Introducing our Global Advisors Network (GAN)
Bio leaders championing diversity and impact (SDGs)
It’s 2021 and we are delighted to announce two new additions to our global advisors network (GAN) — Peder Holk-Nielsen and Shannon Shibata-Germanos.
Global Bio Fund was launched in 2020 under the guidance of a stellar group of leaders who collectively form the GAN. The members of this group are leaders in bio sectors across academia, industry, investment to international affairs and development. Jointly with the GBF team, partners, entrepreneurs and network they strategise, advocate and grow the organization with a strong focus on addressing diversity and impact throughout our activities.
In this piece we briefly introduce all the GAN members and what motivates them personally to be an essential part of the Global Bio Fund. To learn more about our GAN members, check out their profiles on our website.
Rifat Atun ( Professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard University):
Global Bio Fund fills a void in the investment landscape: the intersection of impactful investments for sustainable development and diverse teams, designed to empower women entrepreneurs and those from underrepresented groups. This is exactly the kind of inclusive vision needed to address global challenges .
Kirsten Gagnaire (CEO at Kati Collective):
Throughout my career I have worked towards women’s equitable access to healthcare, education, financing and other opportunities. I believe that women are the key to creating a more just and sustainable world. The Global Bio Fund provides critical access to capital, expertise and networks which will allow women entrepreneurs to be a part of solving the world’s toughest issues with their ingenuity, passion and insights.
Peder Holk- Nielsen (Former CEO of Novozymes):
I’m very passionate about collectively creating a world that’s more sustainable and inclusive. My trade has always been biotechnology and I believe that the technology and that companies mastering it can make significant contributions. I spoke at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 when the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, and I see a direct line from there to what Global Bio Fund is now undertaking in support of the goals. I look forward to help.
Annalisa Jenkins (Board Member at Faster Cures Milken Institute):
It is a true privilege to work with the next generation of leaders at Global Bio Fund who care passionately about the health of our planet and the health of its people globally through equitable access to capital and opportunity.
Andrew Kelly (Executive Director & Co-Founder at Bio Pacific Partners):
GBF seems to be filling a gap that is crying out for attention — ventures that are as good, or better, than those which traditional VCs back, but which are neglected for all the wrong reasons. After a career in investment, this one has a brand new look and feel, and I want to be part of that.
Jaideep Prabhu (Professor of Business and Enterprise at University of Cambridge):
Three things motivates my involvement with the Global Bio Fund: 1) the area of healthcare and biotech more generally, 2) the focus on diversity and entrepreneurship in this space, and 3) the founding team.
Shannon Germanos (Board Member, UNAIDS Health Innovation Exchange):
As an investor in healthcare innovation, I am passionate about financing and building scalable businesses that produce market returns, built intuitively from the outset to enable delivery of contextual, decentralized, equitable healthcare globally. Thus supporting initiatives such as GBF are critical to identify, and scaffold remarkable innovators in building meaningful tools and ecosystems for powerful growth.
Wendee Wolfson (Investment Committee member at Next Wave Impact):
Innovative ideas happen everywhere and so often those that originate in or are serving emerging economies on health care issues are really challenged to find funding support. Ipshita and her team have created a clear vision for connecting resources, funding and otherwise, to women entrepreneurs creating solutions to these critical health care needs around the world and are demonstrating a methodical approach to executing on this vision.
We are grateful for the contributions of these leaders of the bioeconomy. We welcome suggestions for members who can further enrich the Global Bio Fund community with their distinctive leadership.
