Executive Committee

Appointed: January 2021
Nationality: Belgian

Karl Rotthier is CEO of EUROAPI. With nearly three decades spent in senior management positions, he also brings to his role strong API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) business experience.

Karl has a strong track record in carve-out and spin-off operations. At EUROAPI, he’s put together a committed management team that reflects the DNA of an efficient company: agility, and the ability to unlock its growth potential.

His international career has included positions in Europe and further afield, such as in Singapore. Karl started his career as a lawyer in Belgium and worked for BASF in Belgium and Germany leading, amongst others, the Performance Chemicals business unit of BASF in Ludwigshafen. He then joined DSM and became CEO of DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals. More recently, he was CEO of Centrient Pharmaceuticals.

Karl holds master’s degrees in Law from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and the University of Southampton (UK), and an MBA from Vlerick Business School‎ (Belgium).

Married and a father of two, Karl is a football, skiing and golf fan, and enjoys travel, art and music.

Appointed: February 2020
Nationality: French

Antoine Delcour is the Chief Financial Officer at EUROAPI. He previously held the same position at Sanofi Active Ingredient Solutions. Antoine has been with the Sanofi Group since 2014, and has led many strategic projects (industrial JV, acquisitions, divestments, licenses) while developing his leadership, negotiation and strategic skills.

He started his career in 2001 at Unilever as a Manufacturing Controller. He then served as Marketing Controller for the personal care segment in France.

In 2006, he moved to Schlumberger, where he held various positions in finance. He became CFO of one of the company’s American plants and development centers before moving to Vietnam to serve as country CFO. He later moved back to Europe to work as the European tax manager in Paris.

Antoine graduated from the ESSEC Business School and holds a post-graduate degree in Food Industry Management. He also has a master’s degree in Applied Biology and Industrial Processes.

In his free time, Antoine enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and attending concerts in a wide range of genres.

Appointed: October 2020
Nationality: French

Cécile Maupas, with her long experience in Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for the pharmaceutical industry, joined Sanofi in 2020 as Head of CDMO and Business Scouting for Sanofi Active Ingredient Solutions. Cécile is an expert in the management of new and transforming organizations. She is also skilled in business development, customer-centricity, and sales team management.

She started her career as Sales Manager at GE Healthcare Life Sciences, promoting innovative biotechnology solutions. She went on to become Strategic Account Manager for pharma and biopharma customers, a position she held for 10 years.

She then spent eight years at Novasep, where she developed the CDMO biopharma business. There, she led its European and Asian Business Development team as the CDMO Biopharma Sales Director. Before joining Sanofi, she also contributed to the growth of Pierre Fabre’s CDMO Injectables and Biotech business worldwide. 

Cécile graduated from the University of Paris, and she holds a master’s degree in Biochemistry applied to biological and medical engineering.

Cécile is passionate about Jazz music and Latin dance. She likes cooking for friends, family and enjoys simple moment like seeing her daughter laughing, watching the countryside, ocean, nature and sharing a good bottle of Burgundy wine with close friends and relatives.

Appointed: October 2021
Nationality: French

Laurent Alexandre is Chief Commercial Officer at EUROAPI. He is tasked with developing and leading the company’s API portfolio strategy, as well as contributing to the IPO planned for later this year. He has been with the group since 2021 and brings with him extensive international experience.

He began his career in 2001 as Sales Manager at IMCD and Axyntis, a position he held until 2007. He then joined PCAS as Sales Manager for the U.S. market, becoming Sales Director and a member of the Executive Committee in 2010.

From 2012 to 2019, Laurent served as PCAS General Manager in the U.S. He was head of the generic API business line until 2019, when the company was acquired. More recently, he worked in the healthcare sector, where he served as Global Commercial Director at Johnson Matthey.

Laurent graduated with a master’s degree in Biochemistry from Paris VI University in 1999 and a DESS degree in Science & Management in 2000.

Laurent enjoys traveling and also holds an air pilot’s license.

Appointed: February 2020
Nationality: French

Eric Berger is Chief Operating Officer of EUROAPI managing industrial operations, development and Innovation and the procurement function at local and central level.

He began his career in Canada in Biotech Process Development before joining Roussel Uclaf. After three years as leader of Synkem, Eric joined Aventis as head of the Vertolaye site, before moving to Neuville-sur-Saone where he led the project to create a new vaccines campus for Sanofi Pasteur.

In 2011, Eric moved to the U.S. to manage company integration and manufacturing for Genzyme as Vice President of Biologics Industrial Operations. He then returned to Sanofi Pasteur in 2013 to serve as a Regional Vice President of Industrial Operations, leading the six American sites.

For the past three years, he has worked as Head of Global Industrial Affairs Manufacturing Excellence at Sanofi.

Eric holds a bachelor/master’s degree in chemical engineering, biotechnology, biochemical engineering, and cell culture and fermentation from Polytechnique Montréal. He participated in INSEAD’s General Management program in 2002.

Eric is passionate about rugby and traveling.

Appointed: November 2022
Nationality: French

Guillaume Rosso is the Chief Strategy and M&A Officer for EUROAPI. His tasks include corporate strategy but also the team management for platforms, products strategy and partnerships.

Guillaume joined the Sanofi Group in 2017, working on key M&A projects before being appointed IPO M&A Manager in 2020. In this role, he led the Pluton project, heading up the preparation and execution of the EUROAPI IPO process.

Guillaume brings over 13 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry to this position. His career began at PwC, where he was first an auditor and later the Transaction Services Manager.

He is a graduate of EM LYON business school, where he holds a degree in Finance – Management.

In his free time, Guillaume loves to travel and experience other cultures.

Appointed: February 2020
Nationality: French

Frédéric Lelievre is EUROAPI’s Chief Quality Officer. He joined Sanofi’s Corporate Quality Division in 2014 and led the Quality division of the 12 chemical sites. In this position, he has ensured that GMP products and systems have met regulatory requirements and those of the company's Quality Management System. In parallel, he has applied his expertise in the deployment of new regulations, and in performance and innovation initiatives.

Frédéric started his career in 1997 as the Quality Control Manager of the Vertolaye chemistry site (then owned by Roussel Uclaf), and then served as the Site Quality Manager from 2001 to 2005.

He became Site Quality Manager at Sanofi Aramon in 2006, with a specific focus on chemistry and biotechnology. From 2011 to 2014, he worked at Sanofi Compiègne, where he focused on the production of Drug Products Solid Dosage Forms.

Frédéric holds a degree in Physics and Chemistry from ESPCI Paris engineer school, and a Ph.D. with Highest Honors in Analytical Chemistry from ENSCP (Paris) and Stanford University (U.S.).

Frédéric is passionate about sports such as soccer, running, hiking, and travelling aiming to discover nature and beautiful landscapes.

Appointed: November 2022
Nationality: French

Géraldine Gorgol is the Chief ESG and External Affairs Officer for EUROAPI, which includes Communications, Public Affairs, Environment Social and Governance (ESG), and Risk Management. She has spent 25 years in the Sanofi Group. For the three years prior to her current role, she was Head of Marketing, Business Intelligence and Communications at Sanofi Active Ingredient Solutions.

Géraldine began her career at Sanofi as part of the Marketing and Sales team, where she managed web projects, customer experience initiatives and Key Opinion Leaders.

Later, she managed several brands’ strategies at different stages of the product lifecycle, from launch to generic competition, taking on increasing marketing responsibilities.

Géraldine then joined the Corporate Communications team in 2008 to lead Digital Communications. She later held global positions in Procurement and Shared Business Services as a Communications Business Partner.

She graduated from the University of Nancy, where she studied Marketing and Sports Management.

Géraldine enjoys contemporary art, electronic music, and reading.

Appointed: November 2022
Nationality: French

Vincent Touraille is appointed Chief Transformation Officer at EUROAPI.

Vincent has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years, developing his expertise in management and strategy. He started at Shell in 1989 and hold different growing positions. From 2009 to 2019, he served as Chief Executive Officer of PCAS, a French stock market listed CDMO acquired by Novacap in 2018.

In 2019, as Deputy Chief Executive Officer at M2i Lifesciences, he reorganized the company and led its evolution into a medium-sized international group.

Since October 2020, Vincent has been Head of Strategy at Sanofi Active Ingredient Solutions, where he has prepared the launch of EUROAPI as a standalone company.

He graduated from ENSCP (National Graduate School of Chemistry, Paris) in 1986 and ESSEC in 1989.

Vincent is Board member of France Chimie, the French chemical Society and the President of SICOS Biochimie, the representative body for manufacturers of fine chemicals located in France. He is also Board Member of European Fine Chemical Group, its European equivalent.

Vincent is passionate about spending time with family, reading novels and history. He regularly practices tennis and running.

Appointed: October 2022
Nationality: French

Thierry Durand is Chief Research & Development Officer of EUROAPI managing Process and Analytical development activities, pilot scale manufacturing, development projects and external collaborations.
He began his career in 1993 in France in Small Molecules API Process Research at Synthélabo before joining Rhône-Poulenc for different roles in Process Development and Project Management for seven years. After three years as Senior Project Manager for Merial for the development of new APIs, Thierry joined Novasep in 2005 as R&D and Project Management Director for the small molecules business unit for ten years, before moving to Strategic Project Management leading new services for antibody-drug conjugates and viral vector capex management.
In 2019, Thierry has been the Managing Director of Minakem, before moving in 2021 to Corden as VP Project Management and project management officer.
For the past year, he has been consulting for private equity funds and consulting offices on pharma BtoB M&A topics.
Thierry holds a master’s degree in chemical sciences from Ecole Supérieure de Chimie Industrielle de Lyon (ESCIL) with a double degree in Organic Chemistry from Université Claude Bernard in Lyon and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Université Catholique de Louvain-La-Neuve. 
Thierry is passionate about ski and fragrance creation.

Appointed: August 1, 2023
Nationality: French

Marion Santin is the Chief Legal, Compliance, and IP Officer for EUROAPI ad interim. She joined the company in May 2023, as Head of Legal Strategy & Procurement. 

Marion began her career as an associate in a law firms, first at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and then at DLA Piper. There, she developed experience in industrial site divestments, hotel acquisitions and resales, as well as in corporate law.

She then joined Sanofi in 2006, where she held a number of positions enabling her to master a wide range of legal issues in the pharmaceutical field. She first held the position of Industrial Affairs Legal Manager, then Alliances & Partnerships Legal Director, Mergers & Acquisitions Legal Director before becoming Commercial Operations Legal Director for the legal teams based in Asia, the Middle East, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Marion holds an Advanced Degree in Business Law (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies - DEA) and a Magistère in Business Law from the University of Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne. Marion is also a member of the Paris Bar.

In her free time, Marion likes to spend time with her daughter and recharge her batteries in front of the sea (ideally in Corsica).

Appointed: February 2023
Nationality: German

Ute Herzog is the Chief Human Resources Officer for EUROAPI and her role includes recruiting, learning and development, people engagement, change management, diversity and inclusion, talent management, performance management, employee relations, total rewards, HR systems & operations and its compliance.  

Ute brings 25 years of experience in Human Resources Management. She started her career in the marketing and sales department of a newspaper before joining Hay Management Consultants supporting international clients mainly in Europe and Americas in business process re-engineering, organizational analytics and design, management audit and compensation & benefits. She joined Sanofi in 1998 and has first led local and international HR teams covering Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Leadership Development as well as HR Business Partnering for Corporate Functions and Industrial Operations Germany.  In 2014, she moved to support the design and set up the global Industrial Biologics Platform, supporting the transformation of the Injectables Platform and leading HR projects. Ute joined EUROAPI in February 2022 as Head of HR International and Deputy CHRO.

She is a graduate of University of Bremen, where he holds a degree in Economics specialized on Human Resources Management and Finance. She participated in INSEAD’s General Management program and is certified Neuro Linguistic Programming-NLP practitioner. 

In her free time, Ute enjoys motorcycling, baking bread and spending time with family and friends.

Appointed: 2021
Nationality: French

Emmanuel Mazeaud has worked for Sanofi since 2017, when he started as Program Manager of the Athena for Vaccines program. For over four years, he has led the ITS Industrial Affairs organization for all pharma and chemistry sites worldwide. His business acumen and comprehensive experience span a wide range of IT and Functional Shared Services roles, with a solid background in driving transformation (IT and non-IT) through Shared Services implementation, reorganization, and M&A.

 Emmanuel held several executive IT management positions in various countries to begin his career. Prior to joining Sanofi, he was CEO of Holcim East Asia Business Services in the Philippines, and Head of IT and Business Services for the APAC region.

He was instrumental in the merger of Lafarge and Holcim in the region, managing the SAP integration and the migration of all countries to Regional Business Shared Services. He also played key roles in divestments, business development and digital transformation.

He graduated from ENSIEG (National School of Electrical Engineers of Grenoble) in 1988.

Emmanuel enjoys running, playing golf, and practicing scuba diving as well as cooking and making pastries for family and friends.

Sophie Palliez-Capian is Head of Investor Relations. She joined EUROAPI in February 2023, bringing an extensive experience in Financial Communication and Shareholder Engagement. 

Previous to EUROAPI, Sophie held several Investor Relations, Corporate Communication, and Stakeholder Engagement positions in both large and mid-cap listed companies, including Lafarge, France Telecom, and BIC.

She graduated from Science-Po Paris, and SFAF (Société Française des Analystes Financiers), and holds a master’s degree in Corporate Communication (CELSA). Sophie is a Board member and Vice President of the French Investor Relations Professionals Association (IR CLIFF).