Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is responsible for PolyPeptide’s overall direction and oversight of management, and holds the ultimate decision-making authority, with the exception of matters reserved for shareholders.
Peter Wilden
Chairman of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Peter Wilden
Chairman of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Peter Wilden, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group since April 2021 and Executive Chairman since January 2023, is a German citizen born in 1957. Between 2000 and 2017, Mr. Wilden was Executive Vice President and CFO of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Currently, Mr. Wilden is Executive Chairman of Ferring International Center SA, Saint-Prex (since 2002). He also serves as Vice Chairman of Schlumberger AG, Austria (since 2014), Vice Chairman of Project HOPE in the U.S. (since 2012) and Chairman of Project HOPE Suisse International Foundation (since 2015). Between 2004 and 2014, Mr. Wilden was a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Lonza Group AG, Basel. Mr. Wilden holds a PhD in Economics and an MBA in Industrial Economics, both from the University of Kiel, Germany.
Patrick Aebischer
Vice Chairman, Lead Independent Director of PolyPeptide Group
Patrick Aebischer
Vice Chairman, Lead Independent Director of PolyPeptide Group
Patrick Aebischer, Vice Chairman and Lead Independent Director of PolyPeptide Group, is a Swiss citizen born in 1954. Mr. Aebischer is a Professor of Neurosciences at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EFPL), Lausanne. He serves as member of the Board of Directors of Nestlé AG, Cham (since 2015) and Logitech international SA, Apples (since 2016) and is Chairman of the Novartis Venture Fund (since 2014), Amazentis SA, Ecublens (since 2008) and Arctos Medical AG, Bern (since 2019). Mr. Aebischer further serves as senior partner of ND Capital, Fund-III (since 2017). Between 2008 and 2020, Mr. Aebischer served as member of the Board of Directors of Lonza Group AG, Basel. Further, he was founding scientist and member of the Board of Directors of CytoTherapeutics Inc. (between 1989 and 1999) and Modex Therapeutiques Inc. Between 2000 and 2016, he was president of EPFL and between 2004 and 2016, he served as member of the Board of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). Mr. Aebischer holds a Doctorate degree in Medicine from the University of Geneva as well as four Honorary Doctorates from Universities worldwide.
Beat In-Albon
Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Beat In-Albon
Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Beat In-Albon, Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group, is a Swiss citizen born in 1952. Mr. In-Albon is the Chairman of Escientia Switzerland AG, Muttenz (since 2020) and of Evolva Holding SA, Reinach (since 2020). He further serves as non-executive Board member of Deccan Fine Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (India) (since 2019). From 2016 to 2018, Mr. In-Albon was Head of Strategic Projects at Lonza Group AG, Basel on a part-time basis, after having served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Specialty Ingredients and member of the Executive Management Committee from 2012 until 2015. Previously at Lonza, he held various positions starting 1983, including the role as Head of Organic Fine- & Performance Chemicals and member of the Executive Management Committee at Lonza Group AG between 2003 and 2006. Between 2007 and 2012, Mr. In-Albon served in different positions at SGS SA, Geneva, including as member of the Operations Council. Between 2009 and 2012 he served as a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Siegfried AG, Zofingen. Mr. In-Albon holds a PhD in Economic Science from the University of Fribourg and a Master of Business Administration in Political Economy from the University of Fribourg.
Jane Salik
Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Jane Salik
Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Jane Salik, Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group, is U.S. citizen born in 1953. Prior to her election, she served on the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Laboratories Holding B.V. since 2003. She joined Polypeptide in 1996 as President of PolyPeptide Laboratories Inc., where she was responsible for Sales and Marketing, and overall Management, Administration and Strategic Planning for the company. In 2006, she was appointed CEO of the PolyPeptide group. Before her tenure at Polypeptide, Ms. Salik worked for Bachem California as Vice President of Sales and Marketing (between 1986-1996). Prior to that, she served as technical services biochemist, Product Manager and Marketing Manager at Boehringer Mannheim (Indianapolis) starting 1980. Ms. Salik holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA (1980) and a B.A. in Biology from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, USA (1975).
Erik Schropp
Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Erik Schropp
Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Erik Schropp, Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group, is a Dutch citizen born in 1964. Mr. Schropp has served as member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Laboratories Holding B.V. since 2017. Currently, he is CEO of C&P Investors Limited and a director of Draupnir Holding B.V., The Netherlands. Previously, Mr. Schropp held various finance functions in the pharmaceutical industry. Further, Mr. Schropp serves as member of the Board of Directors of various privately held companies engaged in the fields of life sciences, gene therapy and venture capital investment. Mr. Schropp holds a Master’s degree in Economics & Tax from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Philippe A. Weber
Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Philippe A. Weber
Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Philippe A. Weber, Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group, is a Swiss citizen born in 1965. Mr. Weber is a member of the Board of Directors of Niederer Kraft Frey AG, Zurich (since 2008) and has been a Partner since 2002. He further serves as Company Secretary of CLS Group Holdings AG, Lucerne (since 2002) and as a Non-Executive Director of EDAG Engineering Group AG, Arbon (since 2015). Mr. Weber is the Vice Chairman of Leonteq AG, Zurich (since 2020). He is further a member of the Board of Directors of Medacta Group AG, Castel San Pietro (since 2019), Newron Suisse SA, Zurich (since 2007), NorthStar Holding AG, Roggwil (since 2018), and of Banca del Ceresio SA, Lugano (since 2017). Between 2004 and 2017, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Robert Aebi AG, Regensdorf. Mr. Weber holds a PhD in law from the University of Zurich and an LL.M. from the European University Institute in Fiesole, Italy.
Dorothee A. Deuring
Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Dorothee A. Deuring
Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group
Dorothee A. Deuring, Independent Member of the Board of Directors of PolyPeptide Group, is an Austrian citizen born in 1968. Ms Deuring is a corporate finance expert who brings broad experience across sectors in manufacturing, biotech, pharmaceuticals and banking. Ms Deuring currently also serves on the Boards of Directors of Elementis plc (listed) and Temenos (listed). Ms Deuring previously served on the boards of, inter alia, Axpo Holding AG, Lonza Group AG (listed), Immofinanz AG (listed), Bilfinger SE (listed) and PIQUR Therapeutics AG. She received her Master of Science in Chemistry from Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France, in 1994 and her Master of Business Administration from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, in 1996.
Executive Committee
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility and authority necessary or appropriate to carry out the day-to-day and operational activities of PolyPeptide to the Executive Committee under the leadership of the CEO.
Juan José Gonzalez
Chief Executive Officer of PolyPeptide Group
Juan José Gonzalez
Chief Executive Officer of PolyPeptide Group
Juan José Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Executive Committee of PolyPeptide Group is a Peruvian and US citizen born in 1972. Mr. Gonzalez joined PolyPeptide Group on 12 April 2023 and is a global business leader with a track record in the healthcare sector, most recently as CEO of Ambu A/S. Prior to this, he spent over 15 years with Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in positions of increasing responsibilities. He served as President of Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedic business, DePuy Synthes in the US and as Chair of the Orthopedics Sector of AdvaMed in the US. He headed DePuy Synthes EMEA and was Vice President of J&J’s Enterprise Program Office. He joined J&J in 2007 having worked for Pfizer, McKinsey and Procter & Gamble across various geographies. Mr. Gonzalez is a member of the Board of Directors of Straumann Group, a multinational oral health company, serving the Audit & Risk Committee. He holds an MBA from Notre Dame University, a Master’s degree in Technology Management from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Lima University.
Neil Thompson
Director Global Sales and Marketing
Neil Thompson
Director Global Sales and Marketing
Neil Thompson, Director Global Sales and Marketing and Member of the Executive Committee of PolyPeptide Group, is a British citizen born in 1972. Mr. Thompson joined PolyPeptide Group in 2004 and has held various sales and business development roles, most recently, since 2019, as Group Commercial Director. Before that, he served as Director Business Development Europe (2015 – 2019), Associate Director Business Development Europe (2010 – 2015), Business Manager Custom Development (2006 – 2010) and Regional Sales Manager (2004 – 2005). Before joining PolyPeptide, Mr. Thompson worked served as Assistant Production Manager / Peptide Product Manager at Bachem (1999 – 2003) and in various roles rising to Assistant Production Manager at Peninsula Laboratories Europe Ltd (1988 – 1999). Mr. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Liverpool John Moores University.
Christina Del Vecchio
General Counsel
Christina Del Vecchio
General Counsel
Christina Del Vecchio, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and member of the Executive Committee of PolyPeptide Group, is a Swiss and Swedish citizen born in 1978. She joined PolyPeptide Group on 1 September 2021 from Niederer Kraft Frey AG, a leading Swiss law firm based in Zurich, which she joined in 2013, becoming counsel in 2018. Prior to joining Niederer Kraft Frey AG, she was an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP in their London office. Over the course of her career, Christina has advised numerous Swiss and international companies on a wide range of commercial and financing transactions, securities laws, governance, compliance and other legal matters. Christina Del Vecchio was born and raised in the US, she graduated from Columbia Law School in 2008, where she was recognized as a James Kent Scholar, and summa cum laude from the University of Florida in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts.
Jens Fricke
Director Global Operations
Jens Fricke
Director Global Operations
Jens Fricke, Director Global Operations and Member of the Executive Committee of PolyPeptide Group, is a Danish citizen born in 1965. Mr. Fricke joined PolyPeptide Group as General Director Scandinavia in 2013 and was appointed Director Global Operations in December 2022. Prior to that, he served as Director API Production (2008 – 2013) in LEO Pharma and in leading positions with increasing responsibilities in Aseptic Production and API Production at ALK Abello (1998 – 2008). He started his career as Chemist at Novo Nordisk/Hema Sure (1995 – 1998). Mr. Fricke holds a Master of Sciences in Biochemistry from the University of Copenhagen.
Lalit Ahluwalia
CFO ad interim
Lalit Ahluwalia
CFO ad interim
Lalit Ahluwalia, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Executive Committee of PolyPeptide Group, is an American citizen born in 1951. Mr. Ahluwalia joined PolyPeptide in February 2023 as Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman of PolyPeptide. Since 1st May 2023, he serves as CFO ad interim and member of the Executive Committee. He is a seasoned CFO and has had a broad range of responsibilities in the global pharmaceutical industry. From 2010 to early 2018 he served as CFO for Ferring Pharmaceuticals in the United States of America and then till January 2023 as VP of Global Projects. He was also a Member of the Ferring India Supervisory Board. From 2001 to 2010, he worked for Ranbaxy Laboratories as Head of Business Finance and later for Ranbaxy in the U.S. Earlier he was with The Gillette Company in India and South Africa working in business development and finance roles. Prior to that he worked with Frito Lay in India as CFO / acting CEO and earlier with ITC Ltd., a diversified Indian company, in multiple roles, including as Treasurer and Head of Financial Planning. He started his career with The British Steel Corporation in England. Mr. Ahluwalia holds an Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in Commerce from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, India. He is an Associate Member of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, England.
PolyPeptide Management Committee
The Executive Committee is further supported by additional members of senior management with deep industry experience who, together with members of the Executive Committee, form the PolyPeptide Management Committee.
Jon Holbech Rasmussen
Director Global Development, IP and Regulatory; Director Global Quality ad interim
Jon Holbech Rasmussen
Director Global Development, IP and Regulatory; Director Global Quality ad interim
Jon Holbech Rasmussen, Ph.D., Director Global Development, IP and Regulatory and Director Global Quality ad interim is a Danish citizen born in 1970. Dr. Rasmussen first joined PolyPeptide Group in 1999 and has held various roles within process development, project and development management and operations management. He started his current role as Director Global Development in 2013. Before that, he served as Director Technical Operations, PolyPeptide Scandinavia (2008-2013), Director of Development, PolyPeptide Scandinavia (2006-2008), Head of Development, PolyPeptide Scandinavia (2004-2006), Manager Custom Projects Department, PolyPeptide Laboratories A/S Denmark (2003-2004). Prior to that, he worked in various Project Manager and Chemist roles. Dr. Rasmussen holds a Ph.D. degree from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) within synthetic organic chemistry and a Masters degree in chemical engineering from the same institution. His studies included a tenure at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy as well as a Post Doc position at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
Monika Casanova
Chief Human Resources Officer
Monika Casanova
Chief Human Resources Officer
Monika Casanova, Chief Human Resources Officer of PolyPeptide Group, is a Swiss and German citizen born in 1979. Mrs. Casanova joined PolyPeptide Group in May 2022 and is a seasoned HR leader with extensive experience across the full range of HR disciplines in corporate, international, and local settings. Prior to that, she headed Global HR at Duravit AG, a leader in building materials with over 6,000 employees (2017 – 2022), and International HR at Paul Hartmann AG, medical devices (2015 – 2017). She started her career in the pharmaceutical industry (2003 – 2014) at ALTANA Pharma, acquired by Nycomed, subsequently acquired by Takeda, in various roles rising to Head of HR with responsibility for their headquarters in Zurich and the international centres of expertise. Mrs. Casanova holds a Diploma in Languages and Business Administration from University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, Germany, and a DUETI in Techniques de Commercialisation from Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, France.
Olivier Ludemann-Hombourger
Director Global Innovation and Technology
Olivier Ludemann-Hombourger
Director Global Innovation and Technology
Olivier Ludemann-Hombourger, Director Global Innovation & Technology and Member of the Management Committee of PolyPeptide Group, is a French citizen born in 1972. Mr Ludemann-Hombourger joined PolyPeptide Group in 2012 as General Manager of PolyPeptide Laboratories France (2012-2019). Before joining PolyPeptide, Mr Ludemann-Hombourger worked as Head of Operations / Head of Manufacturing (2009-2012) at Lonza, Braine in Belgium and was member of the Peptide Business Team of Lonza Group. He served as multi-sites R&D Manager/Director at Novasep Process (2001-2009), where he started in 1999 as R&D Engineer. He started his career in 1995 as R&D engineer at Merck KGaA in Germany. Mr Ludemann-Hombourger holds a Master of Sciences (ENSIC process engineering school, Nancy France) and a PhD from Institut Polytechnique de Lorrance (Nancy, France).
Michael Stäheli
Head Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Michael Stäheli
Head Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Michael Stäheli, Head Investor Relations and Corporate Communications and Member of the PolyPeptide Management Committee, is citizen of Switzerland, born in 1965. He joined PolyPeptide Group in April 2021 from Conzzeta, where he assumed a similar responsibility since 2015. From 2004 to 2014 he was with the investor relations team of Credit Suisse with responsibilities including integrated reporting and stakeholder engagement. Before that, he worked in various financial and communications roles, including as financial editor of Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Mr Stäheli is a Board member of the Swiss IR Club and holds a Swiss federal diploma as chartered expert in financial and managerial accounting and reporting. He graduated in 1992 from the University of St. Gallen as an economist (Lic. Oec. HSG).