Speakers

Dr Natalia Allué is the Medical Director of the Fundació Sanitària Mollet. She is a specialist in Preventive Medicine and Public Health with extensive experience in data analysis and clinical management, master in Public Health and Clinical Documentation. She has experience in Health Management focused on the analysis of databases, clinical documentation, dashboards and the creation of indicators always linked to the improvement of healthcare quality.

She is enthusiastic about continuous improvement, methodology and quality, always seeking to add value. She likes multidisciplinarity and teamwork. She has always worked surrounded by people with diverse and varied profiles, considering that they are basic pillars for good management. She complements her work with a teaching role at the university, serving as an adjunct professor in Medicine and a Master of Clinical Management.

François Braun is an emergency physician and the former French Minister for Health Care and Prevention.

A pioneer, he contributed to the recognition of the emergency department as a medical specialty. He practiced for about twenty years in Verdun. In 2010, he was appointed Head of the Emergency Department of the CHR of Metz-Thionville, in Moselle. In 2014, he was elected president of the union SAMU – Urgences de France. He was then re-elected in February 2020.

In 2022, he was appointed Minister of Health and Prevention. A few weeks earlier, Emmanuel Macron entrusted him with a ‘flash mission’ aimed at establishing the state of emergency services in France and finding appropriate solutions. All of its 41 proposals were accepted by the government.

Agnès has senior expertise in corporate reputation, sensitive issues management and financial transactions. She has been advising a large number of public and private companies or institutions on corporate positioning, crisis situation and leadership position, with a special focus on industrial, healthcare and energy sectors.

She opened the Brunswick Paris Office in 2000. Prior to this position, Agnès was deputy head of communication for a worldwide steel producer. She previously worked as international director and senior consultant for a large consulting and advertising firm, after having spent two years in the department of an established merchant bank (HSBC).

Agnès holds a PhD in modern literature, a degree in Modern Arts and is a graduate of the INSEAD Business School’s International Marketing Program. She speaks English and Spanish and has a good knowledge of German.

Montserrat Codina is Project Lead at the Center for Research in Healthcare Innovation Management at IESE Business School since 2016 where she leads and coordinates several training and health innovation projects.

Her fields of interests are new innovative education models and concepts and how training, capacity building and skills development is to be adapted in the health sector to foster innovation and its adoption. She has previous experience in biomedical research (UAB, Barcelona; TUM, Munich; IMIM, Barcelona), in project management in the area of international training programmes (IDIBAPS, Barcelona) and in competitive funding for European and national health research projects (European Research Projects Office and Project Development Unit– Fundació Clínic).

Montserrat holds a PhD in Biology by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and has been Adjunct Faculty at Universitat de Barcelona-Hospital Clinic Campus for 10 years.

Prof Katarzyna Czabanowska is Professor at the International Health Department of Maastricht University and Fellow at the UK Faculty of Public Health. She directs Governance and Leadership in European Public Health programme. Her research focus is on public health workforce development, public health leadership, competence-based education and training, identification of skill gaps between the job market and taught curricula. She is the President of the Association of the Schools of Public Health in the European region (ASPHER). She serves as a WHO expert in the area of Public Health Leadership and public health workforce development and planning.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University and a joint Master’s degree in Health Economics and Management from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Oslo, University of Bologna and Management Centre Innsbruck. A former paramedic, Zach is interested in the delivery of emergency health services and health system considerations for underserved regions and populations.

Nicola joined Brunswick as a Partner in the Cybersecurity, Data & Privacy practice in 2022. She has worked on hundreds of cyber security incidents and has deep expertise in cybersecurity issues and crisis management across both the public and private sector. Prior to joining Brunswick, she was a member of the Executive Board at GCHQ and Director of Policy at the National Cyber Security Centre, having joined the centre as one of the founding Directors in 2016.

Previous to this, she was the Head of the UK Prime Minister’s Office, managing day-to-day business during a period of 2 referendums and 2 general elections. Her other government role was as Head of Government Strategic Communications for the Government Olympic Committee. Before joining government, Nicola was Head of Communications at the business risk consultancy Control Risks Group and before this Head of Government Relations at Camelot during licence
renewal.

Nicola brings a wealth of experience in crisis and reputational management, having coordinated the cyber communications response for FTSE250, NYSE, and NASDAQ-listed companies and critical infrastructure across a broad range of sectors and geographies.

Prof Catherine Keller is a hospital director and doctor in health law. She has held various positions in public health establishments (Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Mental Health). She led a large inter-hospital cooperation project. Before joining the EHESP to teach hospital law, she also worked as an administrative magistrate, in charge of hospital litigation.

Prof Todorka Kostadinova was born on 20 October 1960 in Dobrich, where she graduated from ‘Geo Milev’ Language High School, German and English Language Teaching. She has two Master’s degrees from the University of Economics – Varna (Economics and Pedagogics) and a PhD from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia (2001). The title of her dissertation thesis is ‘Opportunities for Portfolio Management of Medical Institutions’.

Her academic career has been further developed by successive appointments as an Extraordinary Associate Professor at the Department of Economics and Health Care Management at MU-Varna (2002), Associate Professor of the same Department (2003) and Professor – in 2012 in the scientific speciality ‘Organisation and Management outside the Sphere of Material Production’. She has two specialities in the field of healthcare: ‘Health Economics’ (2005) and ‘Medical Informatics and Health Management’ (2006).

She delivered lectures as a guest lecturer in a Master’s Programme in Health Management at the University in Bern, Switzerland (2005 – 2006) and Medical University – Vienna (2009-2011). From 2008 to 2011 she was a member of an international research team at Berkeley University, after specialising in Leadership in healthcare at the same University (Global Health Leadership Forum at Berkeley, www.ghlf.org).

She has specialised in the following areas: Hospital Management at the University Hospitals in  Zurich and Bern, Switzerland, Restructuring and Organisation of University Education in Health Management at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands and the University of Manchester, the UK; Health Policy, Financing and Management in Healthcare at George Washington University and Georgetown University, the USA (2003-2004). After her specialisation, she was elected member of the academic staff of the Department of Global Health at the University of George Washington (2004-2009).

Within the period 2009 – 2013, Prof Kostadinova combines academic work with management positions at various levels as a parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Health (2009), Deputy Minister of Health (2009 – 2010), a member of the Control Board (2009) and Supervisory Board (2010) of the National Health insurance Fund (NHIF), Sofia, a coordinator for Bulgaria of the International Network for Health in South-Eastern Europe (2009-2010), a member of the National Commissions and Committees on European Politics – at the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Bulgaria, on ethnic issues – at the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Chairman of the National Council on Food Safety at the Ministry of Health (2009-2010), Deputy Minister for International Cooperation, Public Health, including work with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, European programmes and projects, Electronic Healthcare.

In March 2011, she was elected Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at MU-Varna and remained in this position for a year, and since March 2012 she has been a Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Accreditation and Quality.​​​

Prof Federico Lega, PhD, is a Full Professor of Health Administration at the Public Health Department at Milan University, where he runs all courses in healthcare management and policy for medical students and leads the Research Centre in Health Administration (HEAD).

He is also a Professor at SDA Bocconi School of Management (SDA) where he teaches courses in Public Management and Health Services Management. He leads the research in strategy and organisational development in healthcare at the Bocconi Research Center on Health Policy and Management (CERGAS). From 2007 to 2014 he has been the Head of executive education for health managers, clinicians and medical industry leaders at the Bocconi School of Management (SDA).

Since 2015, he is acting as Editor in Chief of the journal Health Services Management Research, Associate Editor of BMC Health Services Research and Medical Care Research Review. He has published eight books and over 150 articles in journals.

As a consultant, he has advised health systems on health policy matters and governance issues, several hospitals and networks in re-organisations, strategy-making processes, value-based approaches, economic evaluations, and process management, both at the national and international level.

In the last ten years, he has advised several companies in the medical industry on their transformation toward value-based models and on the development of effective market-access initiatives. Since 2002 he has coordinated over fifteen initiatives of duality or study tours, involving the exchange of managers and senior clinicians between countries (Italy, UK, USA, Germany and France). He currently sits on the boards of hospitals and local health authorities, advises health departments of regions, national health agencies and insurances, and works as a consultant for WHO.

Charlotte Marchandise is the Executive Director of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and the EPH Conference. She is an international expert and trainer in Health in All Policies, with a keen focus on global and urban health. Her experience spans participation, empowerment, and governance, highlighting her commitment to creating inclusive and healthy communities. With over two decades of dedication to the associative world, from capacity building to advocacy, she has contributed to public health policy and practice. From 2014 to 2020, Marchandise was the elected Deputy Mayor of Rennes for Health, and President of the French WHO Healthy Cities Network and political Chair of the European Network, where she promoted healthier environments through innovative and sustainable public health strategies. She also worked as consultant to the WHO in fostering intersectoral collaborations for enhanced health equity and evidence-based decisions.

Laurène Mathey is Director of Projects at EHMA. She oversees the portfolio of European projects and EHMA’s staff involvement in them, coordinating various communication, policy, and research missions on a broad range of topic topics from cancer prevention to digital skills development for healthcare professionals.

As a member of the Senior Management Team, she participates in EHMA’s organisational and management aspects, working collectively on the association association’s development. Laurène brings on board her expertise in managing European projects and networks, particularly with EU4Health, Horizon Europe and Erasmus + funds.

Prof. Dr. Mirella Minkman is distinguished Professor of Innovation of organization and governance of integrated long term care (Vilans Chair) and Director Research and Innovation at Vilans. She has extensive experience in the field of health care organization, collaboration issues and change processes. Her research focuses on how to organize and govern person centered and integrated care and welfare in our highly dynamic environment. As the health and welfare domain is a subject to structural changes and transformation, clients, professionals and boards are correspondingly confronted with challenges that have become increasingly complex. Mirella Minkman’s studies focus on what ingredients are essential and present in the organization and the government of integrated care, how they can interact and develop over time and what innovative concepts are possible and effective.

Mirella Minkman studied nursing at the HAN University of Applied Sciences, followed by Health Sciences at Maastricht University. In 2012 she obtained her PhD from Erasmus University with research in the integrated chain of care field, for which she won the EHMA/Karolinska Research award. Before becoming Program Leader of Innovation and Research at Vilans, Minkman worked as Program Leader in Elder Care at Vilans, led large scale implementation programs such as Zorg voor Beter and the National Dementia Program, and worked for the Dutch Institute for Healthcare Improvement CBO and in the Radboud University Medical Center. Alongside her position at Vilans, she is a supervisor at the Inovum Foundation and Board Editor for the International Journal for Integrated Care, among other things. Minkman is author and co-author of seven books in the field of health care and has publications in a range of professional literature, including internationally.

Federica Morandi is Professor of Management at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Faculty of Economics, Department of Management Studies. She obtained a Ph.D. in Economic and Management of Healthcare Organizations, at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Since 2020 she is the Director of the Academic Programs in Altems (Graduate School of Economic and Management of healthcare systems) at the same university.  She is also Responsible for the research activities of Patient Advocacy Associations Lab and Clinical Trial Management Lab at Altems.

She received two awards for research activities from the Academy of Management (2011) and from the Assioa (Italian association of organization studies), (2010).

She has been a visiting scholar (short term) at ISCTE-IUL Lisbon (Portugal) and at the Tillburg University (Holland) at the Department of Organization Studies- School of Social Behavioural Sciences.

Her research interests focus both on organizational models in healthcare and on healthcare workforce.

Federica Morandi co-authored more than 30 scientific papers both in international and national peer-reviewed journals and about 10 book chapters. She is also author of a monography entitled “Managerial solutions to hospital challenges” edited by Nova Science Publishers, 2016.

Federica Morandi is coeditor of a book series dedicated to the healthcare management and she is associate editor at Health Service Management Research journal.

Federica Morandi has given a large number of presentations at International and National Conferences.

Dr Antoni Peris-Grao is CEO at CASAP – Consorci Castelldefels Agents de Salut, a public consortium running a Primary Care Team and a Primary Care Emergency Unit, whose aim is to provide a highly resolutive and top-quality primary care health services. CASAP works not only on the clinical side but also on the organisation, leading projects and looking for team cohesion through different strategies.

Dr Peris Grao is a Medical Doctor with a specialisation in Family and Community Medicine. He holds a Master in Public Health; a degree in Quality Management; and a degree on Primary Care Management. He is Member of scientific and organising committees for CAMFIC and EFPC, and Member of Bsalut, an association for Research on Innovation and Managing in Health Services.

Jaume Ribera is Emeritus Professor in the Operations, Information and Technology Management Department and Director of the Center for Research in Healthcare Innovation Management at IESE Business School in Barcelona.

He holds an M.Sc and a Ph.D. in Mathematical System Theory from the University of Florida and an Dr. Eng. in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He has hold visiting positions in China, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Kenya, etc.

He has been active in consultancy in supply chain management, project management, and health management with private and public companies in different industries. He serves on the board of several charities, public entities, and private companies.

Since the end of the 1990s, Isabelle Richard has developed a professional career both anchored in teaching and research, and focused on public policy. Very involved in academia as a university professor and hospital practitioner (PU-PH) in physical medicine and rehabilitation, she also puts her expertise in the fields of disability, training of health professionals, administration and educational innovation to the service of several national councils and committees. Advisor in charge of health and training issues to the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Mrs. Frédérique Vidal, from 2017 to 2019, Isabelle Richard held the position of First Vice-President of the University of Angers in charge of equality since March 2020. On 14 October 2022, Isabelle Richard was appointed Director of the School of Advanced Studies in Public Health (EHESP).

Alexis Strader is a seasoned public health professional with over fourteen years of experience across the public and private sectors.

Currently, as Director of Policy and Research at the European Health Management Association (EHMA), she leads the policy and research team and serves on the senior leadership team, where she brings her passion for EU policy and research to the forefront. Known for her strategic vision, project management expertise, and consensus-building skills, Alexis drives impactful initiatives to address systemic public health challenges. Committed to collaboration and innovation, she is dedicated to tackling systemic challenges in public health management to drive better outcomes for communities.

She holds dual Master’s degrees in Business Administration and International Development from American University.

Patrick began working as Research and Development Manager in July 2023, having previously worked at the ILC between August 2020 and March 2023 as a researcher.

Patrick has over five years’ experience working on UK and European health policy matters, working previously for Leukaemia UK and the Brussels-based Coalition for Life Course Immunisation. He also worked as a Public Affairs Assistant for Airbus during a university placement year, as part of his BSc in Politics with Creative Writing from the University of Surrey.

Patrick is keen to deliver meaningful policy change by engaging with policymakers and relevant stakeholders in the UK and across the globe. His work on the ILC’s Pneumococcal Vaccination Atlas has been published on the UN’s Decade of Healthy Ageing website. He has also been quoted in national newspapers and outlets, including Stylist Magazine for his views on healthy ageing and physical activity, and in the Independent on mental health support for older adults.

Suntka specializes in transformation and change communications, crisis and cybersecurity, and corporate positioning. She has many years of experience in strategic corporate communications and advises boards and top-level executives of global corporations in critical situations and on strategic questions.

She has worked with clients on international communications projects across a broad range of sectors, including Healthcare, Automotive, Energy, Industrials and TMT. Leading Brunswick’s cybersecurity practice in Germany, she works with Brunswick’s global cyber crisis team on many cross-border crisis management mandates.

Suntka has a broad experience in the development of corporate communication strategies and implementation. Prior to joining Brunswick in 2016 she worked in the media industry for more than 10 years and served as spokesperson for the Bertelsmann Group.

Marit Tanke, M.D., Ph.D., is head of Strategy & Innovation at cVGZ, health insurer, in the Netherlands. Previously, she served as deputy chief of the Celsus Academy of Sustainable Health Care, a collaboration of the VWS Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, with a research portfolio focused on outcome measurement and value-based purchasing strategies, health policy, healthcare reform, reimbursement design, and large-scale healthcare transformations. In 2016-2017, she was a Commonwealth Fund Dutch Harkness/VWS Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice.  From 2010-2015, she was a Manager at KPMG Healthcare NL and the KPMG Global Center of Excellence, where she worked on a number of large-scale initiatives, including the development of a nation-wide program on outcome based measurements using Patient-Reported Outcome Measures. She was member of the Dutch National ThinkTank in 2008 and worked at the pediatric department of the Haga-hospital in The Hague. She received a medical degree, as well as a Ph.D. in biological psychiatry in a joint program at the University Medical Center Groningen.

Florian Tille is a member of the Observatory’s London hub and is based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

His work focuses on evidence-informed health policy and health care for strengthening health systems in Europe, and particularly on the Observatory’s analytical pillar on health systems innovation and the way organizational change is adopted (or not). He supports country monitoring (particularly Balkan countries) and contributes to knowledge brokering with evidence briefings and policy dialogues.

Florian is also central to the collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO), Division of Country Health Policies and Systems and is bringing inputs and evidence in the areas of health systems performance and governance, with a focus on essential health services.

Prior to joining the Observatory, Florian was a Junior Professional Officer with the Integrated Health Services Department at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, working on quality of care, health services resilience, emergency preparedness and response. Before that, he worked at the International Department of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health, as well as with the country’s National Association of Physicians.

Florian holds a doctorate in public health from the Charité Medical University in Berlin, a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and a BA from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Gemma Williams is a member of the Observatory’s London hub and is based at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Matthias Wismar is a Programme Manager at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies based in Brussels. His work focuses on health policy, politics and governance, the health workforce, European integration and intersectoral action and the Sustainable Development Goals. He is developing studies, policy briefs, rapid responses and face-to-face dissemination and knowledge brokering formats, including policy dialogues, evidence briefings and webinars. Dr Matthias Wismar holds a PhD in Political Science from Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.

Louis is an Associate in Brunswick’s London office and is the EMEA practice manager for the firm’s Cyber team. He joined Brunswick in 2019 and has supported several multi-national clients on a broad range of issues including navigating geopolitical tensions, crisis response and preparation, cybersecurity, global reputation, issues management, and financial situations.