine degree from Gent University and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

In his free time, Jérôme enjoys his family, his animals, outdoor activities and woodworking.

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MICHEL KAZATCHKINE

Independent Director

Board member

MICHEL KAZATCHKINE

Professor Michel Kazatchkine, joining as an independent director, brings over 35 years of experience in global health and has played key roles in various organizations, serving as Director of the National Agency for Research on AIDS in France, Chair of the WHOs Strategic and Technical Committee on HIV/AIDS, the French Ambassador on HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases and Executive Director of The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2007 to 2012. He then served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Special Advisor to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Michel Kazatchkine is Emeritus Professor of Immunology at René Descartes University in Paris. He is a Senior Fellow with the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva. He attended medical school at Necker-Enfants-Malades in Paris, studied immunology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and completed postdoctoral fellowships at St. Mary’s hospital in London and Harvard Medical School.

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STEF HEYLEN

Represents SFPI-FPIM

Board member

STEF HEYLEN

Stef Heylen representing SFPI-FPIM on the board, brings over 30 years of pharmaceutical drug development and executive management experience over a wide range of therapeutic and functional areas. He has previously held senior positions as Managing Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Belgium, and Chief Operating Officer, Development, Janssen R&D globally. Stef was a member of the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Group Operating Committee. Stef obtained his M.D. at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and the Prince Leopold Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.

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CAROLINE THIELEN

Investment Manager at Wallonie Entreprendre

Board member

CAROLINE THIELEN

Caroline Thielen is Investment Manager – Life Sciences at S.R.I.W. (Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie) and Board Member of several biotech and medtech companies. Over the past 20 years, Caroline has gained solid experience in coordinating research projects at national and international levels. From 2013 to 2020, she has served as Chief Operating Officer of Bridge2Health, a major player in the development and reinforcement of the healthcare sector in connection with the academic research at ULiège and CHU de Liège. Caroline holds a Master’s degree in Biology and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Liège completed by a postdoctoral training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, USA).

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KATJA ROSENKRANZ

Partner at V-Bio Ventures

Board Observer

KATJA ROSENKRANZ

Katja is a Partner at V-Bio Ventures, a pan-European venture fund dedicated to investments into early stage medicines and therapeutic platforms with breakthrough potential. Katja is on the Boards of AgomAb and dualyx. She previously served on the Boards of Omeicos and amcure.

Before joining V-Bio Ventures in 2016, Katja spent more than 12 years in the life science venture business, worked as an analyst at PolyTechnos Venture-Partners and as CBO/CFO at Hepa Wash. Subsequently, Katja was a senior investment and project manager at Ascenion, where she managed the Spinnovator initiative to progress early academic inventions into spin-offs (a.o. Omeicos, Cardior, HepaRegeniX, amcure). Katja holds a PhD and MSc in Biochemistry and an Executive MBA in Medical Devices and Healthcare Management.

In her free time, she enjoys hiking/climbing, dancing and Ashtanga yoga.

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PHILIPPE DURIEUX

Partner at VIVES

Board Observer

PHILIPPE DURIEUX

Philippe joined Sopartec/VIVES in 2006 as CEO of Sopartec, the management company of the VIVES fund. He brings more than 15 years’ experience in venture capital and more a decade in the technology transfer activities.

In 2011, he participated in the creation of Europe's largest university seed fund, VIVES II, with €43m in capital. Philippe's expertise in creating high-tech companies, recruiting coherent teams and carrying out various exit/MBOs has been the driving force behind the positive results achieved since 2011.

Philippe is a Non-Executive Director in various companies invested by VIVES. He is also Chairman of a number of boards of directors and audit/remco committees.

Before joining Sopartec, Philippe was Senior Investment Manager at Dexia Ventures and Credit Analyst at WestLB.

Philippe has a master's degree in Economics from UCLouvain and a post-master's degree in Financial Management from Facultés St Louis.

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FIONA DU MONCEAU

Board Observer

FIONA DU MONCEAU

Fiona was COO of ExeVir Bio from the start of the company till end August 2023. She has over 20 years of experience in life sciences.

Previously, Fiona was Venture Partner at UCB Ventures. In prior roles, Fiona served as Evenity Commercial Lead and Head of EU, Bone at UCB. Prior to UCB, she led various teams at Eli Lilly, launching products across multiple therapeutics areas, managing business units and implementing changes through patent exclusivities and new models. Previously, Fiona also worked for McKinsey & Company covering healthcare clients in the US and Europe and worked in business development at GSK Biologicals. Fiona has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a MSc in Management from the Solvay Business School (ULB). She is a Fulbright and a Belgian American Education Foundation (BAEF) scholar. Fiona is a governor of the London Business School and a member of their audit and risk committee.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, skiing, hiking and being outdoors.

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