Ali Mardini is Head of International Public Affairs Excellence and Efficiency at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he leads the operational model, country-level team activation, and capability building across International Public Affairs teams. Based in Zürich, he brings over 20 years of experience at the intersection of healthcare policy, industry engagement, and diplomacy, working across Europe, Emerging Markets, and the Middle East.
Ali has broad experience in informing healthcare policies and driving multi-stakeholder engagement at the country, regional, and international levels to support sustainable patient access to innovative therapies—particularly in the field of rare diseases and plasma-derived therapies.
A strong advocate of cross-sector collaboration, Ali has contributed to several high-impact public-private partnerships, including supporting the development of global platforms for knowledge exchange and multi-stakeholder dialogue on plasma-derived therapies and healthcare systems.
His approach to Public Affairs is rooted in bridging perspectives across internal and external stakeholders to inform policy in a responsible and evidence-based manner. Throughout his career, he has contributed to strengthening Public Affairs as a strategic function within organisations—building capabilities, developing policy narratives, and enabling country teams to translate global priorities into impactful local engagement.
Prior to moving to Switzerland, Ali was Head Public Affairs & Patient Advocacy Middle East at Takeda, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Before that, he served as Head Public Affairs Levant at Novartis in Beirut, Lebanon. Earlier in his career, he spent over a decade as Trade Advisor at the Embassy of Switzerland in Damascus, Syria, working closely with international organisations, government entities, and the diplomatic community. A Lebanese national, born in Accra, Ghana, Ali holds a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) in Diplomacy, Policy, and Negotiation from the Geneva Graduate Institute, as well as executive education certificates from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in Healthcare Economics & Policy and Public Policy Analysis. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.