Dr. Mark Seidler – Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Mark Seidler leads the companys from the Düsseldorf office.

He has more than 25 years of experience in the structuring and development of strategies for global leaders in pharmaceuticals, agrosciences and fine chemicals in Europe, North America and Asia.

His expertise includes interdisciplinary and international projects. He guides clients through major business transitions, including decisions to enter new geographic markets or business sectors, to align innovation and product portfolio strategy, and to transform business models in the face of industry change.

Prior to entering consulting, Dr. Mark Seidler held a variety of positions at Bayer AG in Germany, both in business operations in product development and production, as well as in the pharmaceutical and corporate strategy departments.

Dr. Seidler holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and a BS in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.

“The reward of our work is the chance to make new things possible and to create clarity in our clients’ actions. The steps that follow then create amazing value.”

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Deepak Veeraraghavan – Partner & Practice Lead Global Life Science and Europe Consulting

Deepak Veeraraghavan has more than 16 years of management consulting experience, leading projects in multiple countries across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

He is experienced in strategic decision making, corporate strategy development and implementation, and operational excellence. His clients include companies in such diverse areas as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, consumer durables, industrial goods, sports marketing, engineering and manufacturing.

Prior to joining SDG, Mr. Veeraraghavan was a consultant with KPMG Advisory Services.

Deepak Veeraraghavan received his postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management at Calcutta and a bachelor of engineering degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai, India.

“One of the best things about SDG is how we help break down even the most complex strategic as well as data intensive problems into meaningful and manageable pieces and come up with creative alternatives to solve them. I am proud of the difference we have made in the lives of many people from top firms to individuals across the world.”

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Chris Roe – Principal

Chris Roe first joined SDG in 1994 and has over 25 years of management consulting experience. He has worked extensively in the telecommunications, utilities, life sciences, oil & gas, manufacturing, and consumer goods sectors, advising global companies on strategy, business model development, risk assessment and management, as well as market entry strategies.

Specifically, Mr. Roe has considerable experience working with pharmaceutical clients on a wide range of issues, including lifecycle management, business unit strategy, regulatory and market access options, and portfolio optimization.

Mr. Roe has worked at various consulting firms during his career, including IMS Consulting Group, where he led the Product and Portfolio Strategy Practice in EMEA and led an internal restructuring of the consulting operations for the firm as a member of its Executive Leadership Team. Previously, he was co-founder and COO of brand strategy consultancy Redmandarin. He has also spent time as an Associate Partner at NovaSecta, a mid-sized consultancy that specializes in the pharmaceutical industry.

Chris Roe holds a BSc in management science from the Manchester Business School and attended the Executive Leadership Programme at IMD, Switzerland. Chris is also Director of an Artist Studio collective in his home town.

“By addressing the key future uncertainties facing a business explicitly, we help our clients understand how to better manage risks, maximize opportunities and take decisions to implement creative strategies to maximize the value of their business going forward.”

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Einar Sveinsson – Principal

Einar Sveinsson has advised clients on business strategy and investment decisions with a focus on the energy transition within the broader energy value chain including power generation, oil & gas, shipping, and energy technology. He also has consulting experience in the pharmaceutical and financial services industries and has served clients in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Prior to SDG, Mr. Sveinsson worked as a corporate finance advisor for H.F. Securities in Iceland. His experience there included M&A, investment analysis, financial restructuring and valuations. Before that he managed international real estate investments for Askar Capital Investment Bank. Mr. Sveinsson also has experience as lecturer in corporate finance and investment science at Reykjavik University.

Mr. Sveinsson holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from DTU, the Technical University of Denmark, and a master’s degree in management science and engineering from Stanford University with a concentration in finance and economics.

“We work with our clients on some of their most challenging decisions. We help to clearly define these decisions and develop compelling alternatives around them that we can then compare and test against key uncertainties. This generally leads to identifying new and significant sources of value, brings clarity of action and the essential organizational alignment around it.”

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Panos Karelis – Principal

Panos Karelis has a broad experience across several sectors including life sciences, energy, manufacturing and high tech, and has served clients in Europe and North America.

He specializes in financial modeling and valuation, forecasting, decision analysis and strategy development, while his industry of focus is pharmaceuticals.

Prior to joining SDG, Mr. Karelis worked as a decision support analyst with Siemens Energy in the US and as a business analyst with the Energy Policy Unit – National Technical University of Athens in Greece focusing on renewable and energy efficiency technologies, while he began his career as an engineer in the power industry.

Mr. Karelis holds an MS in management science and engineering with a focus in economics and finance from Stanford University, an MS in energy production and management, and a diploma in electrical engineering and computer science from the National Technical University of Athens.

“Our team’s unparalleled ability to convert ‘not-possible-to-quantify’ strategic decisions into highly structured analyses that help leadership teams navigate the future with confidence is what makes SDG a valuable partner to any company, but also a great place to work for anyone seeking an intellectually stimulating environment.”

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Insa Sommer – Engagement Manager

Insa Sommer has experience in the life sciences and energy industries supporting clients in Europe and North America. Her experience includes financial modeling, portfolio management, and the development and evaluation of business, asset, and corporate strategies.

Before joining SDG, Ms. Sommer worked as a project leader in the research and development department of a microbiological company in Münster where she was involved in the management and implementation of national and international research projects. In addition, she was quality manager for audits, training and documentation.

Her academic background is in biotechnology and microbiology, with a master’s degree in biotechnology from the University of Münster. In addition, she has a second Master’s degree in Business Administration.

“At SDG, we often build a bridge between science and business consulting. As a biotechnologist, this is always a particularly exciting challenge for me.”

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Dr. Jan Hansen – Engagement Manager

Dr. Jan Hansen has experience in the life science industry and an extensive academic background in molecular life sciences.

Over the past five years, Dr. Hansen has been working with biotech and pharmaceutical clients across Europe and North America on a wide variety of challenges across enterprises that range from startups to leading global pharma companies. His experience includes financial modeling, portfolio management, and the development and evaluation of business, asset, and corporate strategies. Through a combination of his scientific background and in-depth experience across diverse therapeutic areas and enterprises, he brings expert knowledge in market dynamics as he works with clients to transform innovative ideas into business opportunities.

Dr. Hansen earned his PhD at Maastricht University, where he demonstrated the existence of a cellular biological clock by conducting several human-intervention studies. He received full scholarships from the Rotary Foundation and the Dutch Research Council for his scientific achievements.

“By defining sound decisions and forward-looking strategies, we set novel therapeutic options on a path to full potential within a complex and highly uncertain market.”

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Dr. Florian Methling – Engagement Manager

Dr. Florian Methling has experience in the energy industry, financial sector, and life sciences and a strong academic background in decision theory and portfolio optimization.

In his most recent consulting projects, Dr. Methling worked with leading companies in the energy and pharmaceutical space to develop and establish multicriteria decision-making processes for long lead-time investments.

Prior to joining SDG, he taught decision theory as a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Saarbrücken and worked as a research associate at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He has prior experience as a consultant. Among his engagements, he worked with an online asset manager on the development of decision logic for portfolio management in the financial sector.

Dr. Methling holds a doctorate in economics and a master’s degree from RWTH Aachen University in business administration and engineering, focused on mechanical engineering with an emphasis on aeronautical engineering.

“At SDG, we combine experience and the latest research in the decision theory to help clients understand their fundamental goals and the key value drivers of their businesses. This is the foundation for success and is always an inspiring start on the road to great decisions.”

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Adrien Christian – Associate Consultant

Adrien Christian has an academic background in energy economics.

Before joining SDG, Mr. Christian gained professional consulting experience during internships at Boston Consulting Group and Kearney as well as insights into the energy sector at Siemens. He also worked at RWTH Aachen University as a research assistant at the Institute for High Voltage Technology and in the area of PV storage technology.

Adrien Christian holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from RWTH Aachen University, majoring in electrical power engineering (M.Sc.).

“The expertise in decision theory at SDG is fascinating. I find the application of this expertise to real-world decision problems in the life science and energy industries meaningful and significant.”

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Thomas Gesseleit-Braun – Associate Consultant

Thomas Gesseleit-Braun has an academic background in economics as well as in mechanical engineering with focus on production engineering.

While studying, Mr. Gesseleit-Braun gained first consulting experience at the KEX Knowledge Exchange AG, a technology consultancy, and at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology. Furthermore, he completed internships at Saint-Gobain in Germany and in the UK.

Mr. Gesseleit-Braun holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and two master’s degrees from RWTH Aachen University. He completed his first master’s in production engineering, the second one in management, business and economics.

„As a team of exceptionally creative and analytical minds, we strive to always improve our clients’ and our own decision-making capabilities. Thus, we empower valuable solutions even for very complex challenges.”

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Lena Wießmann – Senior Executive Assistant

Lena Wießmann is working for Strategic Decisions Group as Executive Assistant. She supports the entire team and is responsible for Administrative and Marketing tasks for the European office.

Prior to joining SDG, Ms Wießmann worked for Europcar, the leading car rental company in Europe, where she was Area Manager.

She graduated with a Master’s in International Business from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

“SDG is doing strategic consulting as its best. I enjoy being part of this great company.”

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Marleen Ferber – Senior Executive Assistant

Marleen Ferber supports the CEO Dr. Mark Seidler, as well as the entire European consulting team as Executive Assistant. She is also responsible for the Human Resources management, including recruitment for the European office.

Marleen Ferber started her career in the international hotel sector and has been working in the UK, Ireland and US. 

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