PEPPER Welcomes Its New Chief Executive Officer

PEPPER is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Cécile Michel-Caillet as Chief Executive Officer, effective March 2026.

Dr. Michel-Caillet brings over fifteen years of experience at the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses). Her most recent position there was as head of the unit responsible for implementing France’s national strategy on endocrine disruptors and for applying European regulations REACH, CLP, and Cosmetics at national level — covering human health risk assessment for both consumers and workers, environmental impact, and socio-economic analysis.

Her scientific background spans a PhD conducted in partnership with Sanofi Aventis and a postdoctoral fellowship at Novartis, both focused on biomarker identification through toxicogenomics. She has since established herself as a recognised international and European expert in endocrine disruption, nanomaterials, hazard identification, and testing strategies. She is currently contributing to the UNEP/WHO update of the State of the Science Report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, and has authored or contributed to over 30 peer-reviewed publications as well as hundreds of expert reports and regulatory dossiers.

Dr. Michel-Caillet is not new to PEPPER. As Chair of the Relevance Committee since its creation, she has played a central role in shaping the platform’s scientific direction and governance. Her appointment as CEO represents a natural continuation of that engagement.

Her approach to chemical safety — grounded in the ONE Health principle, read-across methodologies, biomarkers, and Adverse Outcome Pathways — is closely aligned with PEPPER’s mission to accelerate the validation of test methods for endocrine disruptor characterisation and to support robust, science-based regulation across Europe.

Under her leadership, PEPPER will continue and deepen its engagement with laboratories, experts, and stakeholders throughout Europe, while expanding its financial support beyond its current membership — broadening the platform’s reach and impact in service of its core mission.

The PEPPER team looks forward to working under her leadership and welcomes her to this new role.