Ellen joined PepsiCo in 2014 as Senior Vice President with responsibility for setting and delivering Europe and Africa South R&D strategy. Since the beginning of 2015 she leads all R&D in the nutrition category which includes the platforms juices, grains, dairy and sports nutrition.
Ellen has worked in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, health/nutrition and coatings. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Ellen was Chief Scientific Officer and Global Head of Research, Development and Regulatory Affairs for Merial Limited (the animal health division of Sanofi). Among her accomplishments are the transformation of Merial R&D into a high-performing organization, obtaining seven new product approvals in Europe and the U.S. in 2013 including the blockbusters Nexgard and Broadline.
Prior to her role at Merial, Ellen held executive R&D, business strategy and program management positions at Intervet and DSM.
Ellen earned a PhD cum laude in bio-organic chemistry from Leiden University in The Netherlands and completed post-doctoral work in molecular biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Nobel Laureate H.G. Khorana. In 2000, she was awarded the Golden Medal from the Royal Dutch Chemical Society for her research achievements. She is based in the UK.