Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Tayeb Al-Hafez

Trustee

currently serves as the president of the Global Health Equity Foundation (GHEF), which he founded in 2007.

Tayeb Al-Hafez

Trustee

Tayeb Al-Hafez was born in 1968 in Damascus, Syria. In 1992 he immigrated to the United States after completing medical school in his home country. He promotes the use of media and technology in healthcare delivery and in enhancing public health education and preventive measures. Al-Hafez currently serves as the president of the Global Health Equity Foundation (GHEF), which he founded in 2007. He directs several GHEF programs and projects, including Health Diplomacy for Arabic Speaking Refugees in Germany. A part of this program is the Drei Zusammen project, which is a foundational pillar for intercultural exchange and for integration of Arabic-speaking refugees in Germany. Al-Hafez is also the founder of Al’Myra, a multi-media organization dedicated to communicating the richness of cultural diversity by nurturing art, design and science. Tayeb Al-Hafez Tayeb Al-Hafez, MD, is a practicing physician and healthcare strategist. He has served as Regional Medical Director while working with a healthcare delivery organization. He fostered communication and knowledge-sharing among medical directors in several hospitals, and provided mentoring and coaching that helped them excel in their leadership positions. His work helped them improve their relationships with their hospitals and affiliated physicians. Dr. Al-Hafez has experience leading successful inpatient hospital programs in non-profit, for-profit, and academic healthcare settings. He takes on a wide range of responsibilities for improving care and controlling costs. He has practiced in North Carolina, Alaska, Hawaii, South Carolina, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and California. Dr. Al-Hafez is continuously working to share his knowledge and expertise in the areas of strategic planning and policy development through active participation in global forums and initiatives in health care.

Michel Hirsig

Trustee

Michel Hirsig is an economist, presently the Deputy Manager of the Economic Development Office of the State of Geneva.

Michel Hirsig

Trustee

Michel Hirsig is an economist, presently the Deputy Manager of the Economic Development Office of the Republic and State of Geneva. Until December 1990, he was Marketing, Sales and Operations Manager in Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and North America for Swiss Airlines Ltd, then General Manager of Kuoni Medical Congresses Department until March 1992. He then joined the public administration of the State of Geneva, where he was in charge of the Public Transport System before he moved to his present position in 2002. He teaches Marketing and TQM in several specialized schools and universities in Switzerland. He is the founder and General Manager of Robertson Business Advisory, a Hong Kong based company with branches in Switzerland and USA.

Todorka Ignatova Kostadinova

Trustee

Dr. Todorka Kostadinova is a professor at the University of Medicine in Bulgaria.

Todorka Ignatova Kostadinova

Trustee

Dr. Todorka Kostadinova is a professor at the University of Medicine in Bulgaria. She holds a Ph.D. in Economy and Management of Social and Cultural Activities from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Professor Kostadinova is Dean of Faculty for Public Health at the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria. She is an expert at the National Civil Council to the EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection. Ms. Kostadinova has worked with many national and international agencies around the world, including WHO, UNICEF, HOPE, UN, and the Association of Bulgarian Hospitals. She has served as a professor of global health at The George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Eduardo Missoni

Trustee

Eduardo Missoni, MD, MSc (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) Specialization in Tropical Medicine

Eduardo Missoni

Trustee

Eduardo Missoni, MD, MSc (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) with a Specialization in Tropical Medicine (Rome La Sapienza University), is a professor at the Bocconi University in Milan (Italy) and at its Post-graduate Management School (SDA-Bocconi). His teachings and research activities include Management of International Institutions and Non-profit Organizations, and Global Health and Development. Since 2001, he also holds a Global Health course at the Faculty of Sociology of the Bicocca University in Milan (Italy), and in the years 2009-2010 was visiting professor at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) where he held a course in Ethics and International Organizations. From 1987 to 2002, he was an Adviser to the Directorate General for Development Cooperation in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the same period he acted as the liaison officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO), and represented Italy at international meetings (including WHO Executive Board and World Health Assembly) and expert groups (including the G8 health group, which he chaired in 2001).

ANDREI ISSAKOV

Trustee

Andrei Issakov has worked in clinical practice, medical education, and public health for over 40 years.

ANDREI ISSAKOV

Trustee

Andrei Issakov has worked in clinical practice, medical education, and public health for over 40 years. Before joining the World Health Organization in 1985, he has occupied a number of clinical, academic and administrative positions at the Russian Medical University and Children’s Teaching Hospital in Moscow. Working as Program Manager and Unit Head with WHO Headquarters in Geneva in 1985-2009, he has focused on development and strengthening of health systems; health sector reform; health policy and systems research; organization and management of health service delivery; quality of care; patient safety; and health technology assessment and management.