Igor Fisch, PhD, Chairman of the Board
Dr. Igor Fisch was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Selexis SA in March 2001. He is the founder of Selexis and served as the Chairman and CEO since its inception. He grew the company from 1 to 20 people making the company break-even in 2005. The company operates a profitable service and licensing business based on IP-protected technology platforms.
Dr Fisch is an accomplished protein chemist and molecular biologist. Dr Fisch completed his post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Prof. Sir Gregory Winter at the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge, UK. Dr Fisch joined then the Center for Biotechnology UNIL-EPFL in Lausanne Switzerland as an assistant professor, working in the field of molecular evolution and peptide discovery.
In parallel to his research and teaching activities, Dr Fisch obtained many awards: the De Vigier Prize and the NETS Best Prize. Dr Fisch also had training in entrepreneurship at the EPFL and at the Babson college. Dr Fisch sits on the board of the Venture kick initiative that allows young entrepreneurs in Switzerland to access their initial money to create their own venture. Dr Fisch also sits on the Board of Director of Viroblock SA.
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 Mermod 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 Pfister 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.