Team
Chairman and founder
Olivier Menzel has long been interested in research. Dr. Olivier Menzel holds a Master’s degree in medical genetics from the University of Geneva (2001) and a Ph.D., obtained in 2006 at EPFL. He also earned an Executive MBA in Healthcare Management from HEC Lausanne and a CAS in Public Health from Unisanté – UNIL. After leading a gene therapy laboratory at the University of Geneva, he founded the BLACKSWAN Foundation in 2010 to raise awareness and resources for research on rare and orphan diseases. He also created the international RE(ACT) congress, now recognized globally. He has held leadership roles at the Health 2030 Genome Center (2018–2022) and served as Senior Health Advisor at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the FDFA (2022–2025). Currently, as a consultant heading Think Rare Sàrl, he is a co-founder of ProRaris, a member of the Sounding Board for the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN), and vice president of Kosek—the Swiss National Coordination of Rare Diseases.
Member of the board
Stefano Berti is currently Senior Policy Advisor on Fragility, Conflict and Violence with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Before his recent move back to Bern, he spent 15 years working on development, humanitarian and peace in Haïti, Niger, the occupied Palestinian territories, Sierra Leone, Georgia and Rwanda for the Swiss Government, the United Nations and various Non-Governmental Organisations.
Member of the board
Chiara Ciriminna Swan is a lawyer by training. She graduated in law from the University of Florence and obtained a Master Degree in International Affairs from the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan. Since 2018, she is Project Manager at the EPFL in Lausanne where she is in charge of facilitating funding for scientific research. She has been following for many years yet the activities of the BLACKSWAN Foundation where, from 2012 to 2018, she had the role of Project Coordinator. Previously she collaborated with the St. Camille de Lellis Foundation, a Swiss not for profit organization dedicated to supporting mental and public health in West Africa and from 2005 to 2007 she worked as Electoral Advisor at the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Ivory Coast (ONUCI).
Member of the board
Former member of the extended management board at Swatch ltd, Skander Najar, is an experienced design manager, advisor and brand strategy expert who worked and consulted for major global companies and institutions. In 2012 S. Najar founded the award winning communication and consultancy studio Nask, providing creativity and innovation across the marketing industry and organisations. S. Najar is Visiting Professor at the Master in “Integrated Innovation for Product and Business Development” at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland. He has been teaching, lecturing and coaching in various Universities as Tama Art University (Tokyo, Japan), EHL (École hôtelière de Lausanne), SUPSI (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Lugano) as well as in other schools in Switzerland and abroad.
Member of the board
Karima Soudani graduated from the University of Lausanne in Biology with a Master in Immunology., she has 20 years of Pharma industry experience in different therapeutic areas, Cardiology, Immunology, Intensive Care, Oncology and Pain. Working almost 10 years as European Medical Education Manager at Eli Lilly and Company, then spent 3 years at Correvio International for as a Global Director of Scientific Communication. For 1 year she worked as an independent consultant in Medical/Marketing. Since 2015 held different commercial roles at the Swiss Affiliate of Eli Lilly and Company, first as Brand Manager, then as Business Unit Head and currently as Head of Marketing/CMO.