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Board of Directors

Luc Debruyne

Luc Debruyne

Member of the board since 2023 and chair since 2023. Chair of the Nomination and Compensation Committee since 2023 and member of the Science, Technology and Investment Committee since 2023. Independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Mr. Debruyne is a Belgian national, born in 1963. 

Former President Global Vaccines at GSK where he was a member of GSK’s Corporate Executive Team, a business leader with more than 30 years’ experience in the life sciences industry.

Current positions: Professor of Practice at the University of Leuven, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Group and serves as non-executive director of the boards of University Hospitals UZ Leuven and Fund Plus. Member of the Institutional Advisory Board at VIB, the Life Sciences Board at Greenlight Biosciences Inc., Chair of the Portfolio Strategy and Management Board of CEPI and Strategy Advisor to the CEO.

Special competences: End-to-end knowledge within the life sciences industry and specifically within vaccines. Extensive board and management experience from publicly traded and private international life science companies. 

Anders Gersel Pedersen, MD, PhD

Anders Gersel Pedersen, MD, PhD

Member of the board since 2010 and deputy chair since 2014. Member of the Science Technology and Investment Committee since 2020 and member of the Finance, RIsk and Audit Committee since 2022. Not independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Dr. Pedersen is a Danish national, born in 1951.

Former Executive Vice President of Research & Development of H. Lundbeck A/S.

Current positions: Member of the board of Genmab A/S, Hansa Biopharma AB and Bond Avillion 2, an entity of Avillion LLP. Chair of the board of Aelis Farma. Dr. Pedersen is also the CEO in his private holding company Gerselconsult ApS. 

Special competences: Scientific knowledge and large drug development experience within neuroscience and oncology. Extensive board and management experience from publicly traded, international pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Peter Kürstein, MBA

Peter Kürstein, MBA

Member of the board since 2012. Member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee since 2015 and member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee since 2020. Independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Mr. Kürstein is a Danish national, born in 1956.

Former president and chief executive officer of Radiometer Medical ApS.

Current positions: Chairman of the board of Ferrosan Medical Devices Holding A/S. Deputy Chairman of the board of FOSS A/S, Experimentarium and American Chamber of Commerce. Member of the board of N. Foss & Co. A/S and Den Erhvervsdrivende Fond Gl. Strand, Dansk BørneAstma Center and Art 2030. Member of the executive board of Mijamax ApS.

Special competences: Extensive board and management experience from publicly traded, international healthcare companies.

Frank Verwiel, MD

Frank Verwiel, MD

Member of the board since 2016. Member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee since 2020 and member of the Science, Technology and Investment Committee since 2022. Independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Dr. Verwiel is a Dutch national, now resident of the USA, born in 1962.

Former president and chief executive officer of Aptalis Pharma, Inc.

Current positions: Chair of the board of Intellia Therapeutics, Inc.

Special competences: Extensive strategic, operational and international experience within the pharmaceutical industry.

Anne Louise Eberhard, MSc Law

Anne Louise Eberhard, MSc Law

Member of the board since 2019. Chair of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee since 2020 and member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee since 2023. Independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Ms. Eberhard is a Danish national, born in 1963.

Former Senior Executive Vice President and Global Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking at Danske Bank A/S, and Chief Commercial Officer at Intrum AB.

Current positions: Member of the board of FLSmidth & Co. A/S and its subsidiary FLSmidth A/S, Knud Højgaards Fond, Den Danske Unicef Fond, and VL 52 ApS. Chair of the board of Finansiel Stabilitet SOV, Moneyflow Group A/S and its subsidiary Moneyflow 1 A/S. Member of the executive board of EA Advice ApS. Faculty Member at Copenhagen Business School, Board Educations.

Special competences: Extensive finance, risk management and ESG experience as well as board experience from publicly listed companies.

Heidi Hunter, MBA

Heidi Hunter, MBA

Member of the board since 2023. Chair of the Science, Technology and Investment Committee since 2023.Independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Ms. Hunter is an American national, born in 1958.

Heidi Hunter is former President, Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions and has also held positions as Senior Vice President in UCB and Boehringer Ingelheim and as Vice President in IQVIA and Centocor (a Johnson & Johnson Company). 

Current Positions: Member of the board of Vicore (European), Sutro BioPharma and advisory board member of MiGenTra.

Special competences: Extensive strategic, global leadership and operational experience within the pharmaceutical industry.

Johan van Hoof, MD

Johan van Hoof, MD

Member of the board since 2023. Member of the Finance, Risk and Audit since 2023 and member of Science, Technology and Investment Committee since 2023. Independent. Current term expires in 2024.

Mr. van Hoof is a Belgian national, born in 1957. 

Former Global Therapeutic Area Head, Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, R&D at Janssen, the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson. Formerly Chief Operating Officer, R&D of Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals. Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Mr.  Van Hoof acquired more than 20 years of experience in the vaccine industry, having worked with Pasteur Mérieux Connaught (today Sanofi Aventis), Chiron Vaccines and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biologicals. During this period, he held leadership roles with increasing responsibilities covering discovery, clinical development, QA-QC, and regulatory affairs.

Current positions: Working through his private one-man company, he acts as independent advisor for the biotech/vaccine industry and for not-for-profit organizations/academia. This includes a role as (independent) Chief Scientific advisor to Ziphius, a startup vaccine company focused on self-amplifying mRNA-based vaccines, still at pre-clinical stage.

Special competences: Extensive strategic and operational (international) experience in discovery, development and licensing of vaccines.

Linette Munksgaard Andersen

Linette Munksgaard Andersen

Employee-elected member of the board since 2021. Current term expires in 2025.

Ms. Munksgaard is a Danish national, born in 1974.

Manager, Customer Service, Shipping & Distribution

Thomas Alex Bennekov

Thomas Alex Bennekov

Employee-elected member of the board since 2021. Current term expires in 2025.

Mr. Bennekov is a Danish national, born in 1968.

Sr. App. & Integration Analyst.

Anja Gjøl

Anja Gjøl

Employee-elected member of the board since 2021. Current term expires in 2025.

Ms. Gjøl is a Danish national, born in 1980.

Scientist.

Karen Merete Jensen

Karen Merete Jensen

Employee-elected member of the board since 2021. Current term expires in 2025.

Ms. Jensen is a Danish national, born in 1959.

Senior QA Specialist & Coordinator