Biography

Maria Thestrup is Chief Ethics, Risk & Compliance Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She is also responsible ad interim for the oversight of the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel.

Maria brings with her over 20 years of experience in risk and compliance from the humanitarian and health sectors. Immediately prior to joining Gavi in May 2023, Maria worked at LEO Pharma as Vice President, Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer.

Maria started her career in a Danish law firm in Copenhagen, where she was admitted to the Bar. Between 2002 and 2008, she worked for various intergovernmental organisations in Geneva and Kosovo, including UNHCR and WHO.

In addition to LEO Pharma, Maria has worked for large pharmaceutical manufacturers, including Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen; and Novartis in Basel, where she was the Pharma Division’s Director, Integrity and Compliance from 2013 to 2017. From 2017, Maria headed up the Ethics, Risk and Compliance Office for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, where she designed and implemented the first corporate compliance and enterprise risk programme, working closely with key donors, including the World Bank Group, on risk and assurance matters.

Maria received a Master of Letters of Law (LLM) from the University of London and a Master of Law from the University of Copenhagen.