Leadership Team

With a distinguished career spanning consultancy services and the pharmaceutical industry, Aad R. Liefveld is a passionate advocate for patient centricity and experience.

His leadership in account management across the BENELUX, France, and Southern Europe has been defined by a relentless focus on building strong customer relationships and delivering exceptional value—principles that are now central to the pharmaceutical sector’s evolution.

Driven by a commitment to solving one of clinical research’s most persistent challenges—early patient drop-out—Aad pioneered the development of Adherence Risk Management (ARM) services in 2017 for Link2Trials. By leveraging the Subjective Health Experience model, created by Prof. Dr. Sjaak Bloem of Nyenrode Business University, Aad introduced a groundbreaking approach to digitally deliver timely, individualized patient support and improve adherence throughout clinical studies.

Since 2021, Aad has played a key role in the BEAMER project, a major European initiative advancing the science of patient adherence. In 2025, he was appointed as a fellow at Belmont University’s Collaborative for Health Systems Innovation (Department of Health Systems Science) in Nashville, TN. Here, Aad is leading efforts to integrate BEAMER’s findings into the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine curriculum—making Belmont the first U.S. institution to introduce future healthcare professionals to innovative, individualized adherence strategies.

Aad’s vision is clear: to transform patient support and adherence, reduce early drop-out in clinical studies, and ultimately improve health outcomes for patients and communities worldwide.

With more than 15 years of experience at the forefront of BioPharma and medical food innovation, Simon Klaasen is dedicated to transforming clinical research and patient care.

Simon’s journey began with a clear vision: to solve the persistent challenges of patient recruitment, adherence, and retention that often delay critical clinical studies. His hands-on expertise has shaped new strategies that make these processes more effective, efficient, and centered around the patient experience.

Simon’s leadership is instrumental in the BEAMER project—an EU co-funded initiative that is revolutionizing how the healthcare industry understands and supports patient adherence. By uncovering the behavioral factors that drive real-world treatment success, Simon helps deliver actionable guidance to stakeholders across the sector, ensuring that every patient receives the support they need to thrive.

As a founder and partner at Link2Trials, Simon pioneered the use of social media and patient-centric approaches in clinical trials, setting new standards for recruitment and engagement. His commitment to innovation has empowered countless studies to overcome barriers and achieve better outcomes for patients and sponsors alike.

Luis Eduardo (Edwin) has gained a lot of experience with patient groups as a physiotherapist in different settings. Afterwards Edwin received an MSc in Biomedical Sciences and an MSc in Policy, Management & Entrepreneurship for Physicists & Life Scientists from the VU University Amsterdam.

Edwin has over 20 years of professional experience in social media, marketing, advertising and online communications for the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical food industries.

In 2007 Edwin and Simon Klaasen founded Link2Trials; a CRO specialized in patient recruitment and adherence services.

Link2Trials is one of the first companies in the pharmaceutical industry to use social media and make patient centricity and patient experience leading in its activities.

Frans Folkvord is a behavioral scientist and innovation expert with extensive experience in applying data-driven methodologies to understand and influence human behavior in healthcare. Frans is co-founder and partner at Forward Faster AI (FwdFaster), a science venture originating from Utrecht University and the IMPROVE consortium, where he leads research and innovation projects focused on behavioral modeling, AI-driven knowledge discovery, and evidence-based digital interventions. Furthermore, Frans is involved in over 25 large European research projects related to clinical trials in health (e.g., Horizon2020, Horizon Europe, and Innovative Health Initiatives).

With an academic background in psychology, behavioral economics, and health economics, Frans has contributed to numerous international research programs aimed at improving health outcomes through personalized behavioral insights. His work integrates advanced analytics, computational models, and practical behavioral strategies to design solutions that more accurately predict and influence patient behavior.

At PACE Clinical, Frans is responsible for driving the strategic innovation agenda, ensuring that the ARM methodology and digital platform remain at the forefront of scientific and technological development. Leveraging the capabilities of Forward Faster, he brings direct access to cutting-edge research in behavioral science and AI, enabling continuous advancement of PACE Clinical’s adherence modeling, predictive analytics, and personalization engine.

Frans plays a key role in translating scientific insights from the BEAMER project, SHE model, and the evolving B-COMPASS framework into actionable innovations within the ARM platform. His leadership ensures that PACE Clinical’s solutions remain state-of-the-art, evidence-based, and aligned with the future of digital health and behavioral support.

From November 2011, Sjaak Bloem is working for Nyenrode Business Universiteit as a professor of Health care consumers & experienced health at the Center for Supply Chain Management and Marketing. He is an expert in health consumer behavior, methodology and health innovations.

From 2000 on, Sjaak has worked at Janssen Benelux (pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson) in several jobs and functions. Furthermore, he was member (secretary, lead communication) of the board of the Pension Fund Johnson & Johnson The Netherlands (2002-2015).

From 2013 onwards, Sjaak is a member of the Advisory Board of the Academy of Media and User Experience (Avans Hogeschool, Breda) and a consultant of the quality institute for Achmea Zorgverzekeringen (dementia, mantle and the elderly, the disabled).

From 2013 until 2014, Sjaak was a member of the Board of Trustees of Stichting Zelforganisatie Rotterdam. He was a jury member of the International Health Battle and member of the program IAB4 from 2012 to 2014.

In 2012, he was a Juror for the IAB4 contest (Brabantse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij). He participates in the Nyenrode GfK Ziekenhuismonitor and was a jury member at the Bielat Pitch event in 2015 (Thomas More Campus, Turnhout, Belgium).

Peter is a senior executive who brings 22 years of commercial business development experience and knowledge working with BioPharma companies on mission-critical clinical, regulatory & safety projects. His career and capabilities have grown working within multiple start-up/mid-size technology led companies.

Understanding what it takes to create, build and manage an internationally operating solutions and services organization focused on the life-science industry.

Before he joined PACE Clinical, Peter successfully fulfilled similar responsibilities at Sorcero, Biorelate, fme AG, ArisGlobal, Phlexglobal, Adlib Software, Image Solutions Inc (ISI); all companies that provide or have been providing solutions and services to the life science industry through the drug development cycle.