Leadership

Dr. Derk Arts has more than 10 years of experience in medicine, research and data management. He also founded Castor and launched a platform that enables researchers to easily capture, standardize and integrate data from any source.

Before joining Castor, David spent over 5 years researching chemistry and nanotechnology. He also brings with him a wide range of experience of more than 10 years guiding technology companies through major business growth including building operations management and strategic planning. His expertise ranges from sales-drive, customer experience to global operations, and P&L management.

Tobias’s professional journey spans over a decade and includes various Finance leadership roles at high-profile companies, including Medidata Solutions and Siemens Healthcare. His expertise in strategic planning and financial acumen will be vital in transforming Castor into a leader in clinical trial technology.

Andrew Sadler is a seasoned technology leader with over 25 years of experience in leading software engineering teams in startups and enterprises. Prior to joining Castor, Andrew led Engineering teams at Yieldify and H4, where he worked cross functionally to architect SaaS products for the MarTech and LegalTech spaces. Andrew led teams at Google that integrated financial price comparison products directly into search results following the successful acquisition of BeatThatQuote, where he was the Head of Engineering.

Daniella Mulder, SVP, Professional Services, is an accomplished leader with over 15 years of experience managing global teams in delivering successful eClinical solutions for small biotech, mid-tier, and top 10 pharmaceutical companies. Daniella’s continued passion and focus is on accelerating clinical trials at lower costs using patient-centric technologies made available to those who need it.

Daphne spent most of her career scaling SaaS companies, overseeing hyper growth and stabilisation of company human capital. As an HR generalist she brings experience from different industries on how to execute an agile and clear People Strategy in line with company values, culture, and objectives. Besides leading her teams, she closely collaborates with peer leaders to ensure strategic business objectives are met.

Brad brings more than 10 years of experience in clinical research, as the former Executive Director of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital Research Foundation. He founded Hightower Clinical, a research network that offers services that support researchers and patients to access trials easily. 

Mrs Van Dessel has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, of which 28 years in Johnson & Johnson, with extensive experience in clinical development including clinical operations, clinical supplies and regulatory operations. 

Baljit (Boo) Samra has over 25 years of experience in clinical trials and is a seasoned leader with global expertise in operations, digital health and technologies, account leadership, quality, and general management. Having lived in the UK, USA, and Asia including China, Japan, India, and Singapore, his work experience spans the globe.

Amir Lahav is a strategic consultant currently serving as Head of Strategic R&D and Digital Health Innovation at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Holding America as well as Chief of Digital Health Strategy at Redenlab.

Formerly, Amir served as the Head of Digital Innovation for Rare Diseases at Pfizer and was a Prof. of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Mark currently leads Pharma Business Development for Sidekick Health, a leading Digital Therapeutics company. Prior to joining Sidekick, Mark was the Commercial Leader-Pharma for Philips; an Independent Member of the Board of Directors at Castor; and the Founder and CEO of venture backed hospital informatics company Cohealo.

Niels van Royen is a full professor at the Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences. He is connected to the Vascular damage theme and head of the Cardiology department.

Accomplished executive with 18 years HealthTech/MedTech/Sector Convergence experience in global corporate entrepreneurial ventures.

Tom is a professor at the cancer center of Amsterdam and VU and director of the neuro-oncology research group. Tom has received the “Brain Award” from the STOPbersentumoren Foundation. He is also one of the best-publishing researchers at VUmc CCA.

Villi Iltchev joined Two Sigma Ventures in 2019 and focuses on SaaS, enterprise software, developer tools, and mobile applications. Prior to joining August, he was a member of the leadership teams at Box and Lifelock. Previously, Villi was a Vice President at Salesforce.

Michael focuses on venture and growth investments in technology companies across Europe and Israel. Previously, he invested in technology companies at Accel in London, and Warburg Pincus in San Francisco and New York. Michael received a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Corné focuses on early stage investing in the areas of enterprise SaaS & financial technology. He has 7 years of investment experience in technology.

Dr. Derk Arts has more than 10 years of experience in medicine, research and data management. He also founded Castor and launched a platform that enables researchers to easily capture, standardize and integrate data from any source.

Frans van Houten, recognized worldwide for his tenure as CEO of Philips, contributes a proven track record in business transformation, and technology innovation. During his tenure at Philips, he was responsible for transforming the organization from a diversified conglomerate into a focused health technology solutions company. Aside from his role at Castor, van Houten also serves on the Board of Directors of Novartis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, and acts as a key advisor to private equity companies. 

Jeanne Hecht, a Global Business Executive in the clinical research industry, has 25+ years of experience leading successful teams across mature and emerging markets within the product development, pharma services and life sciences space. Before joining Castor, she held multiple key roles at renowned life science organizations namely IQVIA, Median Technologies, and Ora where she held various executive leadership roles responsible for leading and implementing the companies’ global strategy. Her significant expertise in driving businesses will help Castor achieve breakthrough growth in key segments.