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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Dr Ewout van Ginneken is the Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. He was previously Coordinator of the Berlin hub at the Berlin University of Technology.

His expertise is in comparative international health systems research and health policy research. His main interests include health financing, health access, insurance competition, care purchasing, integrated care, cross-border care, and migrants’ access to care. He has published widely on these topics in international peer-reviewed literature and the wider literature. He is a series coordinator of the Health Systems in Transition (HiT) series and has co-authored the HiT template as well as several reviews including on the health care systems of Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States of America.

Before joining the Observatory, Ewout was a senior researcher at the Berlin University of Technology and a 2011–2012 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health. He holds a master’s degree in health policy and administration from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and a PhD in public health from the Berlin University of Technology.

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.

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.