Head of Digital Venture Partner | Endeavor Malaysia Mentor

Strategic Consultant specializing in ASEAN Cross-border Innovation & Regional Ecosystems. With deep expertise in ASEAN’s technological landscape, policy environment, and capital trends, I design sustainable growth models for businesses, governments, and investors. My practice focuses on three core pillars: Market Entry & Expansion Strategy for MNCs, Regional Innovation Planning for government agencies, and Capital-Enterprise Integration for investors. I am dedicated to bridging the gap between policy opportunities and corporate needs to drive high-growth regional cooperation.

Zehan T.

Founder. We help Health Tech Companies Go to Market

🟣 International Go-to-Market expert with 20+ years of experience launching sales &  partner strategies. 

 🟣 Founder of i-Expand, a commercial strategy firm specialized in helping health tech, and deep tech companies go to market better, faster, and with less risk. 
 
The company also serves investors and accelerators.

In the case of investors, including FO's, conduct commercial due diligence to help de-risk portfolios and maximize returns. 

In the case of accelerators, the Go-to-Market Academy x i-Expand program helps founders translate their product into a business. To date, 500+ companies have been through programme in partnership with venture-builders, accelerators and academia. 

 🟣 9  Languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Galician, Dutch, German and Russian.

  🟣  Other roles:  Board Member @ Digital Health and Care Alliance (DHACA), WomenTechEU (EU), and DIT (Germany).    Mentor at IVMS (Imperial College). In-residence GTM Expert @ several accelerators.  Angel investor & mentor.  NED.  

 🟣  Good  at "connecting the dots" and launching innovative revenue-generating business models (platforms and pipeline businesses). 




Want to know more? 


BIGGER BIO



During her career, Pilar has covered all market segments and verticals, partner types and  geographies,  with a special focus in the Health and Tech sectors. She was part of the global leadership teams of companies such as Cisco and Wolters Kluwer and has worked across 6 continents bringing new solutions to market. 

A passionate believer in innovation, Pilar has assisted  hundreds of client organizations and government institutions around the globe to leverage technology to achieve their  goals. As part of her accomplishments she has led delegations to the UN/WHO and standardized digital health solutions at national level. As a personal contributor or team lead,  she has achieved double-digit growth  Y/Y and  helped raised $350M in funds. 

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
Degree in Translation and Interpreting. Distinction. University of Vigo (Spain) 
Degree in International Relations, First Class. U. of Westminster (UK) / Notre Dame de la Paix (Belgium).
Diploma Stanford University (Stanford Advanced Program Management).
Dozens of courses in sales, technology, science. 
Fluent in 9 languages. 

You can reach me at:  pilar@i-expand.com.

Pilar Fernandez Hermida

𝐖𝐇𝐗 𝐃𝐔𝐁𝐀𝐈. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢 270𝘒 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵?  You don’t. The plethora of choices meant that each of us was immersed in a different reality. 

Below is mine. 
What is yours?



🟣 𝐙𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐌  𝐱 𝐌𝐖𝐀𝐍
The ZIMAM Digital Health Forum x MWAN Events is the perfect way to start the week.  

This year’s topic was on target: Family care. 
Thanks for the privilege to join the jury: Hats off to Steve & the finalists. 

(This community is family to me)





🟣 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒’ 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌
On Day 1,  heeled up investors headed to the exclusive Investors’ Forum.

Our panel kicked off the program:
✺ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴' 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴?
(More in next post 😎) 

Hats off Zohaib, Dr. Mussaad, Deerfield. Top job! 

In between, the Investors’ Lounge became our oasis. 
Kudos Maaz, Nicole. 

What was the talk of Expo-town?  


🟣 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
WHX Dubai felt more regional than ever. 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? It depends.

Africa: Market (Bricks)
KSA: Biotech (Supply Chain)
Abu Dhabi:  Capital (PPPs)
Countries in the know-how also want to join the party.

✺ 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘜?
Dmitry, Angele,time to wave the flag!   (Austria is doing great Lejla)




🟣 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐈𝐍 > 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐍
More infrastructure = More FDI.
Capex-intensive companies can access the market, but should bring capital (i.e. hospitals, biotech).  FDI KPIs drive agendas (i.e. KSA reorg). 

✺ 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴?
►PPPs, M&As




🟣 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒, 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒, 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐒
Infrastructures are eating SaaS.
We still need pills and care...👀 

►Bricks never left.
►The race to own the AI/Biotech supply chains is on.

✺ 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘐 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴?  
►AI can kill the boring. Plumbers welcome: Pipe (interoperability), water (datasets) and taps (AI/Agents).



🟣 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐒
Offsite, MedTech World gave us the platform to focus on the taboo word: commercialisation.  

✺ 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵: 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵?
►Reimbursement + adoption are the real cork (ers)
Scaling = viable business models.


Thanks, Dr. Amel, Shai, Denis,Edwin 🤲 

Great to be back, Dylan,Yulia ❤️ 
(spectacular Gala)



🟣 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄
WHX Labs turned 25.  
Trendsetter PM needs a new business model. 
✺How can we afford prevention?
► TTO needs to insert sales DNA.




🟣 𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 (HE Makarem) 
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝- (Louiza and I know🦘) 
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭- Quality time with you.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝- Missing you.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠-  Execution is now. 

2025 was the year of Community. 
2026 is the year of the Family.
WHX Dubai merged both. 
Thanks! 💃🏿 



Nice to see you-tagged or not.


🟣 i-Expand ➟ #commercialDD #FOs

Health | Deep Tech 🟣 Commercial Due Diligence 🟣 Family Offices | Investors

Myth:  𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴.  
Reality:  The WomenTechEU programme alone received 3,792 applications from women-led startups spanning 44 countries. 

👀

Two years and 4 cohorts later, the biggest barrier isn’t expertise, but awareness (and the funding that comes with it).
That is why Programs like the Women TechEU are key. 🇪🇺



🟣𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐇
Tomorrow, the Women TechEU final event will take place in Brussels.

Celebrations are a great moment to take stock of progress and achievements.

Selecting, funding and supporting 160 trailblazing female founders from 27 countries isn’t a small feat.

It was a team effort. A phenomenal consortium of eight partners—including but not limited to  EIT Manufacturing, Sploro, AcrossLimits, and AwakenHub —made this possible.




🟣𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒
Milestones aside, the most important question is:
 𝘞𝘏𝘠 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴❓

That is the topic of 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 2: 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.
The panel with feature 4 fabulous cohort winners: 

Dr. Mariam Elgabry, Founder and CEO, Bronic Ltd
Ozlem Barut Selver, Co-founder and CEO, LimbuStem R&D Medical Products Ltd.
Aneta Ozierańska, Co-founder and CEO, Oligofeed
Jekaterina Romanova, Co-founder and CEO, PrintyMed

Together, they will share how the programme added value to their entrepreneurial journey. 


*Due to unexpected circumstances, I won’t be able to moderate (in Abu Dhabi)

The good news: I can join the event online. 
And so can you!  



🟣𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐔𝐒! 
𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳❓

See you tomorrow! 💃🏿
(Links in comments)



PS: Being part of their Advisory Board has been a privilege. Thanks Angele, and all who made it possible. 


🟣 i-Expand ➟ #commercialization #CommercialDD  #FamilyOffices #biotechology #digitalhealth #deeptech

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞-𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦? As of 2025, about 86% of genomics studies have been conducted in individuals of European descent -up from 81% in 2016. In contrast, Latin Americans are hardly represented in GWAS (~0.38%), despite comprising 650M+ people worldwide.

✺ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 -𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥- 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴?


Nature Medicine just featured the MexVar database 🇲🇽. 
(link below). 

Here is why it matters. 



🟣 MADE IN EUROPE
African, East/South Asian, and admixed American populations are as genetically diverse as they are underrepresented in major datasets.

The paradox:
►Precision medicine tailors interventions based on genetic, clinical, and environmental factors.
►Two decades after the completion of the Human Genome Project, European ancestry (<15% population) still dominate most studies. 

✺ Is your algorithm excluding 90% of the population? 




🟣 ZOOMING INTO LATAM
Latin America is genetically rich, but data poor. 
The number of ethnographic groups depends on who is counting. 

While a few reduce them to 7 ethnic groups, the most consistent figure is approximately 800, primarily indigenous (ECLAC 2014 and later).

Historical admixture adds complexity.




🟣 ADMIXTURE
Human populations are not static. Instead, they have always been shaped by mixing between groups (admixture). 

Latin American genomes reflect colonial-era mixing, leading to heterogeneous ancestry proportions that vary by country, region, and even within.

Admixture mapping in Latam is key to identifying genetic variants linked to diseases.



🟣 ABOUT THE MXB PROJECT
Mexico’s rich genetic mix is underrepresented in genomics research. The Mexican Biobank (MXB) set out to tackle this deficit.


The study analysed genetic data from 6K+ diverse individuals, linking 1.8m genetic markers to health traits and diseases to create a comprehensive genotype–phenotype resource.

A few findings.



🟣 DNA MATTERS. POSTCODE TOO. 
►MXB studies for 22 complex traits showed improved prediction vs those based on European cohorts (UK).
=Large, diverse biobanks improve trait prediction and research.
(i.e. Admixture mapping+ GWAS + population structure/ local ancestry inference).

►Environment (urbanisation, altitude, education) significantly affects complex traits.
=The postcode adds to the genetic mix (i.e. height and obesity- Indigenous ancestries have lower BMI). 

►Genetics + environment -including ROH, ancestry, and sociocultural variables-contribute to trait variation in BMI, triglycerides, glucose, and height.
=Genotype–phenotype models from underrepresented groups are critical to uncover biomedical insights)

►The MXB shows us how this is done. 



🟣 BIG PICTURE
Ancestry or identity isn’t only a label: it also carries health traits.
Discrimination creates bias in polygenic risk scores, PM, and drug development.

Is #precisionmedicine contributing to inequality❓
Precisely.



🟣 i-Expand ➟ #CommercialDD #genomics

𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬. 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.

This year’s International Women’s Day felt different.
More than a celebration, it is the realisation that something has to give in.




🟣 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒
Today’s politics and boardrooms reek of Drakkar Noir.
The hyper-masculine energy of the 80s is back.  
(Ironically, many of today’s “role models” were in their prime back then)

The techbros have happily embraced that trend. 
The aggressive, go-big-or-go-home approach has returned.

We already know how that song ends. 

Where are the women in the leadership chessboard? 


🟣 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍-𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐏
The biggest gender gap is in the private sector.  

Yes, there are more female innovators. 
𝘠𝘦𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴?   
Just enter any top500 board room, or a finance one, and tell me what you see.


In healthcare, underrepresentation is the most acute in pharma, technology and capital. A few examples: ~ 8% of the VC workforce deciding on allocations are female. ~ 4% of pharma's R&D funds go women's health. 

We need more women in business who decide what to research, launch, and fund.
That is agency.





🟣 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍
Agentic describes the capacity to act independently, purposefully, and with self-directed initiative.

To have a voice, we need power and resources to be listened to.   
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴?

First, we must overcome our own bias and barriers. 
•	Women are good at business and finance.
•	It is ok to be ambitious and talk money.
•	It is not an easy career path.


𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴? 
(Since we are talking bias, here is mine 😎). 

•	Women are more sensitive to impact-driven industries such as healthcare/biotech. (30+%+ of the Women TechEU applications are in this sector) 
•	Women are the biggest driver of social mobility.
•	Women instinctively do not like war. They are the biggest victims -and so is their offspring.

Given that culture comes from the top, this is not a bad thing.

Now, let’s test that and prove me wrong.




🟣  𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐌 & 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍
The 80’s power suit became a sign of women’s right to get a piece of the action.

These aren’t times to live in cotton wool.
Ladies, get your shoulder pads on. They are your new wings.
The agentic woman is here to stay! 💃 



Peace to all and Happy International Women’s Day.



Thanks to all the great women and men in my life for your support (tagged or not) 




🟣 i-Expand #commercialization #DD #venturecapital #digitalhealth #deeptech

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞’𝐬 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭. 
Stories depend on the teller.
▪️Last Friday, Anthropic said NO to the Pentagon’s demands for unlimited control over their AI tools. 
▪️Trump went on to blacklist Anthropic from the government, labelling them as  ‘woke AI” and a “supply chain risk.”
▪️Within hours, OpenAI signed a deal with the Pentagon.  
▪️By Sunday,  Claude had  surpassed ChatGPT, topping the App Store chart.  
▪️For now, Claude has won the AI PR battle.




🟣 𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 ❓
They rarely do.
However, this time, technology feels different. 
The stakes are higher.

Being 'ethical' isn't only a label. Choices have wider implications.

Firstly, your positioning will impact how you build and use AI.
Ethical AI means developing and using AI in ways that are fair, safe, transparent, and aligned with human rights. 
It is about ensuring AI helps people rather than harms them, intentionally or unintentionally. (Claude’s Constitution supposedly embraces that)

Secondly, it will also impact your commercial strategy.  
 Not every government embraces the ethical use of AI, and few companies can prevent misuse (the Pentagon deployed Claude post-ban).
Depending on the geography, the AI Ethical and regulatory narrative is state-driven, techno-driven, and - to a lesser extent - citizen-driven.
Who do we want to decide on what AI does? 

Finally, every choice has bottom-line implications. 
Anthropic has enough money for now to say no. Yet, not every startup has the same muscle. Further, the public’s stance on morale is very capricious, especially if better prices or features are involved.




🟣𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮❓

(I made my choice) 
What is yours? 



PS: Meanwhile, rumour has it that Grok predicted the date of the attack on Iran. How about predicting when peace will arrive? 

That is what most of us want. 
Stay safe 




🟣 i-Expand ➟ #commercialization #CommercialDD #FamilyOffices

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Zehan T.

Pilar Fernandez Hermida

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The Battle

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