Isabel Afonso
Chief Executive Officer
Isabel became CEO of Arcera Life Sciences in October 2023. She has been named as one of Forbes Middle East’s Top Healthcare Leaders for 2025.
Isabel has strong experience in business turnarounds across private equity (PE)-owned companies, large pharmaceutical corporations, and startups. Prior to Arcera, she led Novartis International’s $20B In-Market Brands portfolio and Business Innovation from Basel. Earlier, she served as General Manager for Novartis Oncology in China, a major company market. Isabel’s leadership experience includes roles such as Chief Commercial Officer at Performance Health, where she led U.S. and international markets and digital transformation, and Head of Global Commercial Operations and Member of the Executive Committee at Sandoz, a $10B Novartis division. Over 18 years at Novartis, she held executive positions in IT, Sales and Marketing, and General Management, across Innovative Medicines, Generics & Biosimilars and Consumer Health.
Isabel earned a computer science engineering degree from Minho University in Portugal and completed INSEAD’s general management and IN-BOARD programs in Singapore and Paris. She also attended executive programs at IMD, Wharton, and Harvard Business Schools. Driven by lifelong learning, Isabel obtained Stanford’s Genetics and Genomics certification in 2021 and completed a Neuroscience for Business course at MIT in 2024.
Sunil Bhilotra
Chief Investment Officer
Sunil Bhilotra is Chief Investment Officer of Arcera. Prior to this role, Sunil was an Executive Director in the Healthcare and Life Sciences team at ADQ focused on building the Life Sciences vertical.
Before moving to ADQ, Sunil spent 10 years as a private equity executive at Investcorp and 10 years in M&A, leverage finance and sponsor coverage at Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital in Europe.
Sunil holds an MBA from London Business School and Bachelor of Commerce and Real Estate from McGill University. He is also a Certified Canadian Chartered Accountant.
Ana Ruibal
Chief Value Creation Officer
Ana Ruibal is the Chief Value Creation Officer at Arcera. Prior to this role, Ana was Chief Corporate Development Officer at SPIMACO, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Before moving to the Middle East, Ana was Business Unit Head at AstraZeneca in Spain. She has also worked at Novartis in senior leadership functional roles in Finance, Strategy, Commercial, Risk and Audit. She started her career in Lifesciences at Schering Plough in France and served several years at Andersen, specializing in Finance and Audit.
Ana holds an MBA from INSEAD, France. She is also a Certified Chartered Account and holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Belgrano in Argentina. She has completed several executive education programs at Harvard Business School and Caledonian University.
Ingrid Eberle
Chief Compliance and Sustainability Officer
Ingrid Eberle is the Chief Compliance and Sustainability Officer at Arcera. Prior to this role, Ingrid was Head of Compliance and Sustainability at Acino.
Ingrid has spent the last 10 years in in-house legal and compliance roles at various life science companies in Switzerland. Prior to this, she worked at several international law firms in the U.S. and Switzerland, in the areas of M&A, corporate finance, corporate governance and litigation.
Ingrid is a U.S. attorney licensed in New York and California. She obtained her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ingrid more recently completed professional certificates in healthcare compliance and business sustainability management from Sciences Po and the University of Cambridge, respectively.
Amin Ben Lakhal
Chief Legal Officer
Amin Ben Lakhal is the Chief Legal Officer of Arcera since October 2024. Prior to this role, Amin was the Assistant General Counsel – International at AstraZeneca and has previously worked in various regional roles with AstraZeneca, Baxter and Hewlett-Packard.
Amin is a member to the New York and Tunisian bars and he holds two Master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the Faculte des Sciences Juridiques Politiques et Sociales de Tunis.
Andrew Crossley
Chief Financial Officer
Andrew Crossley is the Chief Financial Officer at Arcera, bringing extensive experience in finance across the pharmaceutical, medical device, and FMCG sectors.
Prior to joining Arcera, Andrew served as CFO for Johnson & Johnson across the Russia, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey regions. With over two decades at Johnson & Johnson, he has a proven track record of driving business growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions while leading the unification of policies, processes, and information technology systems.
Andrew is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). He holds a Master’s degree from the University of Leeds, UK, and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics. Additionally, Andrew is a certified Process Excellence Black Belt with a specialization in process re-engineering.
Samir El Nasharty
Chief TechOps Officer
Samir El Nasharty is the Chief TechOps Officer at Arcera. Previously, he served as Chief Operations Officer at Acino, where he oversaw Global Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Corporate Quality, and B2B. Since joining Acino in February 2022, Samir has demonstrated strong transformational leadership and a clear strategic vision, driving significant improvements in the efficiency of Acino’s Global TechOps organization.
With over 20 years of international experience in OTC, innovative medicines, generics, and cell and gene therapy, Samir brings extensive expertise to Arcera. His career includes leadership roles in renowned organizations such as Novartis and GSK, with a focus on global supply chain and technical operations across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
Samir holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a Master’s in International Business Administration, Global Management.
Monica Pinto
Chief of Staff
Monica Pinto is the Chief of Staff at Arcera. Before joining Arcera, Monica worked as Chief Finance Officer and Chief Operations Officer in two private equity firms Appian Capital Advisory and Apis Partners based in London and served on several Boards of Directors.
Monica has over 20 years of leadership experience across private equity, banking, strategy consulting, and consumer goods, working for organizations ranging from start-ups to global multinational companies, including Procter & Gamble, across Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She led multi-functional teams through strategic initiatives to drive accelerated growth, operational excellence, and digital transformation.
Monica holds an MBA from INSEAD, France, and a degree in Computer Science Engineering from Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal.
Muhanna Al Nuaimi
Chief People Officer
Muhanna Al Nuaimi is Chief People Officer of Arcera. Prior to joining in June 2025, he served as Group Chief People & Culture Officer at MAIR Group, based in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
In his role as Chief Human Capital Officer at International Capital Trading until 2024, Muhanna led a comprehensive HR transformation agenda, integrating cutting-edge digital solutions to enhance employee experience and operational efficiency. During 2015 to 2023, Muhanna has held various senior HR leadership roles at TAQA, TAPCO, and Aldar Properties, managing large-scale talent frameworks and implementing progressive HR policies across complex, multinational organizations.
An Emirati citizen, Muhanna holds a bachelor’s degree in HR Management, with extensive executive education in leadership, digital HR, and corporate governance.
Jaap Kalkman
Chairman of the Board
Dr. Jaap Kalkman is Chief Investment Officer at ADQ. He is responsible for identifying compelling investment opportunities, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and restructuring efforts, across the Energy & Utilities, Sustainable Manufacturing, and Healthcare & Life Sciences clusters. He develops and implements unique investment strategies that foster the growth of thriving clusters with an expanding global presence, generating returns for ADQ and contributing to strengthening the Emirate’s economic resilience in alignment with government priorities.
He serves as a board member of Etihad Aviation Group. Before assuming his current role, Dr. Jaap held the position of Chief Transformation Officer at ADQ, overseeing new ventures, digital transformation and portfolio optimization.
With over 25 years of experience in management consulting and private equity, he has served as Managing Partner and Global Head of Energy and Utilities at Arthur D. Little. Additionally, he was Partner for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Roland Berger. His extensive professional journey includes roles as Director and Head of Infrastructure Investments in Bahrain and Singapore at Arcapita, as well as Managing Partner at McKinsey & Company in the Philippines and Bahrain.
Dr. Jaap holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, where he also attained degrees in general philosophy, physics and mathematics.
Milad Hadziabdic
Member of the Board
Milad Hadziabdic is the Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at ADQ. Prior to ADQ, Milad was a Managing Director in Mergers & Acquisitions Investment Banking at Citigroup for over 16 years in both New York and London. At Citigroup, he led M&A advisory efforts for the Healthcare Services sector in the US and for the Industrials sector across EMEA.
Prior to Citigroup, Milad spent 7 years at General Electric, in engineering and finance roles, most recently managing finance for a division of GE Transportation Systems.
Milad holds an MBA (Honors) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Grove City College, USA.
Hamda Eid AlMheiri
Member of the Board
Hamda Eid AlMheiri is the Executive Director of Government and Sovereign Relations at ADQ. In her role, Hamda oversees the organization’s interactions with senior government stakeholders across local, state and federal jurisdictions. Her responsibilities include the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive strategic framework to govern all organizational initiatives and engagements.
She also exercises authority over ADQ’s collaboration with industry advocates, aiming to leverage areas of mutual interest, while ensuring the continuous monitoring of relevant government activities globally.
Hamda currently serves as a board member of Etihad Airways, Presight AI, SHUAA Capital, and Arcera, a global holding company in the life sciences sector formed by ADQ.
Her professional career encompasses roles with the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, where she served as a Project Manager responsible for financial policy and efficiency, and the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, where she worked as a Financial Policy and Efficiency Specialist. Prior to these, Hamda held the position of Manager of Commercial Analysis for the Strategy and Planning department at Etihad Airways.
She holds a Master’s degree in Global Affairs and Diplomatic Leadership from the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, a Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School and is also an alumna of the Georgetown Leadership Seminar.
Abdullah Tahlak
Member of the Board
Abdullah Tahlak is an experienced investment manager overlooking ADQ’s Healthcare & Life Sciences cluster. He is a founding member of ADQ’s Life Sciences team where he co-developed asset allocation strategies, led key asset management activities, as well as led various business development activities, including sourcing investment opportunities, due diligence, closing processes and government-to-government partnerships across various geographies.
Prior to joining ADQ, Abdullah served as an investment professional within Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity team.
Abdullah holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Finance from the American University of Sharjah and has completed executive education programs at the Yale School of Management.