Ben has spent almost 30 years in the international not-for-profit sector with an emphasis on the management of professional medical associations.  A visionary and entrepreneurial business leader focussed on the concept and implementation of strategies that inspire stakeholders to achieve desired goals.  He has a keen understanding of the association business model, especially in business administration, relationship-building, community management, board governance, and organizational growth.

Ben is the Managing Director of EASL, the European Association for the Study of the Liver. This leading international society has over 4,000 members from all continents, and the annual meeting remains the major international scientific event for the liver with over 10,000 participants. EASL also runs a comprehensive portfolio of smaller educational meetings, a broad collection of online education and an array of digital tools. EASL is also active in public health, patient engagement and policy, a trusted and expert advisor to European and national health authorities. 

Prior to this, Ben founded K.I.T.GmbH's Association Management Division in Berlin, Germany. Managing numerous associations such as International Liver Transplantation Society, International Union of Immunology Societies, International Society for Pediatric & Adolescent Diabetes, European Operating Room Nurses Association and the World Forum on Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases. 

Until 2014 Ben was responsible for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congresses portfolio, this included Europe’s largest medical conference (30,000 delegates) and 8 specialty events. In parallel he enhanced the physical events offering with digital and partnership networks such as the ESC 365 online digital platform and the ESC Global Scientific Activities international outreach program. 

Monica Fontana was born in the United States in 1965; she moved to Europe in 1970 and grew up in Parma (Italy). 

In 1991, while writing her university thesis, she started working for the ERA (formally ERA-EDTA), a charity based in England and Wales with more than 7,000 active members, various medical journals, a European Registry and various working groups and committees supporting research and educational in nephrology. As the person in charge of the membership office, Monica was able to be aware of all the various activities of the Association, from the Registry activities (being also appointed at the financial manager of an EU funded project linked to the Registry), the fellowship initiatives, the research programmes, the educational courses. 

ERA organizes the second largest annual nephrology Congress worldwide and Monica was actively involved in many of the activities done during the annual Congress especially linked to the various committees as well as the internal and external relations. From 1995 until 2016, working from home, she added many other tasks to her main duties: the bylaws, advisor to the President (and Council), advertising and public and international relations. In 2015, Monica became the Executive Manager of the ERA thus managing all the international operative staff of the association. In 2018 Monica was appointed as ERA Executive Director.