Date: 2015-03-23
Type of information: Nomination
Compound:
Company: Foundation Medicine (USA -MA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: nomination
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: * On March 23, 2015, Foundation Medicine announced four executive promotions and a new leadership appointment to support and accelerate the company\'s United States and global commercial and operational growth plans. Steven Kafka, Ph.D., has been promoted to president and chief operating officer and Jason Ryan to chief financial officer. Elaine Labrecque has been promoted to senior vice president, operations and Sarah Larson promoted to senior vice president, human resources. Matt Franklin joins in a newly-created role as senior vice president, global marketing. Michael Pellini, M.D., continues as chief executive officer with executive team leadership responsibility and increasing focus on strategic initiatives, corporate vision and long-term growth. Dr. Pellini will also continue as a member of Foundation Medicine\'s Board of Directors. Jason Ryan joined Foundation Medicine in May 2011 and has been responsible for building Foundation Medicine\'s public company financial infrastructure. Mr. Ryan has demonstrated strong leadership of the company\'s financial activities and corporate growth objectives, including Foundation Medicine\'s successful private financings, initial public offering and its proposed strategic collaboration with Roche. Prior to joining Foundation Medicine, Mr. Ryan led the finance and strategic planning functions of several life sciences companies, including Taligen Therapeutics (acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals) and Genomics Collaborative (acquired by SeraCare Life Sciences). He began his career at Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Ryan holds a BS in economics from Bates College, a master\'s degree in business administration from Babson College, and earned his CPA in Massachusetts. Elaine Labrecque joined Foundation Medicine in January 2013 as vice president, laboratory operations overseeing the company\'s clinical lab operations. Since joining the company, her leadership role has expanded to include clinical analysis and data management, biomedical informatics, facility operations and Foundation Medicine\'s laboratory expansion efforts internationally. During her tenure at Foundation Medicine, Ms. Labrecque has contributed significantly to operational planning, new product validation, and initiatives to sustain operational efficiencies and quality during a period of high growth. Prior to joining Foundation Medicine, Ms. Labrecque was chief operating officer at ConVerge Diagnostic Services, and previously spent more than 20 years at Quest Diagnostics, culminating as a managing director. At Quest, Ms. Labrecque also held specialized corporate and operational excellence roles where she implemented Six Sigma methodologies for maximizing laboratory operations. Ms. Labrecque holds a BS in medical technology from the University of Rhode Island. Sarah Larson joined Foundation Medicine in April 2010 as one of the company\'s first employees. She has led the company\'s human resources function throughout her tenure, and has contributed her expertise in strategic organizational development, employee relations, and alignment of human resources to support the company\'s rapid growth. Prior to joining Foundation Medicine, Ms. Larson led the global human resources function at CombinatoRx, now Zalicus. Ms. Larson holds a BA in communications from Rivier College. Matt Franklin has joined the company in the newly created role of senior vice president, global marketing, reporting to David J. Daly, chief commercial officer. Mr. Franklin joins Foundation Medicine with two decades of global marketing, portfolio planning, and customer engagement expertise in support of regulated and highly complex medical device and information management products. He served most recently as vice president, global marketing for Boston Scientific\'s $2 billion interventional cardiology division where his strategic marketing, planning and global product launch expertise contributed to the division\'s return to revenue growth. Prior to this position, Mr. Franklin served in various marketing leadership roles at Boston Scientific, including director, global stent marketing and group marketing manager, marketing operations. Mr. Franklin also served as a member of the International Cardiology management board. Before Boston Scientific, Mr. Franklin was group marketing manager for ev3, a global leader in catheter-based technologies for the treatment of vascular and neurovascular diseases and disorders. Mr. Franklin also served as a business analyst for medical device manufacturer, Guidant, and as director, information technology for Level 3 Communications, a telecommunications provider. Mr. Franklin holds a BA from Northwestern University and a master\'s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.
Steven Kafka joined Foundation Medicine in January 2013. He most recently served as the company\'s chief operating officer with the business development, finance, product development, operations and communications groups reporting to him. Dr. Kafka has been instrumental in driving corporate growth, developing internal leadership capabilities, and expanding biopharmaceutical and other business collaborations, culminating in the proposed strategic collaboration with Roche. Previously, Dr. Kafka served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Aileron Therapeutics, and vice president of finance for Infinity Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Kafka earned a BA with Distinction and Honors in economics and political science from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard University.
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