THERATECH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer
- Senior Vice President
Dr. Christian Marsolais has been Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer since June 2016. He joined Theratechnologies in 2007. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the research, development and commercialization of new drugs.
He started his career working for global pharmaceutical companies, including Sandoz (now Novartis), Biochem and Pfizer. Prior to joining Theratechnologies, he was part of the global oncology team at Pfizer.
Dr. Marsolais led the medical team which was central to the approval of Egrifta® by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. He was also instrumental in the efforts that led to the acquisition of the commercial rights to Trogarzo® in the United States and Europe and its subsequent approval. He was also closely involved in the acquisition of Katana Biopharma Inc., which discovered the SORT1+ Technology™. In addition, he is responsible for the development of tesamorelin for the potential treatment of NASH.
Dr. Marsolais holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Université de Montréal.
Richard Béliveau, Ph.D. in Biochemistry, is Scientific Director of the Chair in Prevention and Treatment of Cancer of the Université du Québec à Montréal.
He was Professor of Surgery and Physiology at Université de Montréal and held the Chair of Neurosurgery of the CHUM. He is an associate researcher at the Cancer Prevention Center in the Department of Oncology at McGill University and member of the Experimental Cancer Therapy Group at the Jewish General Hospital of Montreal. He is full Professor of Biochemistry at Université du Québec à Montréal and member of the Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec. He is the founder of Angiochem and Katana Biopharma, two biotech companies that develop new drugs targeting brain disorders and various types of cancer.
He has published more than 250 articles in world-class scientific and medical journals. He also authored several best-selling books that have been translated into 28 languages across 37 countries, including "Foods that Fight Cancer", "Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer", "Eating Well, Living Well", "Death: the Scientific Facts", "Samurai", and "Preventing Cancer". He wrote more than 550 medical research columns in the Journal de Montréal. He was awarded the Public's Choice Prize at the Salon du Livre de Montréal, he was named Person of the Year by L'Actualité magazine and Personality of Quebec province by Au Québec newspaper. He was also named Emeritus alumnus of the Collège de Trois-Rivières, Université du Québec and Université Laval. He is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Director
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Audit Committee
- President & CEO of Ponderosa Capital Inc
Frank A. Holler is currently President & CEO of Ponderosa Capital Inc. He previously served as Chairman & CEO of BC Advantage Funds (VCC) Ltd., a venture capital firm investing in emerging technology companies in British Columbia.
He also served as President and CEO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. from 1999 to 2003 after having been President and CEO of ID Biomedical Corporation from 1991 to 1998. In addition, he was a founding director of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to working in biotechnology and healthcare, Mr. Holler was a Vice-President of Investment Banking with Merrill Lynch Canada and Wood Gundy Inc. (now CIBC World Markets).
Mr. Holler holds an MBA and BA (Economics) from the University of British Columbia.
Member of the Audit Committee
Jocelyn Lafond - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary
Job Titles:
- Corporate Secretary
- General Counsel
Jocelyn Lafond has been acting as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to Theratechnologies for more than 15 years.
Prior to joining Theratechnologies, Mr. Lafond was a partner at the Montreal-based offices of an international law firm where he practiced in the areas of commercial and securities laws.
Mr. Lafond holds a Law Degree from Université Laval in Quebec City and a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Toronto. He was called to Quebec Bar in 1992.
Job Titles:
- Global Commercial Officer
John Leasure was hired as Global Commercial Officer in March 2021. He brings extensive experience in Sales, Marketing, Operations and General Management both in the U.S and internationally. He has expertise managing brands across multiple stages of the product life cycle and has launched numerous products in a variety of therapeutic areas.
Prior to joining Theratechnologies, John spent 30 years at Pfizer where he led teams in Anti-infectives, Inflammation, Immunology and Oncology. Most recently, John led the Oncology business in Canada where, under his leadership, the business experienced unprecedented growth and launched over 10 new products.
He holds a B.A., Business from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- CORPORATE DIRECTOR
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Audit Committee
Jordan Zwick is currently Chief Business Officer and one of the founding team members at Mirador Therapeutics.
He also served as strategic advisor to Prometheus Biosciences prior to its sale to Merck in June 2023.
Previously, Mr. Zwick served as SVP, Corporate Business Development and Investor Relations at Amarin Corp (AMRN), closing multiple transactions for global partnering of the lead asset. Jordan served as SVP, Chief Strategy Officer at InflaRx N.V. (IFRX), where he was responsible for leading corporate strategy, business & corporate development, investor relations and was instrumental in the public financings of the Company.
Mr. Zwick holds B.A., M.S. degrees from Florida Atlantic University and a M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco.
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Audit Committee
Job Titles:
- Corporate Director
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Compensation Committee
Joseph Arena was elected to the Board of Directors of Theratechnologies in 2021. He brings extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry having held several strategic roles including head of regulatory affairs across lines of business' with Merck and Co. Inc. and Pfizer Inc., respectively.
Mr. Arena retired from Pfizer Inc. in 2021 after serving three years as Vice President, Oncology Products, Global Regulatory Affairs and previously three years as Vice President, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Products.
Prior to joining Pfizer Inc., Mr. Arena spent 27 years at Merck and Co. Inc. where he held increasingly senior roles including Vice President, Therapeutic Area Lead Oncology, Immunology and in vitro Diagnostics.
Mr. Arena received his B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John's University in Queens, New York. After four years in community and hospital settings, he attended the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in the Physiology Department at the University of Rochester in New York.
Member of the Compensation Committee
Mace L. Rothenberg, MD is a physician-executive with more than 30 years of experience across government, academia, and industry. Dr. Rothenberg recently retired from Pfizer where he served as Chief Medical Officer from 2019 to 2021. During this time, the company initiated, completed, and obtained emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. Prior to that role, Mace led Clinical Development for Oncology at Pfizer from 2008 to 2018. Over that 10 year period, his organization developed and obtained regulatory approval for 11 new cancer medicines. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Rothenberg was Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center from 1998 to 2008. From 1991 to 1998, Mace was Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and Executive Officer of the Southwest Oncology Group.
Dr. Rothenberg is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Rothenberg received his BA magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and his MD from the New York University School of Medicine in 1982. He received his post-graduate training in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University and in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Director
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
- Compensation Committee
Mr. Andrew Molson was nominated to the Board of Directors of Theratechnologies in 2020.
He also serves as chairman of AVENIR GLOBAL and of Molson Coors Beverage Company and is a board member of Groupe Deschênes Inc., Dundee Corporation and CH Group Limited Partnership.
From 2014 to 2018, he served as board member of The Group Jean Coutu PJC Inc.
Mr. Molson holds a LL.B. from Laval University in Quebec City, a bachelor of arts from Princeton University and a masters of science in corporate governance and ethics from University of London (Birkbeck College).
Member of the Compensation Committee
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice - President, Human Resources
Mr. André Dupras joined Theratechnologies as Vice President, Human Resources in May 2021.
Mr. Dupras brings more than 25 years of experience in Human Resources. Most recently, Mr. Dupras was Vice President, Human Resources at Clementia Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he spent close to 15 years at Pfizer Canada in various leadership roles in Human Resources and Commercialization. He also worked at Bombardier Aerospace as Director of Human Resources and Director of Global Compensation, at Aon Hewitt as a consultant in Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness and at Réno-Dépôt as Director of Human Resources.
Mr. Dupras holds a Master's Degree in Management Science (Human Resources) and a Bachelor's Degree in Administration (Marketing and Human Resources).
Mr. Gérald A. Lacoste was elected to the Board of Directors of Theratechnologies in 2006.
He is a retired lawyer of the Quebec Bar after practicing in the fields of securities regulation, financing and corporate governance. He was previously Chairman of the Québec Securities Commission and was also President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Exchange. Mr. Lacoste acted as legal counsel to the Canadian Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. He also chaired the Québec Advisory Committee on Financial Institutions and was a member of the task force on the capitalization of life insurance companies in Québec. Mr. Lacoste was also a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) arbitration panel.
Mr. Lacoste holds a B.A. and a LL.L. from the University of Montréal and a LL.M. from University of London (University College London).
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Job Titles:
- Corporate Director
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
- Compensation Committee
Mrs. Dale Weil was elected to the Board of Directors of Theratechnologies in 2017.
She is currently Executive Director of the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence and Montreal Institute for Palliative Care. She is also a Director for Tetra Bio-Pharma, McGill University Health Centre, and the "Alliance des maisons de soins palliatifs du Québec".
Previously, Mrs. Weil was with McKesson Canada Corporation. From 1999 to 2018, she held leadership roles including Vice President and General Manager Pharmaceutical Solutions, Senior Vice President Integrated Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Solutions, Senior Vice President Integrated Healthcare Solutions, Strategy and Business Development, Senior Vice President Retail Banner Management Services, and Senior Advisor to the President.
Prior to joining McKesson Canada, Mrs. Weil spent 20 years at John Labatt Ltd, Ault Foods and Parmalat Canada in progressive roles in marketing, research, strategy, sales, and general management.
Ms. Weil holds a BSC in Marine Biology, MBA from McGill University and is a certified director from the ICD Directors Education Program.
Member of the Compensation Committee
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Ms.Marie-Noël Colussi is a graduate of Université du Québec à Montréal in business administration.
Prior to joining Theratechnologies, Ms. Colussi worked for eight years with KPMG, a major accounting firm. Ms. Colussi has acquired sound experience in accounting, auditing, control and taxation, particularly in R&D. She joined Theratechnologies in March 1997, and prior to her appointment as Vice President, Finance in February 2002, she successively held the positions of Director, Accounting and Internal Control as well as Controller.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
Prior to joining Theratechnologies, Paul spent 28 years at Pfizer taking on various marketing and general management roles in Canada, Europe, Asia and the United States, culminating in the lead of the Global Rare Disease Business Unit based in New York City. Along with Pfizer's Global Head of Research and Development, he was responsible for driving the commercial success and pipeline of the unit.
Paul carries a passion for bringing therapies to patients in areas of unmet medical need. He holds a BSc in biochemistry from Laval University and a Diploma in Management from McGill University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Senior Vice President
Philippe Dubuc was hired as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in February 2016. He brings more than 25 years of experience in investment banking in the healthcare sector and in management.
He started his career as a management consultant at Groupe Secor, a well-known Quebec-based consulting firm which is now part of KPMG. He then served as Managing Director, Investment Banking at National Bank Financial. In this role, he headed the healthcare group and was involved in numerous financing and M&A transactions. He later founded a manufacturing company which he sold after seven years of successful operations.
Mr. Dubuc holds a M.B.A. from McGill University and a B.Comm. from Concordia University.