Jan Spaas was born in 1986 and as a junior and young riders passionate rider he won 2 bronze medals at European Championships show jumping. He graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Ghent in 2010 and holds a PhD in veterinary sciences from the same university where he is visiting professor. He was CEO of the stem cell company GST for 10 years, which was acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim in 2020 and managed to launch 2 medicinal products based on stem cell therapy on the European market. Jan is co-founder of horse clinic Via Nova, which was acquired by Altano in 2022. Both companies were founded together with his wife Sarah Broeckx and veterinarian Marc Suls. He worked for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim for 4 years, including 2 years in veterinary drug development in Athens Georgia and then in Germany as Global Head of Research for the veterinary division until the end of March 2024. Today he is leading the R&D programs from Intibio and is active as a passionate board member in various companies. He spends his free time as much as he can with his wife and 2 daughters.