JAVARA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Community Leader
- Clinical Research Executive
- Co - Founder and Chief of Site Operations
Amanda Wright is a clinical research executive with over 25 years of experience forging shared-value strategic partnerships and collaborations to innovate business processes, patient engagement, and predictive modeling. A co-founder of Javara, she currently serves as Chief of Site Operations, overseeing all Javara's integrated clinical teams as well as functional support teams, including patient engagement, project management, and operational excellence.
Amanda's expertise includes clinical and operational systems and workflows to enable quality execution at the speed of business. Prior to her role as CSO, she held multiple leadership positions across the industry including those in operations, patient engagement, business development, and marketing.
Dedicated to advancing clinical research as a care option, Amanda is also a community leader, currently serving on the Board of Directors for Greater Gift, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2010 to celebrate clinical trial participation, among others local boards and committees.
Amanda is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill as well as various leadership programs.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Technology Development Fund External Review Committee at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Brett Zbar, MD, is a Managing Director and Global Head of General Atlantic's Life Sciences sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2020, Brett was a Managing Director at Foresite Capital, where he focused on backing leading healthcare entrepreneurs and companies at all stages. While at Foresite, Brett served as a board member or observer at multiple companies including ConnectiveRx, Kinnate Biopharma, ORIC Pharmaceuticals (IPO), Peloton Therapeutics (acquired), Pharvaris, Replimune (IPO), Signant Health, Turning Point Therapeutics (IPO) and VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to his role at Foresite Capital, Brett was a Partner at Aisling Capital, where he invested in Life Sciences companies developing and commercializing innovative healthcare products, services and technologies. Brett began his career in McKinsey & Company's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products practice and completed his internship in internal medicine on the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Brett is a member of the Technology Development Fund External Review Committee at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as well as the Council for Foreign Relations. He also serves as a Strategic Portfolio Optimization Committee member for City of Hope National Medical Center, and as Vice Chairman of the Yale Alumni Fund. He is a Board Member for Centessa Pharmaceuticals and has previously served as a Board Observer with Pharvaris. Brett received his B.A. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and English from Yale University before earning his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Strategic Development
Chris Popple, a domain expert with nearly 20 years of drug development experience, joins Javara during a time of immense growth to accelerate the company's clinical trial pipeline and overall business development initiatives. A highly regarded leader in the industry, Popple has a demonstrated history of building relationships and networks that exceed enterprise goals and operational performance. He will guide Javara by overseeing and advancing all business development initiatives to cultivate engagement with industry partners and expand a pipeline that both matches healthcare partner needs and increases patient access to right-fit trials.
Prior to joining Javara, Popple served as Executive Director - Clinical Research Partnerships, Hospital & Health Systems at LabCorp Diagnostics where he led the creation and implementation of strategic alliances and collaborations with major biopharma, large hospitals, health systems, and ACOs, and managed care organization clients. Prior to his most current role, Popple served as Senior Director - Site Partnerships at Covance Drug Development (a subsidiary of parent company LabCorp) where he was responsible for creating, executing, and managing the Global Clinical Site Partnership Research Hub Strategy and Strategic Alliance Initiatives. Popple currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for Trialbee and is a member of the SCRS Education Committee.
Colleen Purcell Tenan, MD is a board-certified internal and obesity medicine physician with a deep passion and extensive background in healthcare operations and economics. Colleen holds 6 years of diverse experience working in internal medicine and has previously served as a provider in the Medicare program. Prior to joining Javara, she served as an internal medicine physician at Westmed Medical Group in New York, followed most recently by her role as a physician advisor with SUMMUS, the leading virtual specialty care platform.
Colleen's career began in 2008 as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley, where she analyzed the financial transactions of a wide variety of healthcare organizations. Following Morgan Stanley, she served as a clinical research coordinator for two years with the lung cancer research program at UCLA Health. Equipped with a unique combination of healthcare knowledge and clinical research experience, Colleen went on to obtain a medical degree from NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. Colleen is board certified by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Prior to earning her medical degree, she received her BA in Economics from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Development Change Expert
- President of Patients Can'T Wait
Dr. Jeff Kasher is a known pharmaceutical development change expert with 28 years of experience at Eli Lilly. He is passionate about improving outcomes, bringing patients and research sites into the development process, and dramatically decreasing time to market. Jeff's expertise includes novel product development for bench through market launch, research and clinical trial leadership, innovation center start-up as well as new industry paradigm creation.
Currently, Jeff serves as the President of Patients Can't Wait, and is an Advisory Board member for Be the Partner, BlueCloud, and Wake Forest masters in clinical research management program. He advises several multinational Pharmaceutical companies and CROs, and emerging technology companies, and serves on the Board of Catalyst Clinical Research. He has been named one of the CenterWatch "20 Innovators Changing the Face of the Clinical Trials Industry."
Jeff received a B.S. in Chemistry from Franklin & Marshall College, a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the State University of New York, and a Post-Doctoral fellowship in Physiology at Yale University School of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer
With more than 20 years of experience in financial and executive management at emerging growth, investment banking, and life science organizations, Drew served as Javara's Chief Financial Officer from inception to 2023. Currently, he serves as Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer, leading the organization's overall development strategy, including both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, strategic partnerships and alliances, and business optimization.
Prior to joining Javara in 2018, Drew spent over five years with PPD, a leading global CRO, where he led cross-functional teams to execute companywide initiatives, acquisitions and integrations, and business unit strategy development and implementation. His professional career also includes leadership of the finance function at Validant, a privately held life science quality, compliance, and regulatory consulting company, and investment banking at Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC., where he executed numerous corporate financings, operational rehabilitations, capital restructurings, and mergers and acquisition transactions.
Drew received his BA from Vanderbilt University; MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University; and his MBA from Emory University's Goizeuta Business School.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Finance
- Leader
Erika Taurel is an energetic finance leader with over 25 years of success driving both top and bottom-line growth at global multinationals with an earned reputation for being a "results-driven" leader who consistently delivers operational excellence and strategic transformations.
She has played an instrumental role in influencing the evolution of Commercial operational and Finance functional models for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Her passion for culture, trust, and personal connection delivers agile finance functions with high engagement that are front and center in all business decisions. She simplifies complex processes, empowers teams, and fosters a culture of ‘fast failing' as a pathway to innovation and growth.
Prior to joining Javara, Erika served most recently as Vice President, Head of Global Finance at Jazz, where she supported the Executive team and the Board, and led the transformation of the Global Finance function.
Erika earned both a BA and MA Honors in Mathematics from Oxford University; and MBA with a concentration in Finance from NYU's Stern School of Business, graduating with distinction as a Dean's Scholar. She has been named a "40 under 40" rising star by Treasury and Risk Management.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
Jennifer Byrne's career has been devoted to leading organizations, building teams, and cultivating partnerships centered on advancing the clinical research enterprise to better connect patients and providers to clinical trials. Jennifer founded Javara with a vision to revolutionize the industry by accelerating access to research - for patients, biopharma companies and healthcare systems alike. Her passion and commitment to transforming the clinical research landscape into an integrated component of healthcare are at the forefront of Javara's mission.
As the former CEO of PMG Research and founder of Greater Gift (501(c)3), Jennifer's involvement in the clinical research enterprise has been vast across collaborations with hundreds of pharma, device, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), technology, site organizations, and other research service providers. Her stellar track record for consistent and excellent quality in patient, provider and client experiences associated with research trials is but one of many professional accomplishments.
Jennifer has been recognized as a PM360 ELITE, CenterWatch Top 20 Innovator, PharmaVOICE Woman of Influence, TBJ Power Player and TBJ Outstanding Woman in Business among others. Currently, she serves as board chair for Javara Inc. as well the Greater Gift (501(c)3), is an advisory board member for CISCRP and serves as a trustee for the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). She is also an advisory chair for the master's in clinical research management with Wake Forest University. Additional advisory roles include Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, FCA Health Innovations Fund, and the North Carolina Biotech of the Piedmont Triad. Jennifer is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Strategic Development
John joins Javara's commercial leadership with over 20 years of industry experience. His extensive background includes building successful sales, customer management, and commercial support teams to persistently grow revenue streams and profits. Versed with an exceptional ability to collaborate across organizational functions to advance strategic objectives, his demonstrated history includes delivering exceptional business growth through the creation and execution of commercial strategy, customer management, and new customer engagement/acquisition solutions.
With an outstanding work ethic and passion for fostering unparalleled customer relationships, John will help lead our Business Development efforts, driving awards and overall pipeline development in his new role as Vice President, Strategic Development. Prior to Javara, John has held multiple leadership positions across the industry. He joins us most recently from Curia Global, where he served as Vice President, Customer Engagement. John also previously held commercial executive and leadership roles at Syneos Health.
John earned his bachelor's degrees in business management and marketing from St. Bonaventure University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Senior Advisor at General Atlantic
Josef von Rickenbach is a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm's Life Sciences investing team as part of its broader Healthcare sector, and currently serves as the Managing Director of stet vision LLC as well.
Previously, Joe was the Co-Founder, President, and CEO of biotechnology company Helio Vision, Inc., a Boston-based ophthalmic biopharma company developing a therapy for proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Helio Vision, Inc. was merged with Aldeyra, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALDX) in 2019. Prior to that, Joe was also the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of PAREXEL International Corporation, leading the company in its growth from one of the first clinical research organizations in the early 1980s to its place as a leading global biopharmaceutical services provider, including its IPO, multiple secondary offerings, and over 40 mergers & acquisitions during his 36-year tenure. After beginning his career with Schering-Plough, he held positions with ENSECO (formerly ERCO).
Job Titles:
- Clinical Research Executive
- Co - Founder, Chief Legal Officer and Privacy Officer
Linda McCarty is a clinical research executive with over 20 years of experience working with organizations across the healthcare and life sciences industries. As Chief Legal Officer and Privacy Officer, she leads the development of Javara's legal and regulatory architecture that is underpinning Javara's integrated research model, developing legal strategies to enable the integration of clinical trials into clinical care within complex healthcare systems. Linda is also responsible for the management of the quality and safety programs at Javara. Linda holds a deep legal expertise with federal and state laws that impacts the conduct of clinical research within healthcare settings. Prior to Javara, she served as the General Counsel for PMG Research, Inc., from 2013 to 2017, where she managed responsibilities including legal activities, regulatory affairs, corporate compliance, and strategy. Before joining PMG, she was also a partner in a North Carolina law firm where her primary areas of practice were healthcare/life sciences law and corporate law.
Linda earned her LLM (Taxation) from Boston University School of Law; JD from New England Law Boston; and BA from San Diego State University.
Michael Smith - Chief Commercial Officer
Mike Smith has been in life sciences his entire career having held various roles in the biopharma, site management and CRO industries. Most recently Mike spent 21 years as a member of the Syneos Health team (originally with INC Research) helping to build the organization through his various leadership roles in Business Development, Asset Development, Strategy and Demand Generation. Prior to this, he spent nearly 5 years working at one of the industry's original SMOs and gained a great appreciation for the importance of clinical research sites and of the patients they serve. As an advocate for customer-centricity and innovative strategies, Mike draws upon his diverse perspectives and experiences to drive commercial strategy and growth within organizations.
Mike received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Enterprise Optimization
Michelle joins Javara's site operations leadership with over 25 years in the clinical research space, her expertise spanning pharmaceutical sponsors, CROs, and site networks. Passionate about improving public health, Michelle's background is laden with demonstrated success leading strategic operations to meet critical timelines and exceed financial and quality deliverables. With a drive to develop bold, innovative solutions to optimize clinical trial delivery, she brings extensive experience managing global programs in vaccines and infectious diseases to our organization.
Prior to joining Javara, Michelle has held various leadership positions at multiple organizations across the industry, serving most recently as Senior Vice President, Strategic Operations at Meridian Clinical Research (now Velocity). In her new role as Javara's Senior Vice President, Enterprise Optimization, she will drive operational strategy and patient engagement needs, providing oversight of all strategic client relationships, and advancing patient engagement initiatives to improve enrollment outcomes.
Michelle earned her bachelor's degree in nutrition science from the University of Minnesota.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Project Delivery
A seasoned industry leader, Stephanie joins Javara with over 20 years of experience driving strategic initiatives and providing oversight across functions and business units to achieve commercial, operational, and financial objectives.
Prior to joining Javara, Stephanie held multiple positions of increasing responsibility over 24 years with PPD, serving most recently as Executive Director of Global Development Operations for Strategic Partnerships. In her new role, she will oversee Javara's team of Project Managers to ensure quality of project launch, effective collaboration across teams to optimize delivery, manage customer relationships, and support the advancement strategic partnerships. Stephanie earned her bachelor's degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and is pursuing her MBA through the Jack Welch Management Institute.
Thomas Pike served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Quintiles Transnational Holdings, Inc. ("Quintiles") from April 2016 until its merger in December 2016 with IMS Health, now known as IQVIA (NYSE:IQV). Before its merger with IMS, Quintiles had a network of more than 35,000 employees conducting business in approximately 100 countries. Thomas led Quintiles through a successful public offering and helped it grow into a Fortune 500 company. Under his leadership, Quintiles was named one of the world's Most Ethical Companies in 2016.
Prior to Quintiles, Thomas spent 22 years at Accenture (NYSE: ACN), a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations, until December 2009. At Accenture, Thomas's roles included serving as Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director of the North America Health and Products business areas. He previously served as the global Chief Operating Officer for Accenture's Resources operating group and had also served as Accenture's Chief Strategy Officer.
Since leaving Accenture in December 2009 and until joining Quintiles in April 2012, Thomas was involved with a number of start-ups in the technology and healthcare sectors. Early in his career, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. In addition to serving on the board of Javara, Thomas is an advisor and board member of several startup companies and services on the Board of Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE: MLM). Thomas earned his Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Delaware.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Clinical Research Executive
Tim Neathery is a clinical research executive with over 25 years of cross-functional experience in Human Resources practices with an outstanding track record leading teams and organizations to deliver on aspects critical to successful growth and scalability. Highly regarded across the clinical research industry, Tim's extensive background centers around developing and implementing employee-first HR strategies, best-in-class solutions, and cultures to advance recruitment and retention efforts.
Prior to joining Javara, Tim served as Senior Vice President, HR Shared Services, Talent Acquisition and People Insights and Analytics at PPD, where he led advancement efforts across HR. His ability to develop key executive relationships and establish best practice solutions led to the globalization of PPD's TA function and the insourcing of the Contingent Labor Program, which is currently an $80 million annual program under his leadership. While at PPD Tim also established an internal executive search function to improve the organization's success in landing high-level talent aligned to the company's culture. He also co-led the Building Talent Advantage committee focused on engagement and turnover across the enterprise. Prior to his most recent role, Neathery held multiple other leadership positions including Senior HR Business Partner and Vice President of Talent Acquisition during nearly two decades with PPD.
Tim has been nominated for and completed the Global Leadership and Lead Vision Programs and is a DDI Certified Targeted Selection Trainer. He received his B.A. in Human Relations from High Point University in North Carolina.