Herv� Girsault has extensive experience in business development and licensing in the pharmaceutical industry. Until July 2005, he held a number of senior positions at Novartis, including senior vice president and global head of partnering and out-licensing at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Basel, global head of business development & licensing for Novartis Consumer Health and general manager of Novartis Consumer Health in Benelux. Before joining Novartis, Herv� was the general manager of Gerber Products Company in France from 1990 to 1995. He started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Management Consultants, culminating in the position of director of the food & healthcare practices, based in Paris. He earned an master's of business administration with honors from Columbia Business School in New York and has a master's degree from a leading business school in Paris