March 18, 2025, SEOUL, Republic of Korea  – The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is pleased to announce three new appointments to its Board of Trustees. Prof. Helen Rees, Dr. Dominique Limet, and Dr. Nanette Cocero will begin their terms in 2026, ensuring the continued strength of IVI’s decision-making body. Their combined expertise in vaccine and medical research, vaccine commercialization and policy, and global health will help guide IVI’s work across the vaccine value chain, from science to impact.

Prof. Helen Rees is a global health practitioner and recognized leader in pandemic preparedness and response and in global health security. She is the founder and executive director of the University of the Witwatersrand Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) as well as the Wits African Leadership in Vaccinology Expertise. Prof. Rees has chaired over 100 national, regional, and international scientific and policy committees, including the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE). She continues to serve on SAGE in her capacity as chair of the WHO African Region’s Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group.

Dr. Dominique Limet holds over 30 years of experience in the healthcare sector, culminating in his most recent role as CEO of ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture between Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). During his tenure, ViiV Healthcare emerged as a leader in HIV therapy. Prior to ViiV Healthcare, Dr. Limet held senior leadership roles at GSK, where he oversaw operations in southern and eastern Europe. He has served on ViiV’s board and currently serves on the board of Medicines for Malaria Venture, a product development partnership working to treat, prevent, and eliminate malaria.

Dr. Nanette Cocero had a 21-year career at Pfizer, most recently as Global President of the Vaccines division. She led the development, global commercialization, and delivery of more than two billion doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to 152 countries and territories. Throughout her tenure at Pfizer, she has held a number of senior positions leading diverse teams and touching nearly every market in the world. She holds vast experience in end-to-end vaccine development, from the clinical stage all the way through manufacturing, commercialization, and delivery. Dr. Cocero currently sits on the board of HilleVax and IDEA Public Schools.

“We are pleased to announce that Helen Rees, Dominique Limet, and Nanette Cocero will join the IVI Board of Trustees in 2026,” said George Bickerstaff, Chairperson of the IVI Board of Trustees. “The addition of these three highly accomplished leaders in global health will future-proof the Board as other members fulfill their terms within the year. We’re thankful to Spencer Stuart, a consulting firm specialized in board and leadership recruitment, for identifying several remarkable individuals in the past year, including Limet and Cocero as well as Seth Berkley and Srishti Gupta who will join the Board this May. We also appreciate our fellow Board members for their efforts in implementing a strong succession plan.”

Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said, “IVI’s Board of Trustees is uniquely composed of international leaders with scientific expertise, business acumen, and government or diplomatic experience. We are fortunate to gain three experts in vaccine science and global health next year to guide IVI’s vaccine portfolio and strategy. Their vast experience in vaccine discovery, development, and delivery positions them well to help IVI navigate its growth and expansion while staying true to its mission.”

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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s crrent portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that also achieved WHO prequalification in early 2024.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, an Africa Regional Office in Rwanda, a Country Office in Austria, and a Country and Project Office in Kenya. IVI additionally co-founded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute in Hong Kong and hosts Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 42 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, Austria, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.

CONTACT

Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@www.ivi.int