Board Of Directors

Pierre joined Alimentiv as Chief Executive Officer in January 2024, he is responsible for Alimentiv’s strategic direction, financial prosperity, and operational excellence.

Pierre is a Biopharmaceutical executive and thought leader in the healthcare industry, with more than 25 years of executive experience in managing multi-billion dollar businesses in the Asia Pacific Region, China, Japan, Europe and Canada. 

Pierre led diverse commercial organizations, and go-to-market model transformations, as well as developing in-depth knowledge about multiple healthcare systems and archetypes across the globe. He has a proven track of transforming organizations to achieve significant growth and has a real passion for diversity & inclusion and leadership development.

Before joining Alimentiv, Pierre’s most recent position was President of Asia Region and China at Pfizer Biopharmaceutical Group.

Pierre holds a Science degree in Molecular Biology from Laval University in Canada. He is married and has four daughters.

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.

Dr. Feagan completed a medical degree at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) in London, Ontario, Canada.

His postdoctoral training included a residency in Internal Medicine and a clinical fellowship in Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine at UWO, and postgraduate training in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. A Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Dr. Feagan holds membership in the Canadian and American Association of Gastroenterology, the American College of Gastroenterology, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) and European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization (ECCO). He has authored over 480 articles and book chapters and has given over 600 invited presentations at national and international scientific meetings. In 1997, Dr. Feagan became Director of Robarts Clinical Trials at the Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario and in 2020, he became Senior Scientific Director of Alimentiv Inc.(formerly Robarts Clinical Trials) His research efforts focus on the design and implementation of randomized controlled trials of therapy for inflammatory bowel disease. He has been the principal investigator on numerous large-scale randomized clinical trials.

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.

Amita is an experienced General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 34 years. She has held executive positions in private and publicly listed companies, including Merck, Schering Plough, Pfizer, Pharmacia and Novopharm, and most recently, Almirall, located in Spain where she currently resides. She has extensive background in areas including, Business Development, Data Privacy, Regulatory, Human Resources and Litigation.

Amita has a Bachelor of Science degree from Dalhousie University in Biology and Physics, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor, Ontario.

She has served as a Director on several Boards and Advisory Committees, as well as a resource for startup companies in Canada and Europe.

Amita is passionate about mentoring and helping professionals expand their expertise in both the legal and business worlds.

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.