Life sciences companies strengthen their leadership teams with this week’s appointments.
Abbott – Abbott Chief Executive Officer Miles White will retire in 2020 after helming the company since 1998. He will be succeeded by Robert B. Ford, the company’s current chief operating officer. During his tenure at the helm, White oversaw the spinout of two successful companies, Hospira, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2015 and AbbVie, which markets the world’s most popular drug, Humira, which was gained through the 2001 acquisition of BASF’s Knoll pharmaceutical business. In addition to serving as COO, Ford is also president of the company. He has held numerous leadership roles at Abbott, including overseeing the company’s nutrition and medical device business. Ford also led Abbott’s diabetes care unit.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical – William H. Carson, CEO of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc., will retire effective Jan. 1, 2020. He will transition to serve as chairman of the board of directors of the company and will spearhead philanthropic initiatives for Otsuka. Carson joined Otsuka in 2002 and helped lead the way toward the commercialization of multiple products. He also led the organization through a series of transformational changes and globalized numerous functions, including Clinical Development, Safety & Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, and Data Protection.
Nurix – San Francisco-based Nurix Therapeutics made several appointments to its leadership team. Christine Ring was tapped as general counsel, Cristiana Guiducci was named head of immunology and oncology research Jean Chang was appointed to oversee the company’s clinical program management and asset strategy. In addition, Nurix promoted Gwenn Hansen to senior vice president of research. Prior to joining Nurix, Ring was senior vice president of legal at Dermira, Inc. Before that, she was senior vice president of technology, strategy and licensing at Amyris, Inc. Guiducci previously served as the vice president of oncology research at Dynavax Technologies where she directed all foundational research leading to the development of the Dynavax immuno-oncology assets. Prior to her work in oncology, she directed the discovery and characterization of drug candidates for autoimmune diseases at Dynavax. Prior to joining Nurix, Chang was oncology project lead and vice president of corporate development at Dynavax Technologies. She previously worked at Gilead Sciences, Chiron, Cypress Bioscience, Corgentech and Anesiva, and led European marketing and global commercial operations for Genzyme.
Equillium, Inc. – California-based Equillium named Bruce Steel as president and CEO effective Jan. 1. He currently serves as president and chief business officer. Dan Bradbury, the company’s current CEO, will transition to the role of executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. Additionally, Krishna Polu, the company’s chief medical officer will be promoted to executive vice president research & development, and Christine Zedelmayer will assume the role of senior vice president and chief operating officer, each effective Jan. 1, 2020.
Vireo – Vireo Health International, Inc. announced Shaun Nugent will join the company as chief financial officer on Dec. 2. As CFO, Nugent will work to optimize profitable growth, capital markets, and operating efficiencies. Nugent has previously served as the CEO and CFO of several major private and public companies, including Life Time Fitness, AllOver Media, Champps Entertainment, and Sun Country Airlines. The company’s current CFO, Amber Shimpa, will be assuming a newly created role of chief administrative officer. Shimpa will continue to serve on Vireo’s Board of Directors and as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Sema4 – Joel Sendek was named CFO of Connecticut-based Sema4, a patient-centered health intelligence company. Previously, Sendek served as CFO at Spero Therapeutics for more than two years and held the same position at Forward Pharma the three years before that. He spent more than 15 years as a senior equity research analyst covering the biotech field and leading healthcare equity research at Stifel Financial Corp. and Lazard. Prior to his career in equity research, Sendek worked as a Senior Director of Corporate Development at Progenics Pharmaceuticals.
Dalrada Health – Paval Keswarpu was named chief medical officer of Nevada-based Dalrada Health. A physician scientist, has also held numerous leadership positions and has driven product innovations in healthcare while utilizing her clinical knowledge of pathology and oncology.
Vireo Health – Amber Shimpa will transition into the newly-created role of chief administrative officer of cannabis company Vireo Health International, Inc. Shimpa will continue to lead the company’s human resources and business administration teams and further drive the integration of people and culture for Vireo. Shimpa will also spearhead Vireo’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and Diversity and Inclusion programs. Shimpa has served as the CFO for Vireo since 2014.
Newronika – Italy’s Newronika tapped Oleg Svanidze as its new CMO. Before joining Newronika, Svanidze served as a CMO at Swiss-based Xeltis AG. Prior to Xeltis, he was senior medical director at Allergan Medical. He also held executive positions in several cardiovascular start-ups including Arbor Surgical Technologies, 3F Therapeutics (acquired by Medtronic), Computer Motion (acquired by Intuitive Surgical) and HeartPort (acquired by Edwards Lifesciences). He has consulted for many prominent medical device companies, including Edwards Lifesciences and Corevalve.
McCann Health – John Reid was named chief creative officer for McCann Health New Jersey. He joins the company from Razorfish, where he served as chief creative officer. He held similar roles at Deep Focus and Wunderman.
Orion Biotechnology – Thomas Hecht was named chairman of the board of directors of Orion Biotechnology Canada. Hecht held various positions at Amgen between 1989 and 2002, including Head of Medical Affairs and vice president of marketing at Amgen Europe. He is also head of Hecht Healthcare Consulting in Küssnacht, Switzerland, a biopharmaceutical consulting company.
