BOSTON
Allene M. Diaz
Allene Diaz currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Allena Pharmaceuticals and BCLS Acquisition Corporation. She also leads a New Product Strategy and Portfolio Management consulting practice.
Ms. Diaz served on the board of directors of Erytech Pharma SA from 2016 to 2019.
Ms. Diaz held the position of Senior Vice President, R&D Portfolio Management at GlaxoSmithKline until June 2020.
From 2015 to 2019, she served as Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Development and Program Strategy and as a member of the Executive Leadership Team at TESARO Inc (formerly Nasdaq: TSRO).
Prior to joining TESARO, Ms. Diaz held a variety of roles in the EMD Serono and Merck Serono divisions of Merck KGaA, including Senior Vice President, Managed Markets, Senior Vice President, Head of U.S. Oncology Commercial, Vice President, Oncology Marketing, Head of Global Strategic Planning, and Head of the Global Oncology Business Unit.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Diaz held management, operating, sales and medical affairs roles at various biopharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Biogen, and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, among others. She has contributed to the global development, launch and commercialization of multiple products.
Halley Gilbert
Halley Gilbert is currently the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Business Officer at Adagio Therapeutics.
Halley served as the SVP Corproate Development and Chief Adminstrative Officer at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, overseeing corporate and business development, legal, compliance and government affairs until 2020, after joining the company in 2008 as the founding member of the legal department.
Halley has more than two decades of experience guiding biopharmaceutical companies through transformational change, as well as expertise in corporate transactions, governance, and the operational and strategic issues relevant to launching new medicines.
Prior to joining Ironwood, Halley was vice president, deputy general counsel at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she supported the launch of Cubist’s first acute care antibiotic, and prior to Cubist, she served as corporate counsel at Genzyme Corp. Halley began her career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where she specialized in mergers and acquisitions and securities law.
She serves on the board of directors of Vaxcyte (PCVX), CytomX (CTMX), Arcutis (ARQT), and Allergy Amulet, a private, venture-backed company developing a food allergen detection device. She previously served on the board of Achaogen Inc. and Dermira. Halley holds a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. from Tufts University.
Karl Simpson
Karl is CEO of Liftstream, a company he founded in 2004 to deliver executive search and board services into the life sciences sector. He has led Liftstream to become a market leader in championing diversity in the life sciences sector in Europe and the US, having published a number of proprietary research studies and led key industry initiatives, such as the Bioscience & Investor Inclusion Group.
Karl served as Chairman of the Association of Executive Recruiters from 2017-2020, and on the board from 2013.
He served on the board of the Women’s Business Council – MACA (UK Government Equalities Office) from 2015-2020 and acts as an advisor to a range of organisations on issues corporate goverance, leadership and also diversity. Karl is named on the 2018 Men As Change Agents Power List in recognition of his commitment to gender equality.
Karl was co-founder and executive director of Bioinsource from 2001-2003, a company that provided recruiting services in life sciences which merged with James Harvard (Hays Plc).
From 1994-2000, Karl was a member of the founding team of TPI, a recruitment services company, where Karl held various leadership positions until the acquisition of the company by Harvey Nash Plc. in April 2000.
Mary Thistle
Mary is the Chief of Staff of the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. She has more than 25 years of experience in finance, strategy and business development functions across different life science therapeutic areas and modalities.
Prior to joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, Mary was Chief Operating Officer of Dimension Therapeutics Inc. At Dimension, she oversaw the company’s Series B financing and initial public offering, expanded the pipeline through strategic business development transactions, and led the sale of the company to Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. Prior, Mary was the Senior Vice President, Business Development at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the business development function and led multiple acquisitions and assisted in the sale to Merck.
Mary held several senior level positions at ViaCell Inc. in finance, operations, product development and business development, and then served as Senior Vice President, Business Development at PerkinElmer after ViaCell was acquired. Mary began her career in finance as a Certified Public Accountant. Mary also serves on the Board of Directors of Enterome SA (private), Cocoon Biotech (private) and Homology Medicines (FIXX) as chair of the audit committee.
SAN FRANCISCO
Grace E. Colón
Grace E. Colón, is CEO, President and Director of InCarda Therapeutics, Inc., a VC-backed clinical stage company developing therapeutics for cardiovascular conditions. Previously, she was a partner at New Science Ventures, a New York based venture capital firm. Earlier she was founding President of the Industrial Products Division at Intrexon Corporation, where she established a new division focused on leveraging synthetic biology for bioindustrial applications. Prior to Intrexon, she was head of Clinical Operations for Gilead Sciences, where she was responsible for global execution of clinical trials. At Gilead she also created and led both the Alliance Management and Commercial Strategic Planning groups. Prior to Gilead, she was VP, Corporate Planning at Affymetrix, where she was responsible for strategic planning and project management and where she also served as COO for the International Genomics Consortium, a non-profit medical research organization focused on cancer genomics. Earlier in her career she was a consultant with McKinsey & Co., and an engineer with Merck & Co. in France and in Rahway, NJ.
She serves on the board of CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA), is Executive Chairman (formerly CEO) of ProterixBio, is on the board of Cocoon Biotech and serves on the advisory board of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Previously she served on the boards of Paradigm Diagnostics and PerceptiMed. Dr. Colón received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was an NSF Fellow, and holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.
Karen Drexler
Karen Drexler is CEO and a board member of Sandstone Diagnostics, a company that is utilizing portable centrifugal technology to put a new spin on healthcare. Sandstone’s first product is Trak, an FDA cleared system for home male fertility testing and tracking sold directly to consumers in the US. She serves as an independent director for ResMed, a NYSE-listed and market leading company in the disordered breathing space.
Ms. Drexler is also on the board of Tivic Health, a commercial stage bioelectronic medicine company initially targeting relief of sinus pain and pressure. She is a member of Women Corporate Directors, National Association of Corporate Directors and Stanford Women on Boards.
Ms. Drexler has extensive operational and entrepreneurial experience. She founded and ran Amira Medical until its sale to Roche Diabetes Care. She managed a variety of functions at LifeScan, a pioneer in home blood glucose monitoring, and executed the sale of the Company to Johnson and Johnson. An inventor on 11 issued patents, she was also named Female Entrepreneur of the Year by the Stevie Awards, 2013, and Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year by Silicon Valley Women’s Fund, 2002.
Ms. Drexler is active in Astia (www.astia.com) and Springboard (www.sb.co), nonprofit organizations that support female entrepreneurs. She is a founding member of Astia Angels. Ms. Drexler is on the advisory board of the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, Princeton University School of Engineering.
Karen is a native of New Jersey, and received her M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a B.S.E. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She and her husband Andy, a fellow Stanford M.B.A., reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Alpna Seth
Alpna joined Nura Bio as Chief Executive Officer, President and Board Member in August 2019. As a seasoned executive and entrepreneur, she brings over 25 years of diverse biotech industry experience leading drug-development, commercialization and business creation. Prior to joining Nura Bio, Alpna was Chief Operating Officer of Vir Biotechnology. Alpna served at Biogen for two decades in senior executive roles based in the United States, Europe and Asia. Most recently she was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Biogen’s Biosimilars Business Unit, where she led the creation and launch of the business with nearly $400 million in annual revenues. Earlier, as Program Executive of Tecfidera – Biogen’s first oral multiple sclerosis drug – she successfully led the product franchise from pivotal trials to regulatory approvals and blockbuster commercial launches worldwide. Alpna was also the founding Managing Director of Biogen Idec India and was a member of the Asia Pac senior leadership team. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and conducted her postdoctoral research in Immunology and Structural Biology at Harvard University, both as a Fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Alpna is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. In addition to Nura Bio, she serves on the boards of Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) and Bio Techne (NASDAQ: TECH).
Dr Karen Smith MD, PhD, MBA, LLM
Karen is a Biotech/Pharma Executive, Board Director and Advisor in the US, Europe, Canada and Asia; covering 60+ clinical trials and 20+ major regulatory approvals in multiple jurisdictions including FDA (USA), EMA (Europe), TGA (Australia), ANVISA (Brazil), and PMDA (Japan); leading to product launches across diverse therapeutic areas including oncology (Herceptin, Vyxeos), rare disease (Defitelio), cardiology (Irbesartan), dermatology (Voluma, Botox), neuroscience (Abilify), and anti-infectives (Teflaro). In addition to R&D and pipeline development, Karen’s successful record of business development includes the acquisitions, divestitures, and partnership deals. Currently the
CEO of Eliminate Cancer (ECI), an oncology R&D and venture organization, Dr Smith has previously served on the boards of Forward Pharma and Sucampo and is currently serving as a Director for Acceleron Pharma, Eliminate Cancer Inc, Antares Pharma, and Sangamo Therapeutics. Dr Smith earned an MD from the University of Warwick (UK), PhD in Molecular Oncology from UCLA (USA)/UWA (Australia), MBA from the University of New England (Australia) and LLM (Masters in Law) from the University of Salford (UK). She holds British and Australian dual citizenship and is a US Permanent Resident.
NEW YORK
Jane Wasman
Ms. Wasman is a strategic leader with almost 25 years in the biopharma industry, with extensive U.S. and international experience. An adaptable executive serving in both C-suite and board of director chair roles, she has achieved success in settings ranging from large, public multinational companies to privately held start-up companies. Her expertise includes M&A, strategic development, corporate governance, international, litigation, commercial, compliance and government affairs, as well as operational implementation.
Ms. Wasman is chair of the board of directors of Sellas Life Sciences (Nasdaq: SLS), an oncology-focused company, as well as chair of its Nominations & Governance Committee and member of its Audit, Compensation and Finance Committees. She also is on the board of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, an immune/rare disease-focused company (Nasdaq: RIGL), and is a member of its Nominations & Governance/Compliance and Science Committees. She is on the board of Cytovia Therapeutics, an oncology-focused private company, as well as the board of NY BIO, including its Executive Committee. Additionally, she is co-founder of the NY Hub of BioDirector, an organization supporting board effectiveness and diversity.
Ms. Wasman is Founder and President of JWasman Advisors, a consulting firm focused on strategic, operational and corporate governance matters for biopharma and life sciences organizations ranging from startups to publicly traded companies. Ms. Wasman previously served as President, International, General Counsel and Chief, Strategic Development at Acorda Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ACOR).
Prior to her 15 years at Acorda, Ms. Wasman spent over eight years at Schering-Plough Corporation in various leadership positions – including Staff Vice President and Associate General Counsel as well as Staff Vice President, European Operations.
Ms. Wasman graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, and earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She currently resides in New York City.
Faith Charles
Faith L. Charles is a partner in the Corporate Transactions and Securities Practice, and the chair of the Life Sciences Group at Thompson Hine, LLP., since 2010. Since 2016, Ms. Charles serves as a member of the board of AgilVax Inc., a private biotechnology company focused on cancer immunotherapies and targeted infectious vaccines, and as a member of the board of Gilda's Club New York City, an organization that provides medical, emotional and support services to cancer patients and their families. Since September 2018, Ms. Charles serves as a member of the board of Sandstone Diagnostics, Inc., a private technology and healthcare company focused on using centrifugal testing to improve healthcare.
Ms. Charles also serves as Chair and Co- Founder of Metro NY Women in Bio, an organization of professionals committed to promoting careers, leadership and entrepreneurship for women in the life sciences industry, since 2013. From 2000 until 2010, Ms. Charles served as partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C. Prior to that, starting in 1986, Ms. Charles served as partner and associate at other law firms, where she focused on capital markets, licensing and other strategic collaborations and mergers and acquisitions for emerging and public companies.
Ms. Charles holds a J.D degree from The George Washington University Law School and a B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College, Columbia University. Ms. Charles is also a graduate of Women in Bio's Boardroom Ready Program, an Executive Education Program taught by The George Washington University School of Business.
SAN DIEGO
Annalisa Barrett
Annalisa Barrett is a Senior Advisor with the KPMG Board Leadership Center, where she advises directors on emerging corporate governance issues and conducts research to develop thought leadership on board composition and governance practices. She frequently speaks at conferences around the country addressing issues important to corporate directors, governance professionals, and investors. Barrett has been quoted on corporate governance and board practices in the New York Times, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times, and her research has been featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to joining KPMG, Barrett was CEO of Board Governance Research LLC. Barrett was also a Senior Advisor for ValueEdge Advisors and Vice President and Senior Research Associate at The Corporate Library (now MSCI ESG Research). She previously was a Research Consultant in the Executive Compensation practice at Towers Perrin and a Tax Consultant in the Family Wealth Planning practice of Arthur Andersen.
She currently serves on the Women on Boards Advisory Council of the California Partners Project and the California Insurance Diversity Task Force. Barrett is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Business, where she teaches graduate courses in corporate governance.
For over a decade, Barrett has served on the board of the Corporate Directors Forum (CDF), which provides governance education and peer networking for corporate directors. In 2019, she was selected by her fellow directors to receive the C. Hugh Friedman CDF Board Member of the Year award. In 2008, she was named a Millstein Rising Star in Corporate Governance by the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. She is a Scott M. Johnson Fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program, a member of the International Corporate Governance Network, the Society for Corporate Governance, and the 30% Coalition. She holds an MBA with distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
LONDON
Annalisa Jenkins
Annalisa Jenkins, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.P. is a biopharma thought leader with over 25 years of industry experience. Dr. Jenkins has extensive recent experience in building and financing biotech companies pursuing cures for the most challenging rare diseases to address important medical issues globally. She has consistently built and led teams advancing programs from scientific research through clinical development, regulatory approval, and into healthcare systems globally. In addition, she is an advocate for diversity and inclusion, particularly for women in science.
Dr. Jenkins served as president and CEO of Dimension Therapeutics, a leading gene therapy company that she took public on the NASDAQ and subsequently sold to Ultragenyx. Prior leadership roles have included the head of global research and development and executive vice president global development and medical at Merck Serono, and several senior positions at Bristol Myers-Squibb over 15 years - including serving as senior vice president and head of global medical affairs.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Jenkins was a medical officer in the British Royal Navy during the Gulf Conflict, achieving the rank of surgeon lieutenant commander.
Dr. Jenkins is a board member of several growing companies, including Oncimmune, AVROBIO, COMPASS Pathways, AOBiome, AgeX, ADOR Diagnostics, MedCity, DMNoMore, Conduit Connect, Affimed, Cocoon Biotech Inc. (Non-Executive Chair), and Kuur Therapeutics (Non-Executive Chair). She also is a committee member of the Science Board to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which advises FDA leadership on complex scientific and technical issues, board member at Faster Cures a center of The Milken Institute and Chair of The Court The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Denise Scots-Knight
Denise Scots-Knight is the CEO and a board member of Mereo Biopharma, an oncology and rare disease company founded in July 2015 which is listed on the LSE (MPH) and NASDQ (MREO). She was previously Head of Life Sciences investment at Nomura and an Investment Manager at Rothschild Asset Management following a period in R&D management.
She is an experienced Non-Executive Board member in the US and EU serving on the boards of public and private companies, has a PhD and BSc in Biochemistry and was a Fulbright scholar. She currently serves as a Non-Executive Board Member of Elanco Inc an animal healthcare company listed on the NYSE (ELAN).
Catherine Moukheibir
Catherine Moukheibir has 20 years of experience integrating corporate and financial strategies in European pharma and biotech companies, following from a 15-year career in management consulting and investment banking in the US and London.
She is Chairman of Medday since 2016 and was recently appointed CEO. Her relevant expertise includes six years on the Executive Board of Innate Pharma, during which time Innate entered into emblematic partnerships with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca.
She was Chairman of Creabilis (acquired by Sienna Pharmaceuticals); non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Zealand Pharma during which time Zealand restructured and reinforced the management team, listed on Nasdaq and monetised the Sanofi royalty stream; non-executive Director and member of the transaction committee and audit committees of Ablynx, during which time Ablynx listed on Nasdaq and was acquired by Sanofi.
In addition to her Medday responsibilities, Catherine is currently a non-executive Director of Orphazyme, Ironwood and Kymab.
Earlier she was the Chief Financial Officer of Movetis, overseeing the company’s IPO on Euronext in December 2009 and subsequent sale to Shire. Catherine Moukheibir holds an MA and an MBA from Yale University.