Nicholas is the founder of The Synergist and Executive Director of Patient Focused Medicines Development (PFMD). He is an economist by training and was previously Chief Executive Officer of an award-winning digital consultancy providing a cutting-edge digital strategy to global corporations across multiple sectors.

His deep understanding of how digital can accelerate collective action and societal ecosystem drove him to see the potential for an independent organisation that could enable partnerships and drive them to solve jointly societal challenges, The Synergist.

Helena Harnik, MBA, is currently the Program Executive Director at The Synergist, where she oversees the day to day operations and delivery of all the Synergist programmes. Helena has worked with The Synergist since its founding. Helena has previously worked at several companies including Sanofi Pasteur and Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), successfully showing how to solve societal issues by connecting diverse people together. Helena has an International MBA from EM Lyon in France, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (cum laude) from Williams College in the United States. Based in France, Helena is American – Japanese and has lived in Japan, the UK, USA and France.

Quentin is an economist and took the role of Chief Operations Officer in April 2020 at The Synergist. He spent 15 years at Nestlé and was a member of the Management Committee.

Throughout his career in big organizations, Quentin has been responsible of large transformation programs. He developed a passion for stakeholder management by leveraging peaceful common ground to reach sustainable results and co-created impact in the society.

Amanda is a recognized thought leader by the healthcare community. She has worked in international patient advocacy in the area of rare bleeding disorders since 2009, first at global level and then at European level, where she was CEO of the European Haemophilia Consortium (EHC) for over a decade.
Her professional path was deeply informed by her early career start in international humanitarian diplomacy working with the EU institutions, the Red Cross movement, and the United Nations system – as well as by her personal journey growing up on three continents.
Amanda is a system thinker driven to work through collaboration, co-creation, and collective action. She holds a Master of Science in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK), and a Bachelor of Arts in English and International Relations from Austin College (US). She is part of the senior management team.

Jean-Christophe is in-charge of finance at The Synergist since 2015. With more than 25 years experience, he holds a Master in Economy from IAG UCL. He has worked for Avis, Zetes, ZN , The Belgian Hockey Association, ZN Consulting and also works as a freelance Finance Consultant for various clients.

Hayley joined The Synergist team as Senior Program Director in January 2021. Based in Canada, Hayley has a Masters in Health Science from the University of Toronto.

With management roles in Marketing and Community Engagement, she has worked in the healthcare sector for over 20 years focusing on the strategic development and evaluation of partnerships between biopharma companies and patient organizations. Hayley actively contributes to several Patient Advisory Boards sharing her caregiver perspective following her child’s cancer diagnosis.

Brian Goodman joins The Synergist team as Program Director. Previously he was the Director of Corporate Relations at Boston University, the Innovations Manager at the City of Boston, and the founder of a data analytics and strategy firm First Steps Consulting. 
His career has been focused on establishing and driving innovative partnerships and collaborations between the triple helix of industry, academia, and government. 

Brian earned his MBA in entrepreneurship from Babson College in Wellesley, MA, and a degree in Business Administration from UMASS Amherst. 

Additional studies on business, innovation, and systems dynamics have been completed at MIT, Harvard, and the University Of Manchester, England.

Brian is American and based in Brussels with his wife and two kids.

Nicole joined the Synergist team as Program Director in July 2020, with strategic and management focus within PFMD, FT3P and Share4Rare. She has experience working in Patient Advocacy for a European umbrella patient organization and in the pharmaceutical industry. She holds an MSc in Heath Communication and Management from the University of Lugano and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Alberta. Nicole is Canadian and is based in Switzerland.

Elizabeth is a recent MBA graduate from EM Lyon Business School and is based in Lyon, France. She has joined the Synergist in January 2021 as a Program Director and has program management and financial analysis expertise across the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Elizabeth has a passion for global health cultivated over many years working with safe-surgery and disaster-relief focused non-governmental organizations.

Lidewij Vat is a Program Director at the Synergist. She is passionate about transforming (health) systems to achieve greater impact. In her work, she builds partnerships with diverse stakeholders to address complex societal challenges.

She has worked in the healthcare sector for over 10 years in various roles (consultant, researcher, lecturer, trainer, project leader). She was a Training and Capacity Lead/Patient Engagement Lead for the SPOR initiative (Canada) where she contributed to the development of a patient-centred research infrastructure. She has been involved in various multi-stakeholder projects, such as IMI-PARADIGM.

She holds a PhD (2021) from the VU University in Amsterdam. The title of her thesis is: “Transforming the health research system. Embedding patient engagement in decision-making”. She completed a Master in Management, Policy analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences (2010, cum laude) and holds a Bachelor in Health Sciences (2008).

She is Dutch, was raised by healthcare professionals, and is based in Amsterdam.

Roxana is a marketing and communication specialist, with more than 7 years of experience in the field – most of which spent in healthcare environments.

Roxana joined The Synergist in 2016, working across all projects and initiatives. She is passionate about digital innovation, creative stakeholder engagement strategies and various societal issues.

Jeremy joined the Synergist in October 2019 as an IT Architect and leader of the IT team. He has co-created, six years ago, a web agency specialized in B2B and B2C called Hellomoon. Under that company, he had the opportunity to develop and manage various B2B/B2C projects using different technologies. He is responsible to plan, design and lead the execution and development of the digital tools dedicated to various Synergist programs.

Matt joined the Synergist in March 2020 as Executive assistant helping run the Synergist from an administrative, office management and logistics point of view. As a former employee of Disneyland Paris and euromic-the power of local knowledge, he has longterm experience in the fileds of communication, marketing, meetings & events and international tourism. Polish national, he holds a Master in Business Communication Design from Tilgurg University. Fluent in four European languages: English, Polish, French and Dutch.

Lise has been part of The Synergist’s team for several years. She has previously worked for an e-communications agency providing guidance to clients on digital marketing and market research.

Lise now supports The Synergist’s communication team across all projects. Born in Brussels she holds a degree in Political Science.

Gulwish joined The Synergist in June 2018 as a member of the communications team. She has previously worked in the field of marketing, communications, business development, and community management. She provides support to The Synergist projects by building and implementing communication strategies.

A Pakistani national, Gulwish holds a degree in Political Science, she is fluent in English and Urdu.

Ify has 19 years of experience as a Scientific Medical Writer and 6 within health and science public relations. She has a DPhil in molecular genetics and a BSc in biochemistry and applied molecular genetics.

Ify works with the Synergist communications team to provide scientific editorial strategy and writing support primarily for PFMD but also across other Synergist initiatives. Her motivation is communicating the robust methodology and outputs of The Synergist projects to diverse audiences and stakeholders.

Maximiliane joined the Synergist in October 2019 as Program Manager. Prior to joining, she was working for an NGO in the Middle East as well as other organisations in Germany. She holds an M.Sc. in International Development from the University of Edinburgh.

Daniela joined The Synergist in September 2018 as a Program Manager. She has previously worked in project management and procurement. She provides support to The Synergist projects by building and implementing project strategies.

An Ecuadorian national, Daniela holds a Master degree in Strategic Project Management and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Silvia joined The Synergist in July 2020 as Program Manager. She previously interned for different NGOs in the US and Kenya, and for the United Nations at the Headquarters in New York City. She holds a M.Sc. in Peace and Development Work from Linneaus University (Sweden), as well as a Bachelor in International Development from the University of Turin (Italy).

Anne-Marie holds a Master in biology and has spent 33 years in the pharmaceutical industry in various roles of increased responsibility in an international/multicultural environment: medical information/communication, digital strategy, training, commercial operations, and customer experience.

As a consultant for PFMD, Anne-Marie supports the co-creation efforts involving multiple stakeholders and help them drive the next steps for transforming patients into influencers and actors of the key decisions to be made in the medicines development continuum.

Bernadette is a MD specialised in vaccinology with over 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry amongst which 20 years in vaccinology. Her responsibilities were mainly Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance. She joined The Synergist in 2015 as a Senior Advisor focusing on PFMD and Break Dengue.

France Donnay, Consultant Women’s Health Global Policies, Programs, and Practices. With a public health career spanning 30 years, with UNICEF, UNFPA, Doctors Without Borders and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, France worked with a large number of health organisations in many countries, from basic science to technology development and program design and implementation.

Prior to that, she practiced obstetrics and gynecology in Brussels for 15 years, including in clinics attended by migrant families. France will be active in CONCEPTION, on behalf of The Synergist.

Danielle has been writing on a wide range of health and medical topics since 2006. An experienced journalist and editor, her primary degree is in pharmacology and she also has an MSc in science communication. She is editor-in-chief of PFMD and PARADIGM, as well as MCIP.

Gary is an experienced journalist, editor and author, specialising in health and science. He has a degree in science (physiology) and an MSc in science communication. Gary is Editor of the Break Dengue website and contributes to the editorial work of PFMD and PARADIGM.

Diana joined the Synergist in August 2021 as Program Manager. Prior to joining, she has gained program coordination expertise in both Brussels and Amsterdam and she acquired experience in the healthcare sector by working in an independent medical education agency.

Maddalena joined the Synergist in July 2021 as Program Manager. Passionate about social impact and international cooperation, she was working for an international youth-run organization as a Financial and Legal national responsible. She is close to obtaining a Master degree in Law at the University of Bologna, Italy

Vincent holds a BA and MA in International Relations and Security Studies with a specialisation in intersection of political economy, environment, and health.

He has worked in different international environments and is passionate about achieving milestones in business development, audience engagement, interdisciplinary debate, and event management.

Pursuing the Program Coordinator role at The Synergist, Vincent aims at having an impact on both, the global and individual dimensions of health.

Laura is currently the Chair of TinyLife. TinyLife is Northern Ireland’s  only charity supporting families of babies born  prematurely  or who will start life in a neonatal unit.  In addition as the Managing Partner of McKeaveney Consulting Laura works on both HR and Patient engagement projects. Monies raised through McKeaveny Consulting will be used to support charitable causes.

Laura`s last formal role was as Head, Global Patient Advocacy, Novartis International. In this position, she had overall leadership of the Patient Engagement and Advocacy strategy across all group companies. In this role she led the design and approval of the Novartis PE strategy and development of the Novartis Commitment to Patients and Caregivers. Previously as the Head Global Human Resources, Pharma, she was responsible to support the delivery of the Pharma business strategy by driving a progressive people and organizational agenda, focusing on cultural transformation, diversity and inclusion, talent management and capability building, for both the business and the HR function. Laura has over thirty-five years’ experience in the pharma and medical device industry.

20-year track record in policy, advocacy, and campaigns, with strong fundraising experience. Highly skilled in building and inspiring teams, creating meaningful partnerships with stakeholders, and representing organisations at the highest levels to advance equity and inclusion in the fields of health, disability, development and ageing. Summary: • Extensive fundraising experience both public and private • Leadership in private, NGO, public and institutional settings, in governance, and in creating and managing Boards • Proven success in innovative and workable policy development at European and international level • Extensive experience in organisational development, strategic planning, human resources, risk and performance management, and evaluation • Experienced public speaker and chair • Budget management and financial planning

Fabienne is a consultant and a trainer in the health sector. She obtained her PhD in analytical chemistry at the University of Leuven in 1992. Fabienne spent close to 30 years in the Pharmaceutical industry within the Research and Development organisation. She occupied a variety of functions in both Clinical Operations and Regulatory Sciences. After a few years managing global clinical trials, she created and headed an unit in charge of centrally prepare the Clinical Trial Application dossiers for all countries around the global. In that endeavour, she had been deeply involved through EU Trade association in the development and the implementation of the EU Clinical Trial Regulation (CTR). Fabienne then became Global Regulatory Policy Lead where she bridged regulatory policies and development strategy in the areas such as Real World Evidence (RWE), Complex Clinical Trials and Digital Health. Fabienne was also an EU Oncology Regulatory Strategy liaison.

Fabienne has always been passionate about efficiencies, transfer knowledge and people development.

Determined to grow professionally while having a positive impact, Aurora holds a Master in Diplomacy and International Organizations with a specialization in the EU. She has previous experience in international development and capacity building, which has led to a strong social commitment and a great interest in program management.

She previously worked as the national director of an international youth-run non-profit in Brussels and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. Her passion for sustainability led her to volunteer for the UN SDGs in Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Switzerland.

Isha believes that leadership and collaboration are essential to solving societal challenges and seeks to create a positive impact through The Synergist.

They have a Bachelor’s degree in Languages and Science of Language in English and Italian Sign Language, with a specialisation in literature and culture. Caterina worked as a Marketing Manager in a youth-run non-profit organisation and as a marketing consultant.
A big motivation and interest of theirs is gender equality as well as LGBTQ+ rights, they believe that acceptance and cooperation are the only way to achieve social peace.

Maria Marano is an Associate Program Director based in Ontario, Canada. Previously she worked for a national patient organization where she focused on research communications and programming for patients and their families. She completed her graduate studies in neuroscience at the University of Toronto. Maria is interested in facilitating knowledge sharing among stakeholders to inform effective strategic planning and project development.