November 13, 2026 | Boston
Swissnex in Boston and New York is pleased to announce five leaders from Boston’s education, research, and innovation ecosystem who are joining us as strategic advisors. They will draw on their extensive experience founding companies, running research institutions, and shaping public policy to guide Swissnex’s strategy across the US Northeast, strengthen our networks, and help create new opportunities for international collaboration.
“Swissnex is not an observer of our ecosystems; we are an active participant,” said Philippe Roesle, CEO of Swissnex in Boston and New York. “Our work depends on trusted networks, on recognizing emerging themes before they become headlines, and on turning them into programs that connect Switzerland with this region. I am grateful to our advisors, and I look forward to working with them as we engage even more deeply with this dynamic ecosystem, challenge our thinking, and advance our mission of accelerating the exchange of ideas and knowledge between Switzerland and the US.”
We are pleased to welcome as advisors Patrick Anquetil, Maria Ivanova, Alban Longchamp, Vinit Nijhawan, and Katie Stebbins.
Patrick Anquetil, PhD, is CEO of Portal Instruments, a medical device company in Cambridge, and previously co-founded SynapDx, and Aretais, Inc. He holds a PhD in BioInstrumentation from MIT, an MBA from Harvard, and master’s degrees from ETH Zurich and the University of Tokyo. He is a founding member of the ETH Circle and President of the ETH Alumni New England Chapter.
Maria Ivanova, PhD, is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, where she also co-directs the Plastics Center. A leading voice in global environmental governance known for her work bridging theory and practice, she holds a PhD and master’s degrees from Yale.
Alban Longchamp, MD, PhD, is a liver and kidney transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. In 2024, he was part of the team that performed the world’s first transplant of a genetically edited pig kidney into a living patient. He received his medical degree from the University of Lausanne and studied molecular biology and aging at Harvard.
Vinit Nijhawan is Managing Director of MassVentures, which invests in early-stage technology companies in Massachusetts, Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and a Lecturer at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, where he previously led the Office of Technology Development. He has helped build five tech startups, three as CEO, all five of which were ultimately acquired.
Katie Stebbins is Executive Director of the Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute at Tufts University. She was previously Massachusetts’ first Under Secretary for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, has launched three ventures, and has been an Innovator in Residence at MIT Sloan. She has served as an advisor to Swissnex since 2022.