Pierre Gurdjian is a Belgian senior professional with extensive experience in executive leadership, governance, and societal impact.

He is the President of the Board of Directors of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), one of Belgium’s largest comprehensive universities with 33,000 students, 4 campuses, 12 faculties and a large academic hospital; the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at UCB, a listed global biopharma company leader in immunology and neurology; a Member of the Board of Directors at Lhoist, a family-owned company world leader in limestone and dolomite production; and a Member of the Board of Governors of the United World College (UWC) in Dilijan in Armenia.

Pierre is also Philanthropy and Strategy Partner of the IDeA Foundation, a global philanthropic organization that seeks to establish innovative and transformative ways to change the world through territory development, innovation in education and promotion of humanitarian values.

Prior to these roles, Pierre was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. During his 27 years with the firm, he served a dynamic portfolio of leading clients throughout Europe and Middle-East, he was Managing Partner of the Belgium-Luxemburg office, and he held international responsibility for McKinsey’s Human Capital practice in EMEA.

Pierre has a passion for human capital development and co-created the “Roots & Wings” platform that helps equip talented individuals who are on a journey to making the world better. He is also often invited to speak about leadership building, with a focus on wisdom, purpose, and legacy.

He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and past President of YouthStart Belgium and the Harvard Club of Belgium. He teaches a graduate course on ‘The CEO Perspective’ at the Solvay Business School (ULB) and is involved in numerous humanitarian, philanthropic, and entrepreneurial initiatives in Europe.

Pierre holds a degree in Commercial Engineering from the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

ANCORED is delighted to have Pierre on our International Advisory Board and will benefit enormously from his wide-ranging experience and his consummate guidance in transformational management and professional development. 

Dr. Claire Bloomfield is the CEO of the world-leading Consortium of Artificial Intelligent Medical Imaging (NCIMI) at the University of Oxford — NCIMI is Oxford’s new and revolutionary launchpad to improve the healthcare industry through the use of AI. The NCIMI consortium is led from the University, where Claire is successfully managing partnerships with 14 NHS hospitals, clinical leaders, industry experts, academic researchers, patient groups and philanthropic organizations.  

Claire’s own research has been focused on Neuroscience and she has held research fellowships at Oxford University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Following her academic research career and before becoming the CEO of the NCIMI Consortium, Claire returned to Oxford as the Head of Strategy and Innovation for Cancer Research UK. Claire's role placed her at the nexus of cancer activity within the university community and the UK overall, affording unique opportunities to work on cross-departmental and pan-divisional projects resulting in raising more than 250 million pounds to further UK cancer research.

We at ANCORED are thrilled to have Claire join our International Advisory Board. Through her world-leading expertise and unique position at the intersection of academia and private industry, we are confident that she will provide valuable insights and help navigate the post-COVID world for both ANCORED and our clients.

Gary Cook has vast experience in counselling senior executives on strategy, leadership, and ethical performance and in stewarding organizations, businesses and boards in their successful transformation. He has guided numerous enterprises in enhancing their organizational effectiveness and coached leaders and board members in widely varied sectors. In addition, he has worked with various institutions seeking to use large data sets to improve customer acquisition, ethical performance, and leadership effectiveness.

Gary worked with McKinsey and Company and served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at both the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the US Department of Commerce. He was appointed to the OECD as vice-Chair of the OECD Industry Committee. A published author on the contributions biology, neuroscience, and other disciplines are making to our understanding and application of leadership, he has written numerous other articles on strategy and related issues. 

In addition to his corporate focus, Gary has long experience in the non-profit field and has advised organizations applying innovation in education, particularly higher education. He has taught business ethics at the University of Denver and served on the visiting board of that institution’s Korbel School of International Studies.

A graduate of Wesleyan University and Harvard Law School, Gary is widely respected for the sharpness of his insights, his imaginative application of theory to practice and his generous support for individuals and institutions across multiple disciplines. We are very fortunate to be able to count on his guidance as we grow Ancored and steer its future success.

Lars Wahlström is an accomplished senior professional with extensive international experience from Sweden, USA, Canada, Turkey and the Netherlands. Lars is presently dedicating his time as a professional Chairman strategically aiding companies through complex business decisions both domestically and internationally. 

Throughout Lars’s 20-year operative career he has held key positions such as Vice-President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Directorships for companies like Education First (EF), Manpower and Proffice. 

Nowadays, and outside of his time advising ANCORED, Lars serves as the Chairman of the Board for several companies including Lisberg Executive Search, Swesale Rekrytering, Dreamwork Scandinavia, Aviation Capacity Resources, Longstay Travel, and Söderlindh. Previous Chairmanships includes Intelliplan, Senior & Young, Garbergs, Gigger and Mazars – a global accountancy firm with more than 13 000 employees operating in 70 + countries.

In addition to his various operative functions, Lars is a highly-sought after speaker having led workshops for companies such as PWC, IKEA, Telenor, Sydsvenskan, Resurs Insurance and ABF.   

Lars’s educational background includes Harvard Business School, Arizona State University, and Växjö University. 

We at ANCORED are thrilled to have Lars join our International Advisory Board. We are confident that Lars extensive international experience – especially focusing on the Nordic, North American and European markets –  will help assist ANCORED navigate the future and the post-COVID world. 

A multi-disciplined leader w/a broad range of scientific, regulatory and business expertise acquired from 39 yrs in the food & beverage industry. As The Coca-Cola Company’s first Chief Science and Health Officer, she developed and executed the Company’s global health and well-being strategy. She served as a credible and effective public voice, using her expertise in food safety, nutrition and health and her ability to engage diverse audiences, to build understanding and consensus around critical health and industry issues.

Based on her insights and ability to identify emerging issues, knowledge of evidence-based science, regulatory policy and dedication to their fair application, she excels at building strong relationships across industry, government and civil society.

Dr. Applebaum has had experience on numerous committees and boards, including the Dept of State’s Advisory Committee on Int'l & Economic Policy, CDC Fdn's Roundtable on Global Health Threats, the Harvard Medical School Global Health Advisory Council, Center for Strategic & Int'l Studies Commission on Smart Global Health Policy and various Advisory Boards for the USFDA and USDA. She has held numerous Board and Executive Leadership roles including the Int'l Life Sciences Inst, the Int'l Food Information Council, Georgia Governor Deal’s Advisory Council on Childhood Obesity, Georgia Shape and Health Connect South. Volunteer organizations include Senior Services of North Fulton.

Recognitions include selection to/as: “100 Women Leaders in STEM,” Executive Leadership Honor Roll of OnBoard, Kosuna Distinguished Lecture in Nutrition & Public Policy, and the Ivan Parkin Lecturer in Food Safety. Dr. Applebaum has held executive leadership positions with the Nat'l Food Processors Assn, Distilled Spirits Council of the US, the Chocolate Mfrs Assn, the American Cocoa Research Inst and the Nat'l Confectioners Assn. She received her BA from Wilson College, MS from Drexel Univ and PhD from the Univ of Wisconsin.

We are privileged to have a leader in regulatory policy and public/private interaction of Rhona’s calibre joining us on our International Advisory Board. We will benefit enormously from her expertise in the critical food and nutrition sector, her understanding of the complex relationships between industry, science and the public good – and her wisdom and generosity of spirit.