Leadership

Wes Wheeler is the Chief Executive force for the company’s strategic vision to realize our potential as the leading supply chain services provider for the life science industry.

Mr. Wheeler has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over twenty years, and has held senior executive positions in four companies over the last fifteen. By helping develop a strategic vision and then using his leadership skills to implement strategies that achieve that vision, he has been instrumental in the success of these companies.

During Mr. Wheeler’s thirty-year career, he has been involved in virtually every key functional area, including manufacturing, marketing, logistics, R&D, and engineering. This breadth of experience has given him the unique ability to identify the unmet needs of customers, and then develop business plans that address those needs. By being directly involved with companies that span the globe, and living overseas himself, Wheeler has gained a unique perspective in managing businesses that cross many borders and cultures.

Mr. Wheeler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration, with an emphasis in Finance.

Cyril Leger, Chief Operating officer, joined Marken fifteen years ago directly out of college. During his tenure with the company he has worked in virtually every facet of the company’s operations. He rose quickly to the position of European regional director of operations and then to global director of operations.

Mr. Leger has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the company’s logistics processes, which he helps establish and monitor for effectiveness at Marken’s facilities all over the world. In his current role as Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Leger’s primary role is to marshal the company’s resources in order to meet the present and future needs of Marken customers.

Cyril was educated at Marne La Vallée University in France where he studied industrial technology.

Chris O’Connell, Chief Financial Officer, has more the pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals, clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies.

Mr. O’Connell has served in various functional roles, which involved the development of portfolio strategies, acquisitions and integration of new companies, and management of shared service functions across multiple business lines. During his career he has had full P&L responsibility across broad business lines including manufacturing, services and distribution. It is this broad understanding of the needs of pharmaceutical clients that makes Chris such an advocate for investing in the people and technology required to make Marken the global leader in supply chain logistics for the pharmaceutical industry.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Siena College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ariette Van Strien, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, is Marken’s voice of the customer having spent 23 years in the clinical research industry spanning sales, marketing, business development and global operational and project management roles. Prior to joining Marken, Ariette held senior executive roles of increasing responsibility for CROs managing clinical trials from Phase I to IV.

Her responsibilities over the last ten years have been to lead global teams in building strategic relationships with Pharma Companies.

Having worked extensively on the Central Lab and Clinical side, Ariette brings a unique perspective of this portion of the supply chain to her position. This experience makes it possible for Marken to compete effectively in every link of the clinical trial supply chain from manufacturing to diagnostics and develop optimized supply chain and protocol design solutions for its customers.

Ariette has a Diploma as a National Public Relation Consultant, a Superior French Language degree from the International College of Cannes, France and also a Baccalaureate of Modern Languages and Biological Sciences.

Willy Fifer, Chief Strategy Officer, is responsible for assisting the CEO with creating, communicating, executing and sustaining strategic initiatives to meet the short and long-term goals of Marken. In addition to being a member of the executive committee and on the board of directors, Mr. Fifer is in charge of pricing strategy and works in close relation with the sales operations team.

Prior to joining Marken, Willy worked with the pharmaceutical industry in the area of packaging. He was directly involved with the development of isothermal solutions for both central labs and pharmaceutical companies. This experience provides Marken with a valuable resource related to packaging for maximum temperature control during transit or storage. Willy has now been with Marken for over 12 years. He’s has held multiple positions within the company and previously served as Business Development Manager in Europe for several years. Prior to that assignment Willy led the company’s business development effort in France.

Willy attended college at Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, a business school in France.

Gerit Offenhauser is a well versed business leader that has worked the past 20 years in the Life Science industry. During that time he has held various leadership positions in Europe and Asia. He has held many senior roles from Strategic to Operations. He as served as Director, Project Management Europe and Asia Pacific, managing a team of Project Management professionals that are conducting 350+ projects in parallel. Most recently Mr. Offenhauser was serving as Vice President, Global Logistics Operations and member of the Group Executive Board for one of the top tier global central labs. 

Gerit is a contributing Scientist in a Masters Program at the Center for Stroke Research Berlin, where he is currently teaching “Project Management in Clinical Trials” in the “Master of Science in Cerebrovascular Medicine” at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

Dr. Andrea Zobel is Senior Director Clinical Trial Distribution at Marken Ltd.

Before she has worked in a clinical research organization and had built up a clinical trial supply unit offering laboratory services, clinical trial supply and ancillary supply services.

Ms. Zobel has an education as a biochemist with 12 years research in gene technology, pharmacology and preclinical development both in academic research and in biotech companies and holds a PhD in natural sciences.

She is lecturer and trainer for pharmacology and clinical trial logistics at universities and training institutes.