Management team

Claire has worked in healthcare across marketing, insights, sales and consulting both on manufacturer and agency side with qualifications and training that include Ba (Hons) in Medical Sciences, membership to Chartered Institute of Marketing and completion of Accelerated Development Program from London Business School. Claire’s previous company to Nelsons was Johnson & Johnson, where she worked in their Consumer, Diabetes and Vision Care franchises. She began as J&J Consumer UK Business Unit Head (Pharmacy and Professional) across Baby, Beauty, OTC and Healthcare categories and her ultimate position was on the EMA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Board in charge of J&J Vision Care Commercial Strategy and Customer Excellence. Her strong leadership experience has been in competitive and changing healthcare environments with a focus on the consumer and her passion is in developing people and organizations. Claire likes running and fitness; she mentors young people with The Prince’s Trust and hosts tea parties for Help the Elderly.

Gary qualified as a Chartered Accountant with leading auditors KPMG before working for Robertson Foods and leading their business integration with Unilever Foods. He held senior finance positions (CFO and VP of Finance) across several business divisions including Unilever South Africa where he played a lead role in reshaping to deliver step-change growth. Gary has also held global VP finance roles based in Unilever’s London HQ, ranging from VP of Global Mergers and Acquisition to VP Finance for Unilever’s Global Business Services. Most recently, he was CFO for the Iced Tea joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo, based in Geneva. Gary is originally from South Africa but has lived in the UK for the last 10 years. In his spare time he enjoys either playing or watching sports. He also enjoys travelling to new countries and is intent on further improving his skiing skills.

Cris graduated from University of Leeds with a degree in Economics and has since held a number of senior marketing roles at both local and group level within the healthcare arena including Boots Healthcare International where he spent over 2 years in the U.S. leading the marketing for North America. He spent a significant amount of his career at Novartis Consumer, first as Marketing Director, managing a team across NW Europe responsible for Voltarol, Nicotinell and Otrivin, and then as Global Category General Manager in the Cough/Cold division, and finally Head of Marketing for Europe where he had a specific responsibility for marketing capability and talent management in addition to the brand and category strategy. Cris’s most recent role was Integrated Marketing Communications Director at L’Oreal, responsible for La Roche, Vichy and Roger & Gallet, looking after the marketing, PR, digital and medical relations in what was the fastest growing division at L’Oreal. In his spare time, Cris volunteers his marketing expertise to Amnesty International on their Board of consultants.

Simon graduated from the University of Kent Canterbury and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Simon has over 20 years of HR experience across a number of sectors. Starting his HR career in consultancy supporting Blue Chip organizations to deliver HR projects, Simon has considerable international HR experience in Europe, USA, Africa and Middle East. Prior to joining Nelsons he held senior HR roles in leading pharmaceutical and financial organizations. Simon’s interests include family, sports (particularly rugby), and has just completed his first Triathlon.

Aftab graduated from the University of Durham with a degree in politics before starting his career in Custom research and Analytics-based Insights. Aftab’s previous roles including Global Strategic Insights Director at Johnson & Johnson Vision care, Business Insights Director EMA at Lifescan (a Johnson & Johnson company) and Director of Marketing, Research, Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa in baby and mass adult skincare (Johnson & Johnson Consumer division). Aftab’s previous responsibilities include shaping Global equity strategy and NPD requirements for his brands; Category Considerer research to understand their purchasing triggers, in order to develop effective TV and Digital campaigns; and working closely with retailers to support their strategic planning to engage consumers.

Richard graduated from Nottingham University and is a member of the Chartered Quality Institute. He brings a wealth of experience from his previous role as Global Head of Operational Excellence at the Tecan Group, a medical device company based in Switzerland, where he was responsible for ensuring compliance with global regulations for their sites in Europe and US. Prior to Tecan, Richard was Head of Quality for Reckitt Benckiser, leading the global quality team and setting the quality direction for the organization, and at Estée Lauder Companies in various Quality leadership roles, working for 10 years in Canada and US. His vision for Quality and Regulatory Operations at Nelsons is to support the economic success of the business by delivering high quality products to consumers and to protect the brands by ensuring compliance with regulations in all markets. Richard is married with one son. In his spare time he enjoys hiking and surfing.

Selene has a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and since then has headed up EU and Global Supply Chains for several leading pharmaceutical companies, including Quest Diagnostics, the Global diagnostics and clinical trials company, where Selene and her team successfully managed the repatriation of clinical trial samples during the EyjafjallajÖkull volcano incident. Selene also worked for Teva Pharmaceuticals, the Israeli Pharmaceutical Company, initially conducting a cost reduction program at Ivax Pharmaceuticals prior to their acquisition by Teva, and then integrating smaller EU markets into the global Teva network. Most recently, Selene was Vice President of Supply Chain at Skyepharma (now Vectura) a global drug delivery company where Selene built and led the Supply Chain team, who more than tripled volume, driving revenue and profit growth. Outside work, Selene enjoys skiing, swimming and flying as well as reading and theater.

After graduating from Hull University, Steve worked in the Chemical and Crop Protection industry in the European, Asian, North and South American and African Market, representing the UK industry at trade associations. Once moving to Nelsons, Steve has been responsible for global regulations, has played an active role in New Product Development, and is responsible for pharmacovigilance drug safety and post-market surveillance. Steve is a board member of various trade associations, including the BAHM (British Association of Homeopathic Manufacturers) and ECHAMP (European Coalition for Homeopathic & Anthroposophic Medicinal Products), and HFMA (Health Food Manufacturers Association), regularly attending meetings in Brussels and across Europe. Outside of the EU, he is also a member of the HPCUS (Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States) and sits on the COP, S&C and MRC committees.