Meet our experienced executive leadership team

Mo is CEO of hVIVO with over 25 years of experience in clinical research and the CRO industry. Mo has worked as a consultant assisting CROs to develop growth strategies and helping prepare companies for future expansion, both organic and through M&A activity. In addition, Mo worked with Private Equity firms providing insight in identifying potential targets and conducting due diligence in preparation for M&A activity. Prior to this Mo had a variety of senior roles at Pharm-Olam where he played a pivotal role in growing a small niche clinical monitoring business to a global full-service CRO with offices across all continents. In his time at Pharm-Olam Mo had leading roles in Clinical Operations, Project Management, Business Development and Executive Management functions. As a key member of the Executive Team Mo participated in the successful sale of the company in 2017, delivering substantial returns to its shareholders. Prior to this he worked at Innovex and Quintiles (IQVIA).

Stephen is a chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience in a range of leadership positions in industries covering publishing, technology, exhibitions, and clinical research. The roles have covered both small to large international listed businesses, providing strong technical and commercial experience. Prior to joining hVIVO, he worked in Thomson Reuters for eleven years in various senior roles. He did his articles with Deloitte following the completion of an Honours Degree in Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Town.

Andrew first studied as a virologist at the University of Warwick before then furthering his education with postgraduate studies for his DPhil in influenza replication at Oxford University. Since then he has applied his scientific knowledge in a commercial setting. After working as part of a multidisciplinary R&D team developing nuclear medicine research tools at GE Healthcare, he then returned to the field of virology to work for hVIVO, an industry-leading service provider of human viral challenge studies (controlled human infection studies). Andrew is now considered an expert in human viral challenge studies having played key roles in the development of influenza, RSV, HRV and SARS-CoV-2 challenge models at hVIVO. He has overseen the design and conduct of numerous antiviral, immunomodulator and vaccine product efficacy studies and now works as Chief Scientific Officer, leading scientific strategy for the company. A key part of his CSO role is to provide scientific consultancy both internally and externally to hVIVO’s clients and collaborators on challenge study design, laboratory sample analysis and data interpretation as well as to oversee hVIVO’s challenge agent manufacturing activities.

Adam brings over 20 years’ experience working in a number of roles in the Pharmaceutical and CRO industry, including project management, facilities and operational leadership. With a focus on operational excellence, revenue growth and personnel development. His love for biological sciences started from a young age and was cemented after graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in Biomedical Sciences whilst working in the laboratories at Huntingdon Life Sciences. There, his skills for operational leadership were honed whilst working on global business changes and strategy projects, before he moved on to more senior roles elsewhere. Adam joined hVIVO in 2014, where he has implemented systematic productivity and revenue growth across hVIVO operations. Most recently Adam helped bring about strategic transformation, leading the move to Canary Wharf and working on M&A diligence and integration.

Catherine Canales is Chief Commercial Officer at hVIVO, where she leads Commercial Operations and Marketing across the Group. She is responsible for driving global growth, ensuring alignment between client needs and service delivery, and expanding hVIVO’s early-phase clinical development offering. With a 20-year career in the clinical research industry, Catherine brings a rare breadth of experience across the value chain. She has held commercial roles spanning technology providers, mid-size CROs such as Premier Research and Worldwide Clinical Trials, large-scale organisations including Fortrea, and global laboratory leaders such as Covance Central Labs and Labcorp. Previously, she served as both CCO and Chief DEI Officer at CRS, where she led a full-scale transformation of the commercial function, leading to the company’s successful acquisition by hVIVO. A Mexican-German-Swiss executive based in the Geneva area, Catherine is fluent in six languages and brings a truly global mindset to her work with sponsors and teams worldwide. She is also a frequent guest lecturer at leading European business schools and an advocate for advancing female leadership in clinical research.

Professor Thomas Andreas Forst is a board accredited physician for internal medicine and endocrinology. In 1989, he started his postdoctoral clinical and scientific carrier at the German Diabetes Research Institute (German Leibnitz Institute) at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. After changing over to the Medical Department for Internal Medicine at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany in 1991, he achieved his graduation in Internal Medicine in 1996 and in Endocrinology in 1997. In 2006 Professor Forst was recognized as a Professor for Internal Medicine at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where he is still involved in the training of medical students. From 1999 until 2001, he served as a Clinical Research Physician at Eli Lilly Indianapolis where he was responsible for several clinical trials in the development and registration of new drugs for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. In 2001 he took over the position of the CEO and Medical Director of a clinical research organisation (Institute for Clinical Research and Development, Mainz, Germany). In 2013, Professor Forst took over the position of the CEO and Director for Medical Science at the Profil Institute Mainz, before he joined Clinical Research Services, Germany as a Chief Medical Officer in 2018. Within the last 30 years, Professor Forst was involved in more than 300 clinical trials mainly in the indication of obesity, metabolic diseases, diabetes mellitus, lipid disorders and cardiovascular diseases. He is a member of the American, European and German Diabetes Association. Thomas Forst serves as the chairman of the working group “Diabetes and Heart” of the German Diabetes Association and is a board member of the neuropathy study group of the German Diabetes Association. Professor Forst has authored or co-authored in excess of three-hundred original articles in peer reviewed National and International Journals. Since 2020 he is an associate editor of the Journal Endocrinology Diabetes & Metabolism.