Leadership team

Dr Varun Sethi is the Acting Chief Executive Officer Clinigen, joining the company in August 2024. Varun is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 22+ years’ experience across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics, and has a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape in Asia Pacific. In the past year, he has led a significant turnaround of the JAPAC business, driving growth and expanding Clinigen’s market footprint.

Prior to Clinigen, Varun held senior leadership roles at DKSH, Fortis Healthcare and Baxter International. He has been a member of the boards of the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia (PhAMA) and Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SAPI) where he served as Treasurer in both industry associations.

Varun holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Illinois, Chicago, as well as an Executive Certification in marketing and sales from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago.

Guy Strutton, MCIPD, is the Chief People Officer at Clinigen, where he has played an integral role in shaping the company's human capital strategy for over 20 years. With a deep-rooted understanding of Clinigen's culture and business objectives, Guy is instrumental in driving talent acquisition, development, and retention.

Prior to his current role, Guy held several senior HR positions at Clinigen, including EVP HR and SVP HR. His extensive experience spans various HR functions, from learning and development to global HR business partnering.

Guy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of Leeds and a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management from Kingston University. 

Nihad Hasagic is the Senior Vice President, Lifecycle Services at Clinigen, joining the company in December 2023. Previously, as SVP of Strategic Initiatives for Clinigen, Nihad was pivotal in successful acquisitions and the development of the company's core growth strategy, including his foundational work in launching Clinigen Lifecycle Services and shaping its commercial strategy.

Nihad has spent over 20 years in the Healthcare, Life Science and Specialty Chemicals industry working for Monitor, Ecolab and Arxada in various roles and functions having General Management and P&L responsibility, leading multiple acquisitions and integrations, and building and implementing various strategic marketing and corporate initiatives.

Nihad holds a Master of Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, and an MBA from Cranfield School of Business in the UK.

Alex Johnson is the Chief supply Chain and Transformation Officer at Clinigen, joining the company in September 2023, and is driving the company's strategic end-to-end business transformation and optimising supply chain operations across Europe, the US, and the rest of the world.  

With over 20 years of global experience in business transformation and supply chain management, Alex is a seasoned transformation and turnaround specialist, and his expertise spans operational excellence, supply chain optimisation, M&A integrations, business turnaround, digital transformation, and large-scale programme management. 

Before joining Clinigen, Alex held leadership roles at both FTSE100 and S&P500 organisations including Royal Mail, BP, and Ecolab before working on a consulting basis on a number of business turnarounds. 

Jose brings over a decade of experience in Clinical Services, most recently serving as General Manager - Clinical Trials, at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Earlier in his career, he held engineering leadership roles at Pratt & Whitney and Rexnord Corporation. Jose holds two master’s degrees in engineering and technology from the University of Miami and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

A recognised expert in strategy and business system deployment, Jose is passionate about fostering a culture of continuous improvement. In his new role, one of his key objectives will be to enhance Operational Efficiency and help Clinigen achieve world-class customer service standards.

Suzanne has more than 20 years industry experience and is currently SVP of Managed Access at Clinigen, having joined in January 2013. Since joining Clinigen, Suzanne has been intricately involved in managed access programs; first setting up and running on behalf of clients and, since 2015, leading the growing Program Management function and now Business Unit and with oversight and governance responsibility across the Clinigen MAP portfolio. Prior to joining Clinigen, Suzanne worked client side in large pharma R&D within a range of technical, leadership and project management roles. Suzanne has a PhD in Chemistry. 

Merav is a seasoned regulatory affairs professional with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. As Senior Vice President of Pharmacovigilance, Medical Information, and Regulatory Affairs Operations for Lifecycle Services at Clinigen, she leads a global team dedicated to ensuring patient safety and regulatory affairs strategy and submissions.

Trained as a pharmacist with a master’s degree in Biopharmacy from King’s College London, Merav brings a deep understanding of drug development and lifecycle management. Having joined Clinigen in 2014, her expertise is instrumental in guiding Clinigen’s global projects through complex regulatory landscapes.

Merav is passionate about building high-performing teams and fostering a culture of excellence. Under her leadership, the Clinigen team delivers exceptional pharmacovigilance, medical information, and regulatory support to clients worldwide.

Tom leads our Clinical Trial Sourcing Business and has held several senior roles since joining Clinigen in 2018, including VP of Finance. Earlier in his career, Tom was Financial Controller at real estate business CBRE and also worked as a Financial Analyst at Network Rail. Tom has a BA in Business & Managerial Economics from the University of Leeds. 

Carel is a pharmacist by profession and completed his master’s degree in pharmaceutical formulations. His passion for people and assisting healthcare providers and patients to access medicines led him to join Clinigen South Africa in 2009. He started his tenure at the African affiliate overseeing the unlicensed medicine department and established the company as the leading supplier of unlicensed medicine in South Africa. He continued his growth in the organisation and was responsible for business development in the African region. He was appointed as the managing director for the African affiliate in 2018. In his role he oversees the African affiliate which consists of various operational entities including licensed and unlicensed pharmaceutical products and medical devices. He has successfully expanded the organisation and onboarded partnerships with principles across the globe to market and distribute their products in sub-Saharan and East Africa.