Meet the Experts

Global Team

Claire Rea

Claire is the Head of Healthcare Professional Marketing in Benecol Ltd and is a Registered Dietitian.

She initially worked in the financial sector after completing her first degree in Commerce from University College Dublin, however she has always been passionate about science and nutrition and made the decision to return to university to complete a second Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Human Nutrition & Dietetics from Trinity College Dublin.

For the past 10 years she has worked in the food industry and has managed a broad spectrum of products, ranging from paediatric to geriatric. Working in the food industry gives her a huge opportunity to positively impact public health, and draws on her clinical and nutritional knowledge to ensure we share the latest evidence-based information via our growing Benecol healthcare professional networks.

Sarah Franciosi

Sarah obtained her BSc in Nutrition from King’s College London, with a research focus on chronic non-communicable disease prevention. She graduated to work in scientific and nutrition-based roles within the food industry across a number of healthy food categories including paediatric nutrition and dairy. Sarah went on to obtain her MSc in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Southampton where her qualitative research focussed on perceptions of factors influencing food shopping choices and how supermarkets can support healthier choices.

Throughout her 10 year career, Sarah’s passion has developed for scientific communications in the world of food, putting individuals at the centre of her mission to empower people to make healthier informed choices regarding their diet in order to optimise long-term health.

At Raisio, Sarah is our Science Communication and Nutrition Manager, helping to convey key information around coronary heart disease, the importance of lipid management and the role that Benecol can play. She works in the Global team to bridge the gap between new science and information for both healthcare professionals and consumers in this field.

UK Team

Helen Vanner

Helen is the Healthcare Professional Relations Manager at Benecol Ltd. She is responsible for overseeing all healthcare professional-related marketing and professional education activity in the UK.

Helen has worked in healthcare marketing for over 25-years in medical technology, pharma and for a private hospital group specialising in a variety of medical disciplines including cardiac, gastroenterology and endovascular therapies. Helen is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and holds a CIM diploma.

Helen is passionate about empowering healthcare professionals to improve heart health for all patients with elevated cholesterol and is always looking to find ways to support them to help further their own professional development, skills and learning.

Hasnan Nawaz

Hasnan is a Nutrition Product Specialist covering Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West. His primary role is spreading awareness amongst healthcare professionals on the cholesterol lowering benefits of plant stanol esters and how they can be incorporated into a healthy balanced diet.

Hasnan is a Medical Science graduate and has held roles in the medical sales industry specialising in Stoma and Wound care products. He has experience working with private practices as well as the NHS.

Jane Sinclair

Jane is a Nutrition Product Specialist at Benecol UK covering Southwest England

She works with healthcare professionals to bring them the key messages of lifestyle & dietary cholesterol management to their patients by providing information and clinical research.

Jane has previously worked within the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years selling within various disease areas including Cardiology, Oncology and Diabetes for a variety of pharmaceutical companies.

Jane has extensive experience in Sales and Account Management and been part of setting up training for healthcare professionals within her previous roles.

Jane wants to build meaningful relationships, whilst providing clinical information with Doctors and Nurses and Dietitians across Southwest England.

Ireland Team

Helena O’Dwyer

Helena is the Healthcare Professional Relations Manager for Ireland and holds a BBS in Marketing & French and a Post Grad in Marketing Management.

She has over 20-years sales & marketing experience and within the Benecol Ltd Healthcare Professional team, her focus is to build meaningful relationships, whilst providing information and clinical research about heart health and plant stanols to our amazing network of Healthcare Professionals in Ireland.

Helena’s previous experience includes business development and project management working in the finance and telecommunications sectors. She has also worked with major US companies, regularly travelling to the UK, Far East and US delivering sales programs to clients and manufacturers.

Síle Dunbar

Síle is a Healthcare Professional Relations Manager in Ireland and is a Registered Dietitian. She works with Helena on healthcare professional-related marketing and professional education activity in Ireland.

She started her career in the technology sector after completing her first degree in Computer Science from Dublin City University. She then followed her interest in nutrition and obtained a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Human Nutrition & Dietetics from Trinity College Dublin. Starting her nutrition career in research she then moved to the food industry.

She uses her skills in research, nutrition, and technology to ensure she’s providing evidence-based information to help healthcare professionals in their role empowering patients to improve their heart health.

Susan Devergie

Susan is the Benecol Account Manager for Ireland and works with healthcare professionals to help them bring the key messages of lifestyle and dietary cholesterol management to their patients.

Susan has over 15 years’ experience in healthcare having worked for a variety of pharmaceutical companies on prescription and over-the-counter medications. She holds a degree in marketing, and prior to her move to the healthcare sector, Susan was a sales manager in the computer industry.

Finland Team

Elena Bäckström

Elena is the Healthcare Professional Relations Manager for Finland. Throughout her over 20-year career, Elena has worked within the pharma industry across a vast variety of different roles. Elena also has a qualification in Business and Administration.

She enjoys sharing evidence-based clinical information with doctors, nurses and dietitians to help them to better understand the scientific research surrounding plant stanol esters and demonstrating how they can help their patients lower their LDL cholesterol with lifestyle and dietary interventions.

Sanna Pettersson

Sanna

works as a Nutritional Product Specialist in the Finnish Benecol® team. She plays a key role in building and strengthening collaboration with healthcare professionals across Finland. Sanna is responsible for delivering up-to-date, evidence-based information and high-quality patient support materials to both the private and public healthcare sectors.

With 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Sanna brings extensive expertise across a wide range of therapy areas and professional roles. Her strong commercial understanding is complemented by a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration.

Sanna is passionate about advancing health through science. She is especially committed to collaborating with healthcare professionals to promote better heart health and to advance the prevention of cardiovascular disease based on strong clinical research and scientific evidence.

Benecol HCP Marketing Team