Isabel Afonso is the Chief Executive Officer of Arcera. Prior to this role, Isabel was the Head of In-Market Brands and Business Innovation for Novartis International based in Basel, Switzerland.
Before moving to HQ, she was the General Manager in China for Novartis Oncology, a major focus market for Novartis. Until the beginning of 2021, Isabel served as the Chief Commercial Officer at Performance Health, a private equity owned company.
Between 2002 and 2018, she held multiple business and functional leadership roles in Novartis.
Isabel holds a degree in Computer Science Engineering from Minho University, Portugal. She has also completed a General Management Program at INSEAD, as well as executive education programs at IMD Business School in Switzerland, Wharton, and Harvard Business School in the USA. Her most recent certification was obtained at Stanford Medical School in the USA, specializing in genetics and genomics, including cancer biology.
Dr. Andrew Bird serves as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Acino. With over 25 years of experience, he has an exceptional track record in developing effective strategies to bring medication to high-potential markets and delivering growth. Alongside the Executive Committee and Global Leadership Team, he continues to co-determine Acino’s strategy and execute our growth plan independently.
Before assuming this role, he served as the Head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa for the company. Prior to Acino, he held various senior leadership positions at the global biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb.
Dr. Bird holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in Cranfield, a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of York and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
Faik Somer has been the Chief Executive Officer of Birgi Mefar Group (BMG) since 2019. With over 35 years of experience in the healthcare sector, he brings a wealth of expertise to his role. Prior to joining BMG, Faik spent more than 25 years at Merck & Co., culminating in his tenure as the President of the Central Eastern, Middle Eastern, and African Region.
Following his time at Merck & Co., Faik founded Genova Pharma in Turkey, subsequently selling the company to Polpharma. He then served as a board member at Polpharma for three years. Additionally, he has held board memberships in several health associations, including the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the Turkish American Businessmen Association and the Foreign Capital Association. He has also contributed to various healthcare commissions within the European Community.
Since assuming the role at BMG, he has been instrumental in implementing change, transformation, and growth strategies within the organization.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Istanbul University and an Executive MBA from Harvard University in the USA.
With over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Heshmat’s professional career includes years with Novartis where he started his career in manufacturing & packaging.
He then worked for Boehringer Mannheim in Saudi Arabia followed by Hoechst Egypt, Aventis Algeria and Sanofi Egypt as the Industrial Affairs Head.
He held the post of Country Industrial Affairs Head for Sanofi Egypt and Saudi Arabia for over 15 years till he joined Amoun in 2020 as VP Technical Operations then appointed as Interim CEO in September 2024.
Dr. Heshmat holds a BSc in Pharmaceutical Science from Cairo University and an MBA in Business Administration & Corporate Management
Sunil Bhilotra is the Chief Investment Officer at 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 is the Chief Value Creation Officer at Arcera. Prior to this role, Ana was the 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.
A native Spanish speaker, Ana is also fluent in English and French. She has worked and lived in 5 continents across USA, Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
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 is the Chief Compliance and Sustainability Officer at Arcera. Prior to this role, Ingrid was the head of the Compliance and Sustainability function at Acino, one of the Arcera businesses headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland with operations spanning 4 regions.
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 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.
Amin speaks English, French and Arabic.
