Denise Pollard-Knight (Chair) - Phase4 Ventures
Denise Pollard-Knight has been responsible for Phase Ventures’ investment activities since joining in 1999. She is actively involved in US and European investments and is currently a Director of portfolio companies OncoMed, Albireo and Nabriva (Chairman) and is an independent director of Idenix. Prior to joining Nomura Phase4 Ventures, Denise was an investment manager of Rothschild Asset Management and previously held senior management positions in R&D and strategic consulting. She holds a PhD and BSc (Hons) from Birmingham University and was a Fulbright scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Denise is a member of the Board of Trustees and Council of the British Heart Foundation.
Axel Bolte (Deputy Chair) - HBM Partners
Axel Bolte is an investment advisor to HBM Partners. Prior to joining HBM Partners, Axel was an investment manager at NMT, responsible for public biotech investments. He also held a position in R&D management at Serono. He has a Masters degree in Biochemistry from the ETH Zurich and holds an MBA from University of St. Gallen. Axel is currently board member of several life science companies, including Newron Pharmaceuticals, PTC Therapeutics, Lux Biosciences, Ophthotech and Mpex Pharma.
Robert C. Moellering - Harvard Medical School
Dr. Robert C. Moellering is Shields Warren-Mallinckrodt Professor of Medical Research at Harvard Medical School and one of the world’s most respected scientists in the domain of infectious diseases and antibiotics research. Numerous functions at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston (Harvard’s university clinic), as well as 35 years of research and over 400 publications in international scientific journals, have earned Dr. Moellering an honorary doctorate and countless awards.
Anja König - Novartis Venture Fund
Dr. Anja König is a Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund. Dr. König serves on the board of directors for a number of companies in Europe and Singapore. Before her appointment to the Novartis Venture Fund she held the position of assistant to the Chairman and CEO of Novartis. Prior to joining Novartis, Dr. König was an Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company in New York City. Anja König is a scientist by training and holds a PhD in physics from Cornell University.
George Talbot - Talbot Advisors LLC
Dr. George H. Talbot is the principal of Talbot Advisors LLC, which provides consultative services in anti-infective drug development. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Cerexa, Inc., which was purchased by Forest Laboratories in January 2007, and worked extensively with Calixa Therapeutics, Inc., which was acquired by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in December 2009. He began his pharmaceutical career at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, assuming positions of increasing responsibility as the company evolved into Aventis Pharmaceuticals. He currently sits on the scientific advisory boards of Durata Therapeutics, Inc. (Chairperson) and Actelion Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Talbot is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a founding member of IDSA’s Antimicrobial Availability Task Force.
Peter Reinisch (Observer) - Global Life Science
Dr. Peter H. Reinisch is a Partner of Global Life Science Ventures. He has over 21 years experience in the life science industry that includes senior management positions in the Corange group and the setting up and running of GLSV. He is a board member, or attendee, with a number of portfolio companies, five of which are already public. Prior to Corange/Boehringer Mannheim Dr. Reinisch held positions of increasing responsibility with Brown Boveri, the Institute for Automation, the Denner Group and McKinsey and Co.. Dr. Reinisch first studied mechanical engineering, then graduated summa cum laude with a doctorate degree in Business Administration from the Technical University of Vienna.
Rumman Syed (Observer) - ARAX Private Equity
Rumman Syed is Managing Director at Smart Captial and oversees the investment activities of the ARAX Private Equity funds. Prior to joining Smart Capital, Rumman has spent over 10 years in the high-tech industry holding various management positions helping develop and execute a variety of strategic, sales and marketing activities. He has a Masters degree in Engineering from the Univeristy of Durham, UK. Rumman is currently observer at 7 boards of high-tech and bio-tech startups in Austria.