Board Of Directors

Claude H. Nash, Chairman
Holger Kunze, CEO
Gunnar Weikert
Wolfgang Reichenberger
Sven Thormahlen

Claude H. Nash, Ph.D. | Chairman

Dr. Nash brings to Accera more than 20 years of executive management experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Claude Nash is currently the chairman and CEO of Bloodstone Ventures plc. Previously he was the founder, CEO, and chairman of ViroPharma Inc. where he oversaw the development of several antiviral drugs, successfully raised $430M in capital and achieved a $1.2B market capitalization for the company following its Initial Public Offering. Prior to founding ViroPharma, Dr. Nash was Vice President of infectious disease and cancer research at the Schering-Plough Research Institute where he initiated new strategic technologies for drug discovery and advanced three new drugs into development. Throughout his career he has managed the research and development of more than twenty drugs in the areas of infectious diseases, cancer, hypertension and pain. In the past he worked for several large pharmaceutical companies including Sterling-Winthrop, Smith Kline & French, and Eli Lilly. He is currently a director of Adolor, Inc. Dr. Nash earned his Ph.D. degree in microbial genetics and biochemistry from Colorado State University.

Holger Kunze | Director and CEO

With more than 30 years managerial experience with multinational pharmaceutical and nutrition companies, Holger Kunze, currently serves as President and CEO of Accera, Inc., a privately-held, commercial-stage, healthcare company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics to treat central nervous system disorders. Mr. Kunze previously served as the Regional Business Unit Head for Nestle Health Science’s HealthCare Nutrition Business Unit in the Africa, Oceania and Asia (AOA) territories. While managing more than 600 employees, Mr. Kunze integrated the Novartis Medical Nutrition Business into the Nestle Nutrition Division, leading it to one of the top Medical Nutrition companies in the region with more than $250M in sales for 2011. Under his leadership, Nestle Health Science consistently delivered annual targeted top and bottom line performance and is gaining market share in all key markets. Prior to joining Nestle, Mr. Kunze held various managerial positions within Novartis for more than 10 years. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Kunze led and managed the Consumer Health division of the Asia Regional Novartis Medical Nutrition business unit. During his tenure, Mr. Kunze established the Asia Regional Medical Nutrition Office in Singapore, supported and coordinated the acquisition of the Mead Johnson Adult Nutrition business and lead and managed the Medical Nutrition businesses for Novartis in 17 Asian countries. Prior to his position as Manager for Novartis Medical Nutrition, Mr. Kunze served as the Region Head for Novartis’ Consumer Health “OTC” Unit in the Greater China area for nearly three years where he stabilized and grew the business after several years of poor performance and high employee turnover. Additionally, he established a new product registration strategy in China, continued to grow market share and launched two new products in Taiwan. He also hired and built a new management team and launched two new products and gained market share in Hong Kong. Among Mr. Kunze’s other positions within Novartis included Managing Director of Consumer Health “OTC and Nutrition” Business Units in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Medial Nutrition Manager of Novartis Medical Nutrition business unit in Asia and Marketing Manager of Novartis Nutrition USA. Prior to his time with Novartis, Mr. Kunze held various managerial positions within Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and additionally worked as a scientist for Phillip Morris USA. Mr. Kunze holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University and is complemented by his MBA coursework at the University of Colorado.

Gunnar Weikert, M.D., Ph.D., MBA | Director

Dr. Weikert is the Chairman, CEO and Founder of Inventages Venture Capital. Prior to the founding of Inventages, he had more than 10 years experience in a broad spectrum of executive functions in the pharmaceutical industry culminating as senior vice president and global head for life sciences transactions at Bayer AG. While at Bayer, he oversaw venture investments in technology companies and collaborations representing some of the largest transactions involving large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the late 1990s. Dr. Weikert received his M.D. from the University of Düsseldorf and his Ph.D. in the field of metabolism from the Diabetes Research Center in Germany. He also holds an MBA.

Wolfgang Reichenberger, Ph.D. | Director

Dr. Reichenberger has many years of financial and executive management experience in the food and nutrition industry. During a 29 year career at the world's largest food company, Nestle SA, he led different functions and overall operations in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North and South America. Recently he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nestle SA, and he served on the governing admission body at the Swiss Stock Exchange. Currently he is Founder and General Partner of Inventages WHealth Management Inc. and IVC Americas SA. Dr. Reichenberger serves on the Board of Directors for several U.S. and European biotechnology companies. He earned a Masters of Business Administration from Hochschule St. Gallen and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Wirtschaftsuniversitaet Wien.

Sven Thormahlen, Ph.D. | Director

Sven Thormahlen, Ph.D., currently serves as the CEO of MucoVax, a biological immune care company based in Germany. Prior to this role, Dr. Thormahlen served as the International Executive Director of Research and Development for Groupe Danone for nearly a decade with more than twenty years experience in successfully managing industrial research and product development departments with emphasis on fast moving consumer goods, medical devices, OTC products and medical nutrition. At Groupe Danone, Dr. Thormahlen headed more than 1,500 researchers while overseeing four divisions, including medical nutrition, dairy foods, waters and beverages and baby and infant nutrition. Prior to joining Groupe Danone, Dr. Thormahlen was responsible for global development of all skincare and makeup product brands at L’Oréal, including Lancôme and Maybelline. Furthermore, Dr. Thormahlen collaborated with leading scientists at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania to develop NIVEA and Beiersdorf medical devices. Among Dr. Thormahlen’s professional affiliations include membership within IFN and CIAA, in addition to serving as a scientific advisor for DuPont Nemours in Wilmington and leading director of Danone/Yakult International Probiotic Council. He holds a Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Organic Chemistry from Hamburg University in Germany.