A heritage built on trust.

Negar Esmailzadeh is an expert in clinical nutrition with over a decade of experience spanning intensive care through the recovery of patients at various stages of illness. Her clinical experience began in the Intensive Care Unit of the university hospital of Copenhagen, where she focused on understanding the nutritional needs of patients during illness and recovery.

Her industry experience was gained at Nutricia/Danone, where she was responsible for medical affairs, market access, marketing and sales in healthcare channels across more than 43 countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. She has worked closely with medical professionals, policy makers, reimbursement authorities, patient associations and governmental officials around the world.

She holds a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Copenhagen and is a registered dietitian.

Dr. Smeets is a globally recognised industry expert in nutrition and functional foods, with broad experience in the design and development of innovative science-based nutritional products, clinical trials for product safety and efficacy, industry quality, market access, medical affairs and regulatory compliance.

His industry experience spans over two decades. His most recent appointment was with Danone as Chief Medical Officer and member of the executive board of its medical food division, where he worked with governments and healthcare providers worldwide to ensure access to the right nutritional regimens for patients. He also served as Head of Research, responsible for the full innovation pipeline.

Dr. Smeets holds an MBA from the University of Groningen with modules at INSEAD, Yale and Wharton, and earned his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from Radboud University Nijmegen.

Dr. Ramanathan is a globally recognised expert in innovation management. His advisory concentrations include scientific affairs, regulatory compliance, quality assurance and control, clinical trials design and management, technology acquisition, alliance management, product development and manufacturing across the global health and wellness industry.

His experience spans clinical care, pharma, consumer health, animal health and retail. His most recent appointment was with General Nutrition Corporation (GNC) as Chief Innovation Officer, Senior Vice President and member of the Executive Committee. Prior to that he was a Senior Director for the US subsidiaries of Nutricia (Danone) and Medical Director for the US subsidiary of Scotia Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Ramanathan holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a Ph.D. from Tufts University in Healthcare Innovation Management.