Meet our leadership teams
Xellia Executive Committee
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Kocher
Strategic leader with 10+ years in pharma. Former Head of Global B2B at Sandoz.
Chief Commercial Officer
Gaël Bernard
Gaël has a robust career in the pharmaceutical industry since 1996, excelling in growth and strategic expansion.
Chief People & Culture Officer
Florian Falch
Florian joined Xellia in September 2023 as VP Transformation and is now our Chief People & Culture Officer.
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
Søren Hostrup
Søren joined Xellia in 2008, serving in various roles in the legal department, and became Group General Counsel in 2021.
Chief Operations Officer
Christian Matschke
Christian Matschke joined Xellia as Chief Operations Officer in December 2024, bringing over 20 years of pharma operational experience.
Chief Financial Officer
Vicente Oller
Vicente became Chief Financial Officer of Xellia in September 2024, prior to which he was CFO of Sandoz's Global B2B and Country CFO for Sandoz Austria.
Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer
Alexander Sproedt
Alexander joined Xellia as Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer in November 2024, bringing over a decade of Life Sciences experience.
Novo Holdings A/S acquired Xellia Pharmaceuticals on May 21st 2013. Novo Holdings' expertise in the life sciences sector and long-term ownership model will help Xellia accelerate investments in product development and innovation as well as establish high-quality manufacturing assets that can support sustainable future growth. As a consequence of the transaction, Xellia reverted to Danish ownership with headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Novo Holdings A/S is a significant international life science investor, and the major shareholder in the Novo Group companies - Novo Nordisk and Novonesis.
Board of Directors
Steen Riisgaard
Chairman of the Board
Steen is the former President and CEO of Denmark-based biotech company, Novozymes A/S. He has also held senior-level positions at Novo Nordisk A/S and Novo Industri A/S.
Other Board positions: Vice Chairman of the Boards of the Novo Holdings A/S and the Villum Foundation. Member of the Boards of Novo Nordisk Foundation, Corbion and the Bird Protection Fund, Denmark.
Education: MSc in Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Benny D. Loft
Board Member
Benny was EVP and CFO at Novozymes A/S until 2017, he has also worked on acquisitions and negotiations and played an active role in steering groups for numerous corporate functions including ethics, sustainability, and business development.
Other Board positions: European Freeze Dry ApS and Nordsjællands Fællesmølleri A/S.
Education: MSc in Accounting, Tax and Auditing, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and State Authorized Public Accountant.
Henrik Kjær Hansen
Board Member
Henrik joined Novo Holdings A/S in January 2017 and is now a Senior Partner and Head of Principal Investments, New Investments, and Projects, where he leads the investment process and takes an active part in managing and developing the growing portfolio of investments. Prior to this, Henrik held a number of positions in the City of London. Most recently he was a Senior Vice President at Moelis & Co., focusing on healthcare buy and sell side M&A transactions. Previously he was with Deutsche Bank and ABN AMRO.
Other Board positions: Orexo AB, Sonion and WCG Clinical.
Education: BSc. in Business Administration and an MSc. in Applied Economics and Finance from the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.
Julie McHugh
Board Member
Julie McHugh has a track record that spans almost 30 years in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, she was the COO at Endo Health Solutions, Inc., with responsibilities for both the specialty and generic pharmaceuticals businesses.
Other Board positions: Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and member of the Board of Directors of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Lantheus Holding, Inc. and Trevena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Education: BSc in Finance, Pennsylvania State University, USA, and an MBA Administration in International Management, St. Joseph’s University, USA.
Preben Haaning
Board Member
Preben Haaning is an experienced operations leader with over 25 years of expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing, specializing in biologics and medical devices.
He has a proven track record attained from senior executive positions held at Novo Nordisk A/S, managing and optimizing international manufacturing networks across multiple global sites, including the US, Brazil, France, China, and Denmark.
Education: Graduated as an Industrial Engineer from the Danish Technical University and holds a diploma in Organizational Development from the Copenhagen Business School.