Improving the Lives of People with Diabetes

Paul Sekhri

Paul Sekhri has more than 35 years of leadership experience across the global life sciences industry. His career spans senior operating roles in multinational pharmaceutical companies, venture-backed biotech firms, and top-tier venture capital and private equity organizations. He currently serves as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of vTv Therapeutics.

Before joining vTv, Paul was President and CEO of eGenesis, Inc. and Lycera Corporation. He also served as Senior Vice President, Integrated Care at Sanofi, and Chief Strategy Officer and Group Executive Vice President, Global Business Development at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. Earlier in his career, he was Operating Partner and Head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech, Founder, President, and CEO of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, and President and Chief Business Officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals. He also spent five years at Novartis AG, where he held several global leadership roles, including Global Head of Business Development and Licensing and Global Head of Disease Area Strategy.

Paul has served on more than 40 public, private, and non-profit boards. He currently sits on the Boards of AdhereTech Inc., Deep Genomics, Inc., Kayothera Inc., and Veeva Systems Inc., and serves as Chairman of the Board of Resolution Therapeutics Ltd., and Executive Chairman of Violet Therapeutics, Inc. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Young Concert Artists, is a member of the Advisory Council of the New York Philharmonic, and previously served on the Board of the Metropolitan Opera for five years.

Michael Tung, M.D., M.B.A.

Dr. Michael Tung brings more than 20 years of financial management, investment, and strategic leadership experience for both private and public life sciences companies.

Before joining vTv Therapeutics, Michael served as Chief Financial Officer of AdvanCell Pty Limited, an Australian clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company. He has held senior positions in corporate strategy and investor relations at FibroGen, Inc. and Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. Earlier in his career, Michael was a portfolio manager overseeing healthcare-dedicated investment funds.

Michael holds dual B.A. and B.S. degrees in Economics and Biology from the George Washington University and earned combined M.D./M.B.A. degrees from Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a licensed physician in Massachusetts and New York.

Rich Nelson, J.D.

Rich Nelson brings more than 25 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and corporate development.

In addition to his role as Chief Business Officer at vTv Therapeutics, Rich serves as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at Vericast, where he leads global M&A strategy, sourcing, and execution. Previously, he held senior corporate development positions at The Nielsen Company and IAC/InterActive Corp. He also co-founded Trendum, (now Nielsen BuzzMetrics) and began his career as a mergers and acquisitions attorney at Skadden Arps.

Rich earned a B.B.A. in Finance with High Distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. He serves on the Boards of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Think Pink Rocks, and Allermi, Inc., and is an active venture investor and advisor to emerging life sciences companies, including Woolsey Pharmaceuticals.

Thomas Strack, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas Strack has more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience leading all phases of clinical development, from first-in-human studies through commercialization.

Prior to joining vTv Therapeutics, Thomas served as Chief Medical Officer at Faeth Therapeutics, where he oversaw first-in-human trials of targeted nutritional and metabolic interventions in oncology. He previously held senior clinical development roles at Molecular Templates, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Daiichi Sankyo/Asubio, Takeda, and Pfizer, and began his pharmaceutical career at Eli Lilly and Company. Over the course of his career, Thomas has contributed to the development and approval of multiple therapies, including Azedra®, Pylarify®, and Nesina®.

Thomas earned his M.D. and Doctorate from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, where he also completed residencies in internal medicine and endocrinology. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, and has authored numerous scientific and clinical publications.

Carmen Valcarce, Ph.D.

Dr. Carmen Valcarce has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical research and development experience in metabolic diseases. She has been instrumental in advancing vTv’s Glucokinase Activator program, cadisegliatin, from concept through clinical development, including obtaining Breakthrough Therapy designation as an adjunctive therapy to insulin for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Carmen was a member of the team that led vTv’s IPO. She joined vTv as a result of vTv’s former partnership with Novo Nordisk. Over her career, she has managed more than 12 IND submissions and led multiple successful clinical studies in diabetes. Carmen is an inventor on more than 20 patents and patent applications and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Carmen obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain and her Docent in Experimental Clinical Chemistry, from Lund University, Sweden.

Dan Kirby

Senior Vice President, Strategic Operations

Dan Kirby brings more than 20 years of research and drug development experience with direct clinical expertise across all phases of development. He joined vTv Therapeutics in March 2024 and is responsible for Clinical Development Operations, Pharmaceutical Technical Development, Program and Portfolio Management, and Alliance Management. Prior to assuming this role, he served as a Senior Consultant to the organization for approximately one year.

Before joining vTv, Dan held leadership roles across multiple disciplines at Axcella Therapeutics, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Seqirus, Parexel, and Sanofi Pasteur, spanning early- and late-stage development through commercialization. His broad experience across both sponsor and contract research organizations brings a well-rounded perspective to the strategic planning, implementation, and execution of vTv’s clinical and operational priorities, with a strong focus on safety and quality. 

Dan obtained his B.S. in Physician Assistant Sciences at St. Francis University.

Amanda Cardew

Vice President, Human Resources

Amanda Cardew brings over 15 years of human resources experience building high-performing biotech teams and fostering cultures rooted in collaboration, accountability, and purpose.

Before joining vTv Therapeutics, Amanda served as Head of Human Resources at two biotechnology companies, AlloVir, a clinical-stage cell therapy company, and Summit Therapeutics, a company focused on oncology.

Amanda holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) focused in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Martin Lafontaine

Chief Commercial Officer

Martin Lafontaine brings more than 25 years of commercial experience within the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, with deep expertise in diabetes.

Before joining vTv, Martin held senior commercial leadership positions in the field of diabetes, including Chief Commercial Officer at Locemia Solutions Inc., a Canadian clinical-stage company where he played an instrumental role in the development and sale of the nasal glucagon asset, now marketed as BAQSIMI®, to Eli Lilly and Company in 2015. 

Martin earned a B.S. in Medical Biology from L’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He has lived with type 1 diabetes since the age 13 and is a very active member of the T1D community.

Elizabeth Keiley, J.D.

General Counsel

Elizabeth Keiley brings more than 30 years of legal and business counseling experience, both as a private attorney and as general counsel for public and private pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. 

Before joining vTv Therapeutics, Elizabeth served as General Counsel of Entasis Therapeutics Inc., now known as Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing novel antibiotics directed to difficult to treat pathogens. Prior to joining Entasis, Elizabeth served as General Counsel of Oxford Immunotec Inc., a diagnostic test manufacturer and operator of clinical laboratories in the U.S. and England, and as Associate General Counsel of Zimmer Inc., now known as Zimmer Biomet Inc., a global medical device manufacturer focused on musculoskeletal devices. Elizabeth began her career as a trial lawyer, litigating numerous cases across a variety of fields.

Elizabeth earned dual B.A. and B.S. degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from Boston College and a J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago. 

Fahed Al Marzooqi, M.D.

Dr. Fahed Al Marzooqi is the Chief Operating Officer of G42 Healthcare and Deputy Group Chief Operating Officer of M42. In his current capacity, he leads the entire business operation. He has over 18 years’ experience with large and diverse organizations. Prior to joining G42 Healthcare, Dr. Al Marzooqi was the Chief Administrative Officer at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where he was an integral part of multiple high-impact strategic programs for the hospital. Dr. Al Marzooqi led a multitude of business-critical assignments with varying degrees of complexity and has taken on progressive responsibilities to deliver strategic healthcare projects throughout his tenure. Dr Al Marzooqi was the chairman of the board of Malaffi – Abu Dhabi Health Information Exchange from October 2021 to March 2023. He graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.D. from Dalhousie University in Canada, followed by a five-year residency program in anesthesiology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju is the Founder and Managing General Partner at Samsara BioCapital. Previously, from April 2013 to February 2016, he served as a General Partner of Sofinnova Ventures. From January 2009 until April 2013, he served as Managing Director of New Leaf Venture Partners. Previously, he served as a Managing Director at Panorama Capital, LLC, a private equity firm. Prior to co-founding Panorama Capital, Dr. Akkaraju was with J.P. Morgan Partners, which he joined in 2001 and of which he became a Partner in 2005. From October 1998 to April 2001, he was in Business and Corporate Development at Genentech, Inc. (now a wholly owned member of The Roche Group), a biotechnology company, most recently as Senior Manager.

Prior to joining Genentech, Dr. Akkaraju was a graduate student at Stanford University, where he received his MD and a PhD in Immunology. He received his undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Computer Science from Rice University. Dr. Akkaraju serves as a director of Scholar Rock, Mineralys Therapeutics, Syros Pharmaceuticals, and several private biotechs. Previously, he served as a director on the boards of Seattle Genetics, Principia Biopharma, Chinook Therapeutics, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, ZS Pharma, Synageva Biopharma Corp., Amarin Corporation, Aravive, Inc., and Barrier Therapeutics.

Raymond Cheong, M.D., Ph.D.

Anne Phillips, M.D.

Dr. Phillips was Senior Vice President of Clinical, Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Novo Nordisk Inc. (NVO), a pharmaceutical company, from 2011 until her retirement in August 2022. Previously, she served as a Vice President in various positions at GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), which she joined in 1998, and prior to this, Dr. Phillips was Head of the Infectious Diseases Program and Deputy Physician-in-Chief at Wellesley Central Hospital/St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. She is a Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, earned an M.D. from the University of Toronto, and received a B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Phillips currently serves on the board of directors of Barinthus Biotherapeutics and Trevena.

Daniel K. Spiegelman

Mr. Spiegelman has over 25 years of finance experience in biotechnology companies. Mr. Spiegelman was most recently chief financial officer and executive vice president of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (2012-2020), a company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing treatments for rare genetic disorders. Prior to BioMarin, Mr. Spiegelman served as chief financial officer and senior vice president of CV Therapeutics, Inc. for 11 years through its sale in 2009 to Gilead, and before that was treasurer at Genentech, Inc. Mr. Spiegelman currently provides consulting and board services to various life sciences companies. He currently serves on the board of directors of Myriad Genetics, Inc., Spruce Biosciences, Inc., Jiya Acquisition Corp., and several private biotechnology companies. Mr. Spiegelman received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Economics from Stanford University.