Meet Confirmed Speakers from the European Commission
DIA Europe 2024 is the only event where you can hear from nearly all top executives at the European Commission
We are honored to have them partner so closely with us, especially at such a momentous period for Europe. Learn more below about these leaders of today.
Rainer Becker, Director, DG SANTE
Rainer Becker is director in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety. He heads the directorate for Medical Products and Innovation, responsible amongst others for Europe’s Pharmaceutical Strategy and its follow-up initiatives such as the revision of pharmaceutical EU legislation and policy initiatives on availability of medicines. His directorate also leads the Commission’s policy work on medical devices and veterinary medicines. Prior to his current position, Rainer was for several years in charge of antitrust enforcement for pharmaceuticals and health in the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition. Before joining the Commission in 2004, Rainer was a senior lawyer in an international law firm.
Olga Solomon, Head of Unit B5 – Medicines: policy, authorisation and monitoring, DG SANTE
Olga Solomon studied Chemistry at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and holds an MSc in Food Science from the Gothenburg University, Sweden. Before joining the European Commission she worked for 5 years for a beverage producing company in Greece. Solomon joined DG SANCO in 2000 and worked for 10 years in the field of Food Safety in particular dealing with legislation on Food Contact Materials, Food Additives and Enzymes. In 2010, she moved to the Directorate 'Health Systems and Products' where she worked in the field of substances of human origin before taking up a post in the pharmaceutical sector in 2011. She is currently the Head of the DG SANTE Unit responsible for Medicines: policy, authorisation and monitoring.
Maya Matthews, Head of Unit State of Health, European Semester, Health Technology Assessment, Belgium
Maya Matthews has worked in public health for the past 25 years. Since October 2022, Ms Matthews is the Acting Director for Digital, EU4health and health systems modernisation as well as Head of Unit for State of health, European Semester, HTA at the European Commission Health and Food Safety Directorate General, where she was previously Deputy Head of Unit in the Strategy and Coordination unit. From 2013-2016, Maya worked at the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva, where she covered health issues and relations with the WHO. Before joining the EC in 2008, she worked in Brussels for Eurohealthnet and consulted on reproductive health, HIV prevention and Tuberculosis.
Irene Norstedt,
Director of the People Directorate within DG Research and Innovation
Irene Norstedt is the Director of the People Directorate within DG Research and Innovation. She has been at the European Commission since 1996 and was instrumental in the creation of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) in 2008. She served as Acting Executive Director of IMI from December 2014 to September 2015.
Carmen Laplaza-Santos, Head of Unit of Health Innovations & Ecosystems, DG SANTE
Lenita Lindström, ICH Assembly Chair and Senior Expert, Belgium
Lindström is the Chair of the ICH Assembly. She is working as a Senior Expert in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) in the European Commission where she is in charge of international relations in the field of pharmaceuticals. Mrs Lindström-Gommers has over 20 years experience in the European Commission, including over 10 years in the field of pharmaceuticals. She holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki, Finland.
Isabelle Clamou, Policy Officer, DG SANTE
Olga Tkachenko, Policy Officer, Belgium
Lilia Luchianov, Policy Officer, DG SANTE
Lilia Luchianov, of the European Commission's DG SANTE, has extensive experience in pharmaceuticals, previously in DG COMP. Currently, she focuses on revising pharmaceutical legislation and is involved in the legislative procedure. Lilia co-authored a handbook on EU Law of Competition and Trade in the Pharmaceutical Sector (2019), lectured on Competition Law and IP Law at the University of Strasbourg, and delivered numerous speeches on pharmaceutical, competition, and IP law. She holds an LLM in European Law from the College of Europe, Bruges, and a Master in Business Law from the University of Strasbourg.
Hannah Marie Weller, Directorate-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Luxembourg
Lina Koufokotsiou, Policy Officer - Pharmaceuticals, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, DG SANTE
Ferenc Marofka, Policy Officer Health Medicines, Belgium
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