About us

Greg Behar

CEO

We encourage employees to pursue career growth across the businesses and around the world. When you have a passion for helping consumers and patients live healthier lives, your career with Nestlé Health Science can take you anywhere.  

Greg joined NHSc in 2014 and has shaped the company into a leader in nutrition and health by continuously searching for ways to improve the lives of customers and patients. Ensuring that they can enjoy their highest quality of life with their family and friends is what drives him to make sure high quality, science-based products are always available to them.  

Understanding that people around the world want the best natural solutions to improve and maintain their health, he and his team focus fully on innovations and partnerships that are sustainable and in full symbiosis with the environment.  

With more than 20 years of international experience and roles in seven countries, Greg brings a truly global approach to NHSc’s vision. Prior to joining Nestlé Health Science, Greg was CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals USA and held a regional leadership position. Greg also worked at Novartis in general management roles in Spain and the European region. He currently serves on the boards of Seres Therapeutics, Axcella Health, Amazentis and Sonova.  

Greg earned an MBA from INSEAD, a Master's in Engineering from the Institute of Technology of Switzerland (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne or EPFL) and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA. A current Swiss national champion swimmer, Greg loves sports as a way of life, is married and has three wonderful children.  

Rania Abou Samra

Global Head of R&D, Head of R&D U.S.

Rania’s passion is innovating products that will help people achieve their full potential. She is an expert in physiology and clinical nutrition, with a track record of research in food technology.   

Rania’s teams translate insights and science into innovation. From ideation and rapid prototyping to sensory science, formulation, pilot plant production and commercialization, the R&D teams accelerate product innovation of consumer and medical nutrition products end to end.   

She brings over 20 years of experience in nutrition, science and food technology, as well as R&D leadership roles. First joining Nestlé in 2007 as a scientist at Nestlé Research, she transitioned to the Confectionery business as a Science and Technology manager. She joined Nestlé Health Science in 2015 as global R&D manager in Consumer Care, and then in 2018, joined the Nestlé Product Technology Center. Having played a key role in driving R&D synergies with Atrium Pro, Garden of Life, Persona and Vital Proteins, she became Head of R&D at Vital Proteins in 2021.   

Rania holds PhD from the University of Toronto and has a background in Nutrition and Dietetics. She is married and has an adorable son and two cats, and enjoys the outdoors with her family skiing, sailing, golfing and hiking.   

René Augstburger

Head of Strategy & Business Acceleration

René joined Nestlé Health Science through its acquisition of Atrium Innovations in 2018 and is a veteran in the VMS industry, with more than 25 years' experience.  

At Atrium Innovations, René served as global VP of International and Business Development for more than eight years. Before joining Atrium he managed subsidiaries of multinational VMS and OTC companies in Canada, the US and numerous other countries. This unique global perspective serves him well in his current responsibilities where he works closely with diverse teams to develop new and innovative go-to-market strategies.  

René is originally from Switzerland and now resides in Canada with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of the Swiss Druggist School and holds a degree in Business Administration. His career has always been well aligned with his personal passion for sports and the great outdoors—he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, scuba diving and all other outdoor activities with his kids and family. 

Stephanie Blum

Global Head Translational Research

Stephanie and her team are responsible for identifying and transforming scientific discoveries and novel technologies in life sciences and biopharmaceuticals into high value solutions. Stephanie has experience in early development project portfolio set-up ranging from pediatric allergies and GI Health & microbiome, to aging and therapeutic enzyme therapies. She and her team are working closely with BD&L, clinical, regulatory, and commercial functions.  

Stephanie holds a PhD in Biochemistry & Pharmacology and specialized in Immunology at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Medical Faculty in Lausanne (CHUV).  

Starting in Nestlé Research as Head of Immunology, she transferred to Nestlé Health Science in 2011. She has more than 20 years of experience in managing translational science and has an internationally acknowledged scientific record and a substantial academic network. Since 2015, she has also been teaching at the Technical University Munich.  

Stephanie is married and has a son. She is passionate about running, ashtanga yoga and can often be found working on her painting skills. 

Eric Bouchard

Chief Financial Officer

A long-time sports enthusiast, Eric’s passion for NHSc is in the connection between nutrition and its effect on quality of life, aging and overall athletic performance. Eric and the NHSc Finance team pride themselves on providing top quality support and value-added analysis to the commercial and operational teams. Their involvement in mergers, acquisitions and strategic projects supports NHSc’s continued growth while improving its bottom line.  

Having joined NHSc through its acquisition of Atrium in 2018, Eric was a key contributor in the transaction and continues to lead the finance team for Atrium. Prior to Atrium, Eric was responsible for Bombardier Transportation Americas’ finances and he held positions with Bombardier Aerospace in Structured Finance and Special Projects; with Bombardier in Financial Reporting; with Alcan in Commercial Trading; with Quebecor World in Corporate Accounting Policies and Internal Control Compliance; as well as with KPMG as Senior Public Accountant.  

Eric believes in working hard and training hard, and has a particular affinity for education. He remains actively involved with the CPA order, regularly taking part in various teaching and writing engagements.  

Eric is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Chartered Accountant (CPA-CA), a Certified Public Accountant (CPA, Delaware), and has a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from the John Molson School of Business in Montreal.  

Abigail Buckwalter

President of Professional Health NHSc US and Global Head of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation

Abigail’s passion for helping people live healthier lives is brought together in her dual roles where she works towards advancing healthcare products, solutions and knowledge across the healthcare continuum. 

As President of the Professional Health Business in the U.S., she is responsible for the strategic direction for a portfolio of healthcare professional-endorsed businesses and brands.  And as Global Head of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation, she and her team work with cross-functional product development teams around the world to develop, grow and drive groundbreaking and differentiated products and service solutions. 

Abigail has spent the past 15 years in progressive leadership roles at Nestlé in North America, Europe, and Oceania.  Prior to Nestle, Abigail worked at Marketing and Creative firms serving major brands across CPG, healthcare, non-profit, and food service categories. She holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Columbia University in New York.  

Abigail is a proud mother of three, aspiring photographer, and a travel, food, and sports enthusiast. 

Martin Hendrix

Head of Global Business Development and M&A

Martin joined NHSc in 2012 with the task of building a healthcare M&A capability for the group. Since then he has maintained a passion for growing the company’s portfolio through creative deals, ranging from large M&A transactions to small licensing deals and everything in between.  

Martin has a background in pharmaceutical R&D. Prior to joining Nestlé he had a 14 year career at Bayer, starting out as a research chemist developing new medicines and later transitioning into M&A and corporate development. Martin likes the unique balance of NHSc’s approach to leveraging the power of nutrition in both consumer health as well as medical nutrition and therapeutic products, with consumer deals like the acquisition of Atrium Innovations or the SpoonfulOne brand, and therapeutic deals like the acquisition of Zenpep, or innovation investments for topics such as food allergies, the human microbiome and metabolic health.  

Martin is also a champion of NHSc’s venture investment strategy, which includes its partnership with Flagship Pioneering, as well as multiple direct investments in start-up companies. In connection with these investments, he has represented NHSc in the boards of Enterome, Prometheus Bioscience, Evelo, Kaleido, and Kintai.  

Martin holds a PhD from The Scripps Research Institute, and a Master of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A native of Germany, Martin is married to his wonderful wife Ute and is the proud father of three children. 

Don Kerrigan

CEO, Nestlé Health Science U.S

Don leads the NHSc U.S. organization, overseeing all NHSC U.S. brands, their​ teams and key functions in that market.​

He joined NHSc in 2021 through the acquisition of The Bountiful Company, where he​ was President, North America, leading the company's marketing, sales, and​ eCommerce strategies across key markets and channels.​

Don is a Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry veteran with more than 25​ years in leadership roles throughout sales, marketing, and management.​ Don previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Customer Officer for U.S.​ Sales at Bayer Consumer Health and has held multiple leadership roles at Pfizer​ Consumer Health (formerly Wyeth).​

Don currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Consumer Healthcare Products​ Association (CHPA) and is a member of the organization's executive​ committee. He earned an MBA from the University of Missouri and a Bachelor of​ Science in Marketing from Bentley University. Don is the proud father of twins (one​ girl and one boy) who keep him busy with his other passion - living an active life​ through sports and fitness.​

Claudio Kuoni

General Counsel

Claudio oversees the legal and compliance matters for NHSc’s day-to-day business as well as its active portfolio in mergers, acquisitions, investment and partnerships. He has contributed to the evolution of the NHSc business since its creation in 2011, providing strategic and transactional advice on business development, governance and integration of acquired businesses.  

Prior to NHSc, Claudio was Managing Director of Sofinol, a Nestlé company, which manufactured and sold high-value bioactive ingredients for the food and cosmetics industries. He first joined Nestlé in 1998, working as counsel for Swiss Corporate and Capital Markets. He then became M&A Counsel for Europe, and later took the role of head of the European Legal Commercial Competence Center in Spain.  

Claudio comes from Chur, Switzerland and earned his law degree at Zurich University. He is also a graduate of the Program for Executive Development at IMD Switzerland.  

He has two children and speaks German, English, French, Spanish and Italian. 

Olivier Mignot

Head of Technical Operations

Olivier leads a strong team of product industrialization, manufacturing, quality and supply chain functional leaders with a passion for excellence and continuous improvement. The team’s mission is to ensure the delivery of high quality products for all NHSc businesses and categories, to improve productivity and efficiency in a cost effective, reliable and sustainable way.  

The Technical Operations team also supports Nestlé Health Science’s environmental roadmap towards the usage of exclusively renewable or reusable packaging by 2025 and zero net carbon emissions by 2050.  

Since joining NHSc in 2017, Olivier has significantly reshaped the overall manufacturing footprint and organizational structure of the Technical Operations function to better leverage the global Nestlé network and efficiently integrate newly acquired businesses.  

A graduate in Biology from the University of Lausanne and from the Program for Mastering Technology Enterprise at IMD Switzerland, Olivier’s long career with Nestlé has led him to various roles in R&D, Quality Management and Operations in Switzerland, France and North America. 

Anna Mohl

Head of International Business Operations

Anna is the Head of International Business Operations for Nestlé Health Science, responsible for leading, developing, and executing the organization’s business strategy across Medical Nutrition, Consumer Care, and VMHS in all markets outside the US. She is passionate about the role nutrition can play in enhancing consumers’ and patients’ lives, and is energized by the opportunity to work with our local teams around the world.  

Anna joined Nestlé Health Science in 2010, leading US Medical Nutrition marketing, Medical Nutrition sales, and then serving as the Business Head. Prior to joining Health Science, Anna held several marketing and innovation roles in the Nestlé US Infant Nutrition (Gerber) organization for seven years. Before joining Nestlé, Anna held marketing positions at Nabisco, Unilever, and RiskMetrics Group.  

Anna holds a BA in History from Barnard College, Columbia University and an MBA in Marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  

On a personal note, Anna is married with two children. She enjoys travel, swimming, and exploring her new home: Switzerland. 

Anneke Verheul

Head of Human Resources and Corporate Communications

Anneke joined Nestlé Health Science in 2015. Her passion is to help people and teams work together and to build new capabilities in order to create value for consumers and patients. Her experience includes more than 20 years of HR and business leadership positions in the high-tech IT & Telecommmunications and Life Sciences industries.  

Prior to joining NHSc, Anneke was Senior Vice-President of Human Resources and Talent Development at UCB, a Belgium-based global biopharmaceutical company specializing in immunology and the central nervous system. And at Alcatel-Lucent, she held multiple international and global HR leadership positions in Europe and the U.S.  

Growing up in the Netherlands, she graduated from the University of Utrecht. Anneke lives in Switzerland with her husband and is the proud mother of two young adults who are studying abroad. She and her husband enjoy running and doing all kinds of mountain sports. She is a big fan of nutritional supplements from the wide range of Nestlé Health Science products to empower her own health.  

Anneke loves her job at Nestlé Health Science where she can have a real impact on improving people’s quality of life. 

Tomas Vesely

Head of Corporate Strategy and Marketing Services

Tomas works across the business and geographies to help define Nestlé Health Science’s path to achieving its long-term vision.  He is passionate about bringing a consumer- and patient-centric approach to business.  

Under the umbrella of Corporate Strategy and Marketing Services are Portfolio Management, Brand Management, Sustainability.  With expertise in building leading brands, he guides teams to define positive portfolio choices, drive efficiency, deliver innovative nutrition solutions, support sustainability transformation, and continue to build a portfolio of leading brands across all channels.

Prior to joining Nestlé Health Science in 2014, Tomas held various marketing and business leadership positions in the Nestlé group, across geographies and strategic business units.  He joined Nestlé in 1995 in Prague.

Tomas is a Czech citizen and is happily married with two fantastic sons. He loves outdoor activities, especially exploring the beautiful Swiss landscape on his bike.  

Hans-Juergen Woerle

Chief Scientific and Medical Officer

Hans-Juergen is responsible for the company’s global research and development strategy, including translational science, clinical development, regulatory affairs, market access and medical affairs. The portfolios on which he and his team work span pediatric allergies, to oncology, to obesity and diabetes, to inborn errors of metabolism and more.  

He is a board-certified physician and specialist in internal medicine and endocrinology holding an adjunct professorship at University of Ulm, where he held student seminars in internal medicine, bed-side teaching courses and lectured on diabetes/metabolic syndrome and its complications. He has authored more than 200 publications in peer reviewed scientific journals. With his experience in academic nutraceutical research and pharmaceutical drug development and more than 20 years in international healthcare, Hans-Juergen has progressed several preclinical molecules towards proof in humans and led eight new pharmaceutical products through international registration and launches.  

With a dedication to fitness and sports, Hans-Juergen is passionate in his personal as well as professional life about the link between nutrition and good health.  

Hans-Juergen earned his medical degree at Ludwig Maximilian University. He is originally from Munich, Germany, is married and has two children.