Doctor without borders

'WHEN I became a doctor, I soon realised that I didn't want to treat one patient at a time," says Marie Charles who is now not only a doctor, but also a social entrepreneur and healthcare investor. "I wanted to treat entire nations." That is still her audacious ambition and she has started to make it happen. Recognised as one of the innovators in global healthcare, she is a regular speaker at universities, international conferences and radio shows and has even had TV documentaries made about her work. It makes a compelling story.

Brimming with ideas, the fast-talking Ms Charles exudes confidence and self belief. We are having lunch, but she has so much to say that she barely allows herself time to eat.

After qualifying as a doctor in her native Belgium, she went on to Columbia University in New York where she got a masters in international relations. She then worked for the pharmaceutical giant Merck at its headquarters in New Jersey. "I was put on a fast track programme; the idea was to send me to Europe to head one of Merck's facilities there," she recalls. But after five years of corporate life, she decided to take another path. "I realised that I liked the efficiency of business, but I couldn't work for somebody else. I had to create my own work."