Unilabs Announces Changes in its Executive Management Team

Geneva, 23 January 2023: Unilabs, a leading diagnostic services provider, has announced changes in its Executive Management Team.

The company is further investing in its scientific know-how and has appointed former Chief Medical and Operations Officer, Dr Christian Rebhan, as President - Scientific Business Units and Chief Medical Officer.

Reporting to Unilabs’ CEO, Michiel Boehmer, Rebhan will head the Pharma and Genetics organisations, previously under country leadership. He will also continue to lead the medical community within Unilabs and Unilabs’ telemedicine clinic, TMC.

With Rebhan stepping up to further develop the company’s scientific expertise and its unique multi-diagnostics capabilities, Olivier Carnet has joined Unilabs as Chief Operations Officer and part of Unilabs’ Executive Management Team also reporting to Boehmer.

Carnet will lead the further digitalisation and industrialisation of Unilabs’ end-to-end operations, further strengthening the company’s service levels and allowing it to win in new market segments.

Before joining Unilabs, Carnet had an impressive career with Unilever, spanning 32 years across every supply chain discipline and end-to-end operations within multiple categories and business areas, including joint ventures.

He has a track record of delivering solid performance, enabling complex turnarounds, and leading sustainable transformation.

Carnet has held roles in developed countries, largely in Europe, and in developing markets across Asia. Most recently, he was EVP Supply Chain Excellence and Transformation, leading all sub-functions, i.e., manufacturing, logistics, planning, safety, etc. through a major reinvention.

Finance and Legal and Compliance

The company has also announced a change in the Finance leadership and a corresponding change to the Legal and Compliance setup.

Victoria Bell, Group CFO, is leaving the company at the end of January to pursue other interests. Until a permanent candidate for the role is found, the finance function will be led by current Group Finance Director, Xavier Aghassian, and Michelle Vesselholt, who will join on 1 March on a contract basis.

Vesselholt is a seasoned finance executive with global experience from large companies in various industries such as pharma, telco/infrastructure, IT, consultancy, transportation, engineering, and audit. She has led large finance transformations on systems, processes, outsourcing, M&A, and restructuring in complex, matrixed organisations.

Bell's departure has also triggered a change in the Legal and Compliance function. Robert Abbott, Unilabs’ General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, previously reporting to Bell, will now report directly to Boehmer and becomes a member of the Executive Management Team.

Abbott is a UK-qualified lawyer with two decades of multinational legal experience, including with Stryker Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and CERN. In 2000, he was called to the Bar in London following his Bar Vocational Course at the University of the West of England.

“I am thrilled to count on Christian, Olivier, and Robert. Along with the other Executive Management Team members, they will play a fundamental part in delivering our strategic objectives, supporting the growth of our business, and delivering long-term value. They will help us to further build the most digitally-driven diagnostics group – enabling better decisions for a healthier future,” said Unilabs’ CEO, Michiel Boehmer. “I also want to thank Xavier for stepping up while we find a permanent replacement for the CFO role and welcome Michelle to the team on an interim basis. I express my gratitude to Victoria for her many contributions to Unilabs over the past years, the good collaboration with our teams, and wish her all the best in her new endeavours.”