Global Management Team
Meet our management team based across our global sites.
- About Us
- Global Management Team
Executive Team
Emile Lens
Chief Executive Officer
Over the last decade, Emile has been involved in driving buy and build strategies in the life sciences industry. His primary focus at Synexa is to build a top-class company for scientists to work at, delivering the highest quality services to clients possible. Emile is passionate about working with people and scaling businesses in the life sciences industry.
Emile holds a MSc degree in Economics at Erasmus University. He started his career in investment banking at MeesPierson and ABN AMRO NV, moving later to industry and becoming a board member at Maxeda, a KKR-backed European DIY retail company. He subsequently became an entrepreneur and founded and invested in a number of companies during his career. Prior to joining Synexa, Emile served as board member of Avania, a global medical device CRO, where he was deeply involved in the successful buy and build strategy of the company.
Dr. Justin Devine
Chief Innovation Officer
Justin is a medical doctor, immunologist and pharmacologist (Stellenbosch University) and a co-founder of Synexa.
His primary focus is to understand our clients’ objectives in new drug development by designing biomarker strategies to bring real insight to the challenges of clinical development. Justin has a very deep understanding of the role that biomarkers and pharmacogenetics play in understanding the performance of a candidate drug.
He is particularly passionate about improving the drug development process by bringing innovative approaches to early phase research, including new ideas in translational medicine, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence
Claire Jenkins
Chief Commercial Officer
Claire holds a BSc Hons degree in Chemistry and began her career as a bioanalytical lab scientist for Procter & Gamble. With a passion for business and a desire to deliver for customers, Claire moved into Business Development over 25 years ago.
Joining Synexa Claire brings over twenty year’s experience in sales team leadership, spanning clinical and preclinical development. With expertise in developing commercial strategies and providing strong sales leadership, empowering commercial teams to meet their targets.
With specific experience in clinical laboratory services Claires focus at Synexa is to lead the Commercial and Account Management functions, ensuring we grow and retain our customer base, while delivering innovative solutions for each of our customers.
James Lloyd
Chief Financial Officer
James Lloyd is a finance professional with a distinguished career. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Synexa, leveraging his extensive experience in financial management, planning, and analysis. His background includes roles at EnteroBiotix, Valneva, Q² Solutions, and Deloitte and secondments with Lloyds Banking Group. James joined Synexa in December 2023 to lead the company’s financial planning initiatives and help bolster Synexa’s ambitions for growth.
Melanie Lucas
Global Head of Operations
Melanie Lucas holds an MSc degree in Medical Microbiology (University of Stellenbosch) and has worked in the life sciences industry for over 10 years, with experience in both laboratory techniques and project management. As Global Head of Operations, Melanie oversees global operations management and activities, which are aligned with the strategic growth goals and vision of Synexa Life Sciences.
Melanie is passionate about people, empowering scientists to excel, the growth of an operational dream team and delivering reliable clinical services to our customers.
Jordyn van Teylingen
Global Head of Bioanalysis and Soluble Biomarkers
Jordyn holds a Master of Science degree in Medical Physiology from Stellenbosch University, and specialises in ligand-binding and cell-based immunoassay development and validation. With a strong focus on regulated large molecule pharmacokinetic (PK) and Immunogenicity (ADA and nAb) assessment, Jordyn ensures validations remain aligned with regulatory expectations, while being fit-for-purpose for the generation of clinically relevant data. Additionally, Jordyn oversees the development and validation of all soluble biomarker methods based on Context-of-Use.
Jordyn’s mission is to ensure Synexa always maintains sight of the end goal of bioanalysis, by considering what can be done to make processes and data more patient-centric.
Natalie Strickland
Global Head of Cell Biology, Translational Science & Genomics
Natalie earned her PhD in molecular genetics (University of Stellenbosch) before transitioning into infectious disease immunology with a special interest in cellular immunity to HIV/TB co-infection for her postdoctoral research (University of Cape Town). She has extensive experience in both molecular and advanced immunological techniques, including multiparameter flow cytometry. As Global Head of Cell Biology, Translational Science & Genomics, Natalie oversees work in the development of complex flow cytometry and cell-based assays, translational ProtoTrials® and the research and development of novel analytical technologies.
Natalie is passionate about providing creative solutions in challenging scientific research areas and delivering high-quality scientific solutions to our customers.
Andreia Soares
Global Head of Scientific Strategies
Andreia is a cellular immunologist with extensive experience in advanced immunological techniques, such as multiparameter flow cytometry. She completed her PhD and post-doctoral research in Clinical Science and Immunology at the University of Cape Town and brings with her a unique perspective on biomarker discovery with her background in infectious diseases and clinical immunology.
Paula Thornton
Global HR Director
Paula joined Synexa in October 2022 as Global HR Director and leads HR, Payroll, L&D, Employee Engagement, Reward & Recognition, Talent Acquisition & Retention for Synexa Globally.
Paula has been in the Life Science space for 7 years in senior HR roles. She is a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Paula spent 5 years in the social housing sector as Head of Corporate Services during that time acting as Chief Executive for 1 year taking the company through M&A.
She also spent over 10 years in the private sector focussing on HR, IT and Marketing throughout the UK and Europe with multisite businesses. Prior to that she served over 5 years in HR within South Wales Police.
Paula is driven and passionate about the engagement, happiness and development of people and the significant impact they have in the success of the company. Paula is committed to Synexa’s success and embodying the vision of improving human health.
Supervisory Board
Paul O’Riordan
Chairman of Supervisory Board
Paul is a co-founder of Synexa and served as CEO from 2003 to 2022. His long-held ambition is to help build a unique global organisation of professional scientists that can significantly improve the efficiency and success rate of new drug R&D, which he believes is a critical strategic issue facing the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare systems throughout the world.
Paul chairs the supervisory board, which oversees key decisions related to the strategic direction of the group, the performance and growth of the company, good corporate governance, sustainability and social responsibility. He works closely with the CEO to drive accelerated scaling of the company through its ‘buy & build’ strategy. Paul is closely involved in building and maintaining key commercial partnerships and representing Synexa at industry level.
Paul is a chartered accountant (Ireland) and holds an MBA from Harvard University. He is a former partner at McKinsey & Co., where he worked from 1991-2003 in London, Dublin and Johannesburg.
Tom Klein Robbenhaar
Supervisory Board Member
Tom Klein Robbenhaar joined the Gilde Healthcare Private Equity team early 2012. As a partner in the Gilde Healthcare private equity team, he focuses on origination, deal execution and serves on the supervisory boards of investee companies.
Tom has hands-on portfolio management experience in Pharma (Pharmaline), CRDMOs (Viroclinics and Synexa), elderly care (Stepping Stones), outsourced healthcare services (Novicare) and clinic buy & builds (RAD-x).
Prior to joining Gilde Healthcare, Tom worked as Manager at KPMG Corporate Finance where he worked extensively interdisciplinary, with amongst others KPMG Tax and KPMG Healthcare. Tom holds a master degree with distinction in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Redmar Koene
Supervisory Board Member
Redmar Koene is an investment professional at Gilde Healthcare. He is involved with deal origination and deal execution and serves on the supervisory boards or equivalent of investee companies like Synexa and KLIFO (Drug Development Consulting).
In addition, he worked with Symeres (drug discovery CRO) on strategy and M&A, as well as with several other companies on executing successful buy-and-build agenda’s. Prior to joining Gilde Healthcare, he worked as investment professional at a Swiss-based investment company, investing in both listed as non-listed companies.
Scientific Advisors
Prof. Patrick Bouic
Principal Scientific Consultant
Patrick is a co-founder of Synexa Life Sciences and an Extraordinary Professor of Immunology at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town.
In his role as Senior Scientific Advisor, Patrick’s main focus is to advise and support Synexa on the latest developments in biomedical science to the challenges facing our clients and to ensure the highest quality biomarker and bioanalytical analysis across our global laboratory network. Patrick holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Claude Bernard, Lyon, France and has spent over 35 years working on the application of immunopathology to questions of human health.
His professional passion is the development of a new generation of scientists equipped to apply a more integrated understanding of human biology to the diseases and drugs with which we work.
Matti Kimberg
In Memoriam
Matti was a molecular geneticist (University of Stellenbosch) and immunologist (University of Cape Town), with more than 10 years’ experience in regulated bioanalysis and clinical biomarkers.
As CSO, his primary focus was to ensure that the execution of all work performed at Synexa was scientifically driven by the objective of generating data that is informative towards answering the specific questions being asked in the context of each study. He had a deep understanding of the principals of the regulatory framework supporting bioanalysis and applying the guidelines provided by regulators to novel analytical technologies and therapeutic modalities.
Matti was passionate about using world class science and innovation to transform the way novel therapeutics are developed, to bring them to market faster, cheaper and safer.
