Board Of Directors

Jeff has been the CEO at Alimentiv since October 2016. In May 2018, Jeff led the successful separation of the organization from its sole owner, Western University, to a Health Trust establishing the first social enterprise of its kind in North America.

Background

Jeff has a strong record of leading high-performing global teams that support the growth of global business units. His background in clinical research spans more than 20 years in the pharma and contract research organization (CRO) industries. Prior to his current position, he held senior positions with Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials) including Vice President, Clinical Operations and Director, Business Development. And before joining Alimentiv he was a Senior Director, General Medicine & Vaccines/Infectious Disease with PharmaNet (now Syneos). Jeff trained as a registered nurse, and holds a Bachelor Degree in Health Sciences (nursing).

Achievements

Jeff’s perspective on building a great company has been shaped from his experience working in a variety of ownership structures including government, private, public, private equity and venture capital. These experiences helped shape his vision for building a 100-year private company that pursues its purpose and putting people first ahead of shareholder returns. In May 2018, he was able to realize this vision with the transition of ownership of Robarts Clinical Trials to a Health Trust.

Ethos

“When leaders prioritize goodness in themselves and in others, they can create lasting cultures and tremendous value.”

Dr. Eric P. Brass is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.  He has previously held faculty appointments at the University of Colorado and Case Western Reserve University, and is past Chair of Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Dr. Brass has had a productive research career spanning basic, translational, and clinical research.  Major areas of interest have included metabolic diseases, peripheral arterial disease, and clinical trial design.  Additionally, he has extensive experience in drug discovery, development, and regulation.  He has worked on development programs in a number of therapeutic areas and has served as a consultant to the FDA and on FDA Advisory Committees.  Based on this background he has served as a consultant to a number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Brass has authored over 200 scientific papers, review articles and book chapters.  He has won numerous awards for both his research and his teaching.  He has served in a number of leadership positions in academia and international societies.

Mike Cloutier is a recently retired accomplished business leader and consultant with over 45 years in the Life Sciences sector. Over the past 25 years, Mike was General Manager, President and CEO of five major pharmaceutical firms and one Not for Profit organization, the Canadian Diabetes Association (now Diabetes Canada). In 2017, Mike founded a Canadian-based global consulting practice, Accelera Canada Ltd. that was acquired by Eversana. The organization provides unique and unparalleled “one stop concierge support” to US and European-based biotech/pharmaceutical companies exploring commercial entry to Canada. Mike also co-founded Novescend to provide consultation, in-licensing and distribution to US/EU-based medical device and diagnostic innovators.

Background

Prior to his role at Accelera Canada, Mike led organizations with interests in the Orphan and Rare disease market segments. As the General Manager and President of PTC Therapeutics Canada and InterMune Canada Inc., he ensured the delivery of tremendous support to patients and caregivers. These companies drove exceptional results in terms of optimal access for patients in need and financial success.

Mike has held positions in Latin America and Europe, serving as Senior Director, Operations, Latin America/Canada and as the Vice-President, Human Resources – Global Marketing for AstraZeneca Inc.
Mike has been responsible for Life Cycle Management in a number of his senior leadership roles. In Canada, as both a senior marketing leader and as the CEO of a number of companies, he has been responsible to develop the strategy and to ensure excellence in the tactical implementation of plans for products in early, mid and late stages of their life cycle. He has engaged in many significant therapeutic classes including Oncology, Neuro-muscular, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease and Inflammation. Mike has also provided leadership on a global scale in the US, Europe and Latin America.

His leadership in Operations and Global Marketing provided Mike with the opportunity to set clear direction in determining the breadth and depth of product portfolios at Searle and AstraZeneca.

Mike is active on a strategic level sitting and leading a variety of Boards. He chairs the Board of Directors at Arylide Canada, sits on the Boards of OBIO and Alimentiv. He has previously Chaired the Board of Directors at Scientus, Merus Labs International and was a Board Director at Joule, a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Association. As a result, Mike has an extensive network throughout Canada, the US and International circles.

Mike is a respected, dedicated philanthropist and has served on numerous Boards as a volunteer including the Canadian Stroke Network, Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation. Mike is the past Fundraising Chair of the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Achievements

Among his many accomplishments, Mike was inducted to the Sheridan College School of Business Marketing Hall of Fame and the Canadian Pharmaceutical Marketing Hall of Fame.

Ethos

I am energized by this role on the Board as it creates an opportunity for me to contribute my experience, my business acumen and to engage my network with the goal of creating ongoing success for this formidable organization.

Dr. Ross Feldman is a Professor (Emeritus) of Medicine, Western University. He just completed his term as Provincial Specialty Lead-Cardiac Sciences, Shared Health Manitoba.

A major focus of his efforts has been in the prevention and control of hypertension.  Among past leadership positions, Dr. Feldman served as President of the Canadian Hypertension Society.  He was the first Chair of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program.  As well, he was also the founding President of Hypertension Canada- leading the process of integrating the efforts of the Canadian Hypertension Society, Canadian Hypertension Education Program and Blood Pressure Canada.  

He is the author of more than 200 original manuscripts, reviews and book chapters. His clinical research focuses on the management of hypertension and specifically the development of innovative strategies to improve blood pressure control. His major fundamental research program focuses on the elucidation of novel cell signalling mechanisms of vascular regulation/dysregulation linked to the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis- especially related to elucidation of the determinants of heart disease in women.

He has received a number of awards and scholarships in recognition of his contributions in research, teaching and for his efforts in hypertension control including the George Fodor Award from Hypertension Canada for outstanding contributions to the prevention and control of hypertension.  In 2018 he was awarded a Mastership from the American College of Physicians for his academic contributions. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of his efforts in hypertension control in Canada and most recently to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

John J. Fox is a retired former Vice President with Johnson & Johnson. His last assignment was managing all aspects of Global Payroll, HR Services, and related finance functions.

From 2000 to 2009, John served as Vice President of Information Technology for the Pharmaceuticals Group and served as a member of the Pharmaceuticals Group Operating Committee. Before this, he was the Vice President of Information Management for the Pharmaceuticals Group, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific, based in Beerse, Belgium.

John began his career as a Medical Statistician at Janssen UK, moving into Information Management in 1982 and eventually assuming the position of IM Manager for Janssen UK in 1985.  In the following seven years, John assumed responsibility for Finance in Janssen UK, eventually becoming the Director of Finance and IM and a member of the Management Board of the Company.

Since retirement in March 2018, John has been advising two “start-up” technology companies – both focused on healthcare.

Over the years, John built a strong reputation as an active business partner supporting the supply chain, research and development, sales and marketing, and administration areas of the business. After receiving a degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, John began as an actuarial trainee and later joined Janssen UK in 1979.

John is a native of Glasgow, Scotland. He and his wife, Margaret, are the parents of two sons.

Stef Heylen, MD, is the Managing Director of Heygieia Consulting BV, based in Belgium. He is a Board Member of the University Hospital UZA, Antwerp and the General Hospital AZ Turnhout. He also represents the Belgian Federal Investment Company FPIM on the Board of two clinical-stage biotech companies: ExeVir Bio and reMYND.

Stef retired in 2020 from Johnson & Johnson as CEO of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Belgium and as COO for Janssen R&D Worldwide. In these positions, he was a member of the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Executive Committee and Chairman of the Management Board of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. Stef has 35+ years of drug development and executive management experience. His expertise extends over a wide range of areas: the development of small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines; clinical research in neuroscience and infectious diseases; regulatory affairs, drug safety, medical affairs, development operations, project/portfolio and general management. Stef obtained his M.D. at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and the Prince Leopold Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.

Stef has a passion for sustainable development and global public health. He is also a mentor for “Duo for a Job”, an intergenerational mentoring program for young people with a recent migration background.

Joy M. Nassif has over 25 years of experience in financial and executive management in the healthcare, diagnostic testing, and pharmaceutical industries. She has a strong record of building and leading global, cross-functional teams while maximizing return on investment through working capital and expense management and customer focus.

Ms. Nassif is currently the Vice President & General Manager, Services for Orasure Technologies. Prior to joining Orasure, Joy was the Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer of Diversigen, Inc., a microbiome services company. She led the company from start-up to a leader in the microbiome services field. Diversigen was acquired by Orasure in November 2019.

Prior to joining Diversigen, Joy held leadership positions at Quest Diagnostics as Vice President of Clinical Trials, and Vice President of Anatomic Pathology. She held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Franklin Heath, Inc. (A Corning Company) and was responsible for all aspects of operations and administration for this start-up healthcare company. Additionally, Joy was Director of Finance for Covance, Inc. working in its Phase II-III contract research organization.

Joy graduated summa cum laude from Kean University with a BS in Accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In addition to her corporate positions, she has served on the Board of Advisors for several non-profit groups and organizations.

Jennifer is an accomplished and innovative business transformation consultant and executive leader with over 20 years of experience adding value and delivering exceptional results to clients.

Jennifer’s experience spans a wide range of clients: from start ups to publicly traded companies. She has worked across many industries including health and life sciences, technology and telecommunications, finance/private equity, public sector, loyalty/call centres and energy. She has assisted organizations with transforming their business processes, change management, governance and organizational realignment, costing and cost modeling, cost optimization and efficiency, as well as mergers/acquisitions/integrations/separations. She has international experience with clients and service delivery teams.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Master of Accounting degree with a management specialization. Her Master’s thesis was in the area of health case costing and was governmentally funded. Jennifer is certified in Lean Fundamentals through Cardiff University. She is a CA/CPA. Jennifer is currently President of Roedding Associates Management Consultants. Prior to that, she was a Partner in KPMG’s Management Consulting practice.

Prof. Schölmerich studied in Freiburg and Heidelberg. His further qualification in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology was obtained in Freiburg. He was also a research fellow at the University of California at San Diego.

From 1991 until 2010 he was Director of the Department for Internal Medicine I at the University of Regensburg. He was vice president of the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2005 until 2011 and president of the “German Association of Internal Medicine” (DGIM) 2009-2010. From 2010 until 2016 he was Medical Director and CEO of the Hospital of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt.

His research interests were: inflammatory bowel disease, complications of Liver cirrhosis and bile acid metabolism and effects.

He has published 93 monographs and chapters in teaching and reference books, he is editor or coeditor of 50 books, and his citations exceed 18,000.

Dr. Cecil Shewchuk, Principal of Shewchuk Consulting, provides consulting services to technology companies in the areas of business planning, technology and product development, sales and marketing strategy, and implementation roll-out. Many of these consulting engagements have been for international companies specializing in the energy sector.

Dr. Shewchuk has held various executive level positions with large technology companies like Aspen Technology and Honeywell where he was responsible for the strategic planning of sophisticated software products and services in such areas as process simulation, optimization, data analytics and advanced process control.

Dr. Shewchuk has been involved with numerous start-up technology companies in the roles of director, founder, manager or mentor. Many of these companies have been successful in growing into viable profitable operations.

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree in Chemical Engineering. He earned his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge University in England.