Board of Directors

R. John Fletcher

R. John Fletcher, age 77, founded Fletcher Spaght Inc., a strategy consulting and venture capital firm, in 1983 and as its managing partner emeritus, remains active with the company, advising both the consulting practice and venture capital activities with analytical insights and creative solutions derived from his years of experience with clients, portfolio companies and the investment community. Since 2001, Mr. Fletcher has also served as the Managing Partner of Fletcher Spaght Ventures, a venture capital fund. Prior to founding Fletcher Spaght, Mr. Fletcher served as a senior manager at The Boston Consulting Group, advising a broad range of companies in healthcare and high technology industries. Mr. Fletcher currently serves on the Board of Directors of ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLPT) (f/k/a MRI Inventions, Inc.) (“ClearPoint”), a global therapy enabling platform company, since May 2017, and as Chairman of ClearPoint’s board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Fletcher has served as a member of the Audit and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees of ClearPoint since October 2017, and chaired the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee from May 2018 to April 2021. Mr. Fletcher also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vyant Bio, Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: VYNT) (f/k/a Cancer Genetics, Inc.) (“Vyant”), a drug discovery and preclinical oncology and immuno- oncology company, since the completion of its merger with StemoniX, Inc. in March 2021. Mr. Fletcher served as a director of StemoniX, Inc. from October 2020 to March 2021, and now serves on Vyant’s Audit and Nominating and Governance Committees since March 2021. Mr. Fletcher serves as a board member at Repro Med Systems, Inc.(d/b/a KORU Medical Systems) (NASDAQ: KRMD), a proprietary portable and innovative medical devices manufacturing company, which he joined as a member of the board of directors in May 2019, and has served as Chairman since September 2019, as a member of the Audit Committee, from May 2019 to April 2021, and as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee since March 2022. Mr. Fletcher serves as a director at Metabolon, Inc., a health technology company, where he joined the board of directors in April 2017 and currently serves as Chairman. Mr. Fletcher also served on the Board of Directors of Cheetah Medical, Inc., a biomedical products company, from 2018 until its acquisition by Baxter International Inc. in October 2019. Mr. Fletcher previously served as a director of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACLS), a semiconductor chip company, from 2003 to May 2021, where he served on the board of directors from 2015 to May 2021, chairing the Compensation Committee from 2015 to May 2020, and served as a member thereof, from 2006 to May 2021, as well as a member of the Audit Committee, from 2004 to 2014, and again from February 2017 to May 2021, and as a member of the Technology and New Product Development Committee from 2014 until February 2017. Mr. Fletcher served on the Board of Directors of Spectranetics Corporation (formerly NASDAQ: SPNC) (“Spectranetics”), a medical device company, from 2002 to August 2017, where he served on the Audit Committee, from 2014 to August 2017, and served on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee from 2012 to August 2017. Mr. Fletcher served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Spectranetics Corporation from 2010 to June 2017, during its turnaround and subsequent sale to Philips N. V. For this work, he was selected as 2018 Director of the Year by the National Association of Corporate Directors. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Fletcher served as a director of Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company focused on therapeutic solutions for infectious disease. From 1991 until 2011 he served as a director of AutoImmune, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops orally- administered pharmaceutical products. From 2011 until 2012, Mr. Fletcher served as a director of Marina Biotech, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on RNA-based therapeutics. Mr. Fletcher’s past board experience also includes Fischer Imaging Corp., NMT Medical Inc., Quick Study Radiology Inc., GlycoFi, Inc., Pilot Software, Inc. and XVionics, Inc. Mr. Fletcher is Chairman Emeritus of the Corporate Collaboration Council at the Thayer School of Engineering/Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and serves on the Board of Advisors of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Whitehead Institute at MIT. Mr. Fletcher received his MBA from Southern Illinois University, his BBA in Marketing from George Washington University and his MS in International Finance from Central Michigan University. He was an instructor for courses in international business and was a PhD Candidate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Fletcher was a Captain and jet pilot instructor in the US Air Force.

Ramy A. Mahmoud, MD, MPH

Dr. Mahmoud was appointed CEO of our company and a member of the board of directors on January 31, 2023. Previously, he served as our President and Chief Operating Officer since 2010. Prior to joining us, Dr. Mahmoud spent 14 years at Johnson & Johnson, where he served as Chief Medical Officer and a member of the Global Management Board of the Ethicon group of companies. During his tenure at Johnson & Johnson, he also held senior roles in the pharmaceutical sector. Dr. Mahmoud served for 10 years on active duty in the U.S. Army and an additional 10 years in the Army Reserves, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his military service, Dr. Mahmoud held various patient care, research, and academic positions, culminating in his position as the head of the Department of Epidemiology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and textbook chapters and has served as a scientific reviewer for a number of journals and textbooks. Dr. Mahmoud earned a Master of Healthcare Management and Policy degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and an M.D. from the University of Miami. He has earned board certification in both Public Health/Preventive Medicine and in Internal Medicine.

Wilhelmus Groenhuysen

Mr. Groenhuysen has served as a director of OptiNose since October of 2017. Mr. Groenhuysen has served as Chief Financial Officer of Novocure Limited from 2012 until August 31, 2020, and has served as Novocure’s Chief Operating Officer since September 1, 2020. At Novocure, Mr. Groenhuysen has global responsibility for supply chain, patient experience, information technology, quality, business development and strategy. From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Groenhuysen worked for Cephalon, Inc., a U.S. biopharmaceutical company, last serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, where he had responsibility for worldwide finance, commercial operations, and risk management. Prior to joining Cephalon in 2007, Mr. Groenhuysen spent twenty years with Philips Electronics serving various assignments in Europe, Asia and the United States, the latest of which started in 2002, when he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Philips Electronics, North America Corporation. Mr. Groenhuysen holds a Master’s Degree in Business Economics from VU University Amsterdam, and graduated as a Registered Public Controller at VU University Amsterdam.

Sandra L. Helton

Ms. Helton has served as a director of our company since February 2018. Through May 2022, Ms. Helton served on the Board of Directors of Principal Financial Group (Principal), a global diversified financial institution, where she chaired the Audit Committee and served on Principal’s Executive Committee and Finance Committee, which she previously chaired. Ms. Helton also served on the Board of Directors of Covetrus, Inc., a worldwide animal health business, and chaired their Audit Committee and served on their Nominating and Governance Committee, prior to the company going private in October 2022. Prior to the acquisition of Lexmark International Inc. (Lexmark) in November 2016, she served on Lexmark’s board of directors and Finance and Audit Committee. Ms. Helton also served on the board of Covance Inc., a leading global drug development services company, prior to LabCorp acquiring Covance in 2015. She chaired Covance’s Finance and Audit Committee and served on their Nominating and Governance Committee. Ms. Helton was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) from 1998 through 2006. Her responsibilities included strategic planning, finance and information systems, among other functions. Ms. Helton also served on the boards of United States Cellular Corporation and Aerial Corporation, TDS’s publicly traded subsidiaries. Before TDS, Ms. Helton was Vice President, Corporate Controller of Compaq Computer Corporation (Compaq). Prior to Compaq, Ms. Helton held over a dozen increasingly responsible positions during her 26-year tenure with Corning Incorporated. Ms. Helton serves on the board of Northwestern Memorial Foundation. She previously served on the board of Northwestern Memorial Health Care, a nationally recognized academic medical center, where she chaired the Audit Committee and was a member of the Executive, Finance, and Investment Committees. Ms. Helton holds an S.M. in Finance from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management and graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Kentucky.

Catherine E. Owen

Catherine Owen is a seasoned pharmaceutical leader with extensive commercial leadership in the US, Europe, and Japan. Most recently serving as Senior Vice President, US Commercial at Bristol-Myers Squibb, she commanded a $20 billion commercial P&L, overseeing more than 12 promoted products in Oncology, Immunology, and Cardiovascular business units, leading over 3000 employees and was responsible for major product launches in the last 2 years. Prior to her role in US Commercial leadership, Ms. Owen joined BMS in September of 2019 as Senior Vice President, Major Markets at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she led commercial business operations across 19 countries, including significant markets such as Japan, Europe, and Canada, spearheading the country businesses merging between Celgene and BMS, while leading multiple new product launches in oncology, hematology, immunology and beyond.
Ms. Owen’s 25-year tenure at Johnson & Johnson spanned global, US, and European business roles. From 2018 serving as President of Janssen Immunology US, Ms. Owen led the launch of pioneering products targeting Crohn’s disease and psoriasis, while also steering the development of J&J’s biosimilars strategy. Previously (2016-2018), she served as President of the Infectious Diseases business in the US, overseeing critical pipelines in HIV, RSV, Flu, and Hepatitis B. Ms. Owen’s extensive career at Johnson & Johnson developed her experience in marketing, sales, R&D, and venture experiences, encompassing both pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Ms. Owen embarked on her pharmaceutical journey in 1992 at AstraZeneca, where she commenced her career in manufacturing. Ms. Owen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Manchester, membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (MRPhs), and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Ms. Owen’s industry accolades underscore her unwavering commitment to business excellence, diversity and inclusion, and womens’ leadership. She was most recently honored by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Luminary in 2019 and inducted into the 2022 M&MM (Medical, Marketing & Media) Hall of Femme.

Ms. Owen also serves as a non-executive board director at AGIOS (AGIO).

Tomas J. Heyman

Mr. Heyman has served as a director of our company since December 2020. Mr. Heyman held a diverse range of leadership roles across legal, R&D, business development, general corporate management, and equity investments during his thirty-seven-year career with Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, Mr. Heyman served as president of JJDC, the venture capital group within Johnson & Johnson, where he managed approximately $1.5 billion of capital and oversaw investments in more than 120 companies. Prior to leading JJDC, Mr. Heyman led business development for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical group, Janssen, for twenty-three years. Mr. Heyman currently serves on the Board of Directors for Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRO), the Board of Directors of Invivyd Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ :IVVD), the Board of Directors of Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) , the Board of Directors of Xilio Therapeutics (NASDAQ : XLO ) and the Board of Directors of Exelixis (NASDAQ :EXEL). Mr. Heyman graduated as Master of Law from the K.U. Leuven in Belgium. He continued with post-graduate studies in International Law in Geneva, Switzerland, and post-graduate studies in business management at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.

Mr. Heyman is the Chairperson of Akero’s Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and is a member of Akero’s Audit Committee. Mr. Heyman is the Chairperson of Invivyd’s Compensation Committee and a member of its Audit Committee. Mr. Heyman is the Chairperson of Xilio’s Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and a member of its Audit Committee. Mr. Heyman is a member of Exelixis’ Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and its Risk Committee.

Dr. Eric Bednarski

Dr. Bednarski has served as a director of our company since December 2021. Dr. Bednarski has served as a partner at MVM Partners LLP (MVM), a growth equity firm, since 2008. Before joining MVM, Dr. Bednarski was a Partner at Advent Healthcare Ventures and a Principal at Advent International Corporation. Prior to Advent, he was a Director in the Corporate Finance Group of Silicon Valley Bank. Dr. Bednarski has a B.S. in Neural Science from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Biological Science from the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Kyle Dempsey

Dr. Dempsey has served as a director of our company since December 2021. He also serves as a director of TSX-listed HLS Therapeutics and is a member of the audit committee. Dr. Dempsey has served as a partner at MVM Partners LLP (MVM), a growth equity firm, since 2018. Before joining MVM, Dr. Dempsey was a consultant at Bain & Company, working mainly in the healthcare practice to support medical device and healthcare provider clients with commercialization and business development projects. He received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He also holds a B.A. in biochemistry from Bowdoin College.