Leadership

Amar Ali is a social entrepreneur and is dedicated to establishing businesses in the food, agriculture and nutrition sectors. 

Eager to harness the power of partnerships and technological innovation to tackle global health challenges, he joined Vestergaard in March 2023. 

As CEO, Amar aims to tap into the experience and expertise of a diverse global team to make Vestergaard a leading force in eliminating malaria while setting new standards in sustainability and regional manufacturing. He believes the organization’s passion, purpose, partnerships and agility enable it to excel in an increasingly multinational market. 

His career reflects his own adaptability and versatility. Starting in the UK, he worked in various multinational roles, including leading early-stage e-commerce initiatives at Accenture. He later became a sports and organizational psychologist, strategy consultant and corporate executive in revenue management, marketing and pricing. 

In Africa, Amar led the Africa Region for DSM-Firmenich, a $15 billion nutrition and health company, and served as CEO of Africa Improved Foods, a $90 million public-private partnership tackling malnutrition. 

Over the years, he has built relationships with global corporations, collaborated with governments across Africa and Europe, and led partnerships with organizations including the World Food Program, UNICEF and World Vision. 

He excels in building effective, diverse organizations and bridging private, public and development sectors for the common good, combining systemic thinking with swift action. 

To unwind, Amar practices martial arts and enjoys Chinese philosophy and music. He frequents concerts and festivals, dabbles in music production and plays the bongos. Above all, he loves spending time with his daughters, Maia and Sanna. 

Nicolas Schornoz is the Chief Financial and Operating Officer of Vestergaard. Nicolas has over 25 years of experience in global finance gained in the Big Four and big to small size multinationals in the EU, US and Emerging Markets. He has a deep understanding of the value chain across the industry life cycle acquired through numerous leadership roles in Finance, IT, HR, Supply Chain, Engineering and General management. He has led multiple business development and strategic transformation projects across broad geographies. Nicolas has an Executive Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne and Bachelor of Business Administration and Finance from the School of Business and Engineering of Lausanne. Nicolas currently serves as the Chief Financial & Operating Officer for Vestergaard. He served for 20 years in the Swiss Army and retired with the rank of Captain.

With qualifications as both a medical doctor and an MBA, Farah Jawitz brings a unique blend of skills to Vestergaard. Transitioning from clinical medicine, Farah embarked on a career in public health and business and joined Vestergaard in 2021, driven by the company's strong sense of purpose and commitment to improving people's lives. 

Farah is adept at fostering collaboration, ensuring all voices are heard, challenging the status quo, and creatively solving problems through innovation and human-centered design. 

Prior to joining Vestergaard, Farah ventured into the start-up arena, leading an early-stage spin-out from the University of Oxford. This venture developed material science solutions to combat falsified medicines in developing countries, with a particular focus on fake antimalarials. 

Farah is passionate about pushing her limits, both professionally and personally. Despite having no previous experience in cycling or marathons, she recently took up long-distance cycling and completed a 106km tour in her beloved hometown of Cape Town. 

Dr Rinki Deb is the Director of Science, Research and Market Access at Vestergaard. She provides scientific leadership in support of Vestergaard’s innovation pipeline and market access strategy for the PermaNet portfolio, in addition she is responsible for developing research partnerships and opportunities to support product development from concept to commercialisation.

Rinki has worked in global health for over 15 years, focusing on translational and operational research, and product development for the elimination of neglected tropical diseases across Africa and Asia. She provided technical leadership to the Indian government in establishing sustainable infrastructure for integrated vector monitoring across three States; and evidence generation for a policy-change to move away from indoor residual spraying (IRS) with DDT to achieve visceral leishmaniasis elimination.  Rinki was also part of the core founding team that developed a non-destructive sensor to monitor real-time the quality of IRS, using microwave sensor technology.

Prior to joining Vestergaard, Rinki was the Project Manager at a UK-based infectious diseases drug discovery biotech and the Infection Innovation Consortium (iiCON), the world leading centre for infection innovation and R&D, where she managed a £180M mixed portfolio of projects and supported advancement of innovative therapeutics, diagnostics and preventative products.

She holds a PhD in Tropical Medicine (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine), two Masters’ degrees Medical Parasitology (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Project Management (University of Liverpool) and a BSc in Molecular Biology with Forensic Science (Queen Mary’s University London).

Lizi Jenkins joined Vestergaard in 2025 as Product Director, driven by a desire to work on solutions that directly improve and save lives in vulnerable communities. After several years leading global product and innovation portfolios in the pest control industry, Lizi was drawn to Vestergaard’s mission of using science-led innovation to tackle some of the world’s biggest public health challenges.

What Lizi loves about working at Vestergaard is the clear sense of purpose behind every product and project. She values the opportunity to collaborate with passionate, multidisciplinary teams in a dynamic, mission-driven environment. Lizi is especially excited about harnessing Vestergaard’s world-class material science and innovative technologies, not only in public health but also exploring how these solutions can bring value to other markets.

She is passionate about creating user-focused, data-driven product solutions and thrives on translating complex needs into tangible, impactful products. With a BSc in Microbiology and an MBA from Manchester Business School, she brings a combination of technical understanding and strategic business acumen to bridge the gap between science and business to create meaningful, commercially viable products. Lizi’s strengths lie in strategic portfolio management, translating scientific research into product specifications, and driving product development projects from concept to market in fast-moving, international contexts. Over the past 15 years, she's worked at the heart of innovation and product development, operating at the intersection of R&D, commercial teams, and customers bringing structure and clarity to fast-moving, multidisciplinary projects.

Outside of work, Lizi enjoys exploring new places with her daughter, spending time outdoors, especially being near water, partaking in sports such as white water kayaking and wild swimming.

Gil is the Director of Public Health Sales at Vestergaard. Gil is a dynamic sales leader with a proven track record in driving multi-channel revenue growth across international markets. With over two decades of experience in international business development driving sales team and building top accounts partnership, we can describe him as a very result driven person.

He joined Vestergaard on the 1st of March 2025 coming from the sister company LifeStraw where he was in charge of International Sales covering retail, online and institutional/humanitarian sales across 4 continents.

In his role, he looks forward to continuing the incredible legacy that Vestergaard has built up so far in the prevention of Malaria. Contributing to the fight against malaria and making a positive impact is a very powerful driver for him.

Gil is Belgian, he has a Master Degree in Economics and lives in the area of Morges(CH) with his wife and 2 kids. He is passionate about outdoor sports and back country ski as well as aerial photography via drone. He really loves traveling and kite surfing especially when he could share those moments with his family and friends.

Patrick Sieyes, our Head of Global Growth and Advocacy, has worked in sales and advocacy across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa for over 20 years. He has a proven track record in driving high growth, creating social impact, and unlocking human potential in complex and emerging markets. 

Patrick joined Vestergaard in February 2004, drawn by the organization's mission to tackle global health challenges while achieving commercial success. He is passionate about forming effective strategies through partnerships with businesses, governments, donors, foundations and policymakers to improve the lives of hard-to-reach or under-resourced populations. Patrick has also contributed to developing strategies that align Vestergaard with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. 

Patrick has firsthand experience with the devastating impact of malaria and the life-saving difference of effective interventions and is passionate about helping to eliminate the disease. 

Over his 20 years with the company, Patrick has worked in Denmark, the Middle East and Africa, and is now based at our head office in Switzerland. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring nature, whether photographing Dubai's desert, observing wildlife in Kenya's savannah, or hiking and alpine skiing in the Swiss Alps. 

Sarah-Jane has over 20 years of non-profit and corporate communications experience focused on health, equity and sustainability. Prior to joining Vestergaard in 2024, she headed the communications function at FIND, a product development partnership focused on diagnostics for global health. Her 7-year tenure at FIND included communications management for the diagnostics pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator during the pandemic. Her private sector experience was gained in-house in communications and marketing roles at Merck Serono, as well as in agencies including leadership of the healthcare division of Weber Shandwick Switzerland. Sarah-Jane is British, with a BSc (Hons) from City University and a master's degree from Royal Holloway, University of London. She is a trained medical editor and qualified as a Certified Medical Communications Professional.

Natasha Katelbach holds more than 20 years' HR experience in HR service delivery, people management, business support and stakeholder engagement across different industries, cultures and continents.  

She is driven by innovative thinking, being at the forefront of change, and discovering new and better ways of doing things. She believes in transparency, fairness and fostering a resilient and open-minded workforce where every individual is supported to be their best and truest self. 

Natasha joined Vestergaard in March 2024, attracted by its mission to address public health challenges and promote societal change, as well as its energy, international workforce, and diversity of thought and talent. As the leader of our People & Culture department, she is committed to supporting Vestergaard's continued progress. 

She draws from her own international background, having lived in Qatar, Mexico, Belgium, France and now Switzerland.  

In her spare time, Natasha enjoys watching rugby and contemporary dance - the former for the game's complexity, beauty and demonstration of teamwork; the latter as a beautiful reflection of societal challenges.