board of directors
Mr Rodger J Pannone (Age 66)
Non-executive Chairman
Mr Rodger Pannone was appointed as Chairman on Admission in 2006. He is a consultant with Pannone LLP, having retired as a senior partner of that firm in 2003. He was Chairman of Manchester University until its merger with UMIST in 2004 and was then made one of the four Founder Members of the new University. He is a past President of the Law Society of England and Wales and Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and has received Honorary Doctorates from Manchester University, the University of Salford and Nottingham Trent University. Mr Pannone has also held and now holds a number of public and non-executive positions including the Chairmanship of the Forensic Science Service for nine years until 2004.
Prof Mark W J Ferguson (Age 53)
Chief Executive Officer
Prof Mark Ferguson is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Renovo and has been responsible for building and leading all aspects of the business since its inception. He holds a number of international prizes for research in wound healing and scarring and has published widely. He has served as President and Secretary of the European Tissue Repair Society and was a member of the MHRA’s Committee of Safety of Medicines Biologics Sub Committee. He has doctorate degrees in medical sciences, dentistry and anatomy and honorary fellowships of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Edinburgh and is a Founding Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Science. He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1999.
Dr Sharon O’Kane (Age 42)
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Sharon O’Kane co-founded Renovo in October 2000 and is currently Chief Scientific Officer and Director responsible for Quality Assurance and I.T. She was responsible for establishing and building all of the research and development capabilities within the Company. Dr O’Kane was voted North West Business Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in April 2008 and Crain’s Manchester Technology Business Woman of the Year in December 2008. She sits on the Government’s Office for Life Sciences, is a member of AGMA’s Business Leadership Council and is a member of the North West Science Council Biohealth Team. Before forming Renovo, Dr O’Kane had an academic research career in the field of wound healing and scarring for more than 15 years, received many awards and grants, published and lectured widely and was latterly at the University of Manchester as a Senior Research Fellow. In 2006 she was awarded a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. Dr O’Kane will resign from the Board at the AGM to be held on 10 February 2010.
Dr John Hutchison (Age 54)
Chief Medical Officer
Dr John Hutchison joined the Board in 2007 as Chief Medical Officer and is responsible for managing Renovo’s research and development activities. He holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of Liverpool, and trained in Medicine at the University of Leicester. Dr Hutchison’s post-graduate medical training was undertaken whilst he was working as a hospital physician, before joining the pharmaceutical industry as a Clinical Pharmacologist in 1988. He has 20 years’ experience in drug development in major pharmaceutical companies (Fisons, Astra Pharmaceuticals) and in biotech (Cerebrus, Vernalis), where he has held Board positions. He is currently a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.
Mr David Blain (Age 48)
Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
Mr David Blain joined the Board in July 2008 and is responsible for the Finance function. Prior to joining Renovo, Mr Blain operated his own consultancy company. Previous positions include Finance Director and Company Secretary at Drew Scientific Group plc and eg Solutions plc. He trained as a chartered accountant at WT Walton & Son before serving nine years at PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Dr Barrie J Thorpe (Age 62)
Senior Independent Non-executive Director
Dr Barrie Thorpe joined the Board in 2003. Until the end of 2006, he was Executive Vice President, Operations and a member of the Senior Executive Team of AstraZeneca. His career with ICI/Zeneca/AstraZeneca spanned 35 years including responsibility for business development and corporate planning in ICI Americas and from 1990, as Operations Director of ICI Pharmaceuticals and then Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, prior to the formation of AstraZeneca in 1999. Dr Thorpe is also a Non‑executive Director and Chairman respectively of two other companies focusing on the pharmaceutical sector.
Dr David R Ebsworth (Age 55)
Non-executive Director
Dr David Ebsworth joined the Renovo Board on Admission in 2006. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Vifor Pharma. He has been involved at a senior level with various companies within the Bayer Group in both Europe and North America, culminating in President and General Manager of the Pharmaceuticals Business of Bayer AG Leverkusen. Dr Ebsworth then became Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Glycosciences (at that time, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ). Dr Ebsworth currently acts as a Chairman, Non-executive Director and consultant to companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. Dr Ebsworth will resign from the Board at the AGM to be held on 10 February 2010.
Lord Leslie A Turnberg (Age 75)
Non-executive Director
Lord Leslie Turnberg joined the Board on Admission in 2006. He was knighted in 1994 and raised to a peerage in 2000. Previously he was Dean and Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Hope Hospital, Salford and President of the Royal College of Physicians. He is the former President of the Medical Protection Society and Scientific Advisor to the Association of Medical Research Charities. He has chaired the Boards of the Public Health Laboratory Service, the NC3Rs, the UK Forum on Genetics and Insurance, the Health Quality Service and the Panel which reviewed the Health Services in London in 1998. Lord Turnberg is a Trustee of The Wolfson Foundation, The Foulkes Foundation and Ovarian Cancer Action.
Dr Arthur L Rosenthal (Age 62)
Non-executive Director
Dr Arthur Rosenthal joined the Board in 2000. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Capella Inc. and Non-executive Director and Chairman of Compensation Committee, Cyberonic, Inc., Houston, Texas (NASDAQ). Previously he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Labcoat Ltd and has been employed by Pfizer, Howmedica, Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific where he was Chief Scientific Officer. Dr Rosenthal will resign from the Board at the AGM to be held on 10 February 2010.
Mr John Goddard (Age 58)
Non-executive Director
Mr John Goddard was appointed to the Board in February 2008. He is presently Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Planning and Business Development for AstraZeneca and Chairman of Aptium Healthcare Inc. and AstraTech, both wholly owned subsidiaries of AstraZeneca. Mr Goddard began his career with Bell and Howell Limited, Rank Xerox and Spicer and Pegler. In 1991 he became Chief Financial Officer for ICI Asia Pacific, and was appointed Finance Director for Zeneca Pharmaceuticals in 1993 in the United Kingdom, a position he held through 1998 when he became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for AstraZeneca in the United States. He is a fellow of the UK Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.
Mrs Susan Taylor (Age 61)
Non-executive Director
Mrs Susan Taylor joined the Board in November 2008. She has spent her career in the cosmetic industry, holding senior roles in both domestic and international markets, for companies within B.A.T., SKB and Unilever Groups. She joined the global cosmetic company Elizabeth Arden as Managing Director UK & Ireland in 1992, a position she held for 14 years, until 2006 when she was appointed Vice President International Communications. She has had extensive experience of new product launches and led the launch of Prevage, a skincare cosmeceutical, a joint venture with Allergan, in UK and Ireland. In July 2008 she established her own consulting business, to help smaller skincare brands wishing to enter the UK market. She is Chairman and founding member of “Look Good...Feel Better”, a charity supporting women with cancer. She is also on the Advisory Board of Cosmetic Executive Women, as well as being a founder member, and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.