People

Gilles Pagniez is the Chief Executive Officer and partner of Temaris et Associés, an investment vehicle based in Paris. He was until February 2018, Deputy CEO of Group Artémis.

Gilles has been involved during 25 years in numerous merger and acquisitions operations led by Group Artémis in a broad range of industries including luxury goods, insurance, real estate, construction, consumer goods and retail.

Gilles has served as a board member of many companies held by Group Artémis : Christie’s, an auction house; Château Latour, a premium vineyard; Le Ponant, a luxury cruise line; Le Point, a French magazine, Nextstage, a French investment Fund.

Gilles Initiated and participated in the creation of Red River Holding, a $250 million fund operating in Vietnam, which is the first fund set up by Artémis. He was member of the investment committee of the fund and within Artémis, responsible for the fund’s operations. He also participated in the creation of Red River Reinsurance Debt Purchase fund I and is member of the investment committee.

Gilles is graduated from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and holds a master’s in law from Paris Assas university.

Per Wold-Olsen, a Norwegian national, was born on November 6, 1947. He holds an MBA in economics and marketing. Per joined Merck & Co. (MSD) in 1974. He became Managing Director of the Norwegian subsidiary in 1976 and Regional Director and Vice President for the Scandinavian region in 1986. In 1991, Per Wold-Olsen was appointed Executive Vice President of Worldwide Human Health Marketing of Merck & Co. Inc. in the United States, and in 1994 he was appointed President of Human Health Europe of Merck & Co. Inc. In 1997, his region expanded to include Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Worldwide Human Health Marketing.

In 2005, he was appointed President of the Human Health Intercontinental Region of Merck & Co. Inc. from 1994 to 2006, and was a member of the Merck Executive Committee. Per Wold-Olsen is Chairman of the Board of GN Store Nord A/S in Denmark and Medicines for Malaria Venture in Switzerland. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Gilead Sciences Inc. in the US. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Novo Holdings since 2011.

Laurent Bouyoux is a Co-founder and Managing Partner of BlackFin Capital Partners. His expertise in the formation of companies can be dated to 1986 when he becomes one of the founders of the Société Générale’s derivatives business, in Paris and Tokyo. 5 years later, Laurent becomes Deputy Head of Global Derivatives (then Global Fixed Income of Société Générale) until 1994. In that same year, he joins Commerzbank group in Frankfurt, and alongside Paul Mizrahi, becomes a founder and shareholder of Commerz Financial Products, a subsidiary created to develop Commerzbank’s derivatives business in Europe.

In 1999, alongside Paul Mizrahi and Eric May, Laurent founds the ProCapital group, a regulated investment firm and member of Euronext, and acts as Executive. Chairman of the Management Board. ProCapital was involved in two businesses, securities services and, through its subsidiary Fortuneo, online brokage. They grew the business to become the French leader in the sector, combining organic growth and a number of targeted acquisitions. The founders sold ProCapital (including Fortuneo) in 2006, and until 2008 Laurent Bouyoux worked for Aquiline Capital Partners in New York, a leading US private equity firm specializing in the financial services sector, as a Senior Principal.
A French national, Laurent is graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique (ENSAE).

Mr. Norton was previously Company Group Chairman, Global Pharmaceuticals, for Johnson & Johnson, a role in which he led and developed the business’ strategic growth agenda, including the strategy for licensing, acquisitions and divestments, and ensuring alignment with the global strategic functions, research and development, and commercial organizations.

His 32-year tenure at Johnson & Johnson spanned marketing and country management roles across Belgium, Australia and New Zealand; and serving as president of the Janssen Pharmaceutica business in the U.S., group chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and then for the U.S. and Canada business, as well as company group chairman, worldwide commercial and operations, for Johnson & Johnson’s CNS and virology business.

He is currently chairman of the board of directors of VIVUS, Inc., and also serves on the board of TB Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of better, faster-acting and affordable tuberculosis drugs that are available to those who need them. He previously served as a director for INC Research Holdings Inc. and Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Geoff joined Aquiline in 2005. He is a partner and is the chief operating officer of the firm. Prior to joining Aquiline, he was with Venturion Capital, a private equity firm he co-founded that invested in financial services companies in North America and Europe.

Previously, he led the European financial services investment banking practice of Smith Barney and was a senior manager of its global financial services capital markets practice. Earlier in his career, as a venture capitalist, he founded three start-up companies and served as a proprietary trader of exchange rate and interest rate products for Drexel Burnham Lambert, Kidder Peabody and Westpac Bank.

Geoff’s current investments include FIFS and Virtus. He previously worked with BinckBank, BISAM, Fenergo, CRT, Nexar, and Structured Credit Holdings.

Geoff holds a B.A. in History, from Columbia University and a Masters of Public Policy in International Finance from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Dr. Schaison is a CEO, CCO and Global President in consumer healthcare, consumer goods & retail sectors with experience running a $2.5B+ business growing 17% a year (Allergan), acquiring/integrating a +$2B organization, and successfully leading global organizations.

Hired by the Chairman & Board of Directors of Syneron-Candela NA (Irvine, CA), to take a publicly traded company (ELOS) private, Dr. Schaison sold the company to Private Equity firm Apax in July 2017 for $11 a share; a two-fold increase over past trading value (Nov 2016 – $6 a share). Earlier, as Allergan President, US Aesthetic & Dermatology, Dr. Schaison led the Facial Aesthetic, Plastic and MedDerm/Skin Medical business units. He enabled the organic growth of the $2.5B business by 17% a year and acquired Kythera for $2.1B.

Before, Dr. Schaison was President, Clarins WW Travel Retail & Regional President, LATAM and MEA, leading a $1B+ business, he generated 55% of Clarins’ total net sales & 70% of its EBIT, achieving 28% growth in a single digit market. Earlier, Dr. Schaison served as CEO for Aesthetic Factors.

As VP, Global Skin Care for Johnson & Johnson, with P&L responsibility for leading brands and a Board Member, Ortho- Neutrogena.
Dr. Schaison earned an MBA from the Hautes Etudes Commerciales, and a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Paris V.

In June 2017, Eric M. Attias launched Forepont Capital Partners in New York. Eric sourced and invested in seven high performing Bio&Med Tech ventures including San Diego-based SAMUMED, UK based biotech company SiSaf and French start-up BioSpeedia.

Prior to Forepont, he co-founded Nexar Capital Group, in 2009, backed by New York private equity firm Aquiline. Nexar capital acquired both AAAM, Alternative Asset Management business of insurance group Allianz and Ermitage Group from London based private equity firm Caledonia Partners. After restructuring and integrating both businesses, Nexar controlled, with Eric as the Chief Investment Officer, over $4 billion of Assets, by its 2nd anniversary.

Nexar was then acquired by Swiss banking group UBP in 2012.
In 2002, Eric established Sociétée Generale Asset Management business in New York. In four years, he built SGAM Inc into a $200 million annual revenue business with a staff of 60. Eric was, also, the Chief Investment Officer of a 10-billion dollars alternative investment fund with awarded performance.

Dr Ismail Kola joined Forepont in April 2019 as a General Partner in charge of all scientific decisions.

He has been a driving force in biotech companies like GPN Vaccines or Mobius where his experience as one of the top international chief scientific officers has proven to be key in the early success of the companies.

Prior to Forepont, Ismail held several senior executive positions in the pharmaceutical industry.  He has published 159 papers in top scientific journals which have been cited over 16,000 times and has led teams that have brought numerous major medicines to the market during his 20 year career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ismail Kola was until 2018 the CSO of UCB, His previous positions were: Senior Vice President, Discovery Research and Early Clinical Research & Experimental Medicine, Schering-Plough Research Institute, and Chief Scientific Officer, Schering Plough Corporation; Senior Vice President Basic Research and Site Head, Rahway, Montreal and Madrid, Merck and Chairman of Merck’s Antibacterial and Antifungal Worldwide Business Strategy Team; and Vice President Research, and Global Head, Genomics and Biotechnology at Pharmacia Corporation .

Prior to his move to Industry, Ismail was Professor of Human Molecular Genetics, Monash University Medical School and Director of the Research Center for Functional Genomics and Human Disease for 15 years.

He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Athersys Inc. (ATHX, Nasdaq) and a Director of GPN vaccines (Australia).

Ph.D (Med) in Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa

He is a Visiting Professor of Medicine at the Nuffield School of Medicine at Oxford University and also holds Adjunct Professorships of Medicine at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, USA, and Monash University Medical School, Melbourne, Australia; a Foreign Adjunct Professorship at The Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; and is a William Pitt Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, UK