Who we are

Dr. David Cantillo is a group leader and senior lecturer at the University of Queensland. He is an eminent researcher with particular expertise in flow chemistry, electrochemistry and photochemistry.

Dr. Michael Reschke is Director and consultant at Reschke Technology Consulting. He has more than 30 years’ experience in steroids and bile acids and has expertise in large-scale fermentation of steroid intermediates.

Prof. Alois Fürstner is currently Director at the Max-Planck-Institute für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim/Ruhr, Germany, an elite institution in the area of catalysis research for more than a century.
He is renowned for his expertise in the field of homogeneous catalysis, organometallic chemistry, and target-oriented synthesis. In recognition of his work, he received numerous awards.
Professor Fürstner has been Editor-in-Chief of “Science of Synthesis” since 2017.

Prof. John Woodley is Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Technical University of Denmark.
As an expert in biochemical engineering and biocatalysis, he has collaborated with many universities (Dortmund, GE; Graz, AT; Manchester, UK; or North Carolina State University, USA) and industrial players such as Sigma-Aldrich, Novozymes, BASF and Lonza. He has received several awards and honors throughout his successful career.

Prof. Kerry Chester is Professor of Molecular Medicine at UCL, a top global university, and she is on the Board of Directors of The Antibody Society. Kerry’s group created and manufactured the first single chain Fv antibody (scFv) to enter clinical trials. She has over 30 years’ experience in development of antibody-based therapeutics.

Martin joined Axplora as the CEO on the 9^th of April 2024.  Martin brings a deep passion for this sector, the patients that we serve and the partnerships we create.  With over two decades of experience in managing and growing businesses globally, Martin eagerly anticipates bringing this expertise to the Axplora group.

In his last role as CEO at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a leading CDMO partner to the industry, he spent several successful years in the United States. During his tenure there, he held diverse leadership roles across multiple modalities, driving significant business growth and accelerating the commercialization of medicines.

Martin, who took over as CEO at the start of the pandemic, successfully steered the business through this turbulent time, supporting the development of numerous treatments and vaccines.

He built his business foundation in manufacturing of fine chemicals and qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG.

In his spare time, Martin loves to spend time with his family.  He enjoys reading, travel, and motorsports.

Edgar is CFO of Axplora. He joined the company in 2000. He has +25 years experience as a CFO for different companies including Rodenstock Group (optical lenses), Müller Group (dairy), and Lekkerland (wholesale). He started his career as Consultant at McKinsey & Company in Munich, Buenos Aires, in 1992. Throughout his career, he has held several Board seats, including stock listed companies.

At Axplora, Edgar’s area of responsibility is Finance and IT, as well as Controlling, Accounting, Treasury, Tax, Legal and IT. His vision is to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and visibility of Finance and IT by establishing these functions as true business partners for Axplora’s Business Units.

Edgar holds a Master’s degree in industrial engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe and a PhD degree in Economics.

Edgar lives in Munich. He is passionate about sport (running, golf, skiing) and enjoys spending time with his family, especially since his three grown-up children live in different cities and countries. Travelling and living abroad (e.g. Argentina) has been very important to him, though visiting Southern France or the North Sea during low season remains a favorite spot.

Pere joined Axplora on March 1^st, 2023, as COO. As a chemist, he started his professional life in the fine chemical sector in Spain, dealing with innovative and complex projects. Prior to his most recent role as Chief Quality & Technical Operations Officer at Centrient, Pere worked with Boehringer Ingelheim and Apotex, where he was President for Global API and Executive Vice President for Global API & Procurement.

During his tenure spanning three decades, he has gained valuable experience in the API industry among others and has successfully led global operations efforts for major API industry players. Pere brings extensive international experience in technical operations and quality with a strong track record of successfully leading significant improvement and transformation programs.

Pere is an alumnus of the University of Barcelona in Spain, from which he holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry and a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering. He holds an MBA from the ESADE Business School in Spain.

Pere is fluent in English, Spanish and Catalan, with some notions of German and French. Pere likes to travel and playing golf.

Arul joined Axplora as CCO on July 18, 2022. Based in Raubling (Germany), Arul oversees the Global Marketing Strategy and Business Intelligence and has a global role bringing together the BU Marketing organizations to foster our business impact in close relations with the BU Presidents and the sales teams.

A Chartered Chemical Engineer from the UK with an MBA from INSEAD, Arul has a 25-year business career as a General Manager, Executive Coach and Commercial Negotiator. He led Commercial (Marketing & Sales) and Operational (Technical Operations & Supply Chain) organizations at Novartis, Baxalta & Shire in several countries and has also served as CEO of a Swiss Biologics CDMO. Most recently, he has been supporting a major German pharma company set up a global rare dermatology business.

Arul likes to practice his six languages at our sites, while indulging in a conversation or two about the local region and sports, many of which he follows. Outside of work, he is an avid skier and hiker with his family.

Mario is both the Managing Director of Axplora’s site in Italy and President of the Steroids & Highly Potent Products Business Unit. He has been with Axplora since 2014. Before that, he held various positions at Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici S.p.A, for eight years where he started as Engineering Manager and ended up as Site Director. From there, he worked as a plant operations manager at Erregierre S.p.A for six years, an active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturer for both human and veterinary use. Mario has +20 years of industry experience in APIs.

Mario believes that the enthusiasm and passion that he sees across Axplora will ensure brilliant results over the coming years.

Mario holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Chemical Engineering from the University of Bologna  with a speciality in Economics.

Mario likes walking in the woods in his spare time, especially in the mountains.

Anant is the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer in India as well as being Co-President of the Specialty Products BU at Axplora. He joined the Group in 2007 as Managing Director. He is based in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Previously, Anant was Senior Director at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, a leading multinational pharmaceutical company based in India, for five years. He started his career at Gharda Chemicals in 1990 where he spent 12 years as Senior project manager. Anant has strong experience in the pharmaceutical industry with recognized skills in operational excellence, process optimization, engineering, and R&D.

Anant is a chemical engineer from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (India) & TQM certified from OSAKA university, Japan.

Anant is passionate about building a knowledgeable and enthusiastic team who are comfortable with managing multidimensional challenges. Anant loves to share his technical experience and expertise with younger team members. Anant has a personal interest in Environment, Social and Governance issues (ESG) and spends his own time researching and understanding this important topic. In addition, Anant loves to read and write and enjoys public speaking.

David Gonzalez has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a strong background in international API sales, business development, marketing and strategic analysis. He has extensive expertise in portfolio and project valuation, as well as in driving commercial excellence and structured growth through the development of new product portfolios, expansion into new territories and the acquisition of new customers.

Before joining Axplora, David held commercial roles in several global pharmaceutical companies, including Teva, Glenmark, Polpharma and Granules India. Over the course of his career, he has worked across multiple international markets, including India, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands.

David is a Spanish national and holds a BSc in Biochemistry and an MBA from Instituto de Empresa.

He is married with three children and currently lives in the Netherlands.