Meet Our Mentors, Lecturers and Coaches

Mentors

OA Mentors are highly skilled and experienced professionals guiding and supporting the startups throughout challenging acceleration phase. However, at the OA we see mentoring also as a two-way partnership between parties with different levels of experience. It provides invaluable opportunity for both parties to learn about themselves and each other and to grow in their professional field. Very often the relationship built during the OA program continues also afterwards, as mentors frequently join the startup in an official advisory role.

Alessio Ascari

CEO of GenomSys SA

CEO of GenomSys SA, a Swiss company focused on developing state-of-the-art technologies and services for genomic data processing. Also President & Founder of A&A Digital SA, advising on digital health both startups and large corporates, as well as on BTL marketing and consumer behavior telecom players mainly in emerging markets. In summer 2020, orchestrated Amicomed, Inc.’s sale, the company he founded in 2012 and from which stepped back in 2016. Amicomed offers Digital Therapeutics to help people manage and reduce blood pressure without adding medications, via a CE-marked medical device Class IIa software and a fully automated lifestyle improvement program. Until 2012, Senior Partner in McKinsey & Company, Inc., with focus on Technology and Telecommunications globally. He developed a multi-year experience on greenfield business building, new services/devices go-to-market, in Europe and Emerging Markets, as well on the impact of new technology on consumer behavior. In this context, in 2009-2012 he founded and led the Firm’s Global mHealth Initiative, partnership between Healthcare and Telecom, Media & Technology practices, on the impact of new technologies on Healthcare delivery, He holds a ME Summa cum Laude from Polytechnic of Milan, Italy, and a MBA with Distinction (Henry Ford II Prize) from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Sajni Chotai

Corporate Development Associate at Huma Therapeutics

Corporate Development Associate at Huma Therapeutics responsible for strategic partnerships, finance and M&A. Background of 3+ years in M&A and Corporate Advisory at Evercore and HSBC.

Paolo Crivelli

VP Client Services at Ismar Healthcare

Paolo leads the Ismar Healthcare NV Global Client Services Team that supports Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and IVD companies, extracting relevant science data and the clinical experience of thought leaders, to drive appropriate adoption and market penetration of new technologies. He also covers the Role of Administrator of Ismar Healthcare Italy S.r.l. Previous experience as Corporate Vice President Strategic Marketing in DiaSorin, a Global Diagnostic Specialist company, Paolo was based in Italy and in USA and executed more than 30 assay launches in Infectious Disease, Bone & Mineral, Hypertension. In Medtronic, the world N1 medical device player, Paolo held EU and EEMEA Head of Marketing Positions, restructuring MKTG Teams in Gastro-Uro and in Neuro, executing launches in the Neurological Division. In Yamanouchi/Astellas as Business Unit Manager, launched and grew Omnic (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), reaching Market Leadership in Italy. As Europe Brand Director based in the Netherlands, with a newly developed European Brand Team sustained Omnic European Leadership. For Boehringer Mannheim in Italy, managed drugs such as Aulin (N1 NSAID) and Laevolac (Hepatic Encephalopathy). Paolo holds a Degree in Pharmacy at Università degli Studi di Pavia and a Postgraduate course in Leadership Capabilities at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Thibaud Eckenschwiller

Head of Strategic Operations at Zambon SpA

Thibaud joined Zambon from Ipsen where he was President and Managing Director of the Italian branch. Under his tenure the affiliate underwent a cultural transformation that led to a sales growth acceleration, putting Ipsen among the leading companies in terms of growth in Italy, successfully launching three new oncology products over the last two years. Besides, between 2015 and 2018, Thibaud was President of Club Santé Italie, a Think Tank whose members are 40 leading French healthcare companies operating in Italy (cumulative sales approx. 3bn € with 10,000 employees in Italy). Before moving to Italy, Thibaud led also the Spanish affiliate, increasing profitability and market share during the Country's worst economic crisis. Thibaud had the opportunity to actively participate to Ipsen's transformation, joining in 2003 to prepare for the IPO at first, and then to develop the emerging markets (Latin America, Middle East and South East Asia), contributing to its international development as well as to the growth of its Specialty Care business. Previously, he spent 12 years at Novartis, in Switzerland, Denmark and Italy where he had increasing responsibilities in Finance. Thibaud graduated in Biochemistry from the ETH Zurich. He is French National and fluently speaks French, Italian, English, Spanish and German. He is French Foreign Trade Advisor since 2016, nominated by the French Prime Minister.

Michele Gaiotto

CEO of HTH, Health Technology Holding

Michele is currently CEO of HTH (Health Technology Holding), a Venture Capital Investment company dedicated to life sciences. The company invests in early/mid stage companies with breakthrough innovation in Life Sciences. He sits in various biotech/medtech companies Board of Directors. Previously, he was responsible for Life Science Venture Investments for Secofind, a leading Family Office backed by pharmaceuticals entrepreneurs. Michele has a MSc in Statistics and is a CFA Charterholder.

Christoph Gugl

CEO at Evoleen

Chris is a digital healthcare pioneer with proven international track record in creating and building next generation innovations. Passionate and creative out-of-the-box entrepreneur coaching high performing startups

Yinka Makinde

Head of Innovation

Yinka is an experienced healthcare and technology Leader, Entrepreneur, and ex Pharmacist. With a demonstrable track record in programme management; innovation strategy and delivery in healthcare; partnerships development [domestic and international]; healthcare policy; building innovation ecosystems; leadership education; and digital health market evaluation. Now Head of Innovation at NHSX, she spent 4 years as Programme Director at DigitalHealth.London (DH.L). Prior to this she led a number of quality improvement projects for Imperial College Health Partners, one of the founding partners of DH.L. Yinka has spent more than 25 years in healthcare. She has held both delivery and business development leadership roles in global IT outsourcing consultancies – Accenture and CSC. Yinka practiced as a front-line Pharmacist for 12 years across England, Singapore and Australia. Working within primary care, acute care, mental health and pharma.

Luca Ravagnan

CEO and co-founder of WISE Srl

Luca Ravagnan is the CEO and co-founder of WISE Srl (www.wiseneuro.com). He holds a PhD in Physics (2005 – University of Milan) and an MBA (2018 – SDA Bocconi). He has long-term experience in basic and applied research in the field of nanotechnology. He developed and patented the innovative technology on which the activity of WISE is based. Since 2011 he received numerous Italian and international innovation awards, among them the “TR35-Joung Italian Innovators Award 2011”, the “Start Cup Milano Lombardia Award 2011”, the “Sapio Prize for the Italian Research 2012”, the “Up Start Paolo Traci Award 2013”, the “Bocconi Start-up Day Award 2015” and the "Medtech Innovation Challenge Award 2017” by Assobiomedica. From 2019 he is member of the Management Board of the Lombardy’s Life Sciences Cluster.