collaborate

Keynote Speakers

Hon. Dr. Dereje Gemeda
State Minister
Ministry of Health, Ethiopia

Dr. Dereje Duguma is the State Minister of Health for the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. He is currently engaged with leading the efforts for the continuation of non-Covid essential services, in addition to providing regional support to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in Ethiopia. Prior to his appointment, he was the Deputy Bureau Head and Manager of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention of the Oromia Regional Health Bureau. Dr. Duguma solidified his reputation as a health systems expert when he and his colleagues from across the Oromia Regional Health Bureau identified poor data quality as a main obstacle to planning. Specifically, the team’s ability to gather accurate, reliable, timely, and complete data was being hampered by a lack of attention, awareness, and commitment from managers. Once Dr. Duguma and his team identified these causes, they were able to create specific action plans in response. To this day, Dr. Duguma advocates for more data training and encourages continuous coaching for health professionals.

Dr. Merawi Aragaw Tegegne
Head, Emergency Preparedness and Response
Africa CDC

Dr Merawi Aragaw is a medical epidemiologist with more than 10 years of experience in health systems and public health programmes, disease surveillance, investigation and management of disasters and outbreaks, and evaluation of surveillance system. He currently serves as Head of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division at Africa CDC, where he oversees coordination and capacity building of African Union Member States for emergency preparedness and response, and the preparation for medical and non-medical countermeasures. Dr Aragaw served as a member of the African Union Multinational Task Force for the establishment of Africa CDC as requested by the African Union Heads of State and Government. Prior to his current role, Dr Aragaw served as advisor to the Minister of Health of Ethiopia on Public Health Emergency Management for more than six years where he supported policy and strategy development, and provided guidance on matters related to public health emergencies. Dr Aragaw is a medical doctor by training and holds a master’s degree in public health specializing in field epidemiology.

Dr. Omar Najim
Chief Advisor and Director of Special Programme,Department of Health, Abu Dhabi
The Hope Consortium

Dr. Omar Najim is the chief advisor to the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and Director of special programme. DoH main role is to be the guardian of health in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and striving to achieve the vision of “healthier Abu Dhabi”. He is a member of Gold Command Team for Covid-19 and part of the team leading on transforming healthcare in Abu Dhabi. Omar trained as a Head and Neck surgeon in the UK. Immediately prior to joining AD DoH, Omar was a hospitals improvement lead at Mckinsey and Company in London Healthcare and Operation practice, leading on nationwide effort to improve emergency pathway, quality of care, integrated care, regulation and efficiency. Omar also worked on efficiency and value based healthcare provision, leading teams in helping private and public hospitals, and investment houses achieve efficiency and financial turnaround in the UK and Europe.

Dr. Ahmed Safwat Elassal
Board Member
General Authority of Healthcare Accreditation & Regulation - Egyptian

Dr. Ahmed Safwat Elassal is a Board member Of the General Authority of Healthcare Accreditation & Regulation (GAHAR) - EGYPT. He was originally a consultant neonatologist with about 20 years of experience in healthcare with Strong academic and practical background regarding standards development and validation, clinical governance, organisational analysis, strategic leadership, performance improvement, change management and accreditation design & support.

Hussein Hassan Hussein Mosleh
Ag. Director of Trade and Industry
African Union Commission

Mr. Hussein is an international development professional with an in-depth background in Trade and Industry Policy development, analysis and regional integration, with over 28 years of experienced in number of positions working at both national and international level. He has a good track record in the International Development field, providing policy advisory services to African Governments and institutions on issues relating to industry, mining development, regional integration, private sector development and trade promotion. He is also experienced on productive capacity building, value chain analysis and development, investment promotion and profiling, industrial SMEs development and multilateral trading system such as the WTO. Mr. Hussein has an M.P.P, in Trade and Industry Policy, Korean Development Institute of Public Policy and Management, Seoul, Korea, 2005 and a B.Sc. Trade Major, Ein Shams University, Cairo, Egypt,1987.

Dr. Aissatou Sougou
Technical officer Essential medicines and drugs
World Health Organisation

Dr Aissatou is the Essential Medicines and Health technology Technical officer for West Africa, based at IST Ouagadougou. Aissatou is from Senegal. She has several years of experience at different levels of the pharmaceutical value chain, particularly in access to medicines and supply chain management. Since 2018, she worked at the WHO regional office for Africa in the Medicines and Health technology team. Before joining the organization, Aissatou worked at the Ministry of Health of Senegal and then for international organizations, successively in Global Fund projects and at the World Food Programme Regional Bureau for West and Central Africa. Dr Sougou also served as a member many WHO experts group that led the introduction and implementation of medicines and health teachnologies regulation in low and middle income countries. Aissatou holds a doctorate degree in Pharmacy from the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal and different master degrees in Public health, Health administration and monitoring and evaluation.

Tewolde Gebremariam
GCEO
Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services

Tewolde GebreMariam was appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines in January 2011. He began his career at Ethiopian in 1985 as Transportation Agent and held a number of senior leadership positions in different divisions in the Airline including Ethiopian Cargo, Area Offices and Sales & Marketing. In his role as CEO, Mr. Tewolde, has been a multiple award winner including African CEO of the Year, Best African Business Leader, The Airline Strategy Award for Regional Leadership, The Most Gender Focused CEO Award and Airline Executive of the Year Award. Mr. Tewolde also serves as a member of the High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport with United Nations, Chief Executive Board member of Star Alliance, Board member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airlink Advisory Council. Mr. Tewolde graduated from Addis Ababa University with B.A. Degree in Economics. He earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Open University in the United Kingdom. He has received Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa from Addis Ababa University in July 2019.

Ms. Marta Garcia-Argenal
Team Leader - Healthcare Team
United Nations Secretariat

Ms. Garcia Argenal is a procurement specialist and Team Leader for the Healthcare Procurement Team within the Operation Sustainment and Healthcare Section of the Department of Operational Support for the UN Secretariat. Her main focus is the procurement processes in support of Peacekeeping Missions. Previously, she led a UNDP team supporting HQ operations and was the head of UNDP Nicaragua's Procurement Team. Before joining UNDP, Ms. Garcia Argenal worked in the World Bank in Nicaragua and Washington, DC as a procurement analyst for the Central American Portfolio. She started her career in finance and modernization of the public sector in the Ministry of Finance in Nicaragua and has a master’s degree in the Public Administration.

Dr. Axel Klaphake
Director Economic and Social Development, Digitalisation
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Dr. Axel Klaphake, Director Economic and Social Development, Digitalisation
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Development Cooperation)
Axel Klaphake is an economist and political scientist by training (University of Cologne, Université de Clermont-Ferrand) and holds a PhD in Environmental Management and Planning from the Technical University Berlin. In his further career, he worked mainly on issues linked to economic development and the sustainable management of natural resources holding jobs with several research institutes, think tanks and consulting companies in Germany, USA, and Brazil. He joined GIZ in 2007 as an adviser to the Federal German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development on G8 issue and water and infrastructure development in Africa. From 2009-2017 he worked as a head of regional and bilateral programmes in Uganda and as the GIZ Country Director in Uganda and Ethiopia. He is currently heading the Division Economic and Social Development, Digitalisation in the global department at GIZ HQs. In his career, he has been closely involved with efforts to strengthen synergies between private sector development and development cooperation.

Sean Petzer
Tower Africa General Manager
Tower Cold Chain

Born in South Africa, Sean Petzer has been living in the Cape Town winelands for the last 10 years. He holds a a BCom Marketing and an MBA degree. In 1999, he joined UTi and has moved on to work for P&O Nedlloyd, CFR Shipco and finally as branch manager at CEVA Cape Town. At CEVA, he came across the TOWER solution and immediately saw the innovation and opportunity. He presented them with a business plan for Africa and joined TOWER in 2017. Sean heads up TOWER Africa with a strong passion for the company and its solution. He truly believes there is nothing more versatile, reliable and of this quality in the world. He aims to use TOWER as an enabler to bring top quality pharmaceuticals to Africa on a door-to-door level, to be able to guarantee quality and ensure that Africa is no longer pulling the short straw just because of location and infrastructure. He is confident TOWER overcomes all these challenges.

Speakers

Dr. Karishma Banga (Panel Chair)
Research Fellow
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

Karishma Banga is a Research Fellow at the International Economic Development Group at ODI, working on the implications of Digital Economy for developing and least-developed countries. She is a published researcher, with expertise in international trade, Global Value Chains, Firm Capabilities and digitalisation. She was previously a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration, Graduate Institute, Geneva. She has a PhD in Development Economics from the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester and a MPhil in Economics from University of Cambridge.

Joseph Mthetwa
Project Management Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Joseph Mthetwa is an Epidemiologist-Pharmacologist with years of combined experience in Pharmaceuticals and Public Health. He has held various positions in Governmental and Intergovernmental Organizations, recently worked as Senior Programme Officer for Health and Pharmaceuticals at the SADC Secretariat. Currently a Project Management Officer at UNECA on the AfCFTA-anchored Pharmaceutical Initiative. He has served on several international committees including SADC Medicines Regulatory Harmonization, Commonwealth Health Programme, WHO Medicines Technical Committees, and International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). His interests are in Pooled Procurement, Local Production, Quality, Standards and Research and Development in Pharmaceuticals.

Jean-Baptiste Nikiema
Team Leader
World Health Organisation

Jean-Baptiste Nikiema holds Pharmacy Degree (1993) and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (1997), all from ULB, Belgium. Before joining WHO in 2012, he was Professor at the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Director general of the National Medicines regulatory Authority. In the WHO Regional office for Africa, he is coordinating the team working on medicines supply, health infrastructure and equipment maintenance within the Universal Health Coverage Life Course cluster. He is also engaged with the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Initiative and the establishment of the African Medicines Agency.

Ms. Jane Karonga
Economic Affairs Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Jane Karonga is an Economic Affairs Officer working with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa for past 9 years. She is mainly responsible for providing advisory services, capacity building and conducting research to African member States and other stakeholders in the area of regional integration, industrialization and infrastructure development. Previously, Ms Karonga was Programme Management Officer and economist for African Trade Policy Centre, where she was responsible for ATPC’s support to the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) initiative and AGOA national response strategies and the Centre’s programmatic work. Prior to working at UNECA, Ms. Karonga had several years of experience working for various companies in Zimbabwe, and USA in the area of economic development.

Dr. BA Alassane
Director
Centre Humanitaire des Métiers de la Pharmacie (CHMP)

Alassane BA combines a strong experience of GMP Guideline, national Pharmaceutical policy, pharmaceutical regulation, audit of pharmaceutical unit, Pharmaceutical quality system, management at central and field level within international pharmaceutical company and a proven record of programmatic and technical expertise with international institutions, NGOs and Alassane BA combines a strong experience of GMP Guideline, national Pharmaceutical policy, pharmaceutical regulation, audit of pharmaceutical unit, Pharmaceutical quality system, management at central and field level within international pharmaceutical company and a proven record of programmatic and technical expertise with international institutions, NGOs and endemic countries in the field of public health and development. Management of relationship/negotiation with Ministries of Health, Pharmacy Boards and Supply chain players

Salim Quouninich
Vice President of Cargo
Royal Air Maroc Cargo

An engineer by training, Salim Quouninich started his career in the airline industry in 2005 by joining Royal Air Maroc immediately after he graduated from the prestigious Mohammadia School of Engineers based in Morocco. He spent 7 years in various executive positions within Royal Air Maroc, first in the Program and Planning control department of the airline’s technical division, then in the aircraft maintenance department, during which he honed his aviation skills and developed a passion for the sector and its challenging complexities. In 2012, he was promoted to Head of the aircraft maintenance department where he applied his leadership skills and technical knowledge of everything airline-related. He was appointed Vice-President of Cargo in 2018 and has been the driving force behind the various strategic initiatives undertaken by the division since.

Mrs. Bridget Barnard
Supply Chain Director
Pfizer Laboratories

Bridget Barnard is a Supply Chain Director working at Pfizer Laboratories, based in South Africa, managing Sub-Saharan Africa. She has 23 years’ experience in the private sector Supply Chain, mainly focused on Demand Planning, Sales and Operations Planning, Foreign Trade, Logistics, and Customer Service. She has held various positions within Supply Chain, most recently serving on the Africa Middle East Leadership Team. Bridget holds a BComm Strategic Supply and BComm Honours in Supply Chain management. Her interests lie in supporting the public sector through the private sector programs that are available. She also has a keen interest in reducing or mitigating the illicit trade of medicines in Africa.

Sanjeev Gadhia (Panel Chair)
CEO
Astral Aviation

Sanjeev S Gadhia is the Founder and CEO of Astral Aviation Ltd which is a dedicated all-cargo airline based in Nairobi, Kenya and operates a fleet of seven cargo aircrafts into Europe and within Africa. Operating one of the most successful airlines in Africa for 20 years, Sanjeev is responsible for the overall management, network planning and fleet acquisition for Astral Aviation, along with its Pan-African expansion strategy, which entails two new cargo hubs in West and Southern Africa, including diversification into Logistics, Airport Infrastructure, Executive Jets and Unmanned Cargo Aircrafts. Sanjeev is rated as a “New Generation Leader for Africa” by the prestigious African Leadership Network, while Astral has been rated as the best all-cargo carrier in Africa in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Dr. Maxwell Antwi
Country Director, Ghana
PharmAccess Foundation

Dr. Antwi is a WHO Roster of Experts on Digital Health member. Before joining PharmAccess Group he had worked for over a decade in senior capacities within and outside of the Ghana Health Service as a specialist obstetrician-gynecologist, healthcare manager and a public health professional. Maxwell joined PharmAccess Group in 2012 as a Senior Quality Advisor. He was later appointed as Program Manager for the Medical Credit Fund & SafeCare in Ghana (2013) and then as Country Director (2015). He currently leads a highly motivated team working with partners in Ghana in mobilizing private & public resources to get more money into the health system whiles measuring and improving healthcare quality in Ghana. Maxwell’s ambition is on how digital technology (especially mobile technology) can be a global enabler for forging partnerships, enhancing health regulation, stimulating health financing and the empowerment of individuals to access quality health care to improve health outcomes. The focus of Maxwell’s current work is on aligning stakeholders for digital health innovations, health legislation and implementation of digital health interventions. Maxwell holds four degrees from the University of Ghana.

Dr. Clement Ngombo
Associate Director, Global Health Supply Chain Initiative
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM-GHSC)

Clement has worked for more than 10 years in supply chain management, program development and monitoring and evaluation in public sector. Clement hold his Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Lubumbashi.

Mrs. Judith Njumwah-Kariuki
Associate Director, Global Health Supply Chain Initiative
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM-GHSC)

Judith Njumwah-Kariuki is the Associate Director for Global Health Supply Chain (GHSC) in ASCM based in Nairobi, Kenya. She supports ASCMs initiative in building sustainable supply chain professional capability in Kenya. Her experience spans over 15 years as a public health specialist in health programming, system strengthening and capacity development with major development agencies. She has held several roles over her career in the health space from promoting sustainable ownership of family planning commitments by strengthening the public sector, technical support to innovations in Maternal, Newborn Health (MNH), Improving efficiency and performance of Public Health Supply Chains, HIV and AIDS programming and Training & Education. She has a special interest in health system strengthening. She holds a BSc Environmental Health (Moi), MBA (Moi) and MSc (London South Bank University) degrees.

Dr. Shital Maru (Panel Chair)
Senior Lecturer
School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi

Dr. Shital Mahindra Maru (B.Pharm, M.Pharm, MBA, PhD) is a Senior Lecturer and is currently the Chair for the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice at School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is a registered Pharmacist in Kenya and has 17years of teaching experience at the University. Her interests are on Pharmaceutical product development using novel technologies, pediatric formulations, Continuous pharmaceutical production using Quality by Design (QbD) principles, Quality assurance of medicines, Good Manufacturing practices (GMP), Health commodities supply Chain management and operations management.

Brian Taliesin
Global Director - Living Labs
PATH

Brian Taliesin is the Global Director of PATH’s Living Lab, a human centered design initiative, and PATH-wide data for action practices as part of the Center for Digital and Data Excellence (CoDE). Prior to this role, Mr. Taliesin led digital health implementation services—focused on the development of scalable, sustainable health information and supply chain solutions. Brian helped shape PATH’s approach to business systems analysis that served as a catalyst for early versions of OpenLMIS and associated adaptations for immunization information systems. He is a strong advocate for interoperability and global standards including GS1 and integrating systems with the support of OpenHIE. Mr. Taliesin holds an MSc in Health Informatics and has over 30 years of experience in software design, application development, and implementation, including projects with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Gavi, other nongovernment organizations, and multinational firms.

Dr. Samiratou Ouedrago
Researcher / Advocate in Population & Global Health
Women in Global Health Francophone Initiative / CIHR-INSPQ-McGill University

Dr. Samiratou Ouedraogo is a researcher, consultant and advocate in population and global health. Her specific areas of interest include infectious diseases, cancers, adolescent and youth health, maternal and child health. Selected as an Emerging voice for Global Health 2020, she belongs to a generation of young African leaders who are achieving cutting-edge work while advocating for health equity and social justice. Since 2018, she co-developed the Women in Global Health Francophone initiative to advocate for Francophone Women inclusion in population and global health decision making for health equity, social equality and environmental justice. She is leading this initiative in West Africa where intersectional factors (language, culture, religion…) limit women participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and their contribution to decision making.

Patrique Zaman
Founder
Avy

Patrique Zaman is an out of the box thinker and a serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of Avy, an innovative drones-for-good manufacturer based in Amsterdam. Founded in 2016 (supported by the European Space Agency and the Technical University of Delft), Patrique’s mission is to develop life-saving technology in the field of sustainable aviation.

Gerald Macharia
Vice President
Clinton Health Access Initiative

Gerald Macharia serves as the Vice President for East and Southern Africa for the Clinton Health Access Initiative – CHAI, as well as its Country Director for Kenya. He joined CHAI in 2005.
He started his career in marketing before joining Faulu Microfinance Bank, one of Kenya’s largest Microfinance Banks as CEO, from where he joined CHAI. He participated in the design and piloting of Kenya’s award-winning M-Pesa mobile money system and floated Africa’s first US$7million Microfinance Bond on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 2005, for Faulu Microfinance Bank. He graduated with honors from Kenyatta University in Kenya, and holds MBAs from the Edinburgh Business School in the UK and Moi University in Kenya. He is also an alumnus of Stanford University’s Executive Program on Strategy & Organization, and has served as a panelist at the Harvard University Business School’s Africa Business Program.

Marseille Onyango
Country Manager Kenya
Johnson & Johnson

Marseille Onyango is the Country Manager for Johnson and Johnson in Kenya, where he heads the business operations of Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Marseille has worked with many reputable pharmaceutical companies, including Astrazeneca and Novartis. Marseille partners with both private and public sector players to provide healthcare solutions in Kenya. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Egerton University and an MBA in Strategic Management from The Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He is currently perusing the 'Total Leader' training with Leadership Management International (LMI), USA. Marseille is passionate about patients’ access to healthcare, pharmaceutical policies and infrastructure.

Deon Poovan
Senior Manager: Inspectorate and Regulatory Compliance
SAHPRA

Deon is the Senior Manager: Inspectorate and Regulatory Compliance at the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority. He has a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of the Western Cape and hold a Master’s degree in Management in Public and Development Management from the University of the Witwatersrand. Within the pharmaceutical industry space, he has held management positions at Adcock Ingram Healthcare in both Production and Quality Assurance at a site level, as well as corporate level, where he managed Quality Assurance activities relating to contract manufacturers. Prior to that, he has worked in warehousing and distribution of clinical trials, raw materials, ophthalmic medicines and ophthalmic medical devices.

Alex Gisagara
Head of Inspection and Safety Monitoring Department
Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority

Alex is the Head of Inspection and Safety Monitoring Department at Rwanda FDA. He was nominated at this position by cabinet decision of November 19th, 2018. Before joining Rwanda FDA, he was representing Rwanda in the East African Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (EAC MRH) Initiative from 2012 to 2018. He has a Bachelor degree of Pharmacy from Dr. From MGR Medical University, India and holds a Master’s degree in Regulatory Sciences from Purdue University in the USA. He has more than 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical Sector, having started his career with Management Sciences for Health/Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus (MSH/RPM Plus) a non-governmental organization funded by USAID where he was responsible for providing technical assistance in Health system, especially developing laws and policies for the pharmaceutical sector in Rwanda.

Abdullah Bahadir Büyükkaymaz
Special Cargo Manager of Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines

Abdullah Bahadir Büyükkaymaz is Turkish Airlines Special Cargo Manager, responsible for the growing special cargo product portfolio across Turkish Airline’s wide International network. Büyükkaymaz has over 20 years of experience in various fields; in charge of product, supply chain, brand, marketing and logistic works; committed to business ethics; and prioritizing service standards, customer satisfaction, efficiency and profitability. Turkish Airlines has become the first airline to achieve all three of IATA's Center of Excellence (CEIV) certifications: Pharma, Fresh, and Live Animals.

Andrea Gruber (Panel Chair)
Head Special Cargo
International Air Transport Association (IATA)

Mrs. Gruber is Head, Special Cargo at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is responsible for the regulations related to the transport of live animals, perishables and pharmaceuticals and for delivering international standards and business processes for the air cargo supply chain. Mrs. Gruber is leading IATA’s Cargo governing bodies, comprised of airlines and air cargo supply chain stakeholders that provide the regulations for the air transportation of Live Animals, Perishables and Healthcare Products. She is secretary to the IATA Live Animals and Perishables Board and the Time and Temperature Working Group. Mrs. Gruber developed and implemented for the industry three Center of Excellence (CEIV) quality audit programs certifying the handling and transport of pharmaceuticals, live animals and perishable products based on IATA, national and international requirements and standards.

Julian Sutch
Head of Global Sales Pharma
Emirates Airline

Julian Sutch is commercially responsible for Emirates SkyCargo’s global pharmaceutical division having been appointed in August 2016. He oversees the sales strategy, multinational tenders, global accounts and tri partite relationships, product development and marketing activities. Julian has been in the logistics industry for nearly 15 years since university, spending 10 of those in freight forwarding in Dubai predominately setting up the Middle East regional distribution for GlaxoSmithKline and opening an Pharma hub facility for API in the Dubai Airport Freezone.

Miguel Rodriguez Moreno
Senior Manager Climate Control Products
Qatar Airways Cargo

Miguel has a strong background in operations and commercial management in the aviation and hospitality industries working with companies such as Etihad Airways and Hilton Hotels. He joined Qatar Airways Cargo in December 2019 and is currently responsible for the Climate Control Products’ operational and commercial development, which includes QR Pharma, QR Fresh (Perishables) and QR Live (Live Animals). He was responsible for the IATA CEIV Pharma and Fresh certifications in his previous company and is currently leading the IATA CEIV Pharma certification for Qatar Airways Cargo and its hub in Doha. Miguel is also leading the COVID-19 vaccine readiness plan at Qatar Airways to ensure the safe and secure transportation of the much-awaited vaccine. He holds an MBA from the University of Barcelona and is fluent in English, Spanish, French, Catalan and Italian.

Fitsum Abady
MD Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services
Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services

Mr. Ato Fitsum Abady. MD ET C& LS, joined Ethiopian Airlines in July 1995 as Transportation Agent and has held a number of leadership positions in a number of divisions in the airline including; Ethiopian Cargo, Area Offices and Sales and Marketing.
Currently, Mr. Fitsum is serving Ethiopian as Managing Director at Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services since January 01, 2014. He has also served as Financial & performance Auditor at the office of Auditor General, Junior Transport Agent, Lead Transport Agent, Charter/Lease expert, Sr. Marketing officer Charter/Lease, Manager Cargo Marketing Planning &Charter/Lease, Area Manager India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, Cargo Manager Europe, MD ET Cargo & LS – since Oct. 2013.
He graduated from Addis Ababa University with a BSC Degree in Biology. He earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University with ITM), EMBA from Open University (UK), and leadership courses from: Crotonville compass, New York, and Galillee College, Israel.

Mike Wade
Head of Digital Supply Chain, EMEA South, Middle East and Africa
SAP SE

Mike Wade serves as the General Manager of the Digital Supply Chain business across South Europe, Middle East & Africa region at SAP. Mike is responsible for the Go-To-Market of SAP strategy for the Digital Supply Chain & Industry 4.0 solution portfolio and how this delivers & drives value to our customers across the region through the SAP eco-system. He supports and works direct with many of our customers across the region as well as leading a team of sales specialists who operate in the specific markets across this geography of 75 countries & 6 time zones. He has been based out of the SAP Dubai, UAE office since 2017 & has been with SAP for 9 years. Mike has worked internationally throughout his career with customers across most Industry types and has been in the Supply Chain & Manufacturing business sector for his entire career. Earlier in his career Mike was General Manager for Third Party Logistics providers as well as being the Head of Supply Chain for a UK based global Retailer and Manufacturer. He then moved into the Technology sector focused on end-to-end Supply Chain & Manufacturing.

Dr. Daniella Munene
Chief Executive Officer
Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya

Daniella Munene, CEO, Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, Director, Kenya Healthcare Federation is a health professional with extensive experience in quality assurance, organizational regulatory compliance and health sector advocacy. Daniella has created and managed quality management systems in the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain throughout her career. Armed with a passion for health promotion, education and people empowerment, Daniella has also mobilized the pharmacy profession in Kenya to successfully advocate for change in health policies to ensure enhanced reach of primary healthcare. In this regard she has been part of developing various health policy documents, among them the WHO guideline on self-care interventions for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

David van Turton
CEO
Pharma Logistics Network

David van Turton is currently Director at Cavalier Logistics UK. David has spent more than 20 years in the transport network and logistics sectors, embarking on an exciting career journey that took him to Cavalier Logistics in 2016. A veteran-owned company that was founded in the US in 1985, Cavalier provides full-service logistics solutions to meet today’s demanding environment in the commercial and public sectors. David was hired to build Cavalier’s European presence from its Feltham base, with particular emphasis on providing logistics solutions that support the European pharma and healthcare industries. David is also leading a role as CEO of Pharma Logistics Network Initiative, a premier Pharmaceutical Logistics Network.

James Eason
Cold Chain Advisor
Global Cold Chain Alliance

James Rusty Eason is the President, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director of Chelsea International Cold Storage and Logistics. The company was founded in 2007. He is the Technical Advisor to Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). Prior to this establishing Chelsea, for 18 years, he has held been the Regional General Manager of multiple facilities in the Southern United States for Atlas Cold Storage and Logistics. He has even served as the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Meridian Development Group. As the Cold Chain advisor to GCCA, Eason has worked on several USAID projects throughout Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, where he has helped, train executives in the proper management of Cold Supply Chain Management and Operations of cold storage facilities.

Dr. Eulalie Oga
Chef de projet chargé d'information logistique
Direction de l'Activité Pharmaceutique

Dr OGA Eulalie Bénié GUEHI is currently the Project manager at The Directorate of Pharmaceutical Activity (DAP), Ministry of Health, Cote d’Ivoire. She is in charge of implementing an electronic tool for on-site stock management and logistics information management. Her area of expertise are in supply and stock management of medicines and strategic input, analysis and exploitation of logistics data for decision-making, assessing the performance of a health product supply chain, capacity building for supply chain managers in logistics management and pharmacovigilance, health system operations research and human resources management.

Thorsten Neumann
President & CEO
The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA EMEA)

Thorsten Neumann is the President & CEO of Transported Asset Protection Association. Thorsten has served in a voluntary capacity as Chairman of TAPA’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Association since 2006, alongside his responsibilities as, most recently, Director APS Channel Security & Business Resilience at Microsoft Corporation. Over the last 14 years, he has been part of a TAPA EMEA leadership team which has delivered unprecedented growth and benefits for the Association’s more than 410 member companies and partners in EMEA. A Civil Expert in the NATO Transport Group, Thorsten began his global supply chain security career with Motorola Mobility in 1998, before joining Nokia in 2008 and ultimately holding the post of Director Devices & Retail Supply Chain Security/Business Resilience. In 2015, he joined Microsoft Corporation, holding senior Director posts in Europe and the United States

Dr. Louis Kamulegeya
Projects Manager
The Medical Concierge Group

Dr. Louis H. Kamulegeya holds a master's degree in Public Health with a background in Medicine. My experience spans over 7 years of implementing digital health interventions in public health projects in collaboration with developmental partners, government, and private entities. In addition to coordinating institutional review boards approved scientific studies in the area of Infectious Diseases especially around HIV and Tuberculosis diagnostics. Currently, I am the digital Health Projects Manager at The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG), a leading private digital health company headquartered in Kampala, Uganda with offices in Nigeria and Kenya.

Dr. Catherine Kanari
Clinical Business Lead
AMREF Health Africa

Dr. Catherine Kanari holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) from University of Nairobi and Master of Public Health degree from International University of Leeds UK. She has more than 12 years’ experience in the health sector in Kenya; including working in the public, private and NGO sector. Dr. Kanari joined Amref Health Africa within Amref Enterprises Limited (AEL) as the Clinical Lead. Before joining the Amref Enterprises limited, she worked with PS Kenya as the Technical Service Delivery Lead, where she provided technical oversight on various programs covering private sector, research for development and communication for prevention strategies. Her docket currently includes a novel public private partnership flourishing in Makueni in Kenya with various financing models being explores as well as a consortium program integrating non communicable diseases (diabetes hypertension and cancer) in Meru county with an envisaged scale up in Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Clement Jaidzeka
Technical Program Officer
GHSC-TA Francophone Task Order/Chemonics

Clément Jaidzeka is a technical program officer for USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain-Technical Assistance Francophone Task Order at Chemonics International. Previously, he was part of the global health security team of the Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University that developed and implemented an emergency management training program to strengthen health systems in Guinea after the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. As a global health professional, he has over 15 years’ experience, including as a clinical pharmacy technician in both hospital and retail, and holds a B.S in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland. His interests in public health are in supply chain systems, travel epidemiology and global health security.

Ms. Bisola Asiru
CCO
African Medical Supplies Forum (AMSF)

Former VP at E-commerce unicorn in Africa, with demonstrated experience in building a cross-border marketplace in Nigeria over an 8-year timeline. Now an Entrepreneur-in-training at Janngo, running all commercial and supplier management topics on the Africa Medical Supplies Platform. My educational background is in Computer Science before pivoting to Business Management. I am currently based in Lagos, Nigeria, and enjoy working on pan-African initiatives and projects.

Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu
Director General
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu is the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and was, until January 2018, the Acting Director of the West Africa Regional Centre for Disease Control. Dr. Ihekweazu trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist and has over 20 years’ experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several national public health institutes, including the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the UK’s Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Dr. Ihekweazu has led several short-term engagements for WHO, mainly in response to major infectious disease outbreaks around the world.