We believe in the power of synergy to solve complex societal issues, and we build the conditions to make it happen
What the synergists
believe in & how it looks in practice
Discover The Synergist - an organization nurturing collective impact
Synergy is the collaborative energy
that generates something much bigger than the sum of its parts
Nicholas Brooke, Executive Director, The Synergist
01. Embracing complexity
“The more complex the problem, the more fragmented the proposed solution”
A. Adopt a systems perspective
to consider the bigger picture to gain bigger and better insights.
B. Challenge ineffective systems
because rethinking the ecosystems that complex problems nest in can help us zoom out & gain perspective
C. Open up to non-linear thinking
to explore what’s beyond our current and usual fields of vision.
D. Unlearn mental models
Are you ready to exercise a new way of thinking?
02.Leaning into collective intelligence
A. Embrace stakeholder diversity
because the more perspectives are heard, the richer the outcomes will be.
B. Step out of our comfort zones
to truly break what limits us, we must be comfortable being uncomfortable.
C. Practice active listening
as true insights emerge from having more questions than answers.
D. Engage in co-creating innovation
through a process of openly sharing ideas, testing solutions & implementing in iterations
Do you believe in the power of the many?
03. Leading collaboratively
A. Excel through non-competition
B. Carve out shared purpose
C. Enable continuous synergy
D. Mobilize collaborative leaders
Do you think it’s time for a change in leadership culture?
04. Investing
to make it happen
A. Synergy doesn’t happen by magic
it requires building the right skills, infrastructures and conditions to deliver it.
B. Synergy is not self-sustaining
it requires the right curation and nourishment to maintain it.
C. Disruptive thinking needs fuel
it requires us to harness the creative energy of synergistic teams for results.
D. To solve complex problems,
we must be socially enterprising, aligning business strengths with social goals.
Do you believe in investing in social change for a more sustainable future?
05. Embarking on an infinite course
A. The world’s complex societal challenges need continuous synergy.
B. System change is infinite
it has no set deadlines, winners, losers – just constant improvements.
C. There is acceleration in restraint
holding the space for broader early thinking opens opportunities for deeper impact.
D. Achieving and maintaining triple-wins
(public, private, societal) requires constant agility.
Do you wish you could play the long game versus chasing quick wins? You’re not alone.
Discover The Synergist
an organization nurturing collective impact
Who we are
Social venture
Twin-effort
Expert-based
Community
Do you need a Synergist to help you achieve deeper or broader societal change?
What we do
Bridge the right people & sectors
Curate the right conditions
Make it happen
Ensure continuity and further synergies
Do you need a neutral partner to help reach your societal change ambitions?
How we do it
Governance experts
Proven tools and methodologies
Custom digital assets
Support functions
The Synergist organization impact
Programs we manage
Programs we partner on
Past programs
Global Patient Movement Catalyst (PMC)
From Testing to Targeted Treatments (FT3)
PFMD
The Motherhood Collective Impact Programme
Guide.MRD
Gravitate Health
IMI Conception
Synchros
Break Dengue
PARADIGM
Share4Rare
Our team
Team
Expertise
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
Program Executive Director
Quentin Clermont
Quentin Clermont
Chief Operations Officer
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 Bok
Chief Strategy Officer
Amanda Bok
Chief Strategy Officer
Jean-Christophe Capelle
Jean-Christophe Capelle
Financial Director
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.
Senior Program Director
Hayley Chapman
Senior Program Director
Brian Goodman
Program Director
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 Wicki
Program Director
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 Priest
Program Director
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
Program Director
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.
Senior Comms Manager
Roxana Radu
Senior Communication Manager
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 Jamar
IT Architect
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 Szafert
Executive Assistant
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.
Product Owner & Comms
Lise Brooke
Product Owner & Communication Manager
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.
Communication Manager
Gulwish Ahmed
Communication Manager
Ify Sargeant
Scientific Editor
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 Rauch
Program Manager
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 Luzuriaga Ubilla
Program Manager
Associate Program Director
Silvia Bornengo
Associate Program Director
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 Hamoir
Senior Consultant
Anne-Marie Hamoir
Senior Consultant
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 Hendrickx
Scientific Advisor
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
France Donnay
Senior Consultant
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 Barron
Editor in Chief
Gary Finnegan
Editor in Chief
Diana Aron
Program Manager
Maddalena Benivento
Program Manager
Vincent Raske
Program Manager
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 Mckeaveney
Laura Mckeaveney
Collaborator
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.
Collaborator
Nicola Bedlington
Collaborator
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
Regulatory Affairs Cons.
Fabienne Zeegers
Regulatory Affairs Consultant
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.
Aurora Lancha
Associate Program Manager
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.
Ozioma Uzodinma
Ozioma Uzodinma
Associate Program Manager
Isha Jerath
Program Manager
Associate Comms Manager
Caterina Londero
Associate Communication Manager
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
Associate Program Director
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.
- Systems thinking
- Business and entrepreneurship
- Stakeholder engagement
- Communications
- Advocacy
- Capacity-building
- Youth mobilization
- Social participation
- International diplomacy
- Humanitarian aid
- Environment
- Development
- Human resource
- Digital solutions
- Marketing
- Medicinal development
- Regulatory affairs
- Women’s health
- Children’s rights
- Public health
- Civil society
- Multi-national institutions
- Public-private partnerships
- Journalism
- Linguistics
- International relations