Executive Committee of Galapagos NV
Composition of the Executive Committee
Per 31 December 2022, our Executive Committee consists of the following members:
Paul Stoffels*
joined Galapagos as Chief Executive Officer in April 2022, and is an executive member and the Chairman of our Board of Directors since 26 April 2022. He also is a member of the Executive Committee at Galapagos. Prior to that, he was Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson & Johnson where he set the company's wide innovation agenda and led its pharmaceutical R&D-pipeline, as well as other external initiatives. Before that, he was worldwide Chairman of Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson which, under his leadership, significantly rejuvenated its product pipeline and adopted a transformational R&D-operating model, which resulted in the launch of 25 innovative medicines across the globe. Dr. Stoffels joined Johnson & Johnson in 2002, following the acquisition of Virco and Tibotec, where he was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman respectively, and where he led the development of several breakthrough products for the treatment of HIV. Dr. Stoffels also is a member of the Supervisory Board of Philips Healthcare in the Netherlands
*Stoffels IMC BV, permanently represented by Dr. Paul Stoffels
Bart Filius
is appointed as President of Galapagos in February 2021, and serves as Chief Financial Officer since December 2014 and as Chief Operating Officer since September 2017, and is a member of the Executive Committee at Galapagos. Prior to that, Mr. Filius worked over 13 years at Sanofi where he was the Chief Financial Officer of Sanofi Europe during the last 3 years. Earlier at Sanofi, he was the Country Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Sanofi in the Netherlands. Before that, he was Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions, during which time he led and completed the divestiture of various franchises. Prior to joining Sanofi, he was a strategy consultant at Arthur D. Little. Mr. Filius has an MBA degree from INSEAD, and a Bachelor’s Degree in business from Nyenrode Business University. In May 2019, Mr. Filius was elected as non-executive director in the Supervisory Board of ProQR Therapeutics.
Walid Abi-Saab
joined Galapagos as Chief Medical Officer in March 2017. Dr. Abi-Saab has driven Galapagos’ overall medical strategy and was responsible for late stage clinical development and operations, medical and regulatory affairs and safety. As of June 2021, he became responsible for all development activities as he added early-stage development activities to his already existing responsibilities for late-stage development.
Michele Manto
is appointed as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2020, and member of the Executive Committee at Galapagos. He joined Galapagos in September 2017 as Senior Vice President Commercial Operations to build and lead Galapagos’ commercial organization and capabilities. Previously, Mr. Manto held various commercial leadership roles at AbbVie, most recently as General Manager, Global Marketing Rheumatology and General Manager in the Netherlands. Prior to this, he led AbbVie’s commercial activities and launches in rheumatology, gastroenterology and dermatology in Germany and other European countries. He started his professional career as a management and strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Manto holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Degree in Engineering from the Politecnico of Milan.
Our new Executive Committee Members
Per 1 January 2023, our Executive Committee has been strengthened with the addition of the following members:
Annelies Missotten
is appointed as Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the Executive Committee at Galapagos. She joined Galapagos as Vice President Human Resources in February 2018 to transform and build an expert HR team to enable business growth, and leading the transformation of Galapagos into an integrated biopharmaceutical company with an international set-up. In 2020, she was appointed Senior Vice President Human Resources and strategic advisor to the CEO and Executive Committee. Before joining Galapagos, she held various senior global HR positions at GSK. She started her career at Proximus, and acquired deep expertise over time in key HR Centres of Expertise, including Training & Development, Talent Acquisition and Reward, and HR Business partnership roles. Ms. Missotten holds a Master's Degree in Roman Philology from KU Leuven, a DEA in Italian Culture and Linguistics from the Paris IV Sorbonne (France) and L’Università Cattolica di Milano. Over the years, she completed her education with several systemic psychology and coaching certifications and business courses, amongst others, from INSEAD, Fontainebleau (France).
Valeria Cnossen
is appointed as General Counsel, responsible for Compliance & Ethics, the Corporate Secretary Office and Intellectual Property, and member of the Executive Committee at Galapagos. Ms. Cnossen joined Galapagos on 1 August 2022. She previously was General Counsel of the Consumer Health Group at Johnson & Johnson where she was a strategic partner and key advisor on laws and regulations, transactions and emerging areas, impacting the business such as digital, transparency, sustainability and public policy. Prior to that, she held leadership roles within the Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Sectors of Johnson & Johnson. Ms. Cnossen joined Johnson & Johnson in 2011 through the acquisition of Crucell, where she was Head of Legal and Compliance. Prior to joining Crucell, Ms. Cnossen was in private legal practice at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in the Netherlands, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City. Ms. Cnossen is a purpose-driven leader, known for her ability to develop high-performing teams and the careers of others, especially as a mentor for women.
About the Executive Committee
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the members of our Executive Committee during the financial year ended on 31 December 2022:
Name(1) |
Position |
Nationality |
Year of birth |
Year of initial appointment |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Onno van de Stolpe(2) |
Chief Executive Officer |
Dutch |
1959 |
1999 |
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Stoffels IMC BV(3) |
Chief Executive Officer |
Belgian |
2022 |
2022 |
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Bart Filius |
President, Chief Financial |
Dutch |
1970 |
2014 |
||||||||||
Andre Hoekema(4) |
Chief Business Officer |
Dutch |
1957 |
2005 |
||||||||||
Walid Abi-Saab(5) |
Chief Medical Officer |
U.S. & Lebanese |
1965 |
2017 |
||||||||||
Michele Manto |
Chief Commercial Officer |
Italian |
1973 |
2020 |
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|
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The Executive Committee has been entrusted by the Board of Directors with the executive management and running of the Company. Without prejudice to the overall responsibility and tasks of the Board of Directors regarding the management and control of the Company, the tasks of the Executive Committee include the following matters (without limitation): the research, identification and development of strategic possibilities and proposals which may contribute to the Company’s development in general, the management of the Company and Galapagos group, the supervision of the actual performance of the business compared to its strategic goals, plans and budgets, and the support of the CEO with the day-to-day management of the Company and Galapagos group.
The Executive Committee meets as often as necessary to ensure its effective operation, and in principle once per month.
On 31 December 2022, the Executive Committee consisted of four people: Stoffels IMC BV (permanently represented by Dr. Paul Stoffels) (CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee), Bart Filius (President, CFO and COO), Dr. Walid Abi-Saab (CMO) and Michele Manto (CCO), representing four different nationalities and different age categories. Dr. André Hoekema’s mandate as CBO and Executive Committee member ended per 31 October 2022. Dr. Walid Abi-Saab's mandate as CMO and Executive Committee member ended per 31 December 2022. He will stay with Galapagos until 31 May 2023 to ensure a smooth transition.
Furthermore, the Executive Committee members have different educational backgrounds, as can be read in each of their profiles (above).
The members of the Executive Committee are appointed by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of the Nomination Committee. In proposing candidates for the Executive Committee, particular consideration is given to educational and professional background, complementary skills, knowledge and experience, as well as to diversity in age, gender and nationality.