Secretariat

Luciano’s long lasting career in healthcare started in HR & Legal affairs and rapidly evolved into general management in both the pharmaceutical (Pfizer) and medtech industry (Stryker). At Stryker he reached the role of President EMEA and Group President International. For a certain period he was also in charge of Public Affairs, with global responsibility. Within Eucomed he has served as a Board Member and as Vice Chairman.

Luciano also serves as Non Executive Director of a major Swedish Company in the area of radiation therapy and surgery, and of an Italian manufacturer of medical devices for oncology treatment.

John joined Eucomed in August 2008 as Director of Technical & Regulatory Affairs, after spending five years at the European Commission working in the Unit responsible for the European medical devices legislation. During his time at the Commission he also had particular experience in international regulatory cooperation (GHTF). John has over 20 years experience both on the regulatory and the industrial sides of the healthcare industry.

Prior to coming to Brussels John worked in, and managed, the Irish Notified Body, NSAI (10 years) gaining extensive European and international experience in the design approval of high-risk devices and quality management systems. He sat on the working group which developed the international quality management systems standard for medical devices, ISO 13485. He began his career in the industry with five years experience spanning the in vitro diagnostic, pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

John is a science graduate from Dublin, Ireland, with added post-graduate studies in quality control and environmental engineering. He is a native English speaker, adding conversational French from his time in Brussels.

Ingmar de Gooijer has over 11 years of experience in the field of corporate communications and public affairs. He has held various leadership positions within a renowned international communications consultancy firm and was based in Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands before joining Eucomed in Brussels.

For multinationals, trade associations and government bodies Ingmar has developed, executed and led a variety of (international) communications programs. His largest projects were related to public affairs and lobbying, corporate reputation and (re)positioning, crisis management and cause-related marketing.

Ingmar holds a Master in Public Administration from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He joined Eucomed in August 2010 as Director Communications.

Aline Lautenberg is the Eucomed Legal Counsel. She joined Eucomed in February 2004, as Economic and Legal Affairs manager, after having worked as a consultant for over two year for a consultancy specialised in reimbursement of medical technologies.

Aline is responsible for advising on Eucomed's contractual, regulatory and statutory obligations and assisting the Chief Executive and the Eucomed Board in management decision processes with robust risk assessments within the framework of the Eucomed strategy. Moreover, Aline supports Eucomed members on all legal, ethics and healthcare compliance issues. This includes the overall planning and management of the Eucomed legal and compliance groups and activities.

Aline has a Master's Degree in Law from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, and has been a member of the Belgian "Institut des juristes d'entreprise" (IJE) since 2009. A Swiss and German national, she speaks fluent English, German and French, and has a good knowledge of Italian and a basic understanding of Greek.

Florence joined Eucomed in 1999 and currently acts as secretary to the Eucomed Board and is a member of the leadership team. She has fulfilled a number of positions within the organisation, and is responsible for human resources and finance management, as well as for facilities management. She previously worked at IAPM (International Association of medical Prosthesis Manufacturers).

A graduate in Art History, Archaeology and Musicology from the University of Liege, Belgium, Florence graduated with distinction in Sales Management in 2010 from ICHEC Cergeco in Belgium. A Belgian national with French mother tongue, Florence is fluent in English and has a good knowledge of Dutch.

Tanja joined Eucomed in September 2008 as Manager Public Affairs. She has more than 10 years experience in governmental affairs in Brussels, working at and with the EU institutions and trade association bodies.

Previously, Tanja had worked for four years for a non-profit organisation, expanding its footprint in Brussels by increasing its network and developing consistent policies. Following this, she joined the European Parliament as the head of office of the Vice-President of the Parliament’s biggest political group. Here she had responsibility for preparing and implementing the Vice-President’s work as Chief Whip as well as drafting and negotiating various legislations on his behalf. These roles helped her understand the essential elements for having your voice heard in Brussels.

Tanja holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Cologne in Germany. A German national, she is fluent in English and French.

Christopher Breyel joined Eucomed in January 2011 as Manager Membership Services & Events. Over the last 10 years, he had a number of positions in international business fields. He has also held management positions in business development within multinational companies, trade associations and EU bodies/associations.

Christopher holds a Masters degree from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Brussels, Belgium. A German national, Christopher speaks fluent English, French, Dutch and has good basic knowledge of Italian.

Cristian Manoiu joined Eucomed in 2003. Following a number of administrative and project-related duties, he now works as an Industry Data Analyst.

He is responsible for gathering, analysing and publishing economic data about the medical technology industry in Europe, as well as managing and coordinating the work of the data department related to the market surveys.

Cristian holds an engineering degree from the Politehnica University of Bucharest, and a Masters in Environmental Sciences from the Free University of Brussels. A native Romanian, he is fluent in English and French.

Merlin Rietschel joined Eucomed in January 2011 and is the manager for Technical and Regulatory Affairs. Prior to this, he held various positions within international pharmaceutical companies (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and Bristol-Myers Squibb) and at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in London, UK. He has over 8 years of experience in the field of European regulatory affairs and dealt successfully with an extensive number of regulatory submissions in life-cycle management and with marketing authorisation applications.

Merlin was raised in Germany where he received a French/German multicultural education. He also lived in the United States and has lived in Belgium since 1995. He has a Masters degree in pharmaceutical science from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, as well as a post-graduate degree in pharmaceutical industry. A German and French national, he is also fluent in English.

Thomas joined Eucomed as communications assistant/webmaster in 2005. Previously, he worked as a translator at the European organisation EUN (European Schoolnet), becoming the Dutch editor for the Flemish Ministry of Education within EUN. In this role, he was responsible for drafting education-related articles with the aim of advancing the adoption of innovative ICT in schools throughout Europe.

In 2010 he became the Eucomed e-communications coordinator, where he launched and managed the smooth operation of all the association’s digital communication channels, including the website, members area, blog and the MedTech Museum.

Now, as Eucomed's Senior Communication Officer, he is responsible for 360° communications support for several Eucomed key themes, including Innovation, Health Technology Assessment, Reimbursement and the European Institute for Socio-Economic Research; as well as overseeing the further expansion of Eucomed within the Digital space (website, newsletter, social media, etc.)

A graduate of VLEKHO (now Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel), Thomas holds a Masters degree in Linguistics. Thomas has 10 years experience in Communications. A native Dutch speaker, he is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Laurence Couturier joined Eucomed in October 2005 as an assistant, moving to the Economic Affairs team in December 2006. She coordinates the Economic Affairs (HTA, Reimbursement, Procurement) and Community Care groups. In March 2011, she will become a member of the Communication team as Communications & Events Officer. Her main tasks will be to organise and coordinate events and trainings for Eucomed members and non-members.

Laurence holds a degree in Translation ILMH (Institut Libre Marie-Haps). She is a Belgian national and native French speaker and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Zuzana Fikarova joined Eucomed in March 2010 as an assistant. In February 2011, she became Economic Affairs Coordinator, a role in which she is responsible for planning, coordinating, monitoring, sharing decisions and executing project-related tasks for various Eucomed activities.

After studying Economics at Mendel University, Czech Republic, she obtained her Masters in International Management at ICHEC Business School, Brussels. During her studies, she worked for the Delegation of Prague in Brussels allowing her to develop experience in administration and event organisation. A Czech national, Zuzana is fluent in English and French.

Petra Grigorovova joined Eucomed in October 2010 as Data Analyst. Through her studies and work experience, Petra has developed an interest in international business-related surveys and analyses.

She recently gained her Masters in Business Administration from Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel. She also holds a Masters degree in International Trade from the University of Economics in Prague. During this time, Petra worked at the Chamber of Commerce where she was responsible for market research and project realisation. She also has experience in office management and financial analysis. A Czech national, she is fluent in English and French with a good knowledge of Bulgarian and German.

Brett Kobie joined the Eucomed Communications team following various roles in Brussels and New York at the intersection of policy and business. His experience includes assignments with the U.S., Canadian and Flemish governments at diplomatic representations on both sides of the Atlantic.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs & Politics from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an M.A. in European Studies from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

A native English speaker, Brett is fluent in Dutch with a working knowledge of German and French.

Sophie joined Eucomed in April 2009, following several years as Assistant to the Regulatory Affairs Manager for another European Trade Association, the European Cocoa Association. She worked for a year as Executive Assistant to the Eucomed Chief Executive and the Human Resources and Administration Manager.

Since April 2010, she has been the Project Coordinator for the European Health Technology Institute for Socio-Economic Research (EHTI), an independent research institute aimed at developing data and evidence on the social and economic value of medical technology and its impact on the economy and welfare of European countries.

Sophie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Brussels and an MBA from the University of New Orleans, Louisiana. A Belgian national and native French speaker, Sophie is also fluent in English.

Valentina Laurenzia Ancona has been a Policy Analyst in the Brussels office of Covington & Burling LLP.  She worked on regulatory matters for pharmaceutical, medical devices, cosmetics, and food companies.  She covered Italian and European food and drug law, including: medical devices, clinical trials, labeling and promotion, pharmaceuticals, marketing and manufacturing authorizations of medicinal products.

She received her University Degree on International and Diplomatic Sciences, cum laude in 2007 from Università di Trieste and her Master Degree from the College of Europe in 2008.

An Italian native, Valentina is fluent in English and French.

Jelena Merkurjeva joined Eucomed in October 2010 as a Data Analyst. Previously, she had worked as an International Business Programme Coordinator at consulting centre Latvikon, a mathematics teacher at Riga Commerce Gymnasium, and an assistant Economist at Baltic International Bank.

Jelena is interested in IT and its applications in Economics and Management. She has attended International Logistic and Supply Chain Management Conferences and published several scientific publications. She also completed an internship at International Event Management Company Colloquium Brussels, and worked as Accommodation Coordinator at Resotel.

Jelena holds a Master of Science in Management from Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg in Germany and a Master of Social Sciences in Entrepreneurship and Management from Riga Technical University in Latvia. A Latvian/Russian bilingual native from Latvia, she is fluent in English, has a good level of French and has basic knowledge of German.

Thecla joined Eucomed in March 2003 as office assistant. In 2005, she became the Regulatory & Technical Affairs Assistant providing support to various regulatory working groups such as the Post Market Surveillance task force and the Human Tissue Products working group. Thecla is now Project Coordinator Regulatory Affairs, and is responsible for planning, coordinating, monitoring, sharing decisions and executing project-related tasks for various regulatory working groups, including two patient safety-related task forces.

Thecla is a Communication Studies graduate from Vesalius College, part of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. A native Belgian with English mother tongue, she is fluent in French and Dutch.

Kristina joined Eucomed’s legal department in April 2011. Since then, she has been supporting and assisting Eucomed Secretariat in all  legal and compliances issues, including competition law aspects. This comprises in particular the development of Eucomed’s expertise and knowledge of the different national and legal ethical frameworks as well as the support of the promotion and the harmonization of the Eucomed rules. In addition, she is responsible for advising on Eucomed’s contractual obligations.

Kristina holds BA degree in Law and MA degree in European Studies. Prior to joining Eucomed, she worked at ANEC, a Brussels-based European association representing consumers in standardisation issues. She is a Lithuanian national fluent in English and Italian.

Dario Pirovano been a consultant for regulatory affairs with Eucomed since 2002. He worked in the European Commission for 4 years, where he contributed to the drafting and negotiating of the 90/385 /EEC and 93/42/EEC directives.

Dario has over 30 years experience in medical technology as designer and regulatory affairs expert. In 1995 he founded Pirovano Management SPRL, a consulting firm advising manufacturers, Notified Bodies and authorities in regulatory matters relating to medical technology.

Dario can be considered the historical memory of the development of medical devices regulation in Europe. He holds a Doctorate in Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano. An Italian national, Dario is fluent in French and English.

Andy Vaughan has been the environmental consultant for Eucomed since January 2009. Previously, he trained electronics engineer, specialising in control electronics, he rapidly moved into medical devices. He spent his early career working in hospitals as a member of a medical device maintenance group, subsequently specialising in diagnostic ultrasound whilst working in a company which was one of the first to import this new technology into the UK from Japan. When the company decided to set up a European support centre in the Netherlands, Andrew was taken on as the European technical expert covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

With the advent of the Medical Device Directive, Andrew found himself becoming increasingly involved in regulatory issues until the workbench became a distant memory. He returned to the UK with his new regulatory skills working with the UK subsidiary of another Japanese company. With the increasing importance of environmental issues, Andrew then became more involved with this aspect of the industry, eventually becoming the Group Environment Manager.

Sonja Kropidlowska joined Eucomed in March 2011 as an assistant, a role in which she is responsible for executing all-round related tasks for various Eucomed activities.

After studying International Hotel Management, Brussels/Belgium, she put her all round management knowledge into action as an executive assistant for the SVP of Supply Chain at Levi Strauss & Co., allowing her to develop experience in administration and event organization. A German national, Sonja is fluent in Polish, English, Spanish and French & has a notion of Dutch.

Rie Santos joined Eucomed in June 2008 as a general assistant, becoming Administrative Assistant in March 2010. Rie’s responsibilities include providing administrative support to the Secretariat by performing overall technical, accounting and administrative functions, facilitating communication and coordination within the team, and liaising with and supporting the Eucomed membership. She is also the Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive.

Rie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from St. Paul University in Manila. A Belgian national, she is fluent in English, and has a good knowledge of Dutch and Japanese.