Nicola Mendelsohn is the Head of Global Business Group at Meta. She also serves on The Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board, the UK government’s Industrial Strategy Council, and is a non-executive director of Diageo. Alongside her husband, she is co-president of the charity Norwood.
In 2015, Nicola was awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the creative industries in the UK. Prior to joining Meta, she spent over 20 years in advertising, holding prominent roles such as Industry Chair of the UK Creative Industries Council, first female President of the IPA, Trustee of The White Ribbon Alliance, Chairman of Women’s Aid Development Board, and President of WACL. She was also a Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Her greatest joy in life comes from her husband, Jon, and their four children: Gabi, Danny, Sam, and Zac.
Lord Mendelsohn brings a wealth of experience and a profound commitment to improving the lives of those affected by this challenging form of cancer.
With a background in politics and business, Lord Mendelsohn has held numerous leadership roles, leveraging his expertise to drive impactful initiatives and foster innovative solutions. His strategic vision and dedication have been instrumental in advancing the foundation’s mission to support research, provide patient resources, and advocate for better treatments.
Beyond his work with the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation, Lord Mendelsohn is an active member of the House of Lords, where he contributes to a wide array of policy discussions, particularly those related to healthcare and social justice. His passion for making a difference is evident in all his endeavors, making him a pivotal force in the fight against follicular lymphoma.
Richard is a distinguished Member of the House of Lords and served as the Member of Parliament for Watford from 2010 to 2019. He most recently held the position of Minister of State (Minister for Refugees) and has previously served in several key ministerial roles, including in the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
Before his political career, Richard spent 25 years in the hotel and real estate industries, focusing on large-scale property development and the sale and management of hotels. His extensive experience in these sectors includes significant trans-Atlantic boardroom involvement.
In addition to his professional achievements, Richard is deeply committed to philanthropy. He serves as a trustee of several charities, is a Patron of Peace Hospice Care, and is a former Fundraising Chairman of the Variety Club Children’s Society.
Andrea Wong serves on the boards of Liberty Media Corporation, Qurate Retail Group, Hudson’s Bay Company, Hudson Pacific Properties and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings. She is also a Governor of the British Film Institute and a Trustee of the Royal Academy of Arts.
She was most recently President, International Production for Sony Pictures Television and President, International for Sony Pictures Entertainment based in London.
Previously, Wong served as President and CEO of Lifetime Networks. Prior to that, she was Executive Vice President of Alternative Programming, Specials and Late Night at ABC.
Wong graduated MIT with a degree in electrical engineering and received an MBA from Stanford University. She is also a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a member of the Committee of 100.
Mike was CEO at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) from 2016-19, representing the industry with Government, and at Select Committees, and in broadcast media. He had previously had a twenty-year career with GlaxoSmithKline as a senior Commercial leader working at the UK, European and Global level.
After Oxford he joined Unilever as a trainee and became a classically trained marketer working in food and personal products.
He has been on the Committee of The Wine Society, the world’s oldest wine ‘mutual’, for over twenty years, and was on the Board of London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional agency for the city, through the Olympics in 2012.
Jonathan is an American physician-scientist, medical oncologist, and biotechnology inventor. He is currently the Chief Science Officer and Medical Director of the Marcus Foundation and a renowned leader in prostate cancer research.
His groundbreaking work at Johns Hopkins University and Emory University has significantly advanced the understanding of cancer metastases and the role of immunomodulatory cytokines. Jonathan’s translational research proved the feasibility of overcoming immune tolerance in metastatic prostate cancer using GM-CSF gene transduced vaccines.
Jonathan was the Founding Director of Georgia’s first NCI-designated cancer center, the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, where he also served as Chief of Hematology and Oncology. Before Emory, he directed the Molecular Pharmacology Program at Johns Hopkins University.
He has held numerous leadership roles with organizations such as the American Cancer Society, American Association of Cancer Research, and the National Cancer Institute, contributing significantly to national cancer research and policy initiatives.
Jess has been Executive Chair of mSix&Partners since January 2022, following 12 years as Global Chief Executive. She established the business as one of the fastest-growing media planning and buying agencies. As Executive Chair of mSix&Partners, Jess continues to advise a number of clients and is leading development of The&Academy.
With a career spanning advertising, marketing and publishing, Jess has a track record of growth, transformation and building winning teams. Prior to joining mSix&Partners, as Group Managing Direct Jess led the restructure of Natmags and Hearst Digital to address changing digital markets and audience trends. She also headed up the online division of Future Publishing.
She has held Non-Executive positions at Quarto Plc, UK Mail Plc, Jacques Vert Plc and TalkTalk Telecom Plc. She was a trustee of The Mix, the young person’s charity supporting 13-24 year olds. She continues to mentor colleagues at all levels at mSix&Partners.
Jess is driven by belief in the impact of collaboration aligned to a bold vision, with a healthy dose of passion and energy. Outside of work, she enjoys walking, cooking, golf and crime fiction.
Jonathan Cohen is a director of FLF- US and helps guide FLF’s American operations. A former chief operations officer of the Feinstein Institutes of Medical Research at Northwell Health,
Jonathan has extensive experience building medical research operations, including overseeing clinical trials.
With a background in government and business, Jonathan has provided
management, operations, and communications support to businesses, healthcare organizations,
non-profits, and individuals looking to manage risk, growth, and transformation.
He has served as an adviser to CEO’s, philanthropists, foundation and non-profit leaders, and senior government officials. Prior to his career in management and consulting, Jonathan was an advisor to Mayor Edward I. Koch of New York, a director of public policy at Joseph E. Seagram and
Sons, and the publisher of Commentary Magazine.
He began his career as a news editor and announcer for Dow Jones Radio and The Wall Street Journal Radio Network. He has lectured at Harvard Law School, Kiev University, SUNY Buffalo School of Law, and SUNY Potsdam College. His reviews and essays have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, Commentary, Tablet, and other top publications.
In addition to serving on the board of FLF-US, Jonathan is a director of U.N. Watch, and The Tupelo Quarterly Press. He holds a JD from New York Law School and a BA from Kenyon College.
Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D.
Managing Partner, Cantlous Advisory Partners, LLC
Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., is founder and managing partner at Cantlous Advisory Partners, LLC (CAP), a pioneering consulting firm working at the intersection of venture philanthropy, biomedical innovation, and non-profit fundraising. CAP’s mission is to drive collaborative efforts that result in transformative advancements in healthcare. Prior to his current role, Dr. DeGennaro was president and chief executive officer of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a global leader in the fight against cancer with an annual budget of $500 million.
As the key architect of LLS’s cures and access agenda, Dr. DeGennaro conceived and pioneered LLS’s Therapy Acceleration Program® – a venture philanthropy approach to accelerating new treatments to patients through drug discovery and development partnerships with the biotechnology industry. LLS’s foray into venture philanthropy helped redefine the activist role of non-profits to meet urgent unmet medical needs. Under Dr. DeGennaro’s leadership LLS also launched its groundbreaking precision medicine Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial and Dare to Dream, a research, advocacy, and patient support effort that features a global, master clinical trial in pediatric leukemia.
In his operating role at LLS, Dr. DeGennaro led the growth of annual revenue from $225 million in 2015 to $500 million in 2023 through innovative fundraising programs that cut across peer-to-peer, corporate partnership, major gift, and service revenue channels.
After receiving his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California at San Francisco, Dr. DeGennaro conducted post-doctoral research at the Yale University School of Medicine. His academic appointments included research group leader, Max Planck Institute, Munich, Germany and associate professor of neurology and cell biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School. His private sector appointments included Senior Director, Molecular Genetics, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Executive Vice President, Synex Pharmaceuticals. Dr. DeGennaro is the author of over 100 scientific publications.
