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Aspreva Pharmaceuticals
Executive Vice President for Regulatory and Clinical Affairs
SFU BPK Alumni

After completing my degrees at SFU, I studied medicine in Germany and also completed a PhD in sport physiology. Later, I added an MBA to the alphabet soup after my name. I worked as a physician for some years, but spent most of my working time in research in both academic and corporate environments. Twice in my career, I was very fortunate in being able to lead teams that made life changing new medicines available to desperately ill patients. The last position I held was Executive Vice President for Regulatory and Clinical Affairs at Aspreva Pharmaceuticals. The last few years I spent sailing almost around the world with my wife before we settled in Vancouver again. As a consultant, I try to encourage people working in the biotech industry in BC.

QUESTIONS:

Why did you choose to go to SFU?   

I wanted to leave Germany and study on the West Coast of North America. SFU offered a wide variety of programs at reasonable prices at the time.

Where did you spend the most amount of time on campus?

In Shell House (student residence), at that time also occasionally called the “dog house”. I also spent some time in the pub in between visits to the library.

What is your favorite memory from your time at SFU?

Meeting many interesting people from all around the world.

Who was your favorite SFU professor and why?

Not one person, but the amazing variety of personalities and experiences was great.

How has your SFU degree impacted your career? 

It opened my eyes to the many possibilities there are. I had never heard of Kinesiology before I came to SFU, but was able to launch an extremely rewarding career out of it.

What is your favorite SFU snow story?

Cross-country skiing on the roads.

If you could give advice to students today, what would you tell them?

Follow your passion and go out there to make a difference!

What is the one thing about SFU that must not change?

Openness to new people, ideas, structures and approaches.


This post was originally posted to the SFU BPK Alumni Page.