Since then, Annie has become an active and influential investor in life sciences, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, often investing alongside Herman Verrelst (CEO of Biocartis). Annie and Herman first collaborated on the investment in Cartagenia, which was successfully acquired by Agilent in 2015.

Driven by her deep interest in innovation and new developments in healthcare and life sciences, Annie co-founded the Heran HealthTech Fund. The fund launched with seven existing participations, giving it immediate scale and momentum. Heran acts as a hands-on, value-adding investor and holds board positions in its portfolio companies to support their growth and strategic development.

Annie brings decades of operational, scientific, and entrepreneurial expertise — paired with a strong investment track record — to the companies and founders she supports.

Ping has more than 20 years of experience across the global biopharmaceutical value chain. She has held senior roles at Tyger Scientific, Ferro, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), and Abzena, spanning Sales & Marketing, Business Development, Global Manufacturing & Supply Chain, and Strategic Partnerships.

At Tyger Scientific, she increased company revenue by more than 600% in four years. At BMS, she led global business development for contract manufacturing operations, delivering significant sales growth, and later focused on technology transactions — where she negotiated and executed 36 collaboration agreements to accelerate drug discovery and development. Her achievements earned her multiple awards, including the Distinguished Employee Award and Innovation Award.

At Abzena, Ping developed and executed a global business strategy for integrated biologics and ADC manufacturing services, leveraging the company’s core technologies to drive substantial worldwide growth.

Ping brings deep industry insight, a powerful global network, and a strong track record of driving scientific, operational, and commercial success.

After a 10-year career at major pharmaceutical companies, he founded ChemConnection in 2012 and served as its CEO. Under his leadership, ChemConnection quickly grew into a globally respected contract services provider supporting biotech and mid-sized pharma companies. By the end of 2017, the company had expanded to more than 60 employees with deep expertise in process and analytical development, cGMP manufacturing, and stability studies for APIs and nanomedicines.

In March 2018, Gerjan successfully led the sale of ChemConnection to Ardena, a leading CDMO offering integrated drug development, manufacturing, logistics, (bio)analytical services, and regulatory dossier support. Ardena, backed by Mentha Capital, appointed Gerjan as shareholder, member of the Board of Directors, and Chief Operating Officer in the executive leadership team.

Following Ardena’s continued growth, the company was acquired in 2019 by GHO Capital, enabling further expansion both organically and through strategic M&A. Gerjan remains a shareholder, Board member, and COO, playing a key role in driving Ardena’s development as an international, multi-site CDMO.