New board members to accelerate growth

Board members provide governance and bring a wealth of experience, business acumen and personal networks relevant for a startup to grow. Four startups have recently announced new board members to help them on their entrepreneurial journey.

Exnaton, an ETH spinoff providing a software platform (PowerQuartier) for energy communities, welcomed Kurt Lüscher as its first external board member. Lüscher has led various CEO roles at six companies. He was recently at Energie 360° AG where he served as CEO for almost nine years before returning to Implementation Force AG where he serves as the Managing Director. In his new role, he will support Exnaton with his extraordinary management experience and provide it with access to his network in the energy sector.

Anapaya welcomes Pascal Rialland as chairman of the board of directors. A long-respected figure in the telecom and software industry, Mr Rialland has worked with well-known visionaries such as Sir Richard Branson, Sir Charles Dunstone and Patrick Drahi. Mr Rialland´s international background enables him to address the needs, challenges and preferences of global stakeholders. He has led and succeeded in initiatives across North and Central America, Europe and Israel. His profound multinational experience in telecommunications is expected to boost Anapaya’s presence as it expands beyond Switzerland. Anapaya’s vision is to deliver a secure and reliable backbone for the next generation of internet, designed to ensure trusted WAN communications. Their recent Swiss Financial Network project is expected to set the standard for financial service communications, and its application for other industries, such as life sciences and power management, are numerous. 

VectivBio, the clinical-stage biotech startup developing transformational medicines for patients with serious rare diseases, appointed Sandip Kapadia to its Board of Directors. Kapadia has over 20 years of life science industry experience. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals. He also held numerous finance-leadership positions at Novartis and its affiliates in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer of Novartis’s generic division, Sandoz, in North America. VectivBio will hence benefit from his in-depth pharmaceutical knowledge and financial expertise as the company grows.

Nouscom, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing off-the-shelf and personalized genetic cancer vaccines, appointed Göran Ando, as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors. Ando has more than 35 years of leadership and management experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, with Board positions at several global companies, including currently as Chairman of Eyepoint Pharma and Tessa Therapeutics. He began his career at Pfizer where he held several senior clinical positions both in the US and in Europe. Ando also served as President of the Astra Research Centre and held various senior appointments at GlaxoSmithKline.

(Press release/RAN)Photo L-R: Kurt Lüscher and Pascal Rialland