zeGOgroup

President of zeGOgroup, Helene Rossert is a medical doctor specialized in community health focusing on the fight against HIV/AIDS. Before joining zeGOgroup, Helene has been leading the NGO AIDES in France, as director general for 10 years (1997-2007). She has been appointed as vice chair Person of the board of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria (2003-2005).

About

Helene has worked in the public health field since the beginning of her career. She has always been committed to work with vulnerable groups in the fight against AIDS. In the last 15 years she has established AIDES (one of the largest NGO in Europe working in the fight against AIDS) in the French public health landscape and expanded it into an international organization now linked to more than 30 emerging or developing countries in North and sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe. Under her leadership, AIDES took the lead in bringing together NGOs fighting AIDS in Africa and in Europe creating networks of advocacy and care. After several years of capacity building, these NGOs became the benchmark in their respective national HIV responses. Helene's practical skills in organization development caused AIDES to grow three-fold in budget and personnel throughout her tenure. Additionally, she trains the trainers, having worked in Mali with the acclaimed national NGO ARCAD SIDA to implement the Donya training center. This led to a legacy of expertise for key actors involved in the AIDS fight in French speaking Western Africa (project funded under Global Fund funding round 4).

In 2003, recognized by AIDES peer institutions, Helene became the developed-country NGO representative on the board of the Global Fund. She was elected vice chair of the Global Fund board in 2004, the first NGO representative to occupy such a high level in the prestigious institution. This position allowed Helene to be the spokesperson for all recipients of the Global Fund endowments at the governing board. She soon saw the urgency of focusing the board on the risk bore by the lack of availability of consistent technical assistance to recipient countries and chaired the first ad hoc committee on this topic. Simultaneously she endeavored to encourage community actors to organize their own programs as sub-recipients of Global Fund grants. Her dual roles as field actor and board member on several international organizations bestowed on Helene an influential and thriving network of community actors and high-profile international stakeholders.

Helene has a keen interest in pioneering new ideas in health and development and takes the HIV/AIDS fight as a model for social and political change, with an eye for broadening the involvement of all parties at stake, most especially vulnerable groups. In 2007, after a fierce personal battle against breast cancer, Helene moved with her family to southern California where she is currently a consultant for the US Government-funded Grant Management Solutions (GMS) project in African and Pacific countries. Working with CCMs, Helene supports the idea that everyone involved in the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria can contribute to the fight with regard for shared good governance rules. Putting together her GMS experience and her previous ones, Helene wants with her partners at zeGOgroup to move a step forward and give recipient countries the stewardship on their much-needed, long term technical assistance for health projects.

Helene deeply values her family and friends and reflects enthusiasm in all of her endeavors, from her gourmet cooking to her determination to elevate every individual with whom she comes into contact with dignity.

Relevant professional experience

• President , zeGOgroup, Paris France ( since 2011)
• Consultant, GMS/MSH, Cambridge, USA, (since 2009); CCM restructuring missions in Cameroon ,Fiji, Tunisia, Mali and Haiti
• Director General , AIDES, Paris France, ( 1997-2007) in parallel with board member/Vice Chair of the Global Fund, Geneva Switzerland ( 2003-2005)
• Chairperson of the 1^st ad hoc committee on technical assistance of the Global Fund board, Geneva (2004)
• French research coordinator, Centre international de l'Enfance et de la Famille, research on the impact of AIDS on the Health System of Côte d'Ivoire, Paris France (1996-1997)
• Fellow at the Institute of Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston USA (1993-1994)

Other highlights

• Helene holds a degree as medical doctor (Université de Rouen, France) and a master's degree in public health in health service organization (University of Texas at Houston, USA)
• She is fluent in French and English
• Helene has traveled to more than 50 countries working, training, giving speeches and meeting with vulnerable groups, NGOs, government representatives and heads of states
• She has published public health articles in international journals and political articles in daily newspapers in France
• She is honored to be chevalier de l'ordre du Mérite in France and Vice-Chair Emeritus of the Global Fund board