Tilray announces the expansion of its European team with the appointment of Arne Wilkens as Vice President, Business Expansion, Europe; José Tempero as Medical Affairs Director, Europe; Maike Gerlach as Vice President, Marketing, Europe; and Nadja Frenzel as Vice President, Commercial Development, Europe. In addition, Natalie Bucceri joins Tilray’s international team as Director, Global Portfolio Expansion.
“Having strong people on our team is critical to our success and growth,” says Sascha Mielcarek, Tilray’s Managing Director of Europe. “Arne, José, Maike, Nadja and Natalie all join Tilray with wide-ranging experience in regulated industries. We’re confident their appointments will accelerate our global growth strategy and help strengthen our position in Europe and other international markets.”
"The new senior appointments will work with Tilray’s team across the globe to accelerate the company’s aggressive European and international expansion strategy", they say.
"Tilray’s multi-faceted EU Campus in Portugal, which recently received its manufacturing license and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification, will serve as the primary hub for the cultivation, processing, research and distribution of branded Tilray products throughout Europe and other international markets."
Arne Wilkens, VP, Business Expansion, Europe, brings 14 years of experience within the pharmaceutical and biotech industries mainly in business development-related functions. In his most recent role, Arne worked at AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH where he served as Director of Business Development and Alliance Management overseeing all partner activities, market analytics, commercial evaluations and external partnerships. Wilkens graduated from Otto-von-Guericke University with a master’s degree in management.
José Tempero, Medical Affairs Director, Europe, comes to Tilray with 11 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry bringing expertise in medical affairs and market access. Most recently, Tempero led the product-based global medical affairs strategy at Grünenthal GmbH. Tempero is professionally trained as a pharmacist and holds his Master of Science in public health.
Maike Gerlach, VP, Marketing, Europe, joins Tilray from Grünenthal GmbH where she was the Associate Director of Integration Marketing responsible for managing the global integration of Zomig®, which was acquired from Astra Zeneca. During her time in this role, Gerlach successfully built and executed the brand’s global strategic marketing plan. Gerlach comes to Tilray with 17 years of marketing experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Nadja Frenzel, VP, Commercial Development, Europe, also comes to Tilray from Grünenthal GmbH where she contributed to the global commercial strategy on the Global Commercial Leadership team and established a new, competitive, commercial model across the marketing, medical, market access and commercial excellence departments. Frenzel holds a Master of Science in health policy, economics and management from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Tilray is committed to making pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products available to patients in need all over the world. Tilray has already exported within Europe to the Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Croatia and outside Europe to Argentina, Chile, the United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Tilray intends to launch additional products in new markets across Europe and around the world as it continues to expand.
As a part of Tilray’s international expansion, the company has also appointed Natalie Bucceri as Director, Global Portfolio Expansion. Bucceri most recently served as part of group strategy for Diageo, leading projects to develop and implement short-term investment trade-offs and long-term strategic initiatives. Prior to working at Diageo, Natalie supported the Merck & Co Asia Pacific executive team on core strategic and business-development projects. Bucceri’s professional experience spans Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Bucceri will be based out of the U.K. and will work directly with the global expansion team, with an immediate focus on the European market.