Products Collaborations Better Planet Company News Join Us Meet Alvogen’s Senior Management Robert Wessman CHAIRMAN AND CEO Robert Wessman became the Executive Chairman of Alvogen in July 2009 and is now Chairman & CEO of the group. Since founding the business five years ago, Robert has grown Alvogen from a small US business into an international pharmaceuticals company with commercial operations in 34 countries and with 2,000 employees. Under Wessman’s leadership, Alvogen has set a clear goal to become a top ten global generics player, and is making strong progress towards that ambition. Wessman’s vision to create an organisation which is able to respond to the needs of its customers has led to the development of a balanced yet specialised portfolio consisting of 350 marketed products, as well as a deep pipeline of high-value products in development. Wessman is known for his clear focus and his ability to successfully combine operational efficiency and external growth through strategic acquisitions. Wessman has grown Alvogen’s revenue by an impressive 78% CAGR over the past five years, or by 59% on an organic basis. He has also overseen a number of strategic acquisitions and partnerships during that time, particularly to strengthen the company’s growth platforms in the APAC and CEE regions. A business graduate and former lecturer at the University of Iceland, Wessman began his career at the Icelandic shipping company Samskip where he quickly advanced to the post of CEO in Germany. In 1999, he became President and CEO of Delta in 1999, which later formed Actavis. Wessman was CEO of Actavis Group, which became one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world for nine years. His achievements have made him the subject of a Harvard Business School Case Study published in May 2008, titled “Robert Wessman and the Actavis Winning Formula”. ROBERT'S BLOG CONTACT Arni Hardarson DIRECTOR ON ALVOGEN’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS Arni Hardarson is a director on Alvogen’s Board of Directors and serves as the Company’s General Counsel. Prior to joining Alvogen in 1999, Hardarson worked for Deloitte in Iceland where he headed the Tax and Legal departments and soon went on to become a partner and member of the Executive Management Committee for Deloitte in 2001. In 2005 Hardarson joined Actavis as Vice President of Tax and Structure. During his tenure there, he worked closely with Robert Wessman and contributed to Actavis’ transformation from a regional manufacturer into a global pharmaceutical company, by engineering numerous company acquisitions that ultimately led to Actavis’ presence in over 40 countries around the world. Arni Hardarson holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Iceland and is a member of the Icelandic Bar Association. CONTACT Chris Young EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN Prior to joining the Alvogen leadership team, Chris was the Vice President of US and India Operations responsible for in-house and 3rd party operations, supply chain and the OTC business unit. Previously, he served as Managing Dir. of Solid Oral Dosage Operations for Actavis. During his 15 year tenure with Actavis, he led several cost improvement initiatives and start up operations which supported the aggressive growth of the company. Chris Young holds an MBA from Rutgers University and a B.S. degree in biology from Gettysburg College. CONTACT Fjalar Kristjánsson VICE PRESIDENT GLOBAL QUALITY AFFAIRS Kristjansson is also a Technical Director for Norwich Clinical Services, a CRO in India, and he has taken the lead for developing a plant for manufacturing of biosimilar products for Alvogen. Prior to joining Alvogen, Kristjansson began his career in 1987 with Delta Ltd in Iceland, which later became Actavis. He worked with Delta/Actavis until 2009, first as Head of Laboratory Operations and from 1999 as Head of Quality Assurance. From 2001 to 2003, Kristjansson was the Assistant Managing Director of Pharmamed in Malta, a subsidiary of Delta at that time, working on a major transformation of the GMP compliance of that company to make it fit for supplies into Europe. In 2003, he established a Site Development Group for Actavis, working on developing sites in Serbia, Bulgaria, Iceland, India, Malta and in other countries. In 2005, Kristjansson took on the role of Technical Director at Lotus Labs, a CRO in India. The task there was to strengthening the focus on U.S. and EU compliance. He held that role until 2009, when he joined Alvogen. Kristjansson is a qualified pharmacist with a master's degree from the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy. He also holds a master's and a PhD degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Kansas. CONTACT Georg Ingram EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Georg Ingram began his career in 1994 at Biochemie GmbH in Austria – later Sandoz GmbH – in marketing. From 1997 to 2003, he served as Head of Global Business Development. In 2003, Ingram moved to Pharmascience, Canada, as Senior Director European Business Development. Before joining Alvogen in 2009 he was the VP of Global Portfolio Management for Actavis Group. Joining Alvogen as Executive Vice President Global Business Development, Ingram brings 16 years of experience and contacts in the generic industry into his new position. His main focus will be on business development and on seeking strategic opportunities to expand the Group´s product portfolio and help build Alvogen into a leading global player in generics. Ingram studied chemistry and graduated with MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Innsbruck. Receiving a scholarship from the Austrian government, he worked from 1992-1993 in research in the field of chemistry at the University of Connecticut, in the United States. CONTACT Kevin M. Bain CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Kevin Bain is Chief Financial Officer for Alvogen. With more than 25 years of financial, operations and general management experience, Bain is responsible for all Finance and Information Technology functions for the global Alvogen business. Prior to joining Alvogen in August 2009, Bain spent almost four years with Actavis, one of the world´s leading generic pharmaceutical companies, where he was Vice President of Finance & Operations for Actavis US. Prior to Actavis, Bain spent almost five years with Danaher Corporation. As VP of Finance with one of Danaher’s Motion Control businesses he led several acquisitions and integrations in the US and Europe. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years working with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. During that time, he spent 13 years in Canada and nine years in the US with Johnson & Johnson Medical. Under his leadership, the company saw significant cost improvement initiatives implemented in this highly competitive, commodity products business. Bain led the implementation of a lean manufacturing project at one the company’s major North America plants. Bain graduated from the Accounting program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, Canada. He also holds a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) degree from the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario. CONTACT Lisa Graver EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC OPERATIONS Lisa is the Executive Vice President of Strategic Operations for the Alvogen Americas business. Lisa is responsible for Portfolio Management, R&D, Regulatory Affairs, and the Intellectual Property and corporate legal strategy and litigation in the US. She has over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, prior to joining Alvogen, Lisa was a member of the US leadership team at Actavis, where she lead the company‘s IP group. Before moving in-house, she was in the IP litigation group at Kirkland & Ellis. Lisa holds a juris doctorate, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She earned her undergraduate degree, with honors, in biology and biological anthropology from Lakehead University CONTACT Petar Vazharov EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT SALES & MARKETING CEE Petar Vazharov is the Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing in Central and Eastern Europe. He joined Alvogen in December 2009, after nine years with the generic pharmaceuticals company Actavis Group in various roles – Sales Representative, Division Head in Central Marketing and Senior Manager in Global Business Development. Petar graduated with a medical doctor’s degree from Sofia University of Medicine, in 1999 and has an MBA degree from University of Sofia “Kliment Ohridski” since October 2007. CONTACT Peter Keil EVP SALES IN ASIA PACIFIC Peter Keil is the EVP of Sales in Asia Pacific and leads the commercial activities for all countries in the region (excl. China). Keil comes with over 15 years experience in Asia’s generic industry after working in quality assurance, global procurement, commercial divisions and most recently as country head in Thailand for Sandoz. Keil graduated from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, in Business Administration and is a chemical engineer from the Chemotechnikum in Graz, Austria. CONTACT Svafa Gronfeldt CHIEF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Svafa Gronfeldt is the Chief Organizational Development Officer of Alvogen. She is responsible for the structure, strategy and human resources needed for a fast growing organization. Previously she has managed multiple integration projects in more than 20 countries and led the organizational development of Actavis Group as deputy to the CEO, Robert Wessman, in the making of one of the world’s largest generic pharmaceuticals companies. Svafa holds a PhD in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics and has over 20 years experience from academic and business leadership positions. Her scope of work at Alvogen includes strategy formulation, structure and process design, performance and synergy tracking, integration and selection of key personnel. CONTACT Thor Kristjansson EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Thor Kristjansson is Alvogen´s EVP for Mergers and Acquisitions. Thor has for over 25 years experience through various positions, specializing on finance, project management and general management. He leads Alvogen´s global M&A activities with special focus on emerging markets areas in Asia and CEE. Thor further serves as a Board Member of Alvogen´s public companies in Asia, Kunwha and Lotus Pharmaceuticals and will continue to support their growth. Thor Kristjansson worked for Actavis from 2001 through 2004 as the group´s Deputy CEO, focusing on external growth. Prior to joining Alvogen he worked for several private equity companies and funds focusing on different sectors, including pharmaceuticals, financial services, shipping and seafood. Thor has served as a board member for several Icelandic and International companies. Thor graduated from University of Iceland in 1988 specializing on Business Administration and Finance. CONTACT William Hill EVP – US COMMERCIAL OPERATION William Hill brings 25 years of brand and generic pharmaceuticals experience in roles of increasing responsibility that includes multiple therapeutic areas and all classes of trade. Mr. Hill comes to Alvogen from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, where he led North American sales and commercial operations. He was promoted to VP Sales after a successful tenure in National Accounts, highlighted by several Paragraph 4 product launches and Dr. Reddy’s entry into the top ten generic company status. Prior to Dr. Reddy’s, Mr. Hill served in sales and management roles URL, Dey, Warner Chilcott, Endo and Sandoz. Bill is married (wife Christy) and resides with his three children (Quentin 13, Jaden 11, Maya 9) in Lake Norman, NC. CONTACT OTHER MANAGEMENT Alvogen on Twitter info@alvogen.com Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2013 Alvogen. All rights reserved