A 2014 course instructor, Dr Linus N. Igwemezie was executive vice president and head of the Malaria Initiative at Novartis Pharma AG. He was responsible for developing and executing strategies to maintain Novartis leadership in malaria control and elimination. Previously, he served as vice president of New Products and Portfolio Strategy in Novartis Oncology, where he led the commercial development of new drug candidates, evaluation of in-licensing, and M&A opportunities. He also served as executive director of New Products and Disease Strategy. Before Joining Novartis Oncology in 2001, he was director of Global Marketing and director of Regulatory Affairs at Bristol-Myers Squibb and research scientist at Merck. He is currently chief executive officer of Denam Group.

He earned a bachelor’s degree at University of Ife in Nigeria, Doctor of Philosophy from University of British Columbia, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.