Healthcare Market Research Worldwide

Meet Our Team

Executive Leadership Team

Gema Parlange Iturmendi
Chief Executive Officer
Christine Maï, MD
Deputy General Manager​
Sophie Benes
Chief People Officer​
Laurent Givaudan
Chief Technology Officer​
Cyrille Plaza
Chief Financial Officer

Client Partners

Paul Taylor
Senior Director Strategic Partnerships​
Manuel Guzman Martin
Global Head of Commercial
Mélanie Marrot, PhD
Vice President, Client Engagement France
Rose-Marie Carneiro
Vice President, Client Engagement
Stéphane Deniau
Senior Director RWE​
Hilary Worton
Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership​

Experts

David Durand
Head of Data Sourcing & Collection​
Magali Marion
Vice President, Offering & Marketing Strategy
Sébastien Viard
Head of Insights, Onco-Hemato​logy
Gwenaëlle Landeau
Head of Insights, Emerging Therapies and Dermocosmetics
Élodie Bon
Head of Insights, Immunology​
Côme Marinace
Head Lead of Innovation​
Jérémy Chalvin
Head of Data Process​
Roman Lakovskiy
Data Analytics Manager
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Gema Parlange Iturmendi

Chief Executive Officer

Gema is a global life sciences leader with close to 30 years of experience helping companies bring the right therapies to the right patients. She has built and led market access, commercial, technology and evidence teams worldwide, from major pharma services leaders to fast-growing health data businesses. Known for combining strategic vision with determination to execution, she has also advised industry leaders and investors on innovation, partnerships, and business turn arounds.

At APLUSA, Gema leads the firm’s vision and growth, ensuring deep expertise is transformed into clear, actionable insights for clients and patients. She drives a culture of scientific rigor, real partnership, and tech enabled innovation, guiding teams to deliver meaningful impact across complex areas such as oncology, hematology, immunology, and dermocosmetics.

Change, transformation, and accelerating growth have defined Gema’s career, and have been imperative in shaping the roles she has held over the years. Gema is driven by attracting and developing exceptional teams, enabling them to shape their own agendas, execute their visions, and consistently deliver high-quality work that exceeds the expectations of our clients and investors.

“I would rather owe my success to many, than just to myself.”

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Christine Maï, MD

Deputy General Manager​

Christine believes that expertise only creates value when it is shared, applied, and continuously developed. With a strong background in healthcare research, she has built her career around turning scientific complexity into clear, useful insights that support real decision-making. She is known for her sharp analytical mindset, her ability to bring focus and structure, and her natural way of helping people grow into their expertise. Christine combines scientific rigor with pragmatism, enabling teams to move forward with clarity and confidence.

At APLUSA, Christine works at the intersection of expertise, efficiency, and people development. She supports teams in strengthening methodologies, embracing innovation, and delivering work that is both high-quality and impactful. Closely engaged with the team, she helps talents sharpen their skills, gain autonomy, and work more effectively together. Her role is to create the conditions for teams to perform at their best while continuing to learn and grow.

Christine is driven by a simple principle: when people grow, results follow. She is energized by helping talents gain clarity, confidence, and effectiveness, and by building environments where high standards and professional fulfillment go hand in hand.

“Collective intelligence, applied with clarity and professional elegance, drives progress.”

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Sophie Benes

Chief People Officer​

Sophie is a senior HR leader with a strong, hands-on background in fast-growing and international environments. She has led HR functions within global organizations across Europe and the United States, supporting multicultural teams and navigating complex regulatory, cultural, and organizational contexts. She brings deep expertise in labor relations, HR governance, and organizational frameworks, combined with a pragmatic and people-first approach to recruitment, talent development, and change management. Known for her ability to bridge strategy and operational reality, Sophie focuses on building solutions that are both human-centered and business-effective at scale.

At APLUSA, Sophie works closely with leaders and managers as a true business partner to foster a culture of trust, accountability, and sustainable performance. She supports teams through phases of growth and transformation, strengthens talent development and global career paths, and ensures HR practices remain both rigorous and human-centered—enabling people to grow, engage, and thrive as the company scales internationally.

Driven by the belief that strong organizations are built on clarity, fairness, and trust, Sophie is motivated by creating environments where people feel empowered to do their best work. She values transparency, collective intelligence, and meaningful dialogue. “People don’t resist change, they resist unclear change.”

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Laurent Givaudan

Chief Technology Officer​

Laurent is a technology leader with over 20 years of experience driving business value and transformation through technology, data, and artificial intelligence. He has led the design and deployment of high-impact technology and data platforms that strengthen performance, accelerate growth, and improve decision-making at scale.

At APLUSA, Laurent defines and leads the company’s global technology vision, ensuring strong alignment between IT, data, and AI strategies, business priorities, and client needs. He builds robust technology foundations, accelerates the industrialization and automation of data and AI solutions, and drives a results-oriented innovation culture focused on sustainable value creation.

Convinced that technology is first and foremost a strategic and human enabler, Laurent places leadership, talent development, and operational excellence at the heart of APLUSA’s transformation.

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Cyrille Plaza

Chief Financial Officer

Cyrille is the Chief Financial Officer, with extensive experience structuring and scaling fast-growing groups. Before joining APLUSA, he spent nearly ten years as Chief Financial Officer of a logistics real estate group, where he worked closely with management to build the finance function, support the group’s growth, manage investor relations, drive international expansion, and improve financial performance. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior financial auditor at a Big Four firm and as a financial controller, developing a strong foundation in reporting, governance, change management, and process improvement.

At APLUSA, Cyrille serves as a strategic financial partner to the leadership team, shaping the group’s financial roadmap and ensuring strong governance as the company expands internationally. He oversees performance management, reporting, and compliance, and supports investment decisions, new business initiatives, and geographic expansion with clear, decision-ready financial insights.

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Paul Taylor

Senior Director Strategic Partnerships​

Paul brings over 20 years of pharmaceutical business development and client partnership experience across Europe, the US, Japan, and Latin America. He has a long term exposure to longitudinal hospital data and strong expertise in oncology, neurology, and other complex and emerging therapeutic areas.

At APLUSA, Paul focuses on building and growing strategic client collaborations.. He works closely with clients, external partners and internal teams to create long-term value, unlock new mutually beneficial opportunities, and ensure joint initiatives translate into concrete business impact for clients.

Most people we know have been affected by cancer or a life-changing medical condition in some way. By working collaboratively and combining our efforts, we can improve patient outcomes—and we must all believe in our ability to make a meaningful difference for patients. Paul has a passion for sport (Cricket) and travel as well as trying to play golf!

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Manuel Guzman Martin

Global Head of Commercial

Manuel is a senior healthcare market research and commercial leader with strong expertise in client engagement and growth. He has built his career across pharma, biotech and medtech, with a particular focus on oncology, immunology and cardio-metabolic diseases. His background spans senior roles in global consulting as well as in-house positions, giving him a grounded view of both strategy and execution.

At APLUSA, Manuel leads the global commercial organization, partnering with Key Account Directors, Customer Success Managers and Strategic Partnership Directors to drive sustainable growth by staying close to client needs and market dynamics. He works with teams to translate complex business and scientific questions into clear, decision-enabling strategies, while building long-term, trusted partnerships and ensuring high levels of client satisfaction. He also plays a key role in shaping APLUSA’s commercial strategy and international expansion.

Driven by curiosity and collaboration, Manuel is motivated by helping teams and clients turn robust insights into confident decisions that make a real impact.

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Mélanie Marrot, PhD

Vice President, Client Engagement France

Mélanie is a PhD-trained scientist who moved from academic research into healthcare marketing and has built more than 15 years of experience in medical market research. She combines strong analytical depth with a practical understanding of how pharma markets work, and is known for anticipating client needs and turning complex data into clear, decision-ready insights across a wide range of therapeutic areas.

At APLUSA, Mélanie is a key client-facing leader for France, partnering closely with teams to design the right methodologies, guide studies from proposal to recommendation, and ensure consistently high scientific and strategic standards. She plays an active role in strengthening long-term client relationships, leading high-volume programs smoothly, and bringing added value through sharp interpretation and tailored recommendations.

A mountaineer at heart, Mélanie builds client relationships as true partnerships, grounded in trust, collaboration, and shared ambition, bringing the resilience, discipline, and adaptability of the mountains to every project.

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Rose-Marie Carneiro

Vice President, Client Engagement

Rose-Marie is a seasoned leader in healthcare and consumer-health market research, bringing a long-standing career in the pharmaceutical and patient/consumer space. Her experience spans marketing research, segmentation, and strategic advisory work across France and global markets, with a particular strength in understanding health consumer behavior.

At APLUSA, Rose-Marie leads client engagement in longevity, dermatology, and dermocosmetics, positioning longevity as a forward-looking space that redefines aging through prevention, sustained performance, and long-term well-being. Working closely with teams, she delivers research that blends scientific rigor with commercial relevance and deep patient and consumer insight, helping clients navigate complex and fast-evolving categories through clarity, confidence, and long-term trusted collaboration.

Beyond her professional expertise, Rose-Marie is deeply motivated by the human side of healthcare, finding inspiration in the stories and experiences of patients and consumers.

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Stéphane Deniau

Senior Director RWE​

Stéphane blends a solid scientific background in biology and clinical data with more than two decades in Pharma, CRO and life-science business leadership. He has built and grown central lab, clinical then real-world evidence services, moving from operational data management into business development, executive committee roles, and strategic line management in nutrition, pharma, biotech, consumer health and personal care.

At APLUSA, Stéphane drives the Real-World Evidence activity, helping clients access the right evidence faster and make confident decisions. He works with teams to design pragmatic, high-quality RWE programs, strengthen partnerships, and keep patient and customer centricity at the heart of delivery.

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Hilary Worton

Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership​

Hilary is a senior healthcare insights leader with a long international career across pharma, research agencies, and consulting. She has built and led custom healthcare research teams and supported major strategic decisions through market analysis and evidence-based business planning.

At APLUSA, Hilary strengthens the firm’s thought leadership by shaping perspectives on evolving therapeutic and commercial landscapes. She helps teams and clients turn complex insights into clear narratives and recommendations that guide confident decisions.

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David Durand

Head of Data Sourcing & Collection​

David is a fieldwork and data-collection leader who has built his career around making sure complex studies deliver reliable, high-quality data. He brings long experience in managing large operational teams, recruiting and engaging professional communities, and running demanding multi-method data-collection programs with strong quality control.

At APLUSA, David ensures our data sourcing and collection engine runs smoothly and to the highest standards. He leads the teams behind field operations, grows and maintains our community of healthcare professionals, and makes sure every study starts with robust, trustworthy data clients can confidently build on.

I practice my profession with passion to create tangible impact, give meaning to action, place people at the heart of performance, and sustainably grow teams and projects.

As Albert Schweitzer said: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

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Magali Marion

Vice President, Offering & Marketing Strategy

With over 20 years in healthcare and pharmaceutical market research, Magali has progressed from study director to Director of Business Unit, partnering with leading pharma clients to support strategic decision-making. Her experience spans market understanding, patient journeys, forecasting and performance tracking, with a constant focus on turning insights into impact.

At APLUSA, Magali now leads the evolution and positioning of the firm’s offerings and marketing strategy. She works closely with teams to combine the right methodologies, advanced analytics and AI-enabled innovation, transforming complex insights into clear, decision-ready solutions that drive measurable client impact.

“Data tells you what happened. Insight tells you what to do next.”

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Sébastien Viard

Head of Insights, Onco-Hemato​logy

With 25 years of what he considers to be a passion rather than just a job, Sébastien has built a strong career in quantitative market research and client consulting, with a deep command of advanced statistics and study design. He brings experience from major research environments and industry training roles, and is valued for turning complex data into clear positioning and strategic recommendations.

At APLUSA, Sébastien leads insights work in onco-hematology, guiding teams from study design to high-impact recommendations. He keeps projects sharp, efficient, and client-focused, helping translate complex therapeutic realities into decisions that move brands and patient care forward.

At the core of his work are three guiding values: communication, honesty, and transparency.

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Gwenaëlle Landeau

Head of Insights, Emerging Therapies and Dermocosmetics

Gwenaëlle has over 20 years of experience in international marketing and consumer research, with a strong focus on innovation and product development. She has led multicultural projects worldwide across FMCG, cosmetics, food and beverages, and healthcare, and brings deep expertise in quantitative research, data mining, and translating complex findings into clear, actionable insights.

At APLUSA, Gwenaëlle drives international insights work in emerging therapies and dermocosmetics, guiding teams on study design, execution, and interpretation. She ensures projects stay highly client-relevant, methodologically sharp, and anchored in patient/consumer realities, so recommendations translate into confident decisions and tangible market impact.

Gwenaëlle believes in the power of collective thinking: when people collaborate openly, insights become deeper and more impactful.

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Élodie Bon

Head of Insights, Immunology​

Elodie is a senior market research leader with extensive experience in quantitative pharmaceutical and healthcare research. She has led complex international studies across key strategic areas, including positioning, pricing, segmentation, and real-world evidence, supporting high-level decision-making in global organizations.

At APLUSA, Elodie leads international quantitative insights in Immunology, ensuring the delivery of robust, decision-ready recommendations to clients. She also directs the qualitative research team, overseeing qualitative studies and promoting an integrated qualitative and quantitative insights approach. In this role, she contributes to methodological excellence and the consistent delivery of high-quality insights across markets.

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Côme Marinace

Head Lead of Innovation​

Côme is an innovation and Market Research specialist who started his career in consumer and retail insights, working across Europe and Latin America. Over the years, he has led market research projects for major brands, built advanced analytics approaches, and developed a strong talent for turning messy, complex data into stories people can act on.

At APLUSA, Côme leads innovation to enhance productivity and continuously elevate the added value of the company’s solutions. He develops strategic solutions with cross-functional teams and drives the integration of generative AI to strengthen the clarity, efficiency, and impact of client deliverables.

Black belt, 2nd dan in judo and inspired by Jigoro Kano’s philosophy that “judo is the art of winning by flexibility,” Côme turns constraints into opportunities and makes agility a driver of innovation.

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Jérémy Chalvin

Head of Data Process​

Jérémy is a long-standing APLUSA professional who joined early in the company’s growth. He built broad expertise across data coding, statistical analysis, and insight work before specializing in statistics, with a strong track record of delivering reliable, high-quality data for client studies.

At APLUSA, Jérémy leads the end-to-end data process that turns raw inputs into clean, structured, analysis-ready datasets. He designs and continuously improves workflows, tools, and quality controls so studies run smoothly, securely, and efficiently. Working closely with Insights, RWE, and Tech teams, he ensures data is reliable, traceable, and delivered in a way that accelerates high-quality recommendations for clients.

“Work hard, play hard.”

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Roman Lakovskiy

Data Analytics Manager

Roman Lakovskiy brings strong expertise in data analysis, business insights, and performance optimization, with experience transforming complex datasets into clear, actionable intelligence to support strategic decisions.

At APLUSA, Roman leads analytical initiatives, developing performance measurement frameworks, and working closely with cross-functional teams to deliver data-driven recommendations that support business and client objectives.