Speakers Profiles and Presentations
Panel 1: Creating a Sustaining Policy Environment for Digital Health
Terje Peetso, Health and Well Being Unit, DG CONNECT, EU Commission
Dr Terje Peetso joined the Unit Health and Wellbeing in DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology in 2011. Her main responsibilities are related to the coordination of the implementation of the eHealth Action Plan 2012 -2020 as well as the overall coordination of the policy group in the Unit. In 2014 she was the EU Fellow in the University of Southern California, USA, where her research focus was on the obstacles which hinder the introduction eHealth in healthcare systems. Dr Peetso has been working in the European Commission since 2003 and holds a diploma in medicine from the University of Tartu, Estonia. Presentation (PDF)
Katie Dain, Executive Director, NCD Alliance
Katie Dain is Executive Director of the NCD Alliance, a global network of civil society organisations dedicated to transforming the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Katie has worked with the NCD Alliance since its founding in 2009; her experience has included organizational and strategic development; global advocacy and policy-making; and program design and capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries.
Katie is widely recognized as a leading advocate and expert on NCDs, and has authored or co-authored numerous papers and commentaries on global health and development policy issues. She is a member of advisory groups and committees for a range of international NCD initiatives. Before joining the NCD Alliance, Katie worked at the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in Brussels, leading their global advocacy programme and establishing the first Women and Diabetes programme. Prior to that she held a series of policy posts in the UK Government and UK-based health and development NGOs, including Gender Policy Adviser to the UK Government Equalities Office (GEO) where she was responsible for strategy and policy on violence against women; Womankind Worldwide, a women’s rights organisation; and Terrence Higgins Trust, a HIV and sexual health charity. Katie has a Master’s degree in Violence, Conflict and International Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. Presentation (PDF)
eHealth Talk 1:
Ann Aerts, Head, Novartis Foundation and member of the Broadband Commission Ann Aerts has been Head of the Novartis Foundation since January 2013. The Novartis Foundation has the challenging goals of expanding access to quality healthcare and eliminating diseases such as leprosy and malaria. Before her current role, Ann was Franchise Medical Director Critical Care for Novartis Pharma in Basel and Therapeutic Area Head Cardiovascular and Metabolism in Novartis Pharma Belgium. Prior to joining Novartis, she served as Director of the Lung and Tuberculosis Association in Belgium, as Head of the Health Services Department of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva and was Health Coordinator for the ICRC in several countries. Ann holds a Degree in Medicine and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Leuven, Belgium, as well as a Degree in Tropical Medicine from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. Ann is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Global Health Group of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the OECD Network of Foundations Working in Development (NetFWD), the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign, the World Economic Forum Health Systems Leapfrogging project in Emerging Economies Steering Board, and a Member of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. Presentation(PDF)
eHealth Talk 2:
Mike Muller, CTO and founding member of ARM Mike Muller was appointed Chief Technology Officer in October 2000 and joined the Board of Directors in 2001. Mike was one of the founding members of ARM and has extensive knowledge within marketing and business development, having worked as vice president for both divisions at ARM. Before joining ARM, Mike worked for Orbis Computers and had the responsibility for hardware strategy and development of portable products at Acorn Computers. In July 2012, he became director of Intelligent Energy Holdings PLC and Infinite Energy, Inc.
Ehealth talk 3:
Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA Alex Sinclair has served as the Chief Technology Officer of the GSMA since 2005, having joined the organisation in 2003. In this role, Alex is responsible for driving the technology direction of the GSMA and working with its membership to execute key technology initiatives. With more than 30 years’ experience in telecommunications in general and mobile in particular, Alex has worked for a number of companies in the UK, Germany and the US. In the early 1990s, he was part of the project team that launched the T-Mobile D1 network in Germany. In 1995, Alex helped Syniverse to launch their GSM clearinghouse business. Prior to joining the GSMA, Alex was Director of Network Engineering at ICO, a global satellite venture. Alex holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Bristol.
Panel 2: Funding models for Digital Health including Universal Service Funds
Kemal Huseinovic, Chief, Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications, ITU Kemal Huseinovic is Chief, Department of Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications (IEE) in the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union. Before joining ITU in 2014, Dr Huseinovic held several positions as Director General of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Deputy Ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina in Slovenia, Chief of staff and Foreign Policy Advisor of the Prime Minister in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Professor at Sarajevo University, where he continues lecturing on Business Models in Telecommunications. He holds two Master’s Degrees and a PhD in telecommunications and economy. Presentation (PDF)
Haitham El-noush, Department for Global Health, Education and Research, NORAD Haitham El-noush is managing the innovation portfolio within global health for the Norwegian Agency for Development Corporation (Norad). He is the project manager for the United Nations Secretary General’s Innovation Working Group (IWG). He has masters in international development and worked for both the government, INGOs and for the UN; in nine different countries.
Kate Wilson, DIAL CEO Kate has been advising companies on market entry strategies in emerging markets for over 25 years. She joins DIAL from PATH, the Seattle-based international health organization driving transformative innovation to save lives. She previously served as PATH’s Director, Digital Health Solutions, a group she co-founded in 2009 based on a belief that information and communication technology (ICT) was the next essential health tool that could change decades long paradigms of poor health services delivery in the developing world. Kate holds an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Southeast Asian studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a B.A. in international relations from the College of William and Mary. She has worked directly in more than 15 countries across three continents, including more than nine years working in and with Southeast Asian economies. She has spoken widely at conferences and on television, and is the author of several papers on the use of ICT in emerging economies. Presentation (PDF)
Debbie Rogers, General Manager, Praekelt Foundation Debbie Rogers was appointed the General Manager at Praekelt Foundation in late 2015. Prior to that, her role entailed being the lead Strategist for the organisation and heading up the Health Portfolio for Praekelt Foundation. Her work at Praekelt has exposed her to both the commercial dimension of the mobile industry and the ways that mobile solutions might be applied to development problems. Recent work includes leading the development of the digital strategy for one of the largest telcos in South Africa and designing and managing the implementation of South Africa's national maternal mHealth programme, MomConnect.
Lesley-Anne, Global Director, mPowering Frontline Health Workers Lesley-Anne is the Global Director at mPowering Frontline Health Workers (Washington, DC), a public-private partnership focused on ending preventable child and maternal deaths. She provides strategic and technical leadership to mPowering and coordinates across mHealth and maternal and child health advisors, program implementers, government officials, private technology companies, NGOs, academic institutions, and others focusing on 16 countries sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. A former family law barrister, Dean of a Faculty of Health & Social Care, and Director of HEAT (Health Education and Training) in Ethiopia, she has a strong track record of global health development, as well as academic publications in law, global health, social justice, and child rights. Presentation (PDF)
Panel 3: Innovations for Global Health Challenges - Country Experience
Ron G Parker, Group Director, Emerging Technology, Canada Health Infoway
With 30 years of experience with architecting integrated IT solutions in health and social services enterprises, Ron works as part of a team identifying, assessing, and elaborating on the application of emergent information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the health care sector in Canada.
Ron is responsible for the Digital Health Blueprint (originally the EHR Solutions Blueprint) a service-oriented enterprise architectural framework for health care delivery in Canada. The Blueprint defines the approach for supporting collaborative, coordinated, and innovative health and care that demonstrates how effective use of ICT is fundamental to a sustainable health care system.
Olasupo Oyedepo, ICT4HEALTH project, Nigeria
Olasupo Oyedepo is the Project Director of the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation’s ICT4HEALTH Project in Nigeria, before this he served as the Country Director for the ICT4SOML Project which supported the Nigerian Federal Ministries of Health and Communication Technology to the develop the country’s eHealth Strategy. The ICT4HEALTH Project was established to provide technical assistance to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), State Ministries of Health (SMoH), the Federal Ministry of Communications (FMC) and stakeholders to operationalize the first year of the Action Plan of the eHealth strategy. Presentation (PDF)
Sameer Pujari, mHealth for NCD “Be Healthy Be Mobile”, ITU-WHO
Sameer joined WHO headquarters in Geneva in Feb 2008 to work with the Surveillance team, primarily leading the informatics programs on tobacco control surveillance as well as the development of the Global Tobacco Control Data Bank. Since 2013 he is also co-leading the development & implementation of the new joint WHO and ITU initiative on mHealth for Non-Communicable Diseases. Before coming to WHO, Sameer worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-USA with the Global Immunization Division. He started his career working with WHO's National Polio Surveillance Project in India for 7 years, where he led the development and implementation of various information management systems for surveillance across the country.
Sameer Pujari has an earned Fellowship in Public Health Informatics from the Centers for Disease Control. He has graduate degrees in Business Studies & Software Engineering and an MBA with Gold Medal in Systems Management. He also has training in information security and program management.
Mr Helge T. Blindheim, Norwegian Directorate of eHealth
Helge T. Blindheim’s background is from the private sector software industry. The last 4 years he has worked as an eHealth strategist in the Norwegian state agencies Directorate for Health and Care and the Directorate for eHealth. His focus is on national citizen centric eHealth services in Norway. Presentation (PDF)
Panel 4: Innovations for Global Health Challenges – Private Sector Perspectives
JC Mestres, Healthcare & Life Sciences Executive Architect, IBM
Mr. Mestres is the European Technical Leader for Healthcare and Life Sciences Solutions at IBM. Belonging to the Global Healthcare Center of Excellence sitting in Nice, he has been involved in several healthcare solution designs since 2001. Presentation (PDF)
Toshihiro Maeta, Pesident and Chief Executive Officer, MTI Ltd. Japan
Toshihiro MAETA started his career at IBM Japan in 1987. He then worked at Hikari Tsushin, Inc. from 1988 to 1996 where he held multiple positions; he was appointed director in 1989 and Executive Managing Director in 1994. In 1996, Maeta founded MTI Ltd, where is he now President and CEO. Presentation (PDF)
Katarzyna Wac, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Geneva
Katarzyna Wac, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Human Centered-Computing at the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Invited Professor at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, affiliated with Stanford University since 2013. Prof. Wac researchers how mobile technologies can be leveraged for a personalized assessment of the individual’s behavior and Quality of Life (QoL) and improvement of the latter. Her research appears in almost 100 to date peer reviewed proceedings and journals in computer science, human-computer interaction and health informatics. She is a (co)-PI in several European and Swiss National Science Foundation projects. She contributes to ITU European Regional Initiative for mHealth. She is also a Member of ACM and Senior IEEE Member. Presentation (PDF)
Hani Eskandar, ICT Applications Coordinator, ITU.
Hani Eskandar is the ICT Applications Coordinator at the ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of ITU. Mr. Eskandar is currently involved in providing assistance to several developing countries by advising on eApplications strategies and policies, assisting in implementing technical co-operation projects in areas of digital health, agriculture, governance and education. He has lead the development of several guidelines and best-practices reports on eApplications. Mr. Eskandar has an educational background in Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) and has completed an MBA from McGill University, Canada and a Master Degree in Social and Economic Development Studies from University of Paris I, France. Presentation (PDF)
Maëva Germé, Global Health Medical Director, Sanofi Diabetes
Maëva Germé is responsible of developing diabetes global health medical initiatives in close partnerships with scientific societies, medical professions, researchers, NGOs, global health officials and other key stakeholders in this field. She is in charge of building innovative and impactful population-based educational programs that improve outcomes of people with diabetes. A biologist by training, Maëva holds a Master degree in “Evaluation and negotiation of health goods and services” from Paris V University and ESSEC Business School. She has more than 10 years of international healthcare related experience in consulting, pharmaceutical industries, and with the European Commission (DG SANCO) in consumers and public health issues. Maeva joined Sanofi in 2009 as a Senior Project Health Economics and Reimbursement Lead and held different positions with an increasing level of responsibilities in several therapeutic areas including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and diabetes. She successfully led the global health economics and outcomes strategic development of diabetes injectables therapy to Health Technology Assessment (HTAs) bodies and payers, and more recently the development of several programs tackling diabetes and its comorbidities such as tuberculosis, vulnerable populations, and use of new technologies in Brazil, India, West and South Africa. Presentation (PDF)
