Igor Fisch, PhD, Chairman of the Board
Dr. Igor Fisch co-founded Selexis SA in March 2001 and has been the company’s Chairman and CEO since its inception. Igor grew the company, reaching its break-even point in 2005 to a profitable service and licensing business based on it proprietary technology. Igor brings the company his extensive network amongst key decision makers in the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industry and has a demonstrated track record for executing major licensing deals in the industry worldwide.
Igor is a member of the Board of Directors of Affitech A/S, a biopharmaceutical company listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen, dedicated to the discovery and development of human antibody based therapeutics. He co-founded BioXpress SA, a provider of high-quality biosmilars. and sits on its Advisory Board. He previously was a Board Member of Viroblock SA, a company that he helped create, which is developing a unique range of proprietary anti-viral products. Igor is on the board of the Venture kick initiative, which provides support and funding to translate promising business ideas from Swiss Universities into start-up companies.
An accomplished protein chemist and molecular biologist, Igor previously was a professor at the Center for Biotechnology at the University of Lausanne and the EPFL. He obtained his PhD under the direction of Professor Robin Offord at the University of Geneva and pursued his post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Prof. Sir Gregory Winter at the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge, UK. In parallel to his research and teaching activities, Igor obtainedseveral awards including the De Vigier Prize and the NETS Best Prize.
Nicolas Mermod, Prof., director
Nicolas Mermod is Professor of Biotechnology at Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne. After completing his post-doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkley, USA, he joined the University of Lausanne as an assistant Professor of the Swiss National Science Foundation to become a full professor in the Department of Biology. Nicolas exerts teaching and research activities, heading a laboratory of over 20 scientists at the Center for Biotechnology UNIL-EPFL. He has gained a reputation in the field of molecular biology and the control of gene expression and he has authored a number of scientific publications and patents.
Peter Pfister, PhD, director
After completing his PhD in economics at the University of Basel in Switzerland, he held several positions in General management and finance in Switzerland, France and in the USA. Peter Pfister is a former CFO of Adecco SA, a publicly traded company with sales of CHF 25 billion. He also served as President of Adecco North America and President of Adecco’s Professional Staffing and Services Division. Peter is now a consultant and a private investor.
Gian-Luigi Berini, director & entrepreneur
Gian-Luigi became a board member in April 2005. He is managing a technology based start-up company, active in the Life Science Industry. In addition, Gian-Luigi is the Director of FONGIT, Geneva’s hi-tech business incubator. In this capacity, he represents the CTN, Fongit’s Seed-Money Fund, and the Fongit on the board of directors of Selexis. Gian-Luigi spent more than 10 years as line- and general manager in multinational companies such as Alusuisse. Gian-Luigi studied economy at the University of Zurich, his expertise is in the field of Sales & Marketing, Organization and General Management.
