Board of Directors
Revolutionising the treatment of food allergy
Dr Chris Smith, PhD, MBA
Non-Executive Director
Dr Chris Smith, PhD, MBA
Non-Executive Director
Chris Smith is an Investment Manager at Brandon Capital Partners with over 15 years’ scientific and commercial experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He was formerly a Business Development Manager with CSL Ltd and has experience with both in and out-licensing of therapeutic drugs and R&D enabling platforms.
Dr Smith received his PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia and his MBA (specialising in innovation and entrepreneurship) from the University of Cambridge, U.K.
Dr Joey Man, PhD
Non-Executive Director
Dr Joey Man, PhD
Non-Executive Director
Joey Man is an Investment Associate at Tenmile, the dedicated health technology investment business owned by Tattarang. She brings a background in scientific research, venture capital and company formation, with experience across early-stage investing, commercial analysis, and strategic initiatives across Tenmile’s portfolio. She previously worked on company spinouts through the CSIRO Accelerator, and academic roles focused on breast cancer metastasis and stem cell biology.
Joey holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University.
Dr Pascal Hickey, BPharm, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Pascal Hickey, BPharm, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Pascal Hickey has over 25 years’ international experience in drug development. He has held management responsibilities across various R&D functions in innovative and rapidly growing biotechnology companies, and has over 15 years' experience in allergy. Prior to joining Aravax, Dr Hickey was Vice President Early Development at Circassia Pharmaceuticals (UK).
Dr Hickey received his Bachelor of Pharmacy from the Victorian College of Pharmacy and PhD from Monash University, Australia.
Dr Brett Haumann, MBBCh, MBA
Non-Executive Director
Dr Brett Haumann, MBBCh, MBA
Non-Executive Director
Brett Haumann is a seasoned pharmaceutical physician and senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, having served as a non-executive director on a number of private and public boards in Europe and the US. He was formerly Head of the R&D Committee on the Board of Aimmune Therapeutics (2018-2020), which launched Palforzia® for the treatment of peanut allergy prior to its acquisition by Nestlé in 2020.
Dr. Haumann is a physician with an MBBCh degree from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and an MBA degree with distinction from Open University in the UK.
Mr Thomas Ulmer, MBA, FCPA
Non-Executive Director
Mr Thomas Ulmer, MBA, FCPA
Non-Executive Director
Thomas Ulmer is a Senior Financial Executive with almost 20 years of experience directing all financial matters. He was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Immatics N.V., where he was instrumental in leading the company to its NASDAQ listing. Previous leadership positions include Chief Financial Officer of Allergopharma and VP Business Planning & Analysis for the Merck Group.
Mr Ulmer received his MBA from University of Giessen, Germany and is a Fellow member of CPA Australia.
Dr Beat Steffen, MD
Non-Executive Director
Dr Beat Steffen, MD
Non-Executive Director
Beat Steffen MD is a Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund in Basel, Switzerland. Prior to joining NVF, he worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in commercial roles in the US and Switzerland launching several products, mainly in the cardiovascular area. Before that, he was at McKinsey & Company in Zurich working with clients in the pharmaceutical industry. Beat is a Swiss-trained physician with a focus on cardiovascular surgery and intensive care and holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD.
