Board of Directors |
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Damaris B. Skouras | Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Skouras, a co-founder of Olatec, served as President until 2013 when she became Chairman and CEO. Ms. Skouras has over 30 years of drug development experience in the biotechnology industry. Prior to becoming Chairman & CEO in 2013, she has previously served as co-President & CFO. Ms. Skouras began her career in finance in 1982 as a Vice President at Allen & Company Inc., where she was responsible for several biotech and technology start-up Companies from early inception through exit. In 1985, she became Founder, Chairman and CEO of Global Reach Management Company, an international advisory firm that has provided investment banking services to Olatec with a focused niche in biotechnology investing. Ms. Skouras sits on several for-profit and not-for-profit Boards of Directors, including those in the field of life sciences. Ms. Skouras received a BA from Stanford University in 1978 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1982 Craig T. Basson, MD, PhD | Director
In July 2022, Craig T. Basson, MD, PhD, joined Olatec’s Board of Directors. A veteran of both large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Dr. Basson served as Chief Medical Officer, Global Head of Research and Development and/or interim Chief Executive Officer of Boston Pharmaceuticals, Inc., between February 2020 and August 2022 when he became an advisor to the Board of Directors. At Boston Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Basson led the acquisition and development of a broad pipeline of innovative drug candidates into the clinic. In the preceding decade, Dr. Basson served as the Global Head of Translational Medicine for the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Therapeutic Areas at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Cambridge, MA. Leading a team of physicians with expertise in translational medicine, Dr. Basson oversaw more than 10 successful clinical studies and supported the development of EntrestoTM, licogliflozin, iscalimab and abelacimab, among other novel medicines, for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and metabolic disorders. Dr. Basson’s experience in drug development synergizes with Olatec’s focus in inflammation, since his work at Novartis advanced clinical programs for the anti-IL-1β biologic, canakinumab (IlarisTM), into multiple disease areas and supported translational studies in the landmark CANTOS trial. Prior to joining Novartis, Dr. Basson was the Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Cardiology and Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, whose faculty he joined in 1997. He completed his BA and MA at Washington University in St. Louis, MO and received an MSc in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. Dr. Basson holds an MD and PhD from Yale University. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and his clinical Cardiology fellowship and postdoctoral Cardiovascular Genetics fellowship at Harvard University and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Basson is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a Fellow of the American Heart Association and of the American College of Cardiology. Currently, Dr. Basson is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, while also serving on scientific advisory boards. Valentín Campos, Sr. | Director
Mr. Campos has over 40 years of extensive experience in the healthcare industry. In 1991, Mr. Campos founded Centrum Promotora Internacional, S.A. de C.V. (“Centrum”), where he currently serves as CEO. Centrum is dedicated to the manufacturing, importation, distribution and marketing of products and services for health, particularly in the area of clinical diagnosis. Centrum has received the “Top Partners in Latin America” award by Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. From 1971 to 1991, Mr. Campos worked in the public sector at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (“IMSS”), the Mexican social security agency, as well as a health supplier for the workers of México, which is one of the largest hospital conglomerates in the world. Mr. Campos started as head of the maintenance division for Equipment and Infrastructure and later became Vice President of the Administration responsible for supplying all the goods used for the daily operation of about 5,000 medical units in more than 300 hospitals, with responsibility over a $30 billion annual budget. IMSS consists of approximately 700 hospitals, providing insurance coverage currently to approximately 70 million people. Mr. Campos is also the President of Alsava Corporation (“Alsava"), which is his family office that was founded in 2014 to make private equity investments in early-stage companies with high upside potential. Mr. Campos is a member of the Cámara Nacional de la Industria Farmacéutica (“CANIFARMA”), the syndicate group for the pharmaceutical industry in México, and has served as the President of the Committee for Diagnostics and Reagents. Mr. Campos has also performed charitable work for Hospital General de México, México’s biggest hospital, sponsoring community programs such as the Children’s Ludoteca and the John Langdon Down Foundation. Mr. Campos earned a B.S. in electrical and mechanical engineering at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1966. John F. Otto, Jr. | Director
Mr. Otto is currently a Principal and Managing Partner of Waterfront Partners, LLC, a private investment company. Previously, Mr. Otto’s career spanned 35 years as an investment banker, most recently with Salomon, Smith Barney/Citigroup where he was responsible for their global telecommunications practice and a member of the Management Committee of the investment bank. He has held several board positions of both publicly traded companies and philanthropic institutions. Mr. Otto is an honors graduate of Boston College, where he received his BS degree. He earned an MBA from Columbia University. Gregory K. Palm | Director
In July 2021, Gregory K. Palm, joined Olatec’s Board of Directors. Greg has been a Senior Director of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc since 2021, from 2019 to then having served as a Senior Advisor to Goldman Sachs. Previously, Greg served as a member of Goldman Sachs’ Management Committee beginning in 1999, when the firm became a public company, and as its General Counsel from 1992 when he joined the firm and was elected a partner. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Greg also chaired or was a member of various other firm-wide committees, including its Risk, Business Practices, Global Control and Compliance, and Operating Committees. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Greg was a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell, advising a variety of U.S. and foreign-based corporate and financial institution clients on matters relating to mergers and acquisitions, financings (including IPOs), joint ventures and corporate governance. Greg received an SB from MIT and a JD and MBA from Harvard. Lucio C. Rovati, MD | Director
In September 2015, Lucio C. Rovati, MD, joined Olatec’s Scientific Advisory Board and in July 2016 joined the Olatec Board of Directors. For Olatec, Dr. Rovati brings extensive experience in drug development and clinical programs. Dr. Rovati is CEO and CSO of Rottapharm Biotech S.r.l., the R&D spin-off of the former Rottapharm pharmaceutical company. Rottapharm Biotech is a company of biotechnologies committed to the discovery, research and development of new innovative drugs, both chemical and biological in nature. Dr. Rovati has held numerous academic positions and he currently is Visiting Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Milano-Bicocca, School of Medicine. Dr. Rovati is a member of several international scientific societies. Dr. Rovati’s research focuses on pharmacology and clinical pharmacology in different therapeutic areas, with a predominance in Rheumatology. He has authored or co-authored over 190 full papers published in peer reviewed international scientific journals and 15 book chapters. Related scientific activity includes authorship of over 400 abstracts and selected/invited presentations in international congresses. Dr. Rovati holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Milano, Italy, with specialization in Clinical Pharmacology. George A. Skouras | Director
Mr. Skouras is an international banker, corporate restructuring advisor, investor, and fundraiser over a 30-year career culminating with his formation of Cue Capital LP in 2003. Cue specializes in capital raising efforts for private equity managers and companies and in particular venture backed companies and venture groups. In this capacity, Cue has raised over $1.1 billion through Cue’s direct institutional sales efforts, more than half for life science and healthcare groups. Prior to forming Cue, Mr. Skouras was Managing Director and Board Member of Austrian based Creditanstalt BankVerein’s investment bank in New York and Russia. At Creditanstalt, his responsibilities included capital raising and asset management for companies and investment funds investing in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe. Mr. Skouras began his career at Citibank in 1978, working primarily in the Bank’s loan workout group restructuring distressed companies. Mr. Skouras also started one of the first distressed credit funds in 1987, Citicorp Turnaround Investments. In 1991, he was named Managing Director of Citicorp International Equity Investments investing in companies for Citicorp in emerging markets through privatizations. In 1992, he became the first Citibank country head for the Russian Federation. Mr. Skouras graduated with a BA in Russian and Economics in 1976 from Tufts University and studied for a Master’s Degree at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), where he was awarded the merit of Honors and Distinction in 1978. Spyros S. Skouras, Jr. | Director
Mr. Skouras is currently a Principal and Managing Director of S Three Capital, LLC, a private investment company he founded which focuses on shipping and offshore industry investments. Previously, Mr. Skouras was a Senior Vice President of a Managing Partner for a series of private investment partnerships. He was also Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Prudential Grace Lines an international shipping company. Mr. Skouras has held several board positions of both publicly traded and private companies. Mr. Skouras graduated from Tufts University, where he received his BA degree in 1976, and he earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1980. Kenneth D. Wells MD | Director
In September 2022, Dr. Wells was appointed as an observer and in August 2023 he became a member of Olatec Board of Directors. Dr. Wells, an experienced board member with expertise with payors and risk management, is currently Founder and President of Alken Health Resources, a healthcare advisory firm. Dr. Wells is a seasoned board member and corporate medical director for over 20 years. History of delivering value to c-suite and academic boards of directors in public health, health insurance, employee benefits, medicine, pharmacy, and risk management matters. Kenneth Wells, MD, frequently speaks at global health conferences and universities on healthcare policy, population health, and corporate health/benefit strategies. Dr. Wells has held advisory positions with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The University of Texas Health Science Center, The University of Texas College of Natural Sciences, the Washington Business Group on Health, and The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Dr. Wells served 12 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and the Texas Army National Guard and NASA/Johnson Space Center. He was honored as the U.S. Army National Guard Flight Surgeon of the Year. He served as Corporate Medical Director of Tenneco, Inc. |