Dr. Anissa Boumlic-Courtade, is Director, Head of the Strategy operationalization group within Bioprocessing Strategy, Process Solutions division of Merck Life Sciences. She’s responsible with her team of SMEs to ensure the Business Unit’s Strategy relates to the Biotech industry’s needs and trends and translate the division and segment strategies to Business priorities. Anissa has a more than 10 years’ experience in the industry serving within Merck in different technical, marketing and business roles and most recently in the position of Director of the Global Vaccine & Plasma Segments at Merck. Anissa’s expertise lies in biopharmaceutical processing, strategy & business development. She initiated and supported several collaborations and partnerships with the industry in the field of viral safety, vaccines, and gene therapy manufacturing. She also sits in the board of Directors of the African Vaccine Manufacturing initiative (AVMI), a nonprofit non-governmental organization that aims at increasing Africa’s capabilities in vaccine manufacturing. Anissa is a Biotech engineer by training and holds a PhD degree in Molecular and cellular biology combined with Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the Universities of Strasbourg and Thessaly respectively.