Over the past year, we have witnessed rapid geopolitical shifts, stronger domestic priorities in the United States, and new questions about multilateral cooperation (UN/WHO). This provides a valuable backdrop for discussing how the Nordic countries and Europe can strengthen cooperation, preparedness, and competitiveness within the pharmaceutical and MedTech industries – while maintaining a constructive relationship with the United States.
Adam Cwejman, political editor at Göteborgs-Posten is a Swedish writer and head of the editorial board at Göteborgs-Posten. He served as chair of the Liberal Youth of Sweden from 2009 to 2012. Between 2014 and 2017, he led Timbro’s educational program Stureakademin. Cwejman is a member of the editorial board of the journal Axess Magasin and conducts author interviews for Axess TV. He has also written books.
Christine Wergeland Sørbye, CEO Oslo Science City oversees the development of the innovation district Oslo Science City. Sørbye holds extensive project management experience from the City of Oslo, including writing the city’s official campus strategy for developing Oslo into a knowledge capital and business friendly city. Sørbye holds an advanced MA in Education from the University of Oslo, where she specialized in leadership, organizational theory and didactics.
Kåre R. Aas, former ambassador to the United States, Afghanistan, and Israel is a highly experienced diplomat. In 2008, Aas was appointed ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he served until 2010, when he became Political Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 2013, he was appointed Norway’s ambassador to the United States. He held the position at Norway’s embassy in Washington until 2020, when he took up the post of ambassador at Norway’s embassy in Tel Aviv. He left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2023.
In addition to his ambassadorships, he has headed the MFA’s Department for Security Policy, served as minister-counsellor at Norway’s delegation to NATO, and been posted to Chile and Geneva.
Leif Rune Skymoen, CEO Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Norway (LMI) Leif Rune Skymoen is a trained pharmacist from the University of Oslo with a master's year at the University of Oxford and has an Executive Master of Management from BI. He has extensive experience from various leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry and clusters, including 8 years as CEO of Curida.
From 2002 to 2012, he worked at Eli Lilly – including as General Manager in Norway. He has also been CEO of the Nansen Neuroscience Network and has board experience from a number of companies and organizations. Skymoen took over the management role at LMI from Karita Bekkemellem on March 1st 2023.
Peter Asplund, senior life science executive and seasoned leader with longstanding experience within clinical drug development and health care gained with two global leading pharmaceutical/medical device companies, contract research organisations (CRO) and in public health care. He is the co-founder of the Swedish trade association for service providers in clinical research and the co-founder of TESTBED SWEDEN Precision Health Cancer. He recently served as inquiry chair of a Swedish government inquiry on clinical trials and subsequently served as the project leader for the establishment of SweTrial within the Swedish Medical Products Agency.
He is the founder of Peter Asplund Consulting AB providing high-level, tailored consultancy services to stakeholders in the pharmaceutical, medical technology, and biotech industries, as well as to healthcare providers, public authorities, and service companies, ensuring measurable impact while simultaneously strengthening a client’s own capabilities.
Sara Lowemark, Head of International Relations at the Swedish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Lif), where she leads the organization’s global engagement and strengthens Sweden’s voice in international health and life science policy. She brings extensive experience from roles at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Swedish Cancer Society, Almega, Swedish Medtech, and most recently as a trade policy expert at Swedish Commerce.
Throughout her career, Sara has worked at the intersection of international trade, EU affairs, and life science policy, combining a strategic mindset with a strong drive to foster collaboration and competitiveness. Passionate about research, innovation, and global health, she is committed to strengthening Sweden’s and the Nordic region’s voice in shaping future health and life science policy.
Ylva Williams is CEO of the Stockholm Science City Foundation (SSCi) and has led the organization since 2009. An engineer by training and a bridge-builder by vocation, she turns partnership into progress—strengthening collaboration between academia, industry, and society to position Stockholm as a world-class hub for research, entrepreneurship, and life science.
Ylva holds an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and brings 35+ years of experience spanning research, sales, marketing, strategic communication, and place branding—including roles at JKL, Business Sweden, Pharmacia Biotech, KEBO Lab, and VWR International.
She served on the board of the Council of European BioRegions (CEBR) (2016–2019) and a Järfälla municipality–owned company (2016–2022), and has been an associate board member of Hagastadens Fastighetsägarförening since 2010. Ylva also champions innovation as a long-standing juror for the Arthur D. Little Nordic Life Science Award (since 2010), the City of Stockholm’s Innovation Scholarship in life science/health (since 2017), and the SKAPA Award (since 2021).
