Team

Team

Management Team

 

Pavel Raifeld

Chief Executive Officer

Pavel Raifeld, CFA, joined Innoviva as Chief Executive Officer in May 2020.  Prior to that, Mr. Raifeld served on the investment team at Sarissa Capital Management LP, an investment management firm focused on improving strategies of companies to enhance shareholder value. Earlier, he was a senior member of the healthcare investment banking team at Credit Suisse.  Previously, Mr. Raifeld worked as a consultant, primarily specializing in advising biopharmaceutical companies, at McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group.  Mr. Raifeld earned an AB degree from Harvard University and an MBA degree from Columbia University.

Steve Basso

Chief Financial Officer Mr. Basso brings more than 30 years of experience of financial leadership, primarily in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Innoviva, Mr. Basso served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Cybrexa Therapeutics and has held a variety of financial leadership positions at Inozyme Pharma, Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer. He received a BS in business from Providence College and an MBA from Boston College.

Marianne Zhen, CPA

Chief Accounting Officer

Marianne Zhen joined Innoviva in October 2014. Prior to joining Innoviva, Ms. Zhen served as the Corporate Controller at Steelwedge Software Inc. from 2012 to 2014, Intelmate from 2011 to 2012 and Model N, Inc. from 2007 to 2011. Previously, Ms. Zhen served as a member of the board of directors of CalCPA Peninsula Silicon Valley Chapter. Ms. Zhen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from San Francisco State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and a member of California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA).

Matt Ronsheim, PhD

President, IST Dr. Matt Ronsheim is an accomplished leader with over two decades of pharmaceutical development and commercialization experience. He has built and led teams throughout his career that have delivered groundbreaking therapies from preclinical, through all stages of clinical development, global regulatory approvals, and ultimately commercial launch and supply. Throughout his career, Dr. Ronsheim has held influential leadership roles at Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Merck/Cubist, and Forest Laboratories. His industrial contributions and leadership have resulted in delivering pioneering therapies across diverse disease areas including anti-infectives, central nervous system disorders, and gastrointestinal conditions. He holds a BS in Chemistry from Southern Connecticut State University and a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire.

Marcie Cain

Chief People Officer Marcie is a seasoned executive who brings more than 25 years of human resources leadership experience, primarily in the life sciences industry. Prior to joining Innoviva, Marcie served as the Chief People Officer for Beta Bionics and has held a variety of HR leadership positions at MorphoSys, Boston Heart Diagnostics, HeartWare and Genzyme. Her most recent roles have been focused on rapidly growing and scaling life science companies while building a people-centric HR platform to support key business strategies. Marcie is passionate about the important and meaningful work we do every day to serve patients, support our employees and live our values. Marcie holds a BS in business and economics from Washington State University.

Board of Directors

 

Mark DiPaolo, Esq.

Chairperson Mr. DiPaolo has served as a member of our Board of Directors since February 2018 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors since May 2023. Mr. DiPaolo has been a Partner and the General Counsel of Sarissa Capital Management LP, a registered investment advisor, since May 2013. Sarissa Capital Management LP focuses on improving the strategies of companies to enhance shareholder value. From 2005 – 2013, Mr. DiPaolo served as a senior member of Icahn Capital’s investment team, working on all aspects of Carl Icahn’s activist investment strategy. Prior to working with Icahn Capital, Mr. DiPaolo was an attorney with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Since August 2017, Mr. DiPaolo has been a member of the board of directors of Novelion Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Mr. DiPaolo has substantial experience in operations, transactions, law and corporate governance. Mr. DiPaolo received his B.A. degree from Fordham University and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University.

Odysseas Kostas, M.D.

Odysseas Kostas, M.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2017. He is a Partner and Senior Managing Director at Sarissa Capital Management LP, which he joined in 2016. Sarissa Capital focuses on improving the strategies of companies to enhance shareholder value. Prior to joining Sarissa Capital, Dr. Kostas served as a Director at Evercore ISI, covering the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Evercore, Dr. Kostas was a Consultant and Senior Associate Analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein and Co., Inc. Previously, he practiced internal medicine as part of the Yale New Haven Health System and was engaged as a consultant to various biotechnology companies. Dr. Kostas currently serves on the board of directors of Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and previously served on the board of directors of Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Kostas has a B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

Sapna Srivastava, Ph.D.

Sapna Srivastava, Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2023. She is currently Chair of the Compensation Committee. Dr. Srivastava is an experienced senior executive within the biopharmaceutical industry. She was the chief financial and strategy officer for Abide Therapeutics (acquired by Lundbeck), and prior to that, was chief financial and strategy officer for Intellia Therapeutics. She played an integral role in helping build Intellia’s financial operations and strategic direction. She also held an advisory role at eGenesis Bio as interim chief financial officer to support the company’s financial and strategic planning. Prior to her industry experience, she spent nearly 15 years as a stock analyst for the biotechnology sector, including as the senior analyst and team leader of the biotechnology group at Goldman Sachs; a senior biotechnology analyst at Morgan Stanley and ThinkEquity Partners; and as a research associate at JP Morgan. Dr. Srivastava has also served as a board member for several therapeutic focused biotechnology companies and nonprofits. Dr. Srivastava holds a Ph.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.Sc. from St. Xavier’s College, University of Bombay. Chair of the Compensation Committee

Jules Haimovitz

Mr. Haimovitz has served as a member of our Board of Directors since February 2018. He is currently Chair of the Audit Committee, and a member of our Compensation Committee and Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee.

Mr. Haimovitz is currently President of Haimovitz Consulting, Inc. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board and the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee at Armata Pharmaceuticals Inc. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of Ariad Pharmaceuticals, where he was also a member of the audit committee; Dial Global, Inc., where he was also member of the audit committee; and Imclone Pharmaceuticals, where he served as chairperson of the audit committee. Mr. Haimovitz has also served as Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer of the following companies: Spelling Entertainment, Inc., King World Productions and VJN, Inc. Mr. Haimovitz holds a B.S. (1971) and M.A. (1974) degree in Mathematics from Brooklyn College.

Chair of the Audit Committee

Member of the Compensation Committee

Member of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee

Sarah J. Schlesinger, M.D.

Sarah J. Schlesinger, M.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since February 2018. She is currently Lead Independent Director, Chair of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee and the Audit Committee.

Dr. Schlesinger is an Associate Professor of Clinical Investigation at Rockefeller University and Senior Attending Physician at Rockefeller University Hospital. Dr. Schlesinger led the Dendritic Cell section of the Division of Retrovirology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and was also a member of the Division of Infectious and Parasitic Disease Pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology from 1994 to 2002.

In 2002, Dr. Schlesinger rejoined Rockefeller University and began working with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative as a Scientist in Vaccine Research and Design. Dr. Schlesinger has been a member of Rockefeller University Hospital’s Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) (Ethics Committee) since 2003 and previously served as IRB’s vice-chairperson. In 2017 she assumed the position of chairperson of the IRB. She is currently the director of the education and training programs at Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science and serves on the Medical Staff Executive Committee of Rockefeller University Hospital. Dr. Schlesinger currently serves on the board of directors at Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the board of three non-profit organizations: the AIDS Vaccines Advocacy Coalition, Global Viral and The Hastings Center, the pre-eminent center for the study of bioethics. Dr. Schlesinger served as an independent corporate director of Ariad Pharmaceuticals from 2013 until its sale to Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in 2017. Dr. Schlesinger has a B.A. from Wellesley College and a M.D. from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois.

Lead Independent Director

Chair of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee

Member of the Compensation Committee

Member of the Audit Committee