OUR LEADERSHIP
Chair of the Fight the Fakes Alliance
Andrea Vassalotti
Director of Partnership & Programs
World Heart Federation (WHF)
I am humbled and excited to have been elected as the Chair of the Fight the Fakes Alliance, after having had the privilege of being Vice-Chair since 2020. I have a strong motivation to continue working together to combat the scourge of fake medicines. I’m looking forward to what’s to come!
Since September, 2017, Andrea manages the partnerships division of the World Heart Federation (WHF), a Geneva, Switzerland-based NGO representing the global cardiovascular community. The programs created with private sector companies committed to the fight against cardiovascular disease support the WHF mission of “Heart Health for All”. Her activities include leveraging the World Heart Day global CVD awareness platform, promoting the Global Circulatory Health Summit thought leadership platform, as well as engaging with industry in support of a variety of field activities and CVD Roadmaps designed to improve heart health globally.
A dual citizen of Switzerland and the United States, Andrea spent 16 years of her career at DuPont, in a variety of business development & marketing management positions. She is a graduate of Hofstra University, New York (USA) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Economics and holds an MBA degree from Università Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy.
Vice-Chair of the Fight the Fakes Alliance
Géraldine Lissalde-Bonnet
Vice President Healthcare
GS1 Global Office
I feel privileged to join take on the role of Vice-Chair. Together we can achieve much more – especially on an important topic as substandard and falisified medicines. Bringing together all types of expertise is what makes the Fight the Fakes Alliance thrive. I am all dedicated to the cause.
Géraldine Lissalde-Bonnet is Vice-President Healthcare for GS1 Global Office, in Brussels, and works with her local GS1 colleagues in 115 countries across the world on regulatory harmonisation through the implementation of GS1 standards in the healthcare industry.
She leads the GS1 Healthcare Global Public Policy Work Team, which has the mission to interact with decision makers globally and to provide strategic leadership on the use of GS1 standards in the healthcare sector.
A lawyer by training, Géraldine started her career in the private sector, complemented by several years in the European Commission, in the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers. She has developed expertise in public affairs at both the EU and international levels and has sound experience in the fields of technical and regulatory affairs related to traceability and to product identification systems .
Vice-Chair of the Fight the Fakes Alliance
Christopher Goetz
Executive Vice President
IFPW Foundation
I am honored to continue working with the Executive Board as Vice-Chairs, and strongly believe that sound financial management and transparency is especially important for a young NGO. I look forward to collaborating with Alliance members and external stakeholders on combating the global surge of substandard and falsified medicines.
Chris has spent his entire career as an Association Executive. He has served IFPW for over 28 years, in roles of increasing responsibility, and led IFPW Foundation since its inception in 2012. Today he oversees all the day-to-day operations of both not-for-profit organizations; establishes and manages their respective strategies and budgets; develops new opportunities for the global wholesale industry – particularly in Global Health initiatives; and coordinates the activities of IFPW’s 7-person team from IFPW’s headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area.
In addition, for IFPW Foundation, Chris serves as the lead on the Foundation’s three primary activities: 1) a collaboration with Gavi since 2015 (around supply chain and human resource strengthening in eligible countries); 2) supporting the Fight the Fakes Alliance; and 3) supporting the African Pharmaceutical Distribution Association (APDA) as a platform for improving access to medicines and supply chain security.
Chris holds degrees in both Accounting and Finance and is married with two children.
Joining the Chair and Vice-Chairs on the Executive Board
Foulo Basse
CEO
Foulo Basse has a rich experience acquired in the public service, in the academic field and in the private sector in Europe and numerous expert missions in Africa. He has held senior positions at the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail (A.N.S.E.S.), from coordinating the European Med-Vet-Net network to managing the administration of laboratories. Mr Basse was also Director General of Services at the University of Evry-Val d’Essonne for 8 years. He has led a number of conferences, particularly on high-impact subjects. He is the founder of Foulo Basse Conseil, a consulting company specialising in responsible strategy, the development of sustainable products, services and policies, extra-financial reporting, quality management and change management. Foulo Basse has been a volunteer member of a number of NGOs, as well as a member of Think Tanks on social issues (gender, sustainable development, global warming, etc.).
Cyntia Genolet
Associate Director, Africa Engagement
Cyntia leads IFPMA engagement in Africa and deals with other global health policies.
She has worked on policy issues related to biotherapeutic and regulatory domains, and to health systems strengthening and supply chain. She is also responsible for our falsified medicines portfolio.
Prior to joining IFPMA, she worked for Sanofi in the office of relations with international institutions. She gained her professional experience working for NGOs, international organizations, and governments in Africa, South America, and Switzerland.
Cyntia holds a Master in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and a Master in Advanced Studies in Health Economics and Management from HEC Lausanne.
Adam Aspinall
Senior Director, Access & Product Management
Adam is Senior Director, Access & Product Management at Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a Geneva-based Product Development Partnership engaged in the discovery, development and delivery of novel antimalarial medicines. In this role he is responsible for MMV’s portfolio of in-development and launched drugs for uncomplicated malaria, and is also MMV’s lead in the area of falsified and substandard medicines.
Prior to joining MMV, Adam spent over 20 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, latterly as Director of Global Marketing for a leading independent specialty pharma company. Adam holds a BSc in Biophysical Science and an MBA with Distinction from Durham University Business School, and is an honorary fellow at the university. Outside of work, he has been a director of the St Petersburg Healthcare Trust – a charity dedicated to educating Russian healthcare professionals about palliative care – and is a former director of the Association of Renal Industries. He enjoys all types of sport aviation and especially ski flying in the Alps, and is a member of l’Exercices de l’Arquebuse et de la Navigation, an ancient Swiss competitive shooting organisation founded in 1476.
Shabbir Imber Safdar
Executive Director
Shabbir Imber Safdar has served as the Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines since 2017. Before that he was the Director of Outreach and has served as a consultant to PSM for nearly a decade. Shabbir is passionate about patient safety and the dangers of counterfeits, having seen them firsthand the dangers of counterfeits in countries around the world where a closed, secure drug supply chain doesn’t exist.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines, founded in 2003, is a not for profit focused entirely on researching the danger of counterfeit drugs in America and educating the public about how to stay safe from them.
Today Shabbir leads the Partnership for Safe Medicines team from San Francisco, CA where he lives with his wife and two children. He plays string bass in a bluegrass band for fun.
Anthony Lakavage
Senior Vice President, Global External Affairs
Anthony Lakavage is Senior Vice President, Global External Affairs and, Secretary, USP Convention and Board of Trustees. In his role, Mr. Lakavage oversees Global Communications, U.S. and International Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Global Stakeholder Engagement and the USP Quality Institute. He is the lead architect of the organization’s external engagement strategy and represents USP in a variety of forums involving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Congress, international regulatory authorities and ministries of health, professional and trade organizations, non-governmental organizations and the news media.
Mr. Lakavage brings more than twenty years of demonstrated leadership in public affairs; public policy and government relations; and global health advocacy to his role at USP. A biopharmaceutical industry veteran, Mr. Lakavage has held a variety of US and international public policy and government affairs leadership roles for GlaxoSmithKline, Gilead Sciences, Chiron Corporation and Applied Biosystems. Prior to joining USP, Mr. Lakavage worked in the medical technology sector serving as Worldwide Vice President, Public Affairs, at Becton Dickinson. Earlier in his career, he worked for Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mark Singel and Missouri Congressman Alan Wheat.
Academic/Youth Group Chair
Oksana Pyzik
Senior Teaching Fellow, Global Engagement Lead, Founder of UCL Fight the Fakes
Oksana Pyzik is the Founder of UCL Fight the Fakes chapter & Academic Chair of the wider Fight the Fakes Alliance, with the organisational mission of raising awareness on substandard and falsified medical products.
She is also a UK registered Pharmacist with experience across primary care, academia and in global public health. Since 2013, Oksana has held an academic post at the UCL School of Pharmacy as a Lecturer in Global Health & Pharmacy Practice as well as Global Engagement Lead.
She serves as a Global Health Advisor & sits on the Board of Trustees of the Commonwealth Pharmacists’ Association since 2017.
As a member of the WHO-FIP SF expert working group, Oksana also advises NGOs and start-ups around global health issues such as pharmacy education, access to quality medicines and digital health. In 2020, Oksana was named one of Britain’s Top 35 Women under 35 by Accenture & Management Today for her work in global health.