About VRI | Contact | People | Advisors | Reports | News | Phase I Trial | Press Releases

Directors (click on name for biography)

Mr Russell Stevens FCCA
Non-executive Director and Chairman

Mr. Richard J Llewellyn BSc, MBA DipMRS
Chief Executive Officer (Part-time)

Dr. Gordon R B Skinner MD, DSc, FRCPATH, FRCOG
Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Afshan Ahmad BSc, PhD
Director of Research and Development

Dr Jean-Marc Saffar MD
Non-executive Director

Secretary

Mr Rish Hayer FCCA

Mr Russell Stevens FCCA 
Non-Executive Director

Russell Stevens is a certified accountant and, in 1991, founded Hamiltons, a multidisciplinary accountancy practice. He became managing director of Hamiltons Group Limited on its incorporation in May 1997, subsequently stepping down to become Chief Executive of Meriden Group Plc, a business services group which he floated on AIM in August 2001. He has a portfolio of unquoted companies in which he has active investments and specialises in providing strategic advice to growing businesses. Russell is also part time Chief Executive of Innobox Plc and Chief Executive of Bidtimes Plc, an investment company.
back

Mr Richard Llewellyn BSc, MBA DipMRS
Chief Executive Officer

Richard has over 30 years experience in international business and began his career in pharmaceuticals at Wellcome in 1985. In 1977 Richard took his B.Sc. Hons from King’s College, University of London and in 1983 took his MBA from the Sir John Cass Business School, City University, London. Throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s he led Wellcome’s international M&A teams. In 1995 he transferred into Glaxo Wellcome Plc and was a founder member of GW’s Corporate Strategy team. Between 1995 and 2001 he advised the Board and Executive Committee of GW on global strategic business issues and negotiated several industry-level initiatives. Richard joined Glaxo SmithKline plc at inception and led the Global Pricing & Reimbursement Strategy & Planning team. Since 2002 he has worked as an international business and management consultant and his main achievements have been in business development in the healthcare and technology sectors.
back

Dr. Gordon B.R. Skinner MD, DSc, FRCPATH, FRCOG
Chief Scientific Officer

Dr Skinner graduated with a medical degree from the University of Glasgow and was a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Medical School, University of Birmingham and Honorary Consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham for approximately 30 years. At the University he directed programmes to develop vaccines against herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, varicella zoster virus, human immunodeficiency virus and staphylococci. Dr Skinner is Honorary Chairman of the Vaccine Research Trust where he has directed the medical research programme since the Trust’s inception in 1982. Dr Skinner has published approximately 100 papers in medical and scientific journals. He has patented 16 viral and bacterial vaccines and various other medical therapies and devices.
back

Dr. Afshan Ahmad BSc, PhD
Director of Research and Development

Dr Ahmad's professional and academic work has principally related to the development of a Staphylococcal vaccine. She has been involved in laboratory work in studies investigating the immune response of vaccinated patients in the UK and Italy. From 1984 to 1995 she was a Research Associate at the University of Birmingham. From 1995 to 2002 she was employed by the Vaccine Research Trust, an independent medical research organization originally based at the University of Birmingham and now based in Moseley, Birmingham. She has a PhD in Medical Microbiology from the University of Birmingham (1999) and a BSc from the University of London in Immunology / Microbiology (1983).
back

Dr Jean-Marc Saffar MD PhD
Non-Executive Director

JM Saffar MD has focused his non-clinical professional career on the successful development of internal ventures for healthcare and life sciences organisations. He has demonstrated ten years of healthcare and life sciences strategy and operation consulting success. At True North Capital/Partners and A. T. Kearney, Dr Saffar headed business development activities and completed numerous growth strategy projects for healthcare and life sciences firms. Prior to A. T. Kearney, he was a practicing internist with a focus on oncology and intensive care. Dr Saffar is a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health (1997 MS), Ross Business School at University of Michigan (Exec. MBA), Paris-Dauphine School of Management and Amiens School of Medicine (PhD/French DES 1997), Paris-West School of Medicine (MD 1992), Paris-South School of Medicine (BS). He also holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licences.
back

Mr Gilead Raday MPhil MSc
Non-Executive Director

Gilead manages the Bio-Pharma financing practice of CSS Europe in Israel and serves as a director on the board of a number of life-science companies in the CSS Europe portfolio. Prior to CSS, Gilead was employed in the Israel Air Force as a fighter pilot, ranked major. He has an MPhil in Bioscience enterprise from Cambridge University 2004 and an MSc in Neurobiology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2007.
back

Mr J Rish Hayer
Secretary

back