Speakers - Brussels


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Chair
 
 
 
Andrew Jack
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Correspondent
Financial Times
 
Andrew Jack is a journalist with the Financial Times, currently based in London. Mr Jack joined the newspaper in 1990, and worked as a correspondent in London, Paris and Moscow. Since 2005, he has covered pharmaceuticals and healthcare. He is author of the books Inside Putin's Russia (Granta/Oxford University Press, 2005) and The French Exception (Profile Books/Editions Odile Jacob, 2001). He graduated from Cambridge University, studied at Harvard University and worked for New York City Government and as a freelance consultant and writer before joining the FT. 
 
Keynotes
 
  
Gerard Kleisterlee
President and CEO
Royal Philips Electronics
 
Gerard Kleisterlee is the President and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics, a position he has held since April 2001. He is also Chairman of the Board of Management and the Group Management Committee.
 
Mr Kleisterlee joined Philips Medical Systems in 1974, holding a number of positions in manufacturing management. He progressed to a series of senior management posts: General Manager, Professional Audio Product Group (1981-86); Industrial Director, Display Components (1986-94); Managing Director, Philips Display Components Worldwide (1994-96); President, Philips Taiwan; and Regional Manager, Philips Components in Asia-Pacific (1996-99), with additional responsibility for the Philips Group in China (1997-98); and CEO of Philips' Components division (1999-2000). Prior to his present position, Mr Kleisterlee was Chief Operation Officer (2000-01).
 
Mr Kleisterlee's memberships include: the Supervisory Board of Eindhoven University of Technology (Chairman), the Executive Committee of the European Table of Industrialists, the Supervisory Board of De Nederlandsche Bank, the Asia Business Council, and the Dutch Innovation Platform. He is also the Chairman of the Foundation of the Cancer Centre Amsterdam.
 
 
 

Androulla Vassiliou
EU Commissioner for Health

Androulla Vassiliou practised Law in Cyprus for 20 years from 1968-88, during which period she acted as Legal Advisor to The Standard Chartered Bank and later, to the Bank of Cyprus. She gave up her legal practice in 1988, upon her husband's election to the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus.

As First Lady Mrs Vassiliou was very active in social, cultural and other fields. She was for many years actively involved in the work of the United Nations Association of Cyprus and was elected President of the Association for four consecutive terms. As such, she participated in many international and regional conferences especially in the field of Human Rights.

In 1991, Mrs Vassiliou was elected President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) and she was re-elected to this position for two terms. On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the UN she had been appointed member of the select international group for the world-wide celebrations of this important anniversary, by the Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali. Upon the expiration of her Presidency of WFUNA she was unanimously elected Honorary President of the Federation.

In 1996 Mrs Vassiliou was elected President of the Cyprus Federation of Business and Professional Women and she was re-elected to this position for two terms. Also in 1996 she was elected Member of the Cyprus House of Representatives representing the Movement of United Democrats, and in 2001 she was re-elected for a second term of five years. During her parliamentary years she served on the following committees: Foreign Affairs Committee, Legal Affairs Committee, Committee on Education and Culture, Committee on Environment, and the European Affairs Committee. She was also a Permanent Member of the delegation of the Cyprus Parliament to the Inter Parliamentary Union. As a Member of the European Affairs Committee, she participated very actively in the harmonisation process of Cyprus with the Aquis Communautaire. During this period she was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Cyprus and the EU.

From 2001-03 Mrs Vassiliou was an Alternate Representative of the Cyprus Parliament to the Convention for the Future of Europe and from 2001-06 she was Vice President of the European Liberal Democrats and Reform Party (ELDR) and as such she was the chairperson of the European Liberal Women's Network.

In 2002, the Cyprus Government, jointly with the Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus, appointed Mrs Vassiliou Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Cyprus Oncology Centre, a non profit making institution offering a wide range of treatment to cancer patients, from which post she resigned upon her nomination as EU Commissioner in February 2008.

Mrs Vassiliou studied Law at Middle Temple Inn of Court, London from 1961-64 and International affairs at the London Institute of World Affairs from 1964-66.
 

Speakers

  
   
 

Professor Finn Børlum Kristensen
Chairman
EUnetHTA Executive Committee

Professor Finn Børlum Kristensen is Chairman of the Executive Committee, European Network for Health Technology Assessment, EUnetHTA, and Director of its Coordinating Secretariat, National Board of Health, Denmark. He has also been Adjunct Professor of health services research and health technology assessment at University of Southern Denmark since 1999, and was formerly, from 1997 - 2009, the Director of the Danish Centre for Health Technology Assessment (DACEHTA), National Board of Health, Denmark.

Professor Børlum Kristensen graduated in medicine and has a PhD in Epidemiology, specialising in General Practice and in Public Health. He has led international projects in health services research, epidemiology, health technology assessment, and clinical practice guidelines since the 1980s. He was the Chairman, International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) from 2003-06, and a Project Leader of EUnetHTA from 2006-08. He is also the Editor of the Health Technology Assessment Handbook (English, translated), 2007 and Chief Editor of three peer reviewed publication series from DACEHTA from 1998 - 2009. He has also been a member of the UK NHS HTA Programme Advisory Group since 2005, and Chair, Scientific Council, Ludwig Bolzmann Institute of HTA, Austria since 2007.
 
 

Dr Josep Figueras
Director
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Josep Figueras is the Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and head of the WHO European Centre on Health Policy in Brussels. In addition to WHO, Mr Figueras has worked in collaboration with all major multilateral organisations such as the European Commission and the World Bank. He is member of several advisory and editorial boards and has served as advisor in more than 30 countries within the European region and beyond. He is honorary fellow of the UK faculty of public health medicine, has been awarded twice the EHMA prize for the best annual publication on policy and management, and in 2006 he was awarded the Andrija Stampar Medal. He has been lecturer and head of the MSc in Health Services Management at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Mr Figueras' research focuses on comparative health system and policy analysis. He is editor of the European Observatory series published by Open University Press and has published several volumes in the field of health systems analysis including: Health Systems, Health and Wealth (2009), Impact of EU Mobility (2009), Health Impact Assessment (2007), Purchasing to Improve Performance (2005), Health Systems in Transition (2004), Social Health Insurance (2004), Funding Health Care (2002), Critical Challenges for European Reform (1998), and European Health Care Reform: Analysis of Strategies (1997).
 
Kevin Haydon
Executive Vice President and CEO
Global Sales and Service International
Philips Healthcare

Kevin Haydon started his career with Philips Medical Systems in 1976 and studied electrical and electronic engineering in London. Mr Haydon held a number of positions as an engineer, technical specialist and manager with Customer Support before moving into Product Management within Sales and Marketing. In 1990, he was promoted to the Executive Board as National Project manager. He became Customer Support Director in July 1993 and in January 1996 he was appointed Managing Director and Vice President of Philips Medical Systems UK & Ireland.

Mr Haydon has been an industry representative on the British Institute of Radiology Council and Chairman of the Association of X-Ray Equipment Manufacturers. In July 2004, he was appointed as Senior Vice President and CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA) for Philips Medical Systems. In 2004 he became Board Member Economic Affairs of COCIR (European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry).

In April 2006, Mr Haydon was appointed Executive Vice President and CEO, Global Sales and Service International (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific) for Philips Healthcare.

 
 

Susanna Palkonen
Vice President
European Patients' Forum (EPF)

Susanna Palkonen works in Brussels as the Executive Officer of European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA), and member of the European Patients' Forum (EPF). As patient representative, Ms Palkonen is a Member of the EU Consultative Forum on Environment and Health of the European Commission Directorate General (DG) Environment, DG Health and Consumers (SANCO) Indoor Air Quality Expert Group and Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact of Asthma (ARIA) Initiative Guidelines Advisory Committee. In her capacity as Vice President of EPF, she represented EPF 2007-08 at the DG Enterprise and SANCO Pharmaceutical Forum Working Group on Information to patients and is now their representative in the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) Working Group with Patient and Consumer organisations.

Being a patient with allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema herself, her special interests are prevention and environment and health from the patients' perspective.
 
 

Dr Antonyia Parvanova MEP
Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
European Parliament

Dr Antonyia Parvanova, Paediatrician and Public Health policy expert, is currently Member of the European Parliament, Vice President of the Alliance of the Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), and sits as a full Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
 
Following her career as a clinician and researcher in Bulgaria and in the UK, Dr Parvanova started her political career when elected Member of the Bulgarian Parliament in 2001. There she was Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Public Health and worked actively on public health and healthcare legislations at national level.
 
In the European Parliament she initiated several public health policy actions, notably the campaign on patients' rights in Europe in 2007. Dr Parvanova now continues being actively involved in public health dossiers currently being discussed in the European Parliament, such as the pharmaceutical package or the proposal for a Directive on Patients' rights in cross-border healthcare. 
 
 
Maarten Rook
Chairman of the Board of Management
St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, Netherlands
 
Maarten Rook is Chairman of the Executive Board of St Antonius Ziekenhuis (Saint Antonius Hospital), Nieuwegein/Utrecht. USA. Mr Rook worked as a marketing manager of consumer products for four years. From 1976-96 he held several positions at Utrecht University, including Director of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Director of Business Operations, and at the Dutch Center for Disease Control (RIVM). Since 1997 he has been a hospital director; in 2000 he joined St Antonius Hospital and in 2003 became chairman of the executive board. Mr Rook studied at the Nijenrode Business School, Breukelen and holds an MBA in management and marketing from the University of Oregon, USA.
 
 
 

Dr Giancarlo Ruscitti
Secretary General
Health and Social Affairs Department of the Veneto Region, Italy

Dr Giancarlo Ruscitti is Secretary General of the Health and Social Affairs Department of the Veneto Region, Italy. Dr Ruscitti also holds a key coordinating position in the planning and development of the building of the New Padova Hospital and of the drafting of its Planning Agreement; is Coordinator of the Regional Coodinating Unit for Food Safety; he currently presides over the Regional Committee for Health System Emergencies (C.R.E.S.S.); and he is a new Member of the Evaluation and Control Nucleus for Public Investment of the Veneto Region (NUVV).

Previously Dr Ruscitti was Director of Business Development Health Care for Italy and Southern Europe on behalf of ORACLE EMEA. This role involved interacting with national and regional health care decision makers, universities and various scientific institutions operating in the health care sector, and also liaising closely with private and public hospitals, local health enterprises operating in the health care sector as providers of technological solutions, and also with the European Commission. His main objectives were to interpret and promote the implementation of national and regional investment plans in health care, liaising with decision-makers, and playing a key role in various meetings between health care institutions, and information technology and health care organisation companies.

Prior to this, Dr Ruscitti held a similar position for Enterprise Digital Architects and Bracco Esaote Holding. From 1995 - December 2001 he held the post of Director of Information and Organisation Systems of "Bambino Gesù" Pediatric Hospital in Rome. He is a professor of Medical Information Technology and Health Care Organisation for the Regional Institute of Training & Education (IREF) of the Lombardy Region, and holds a part-time post as Professor of Medical Information Technology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Brescia. From 1995-98 he was the Italian Coordinator of the G7 Global Healthcare Activities and Italian representative at the XIII Directorate General of the European Commission for Health Telematics Programmes & TIDE. From 1987-95 he worked at the "Tor Vergata" University of Rome in the Department of Internal Medicine, then in the Department of Experimental Medicine.
 

Marcel J. G. Smeets
Director General
Association Internationale de la Mutualité (AIM)

Marcel J. G. Smeets was appointed Director General of the Association Internationale de la Mutualité (AIM) in May 2006.

Before joining AIM, Mr Smeets was responsible for European and
International Affairs in Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, the Dutch association of healthcare insurance companies. In that capacity he was a member of the Board of Governors of AIM since 2001 and Vice President of the Board since 2005.

AIM is a grouping of autonomous health insurance and social protection bodies operating according to the principles of solidarity and non-profit-making orientation. Currently, AIM's membership consists of 40 national federations representing 27 countries worldwide. They provide social coverage against sickness and other social risks to more than 150 million people, either by participating directly in the management of compulsory health insurance or by offering supplementary, alternative or substitute coverage. The secretariat of AIM is situated in Brussels, Belgium.