Prior to joining IFPMA, Thomas was Secretary General of Interpharma, the trade association representing Switzerland’s research-based pharmaceutical industry; Secretary of the Dolder Group, precursor of what’s now the BCR; and served on the Board of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Thomas began his career as a journalist, as London correspondent for the Basler Zeitung and Der Bund, before serving as a Swiss diplomat in Paris (OECD) and Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO). Thomas has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Basel and another in politics from the London School of Economics. He also studied at the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies.