Dr. Thielmann has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry/ Material Science from the University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Frank joined Novartis Pharmaceutical Development (Basel, Switzerland) in July 2007 as Formulation Lab Head. From 2009 until 2011 he managed the pharmaceutical development group in the UK. Upon his return to Switzerland he joined Novartis Technical Operations where he was managing the setup of a new solid dosage form manufacturing facility and the transfer of the corresponding portfolio before moving to the Biotechnology department as global Leader for PMO & Operational Excellence in November 2016, In this role, Frank had additional responsibility as Operational Excellence Head of the new Novartis manufacturing facility for Cell & Gene Therapeutics in Switzerland.

In November 2019, Dr. Thielmann moved to a new responsibility at Takeda Manufacturing & Supply as Operational Excellence Director, where he is responsible for the implementation of process improvement in the manufacturing of a wide portfolio ranging from small molecules to ATMPs with a special focus on digitalization & automation.

Dr. Thielmann is a member of the Steering Committee of the Material Science and Biotherapeutics Focus Group in the British Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 

Dr. Pushkar Pendse is a Principal Consultant responsible for the Pharma 4.0 consulting at TÜV SÜD Digital Service in Singapore. He is a member of the global Pharma 4.0 working group at the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) and is part of the executive council of ISPE’s Singapore chapter. He has extensive experience in the life sciences sector, spanning from R&D to manufacturing operations and from small molecule drugs to biologics. He specializes in digital twins and advanced analytics and has led multiple digital innovation projects across the biopharma value chain. A chemical engineer by training, Pushkar holds a Ph.D. in complex systems modeling from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA.

Richard Denk has studied mechanical engineering and did an examination on experts of GMP, qualification and validation, pharmaceutical auditing, phar­maceutical engineering, quality control at the University of Applied Sciences in Albstadt/Sigmaringen Germany. Richard works at SKAN AG, headquartered in Allschwil, as the head of sales containment. He founded the expert Con­tainment Group of the ISPE DACH eight years ago. The Containment Group published the Containment Manual in September 2015. Richard has spent nearly 20 years working with highly active/highly hazardous substances and has developed the containment pyramid.

Teresa Minero is the Founder and the CEO of LifeBee, a business consulting and digital company dedicated to life sciences since 2004.

She has more than 30 years of experience in managing international consulting and digital innovation projects for production, logistics, quality, regulatory, and R&D, and in managing startups and business divisions for international consulting groups. She has spent more than 25 years within life sciences.

In ISPE, she is currently part of the International Board of Directors, the European Leadership Team, and the Steering Committee Pharma 4.0™ Global Special Interest Group.

She has been a lecturer and chairman at many conferences and has authored several articles on digitalizing life sciences and Pharma 4.0™.

Lidia is an architect with about 7 years of professional experience. Lidia achieved two master’s degrees in architecture. She has worked on projects of different scales and stages. 

Lidia is used to working internationally. She developed projects around the world, working in Germany, China, Italy, and Russia. Her projects and studies embraced a wide range of topics including industrial buildings. 

Before joining Pharmaplan, Lidia worked on competitions and detailed architectural designs of commercial buildings in Germany.

Christian Wölbeling is Executive Industry Advisor & Senior Strategic Account Manager Software at Körber Business Area Pharma, based in Lüneburg, Germany. With Werum PAS-X MES, Körber is the world’s leading supplier of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Manufacturing IT solutions for the pharma, biotech and cell & gene therapy industries. He helds a Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since 30 years working in Life Sciences Manufacturing IT, Christian has had great experience in all GMP-related processes. He has broad activities inside the ISPE as Founder & Chairman of the Special Interest Group “Pharma 4.0”, ISPE “GAMP MES Special Interest Group” Co-Chair, ISPE GAMP Member at large of the European Steering Committee, “PAT & Lifecycle Control Strategy” CoP Steering Member, ISPE Affiliate DACH Board Member.

Named as “Pharma Industry Leader” by the ISPE Pharmaceutical Engineering Magazine 2020.

Dr. Dieter Peters has 30-plus years of experience as a global operations executive in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry – turn arounds, profit improvement, reliability, and supply chain optimization. He advises senior leaders and their teams to develop strategies and their execution to transform their business by involving their people in an operational excellence culture aligned along the value chain to deliver increased cash flow, reduced risk exposure, and grow profit and business. Regions: North America, South America, Europe. Former positions: general manager and board member, EVP global product supply, site director, VP R&D organic chemicals, business analyst.

Teresa Minero is the founder and CEO of LifeBee, a business consulting and digi­tal company dedicated to life sciences since 2004. She has more than 30 years of experience in managing international consulting and digital innovation projects for production, logistics, quality, regulatory and R&D and in managing startups and business divisions for international consulting groups. More than 25 years have been spent within life sciences. She is currently also the chair of the ISPE Italian affiliate, part of the ISPE European leadership team and part of the ISPE steering committee for Pharma 4.0 Global Special Interest Group. She has been a lecturer and chairman at many conferences and an author of many articles on digitalising life sciences and Pharma 4.0.

Arul Joseph leads the Pharmaceutical Development and Clinical Supply Chain function at Avanir Pharmaceuticals. He has more than 15 years of experience in chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) pharmaceutical development and has held roles of increasing responsibility at Gilead Sciences, Merck, and Schering Plough. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA.  Arul earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, and an MBA in Strategy and Finance from New York University's Stern School of Business in New York, NY

Sunil has over 17 years of experience working in the engineering and validation fields of cGMP / FDA / EU / ISO regulated industry sectors.  

Sunil has a strong background in Cleaning Validation (CIP, COP, Manual), Process Validation, Process Design, Clean Utilities (WFI, PW, Clean Steam, Clean Air, Clean Gases), HVAC, Project Management, Sterilization and Processing Equipment Validation. Further expertise includes Process Optimization/Improvement, Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management methodologies for the pharmaceutical and biologics industry.  

Prior to joining Valgenesis, Sunil has had variety of Validation roles as consultant and corporate employee with increased responsibilities within Pharmaceutical and Biologics industry including Catalent, Eisai, Pfizer, Teva and Novartis.