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Kythera Board of Directors
Nathaniel “Ned” David, Ph.D.
Co-founder
Nathaniel David, Ph.D. is our co-founder and has served as a member of our Board since our inception in 2005 and as our Chief Science Officer from our inception until August 2009. In 2000, Dr. David co-founded Syrrx, Inc., a biotechnology company, which was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Dr. David has extensive experience creating and growing innovative biotechnology companies, including Syrrx, Achaogen, and Sapphire Energy. Dr. David was named one of the top 100 innovators in the world under 35 by the MIT Technology Review. Dr. David holds numerous pending and issued patents in fields such as nanovolume crystallography, antibiotic resistance, energy production and aesthetic medicine. Dr. David sits on the board of trustees of the University of California Foundation, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and on the board of directors of Sapphire Energy, Inc. Dr. David received an A.B. in Biology from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. David brings to the Board an extensive scientific and operational background gained as a research scientist, founder and executive focused on life science and pharmaceutical companies.
Dennis Fenton, Ph.D. has served as a member of our Board since June 2006. Dr. Fenton is the owner and CEO of Fenton and Associates (biotechnology consulting). Prior to his retirement, Dr. Fenton most recently served as Executive Vice President of Operations at Amgen from 2000 to 2008, where he was responsible for worldwide operations, manufacturing, process development and quality. Starting in 1982, Dr. Fenton held numerous executive leadership roles in operations and sales and marketing at Amgen. Dr. Fenton also serves on the board of directors of Hospira, Inc., Dendreon Corporation and XenoPort, Inc. and the board of trustees of the Keck Graduate Institute. Dr. Fenton was a director of the Genzyme Corporation from 2010 to 2011. Dr. Fenton received a B.S. in Biology from Manhattan College and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Rutgers University.
François Kress
President and Chief Executive Officer, The ROW
Keith Leonard
President and Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder
Keith R. Leonard, Jr. is our co-founder and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board since August 2005. From 1991 to 2004, Mr. Leonard held various positions at Amgen Inc., a biotechnology company, and its affiliates, or Amgen. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Leonard served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Amgen Europe where he was responsible for all commercial operations in 28 European countries. Prior to that role, Mr. Leonard established Amgen’s presence in rheumatology with the creation of the Rheumatology Business Unit, served as Head of Information Management, and served in leadership roles in sales and marketing, engineering, operations, and finance. Mr. Leonard is also a member of the board of directors of Affymax, Inc. and previously served on the board of ARYx Therapeutics, Inc. He was formerly an active duty officer in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Leonard received a B.S. in Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland, a M.S. in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Robert T. Nelsen
Managing Director, Co-founder and a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners
Camille Samuels
Managing Director, Versant Ventures
Camille Samuels has served as a member of our Board since our inception in August 2005. Ms. Samuels was previously a Managing Director at Versant Ventures, a venture capital firm with $1.6 B under management, which she joined in 2000, and has served as an Affiliated Director at Versant Ventures since December 31, 2012. Prior to joining Versant Ventures, Ms. Samuels held business development and strategic marketing roles at Tularik Inc (acquired by Amgen) and Genzyme (acquired by Sanofi). She also worked as a management consultant to healthcare and biotech companies at LEK Consulting. Ms. Samuels also serves on the board of directors of Achaogen, Inc., and Semprae Laboratories, Inc., and previously served on the board of directors of many biotech companies including Novacardia (acquired by Merck), ParAllele (Affymetrix), and Transcept (TSPT). Ms. Samuels received a B.A. in Biology from Duke University and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
David Schnell, MD
Managing Director, Prospect Venture Partners
David Schnell, M.D. has served as a member of our Board since May 2006. Dr. Schnell co-founded and has been a Managing Director at Prospect Venture Partners since 1997. Prior to that experience, Dr. Schnell served as a Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a venture capital firm. Prior to KPCB, Dr. Schnell served in various executive management positions in product marketing, strategic operations and business development in the U.S. and Switzerland at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals (presently Novartis International AG), a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Schnell has led private investments for and served on the board of directors of numerous public and private companies. Dr. Schnell currently serves on the board of directors of Alvine Pharmaceuticals, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Nora Therapeutics, and previously served on the board of directors of Amira Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb), Gloucester Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene Corporation), Rinat Neurosciences (acquired by Pfizer, Inc.), among others. Dr. Schnell received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a M.A. in Health Services Research from Stanford University School of Medicine, and a M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Joseph L. Turner has served as a member of our Board since January 2008. Mr. Turner retired from active employment in 2006 and currently serves on the board of directors of several companies. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Turner served as the Chief Financial Officer at Myogen, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, where he led several rounds of financing and was pivotal in the negotiation of the sale of the Mr. Turner has also served in other finance roles including Director of Finance, Eli Lilly and Company, a biopharmaceutical company, (Switzerland) and Treasurer, Eli Lilly and Company (Switzerland). He serves on the boards of three pharmaceutical companies: Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Corcept Therapeutics, Inc. and BioClin Therapeutics, Inc. Previously, he has served on the boards of NovaCardia, Inc., Sequel Pharmaceuticals, ApoLogic Inc., SGX Pharmaceuticals, Allos Therapeutics, Inc, and QLT Inc. Mr. Turner received a B.A. in Chemistry from Swarthmore College, and M.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.