Decision Makers
Board of Directors
Kári Stefánsson, M.D., Dr. Med. has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director since he co-founded deCODE in August 1996. Dr. Stefánsson was appointed to serve as the Chairman of our Board of Directors in December 1999. From 1993 until April 1997, Dr. Stefánsson was a professor of Neurology, Neuropathology and Neuroscience at Harvard University. In addition, from 1993 through December 1996 he was Director of Neuropathology at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. From 1983 to 1993, he held faculty positions in Neurology, Neuropathology and Neurosciences at the University of Chicago. Dr. Stefánsson received his M.D. and Dr. Med. from the University of Iceland and is board-certified in neurology and neuropathology in the United States.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer |
Current |
| Plantspedia |
|
Current |
| Neuropathology |
Director |
Former |
| University Corp. |
M.D. |
Former |
| University of Iceland |
M.D. and Dr. Med |
Former |
Axel Nielsen was named deCODE's Chief Operating Officer in 2007. Previously he was Chief Operating Officer of deCODE´s US operations. Prior to that he served as our Chief Financial Officer and VP Investor Relations, playing a leading role in deCODE's IPO and establishing it in the investor community as a public company. Before joining deCODE, Mr. Nielsen held positions with Icelandair Inc. and McKinsey & Co. He holds degrees in computer science and finance from the University of Iceland and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
COO |
Current |
| MIT Sloan School of Management |
MBA |
Former |
| MIT Sloan School of Management |
Degrees In Computer Science |
Former |
| University Corp. |
Degrees In Computer Science |
Former |
Jeffrey Gulcher, M.D., Ph.D. has served as our Chief Scientific Officer since October 2003. Prior to that he served as our Vice President, Research and Development. Dr. Gulcher co-founded deCODE in August 1996. Dr. Gulcher was on staff in the Department of Neurology at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and Harvard University Medical School from June 1993 to October 1998. Dr. Gulcher received his Ph.D. and M.D. from the University of Chicago in 1986 and 1990, respectively, and completed his neurology residency at the Longwood Program of the Neurology Department of the Harvard Medical School in 1996.
Lance Thibault joined deCODE in February 2001 and was named Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in June 2001. Before joining deCODE he was a Director with the Global Capital Markets practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, England. As a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers Mr. Thibault first began working with deCODE in 1998, advising us through our IPO in July 2000. Mr. Thibault received a B.S. in Accountancy from Bentley College in 1988 and is a CPA.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Chief Financial Officer |
Current |
| Bentley College |
B.S. In Accountancy |
Former |
Dan Hartman joined deCODE in July 2005 and leads the company's drug development effort. Prior to joining deCODE he served for several years in senior clinical development positions at Pfizer, including Global Clinical Leader, Allergy and Respiratory Diseases; Clinical Exploratory Head, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases; and Experimental Medicine Therapy Area Leader, Cardiovascular, Metabolism and Anaderm. From 2000 to 2002, Dr. Hartman was Vice President of Worldwide Clinical Development at Esperion Therapeutics. Prior to joining Esperion, he was Director, Clinical Cardiovascular and Therapy Head, thrombosis and Cardiopulmonary Disease at Pfizer. From 1995 to 1999, Dr. Hartman served in senior clinical research positions at Eli Lilly & Company. Dr. Hartman received his M.D. from Wayne State University, held post-doctoral and faculty positions at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine and is a member of numerous medical societies.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Senior Vice President, Product Dev |
Current |
| Hopen Therapeutics, LLC |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. |
Vice President of Worldwide Clinical Development |
Former |
| Indiana University School of Medicine |
|
Former |
| Eli Lilly and Company |
|
Former |
| Pfizer Inc. |
|
Former |
| Wayne State University School of Medicine |
MD Degree |
Former |
| Wayne State University |
M.D. |
Former |
Jakob Sigurðsson joined deCODE in October 2006 as SVP, Corporate Development. Mr. Sigurðsson was formerly CEO and President of Alfesca, a multinational foods group with major operations in Iceland, the UK, France and Spain. Prior to his position at Alfesca Mr. Sigurðsson held senior positions in the United States and Europe for Rohm and Haas Company, a NYSE-listed specialty materials company. Mr. Sigurdsson holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Iceland and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Senior Vice President, Corp Dev |
Current |
| Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University |
M.B.A. |
Former |
| University Corp. |
B.S. Degree In Chemistry |
Former |
Dr. Gurney joined deCODE in August 2000. He was formerly Director of Genomics Research at Pharmacia Corporation. Prior to his positions at Pharmacia, Dr. Gurney held academic appointments in the Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences at the University of Chicago and in the Department of Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology at the Northwestern University Medical School. He received his B.A. in Biology from the University of California at San Diego in 1975 and his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1980. In 1994, he completed his M.B.A. at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery & Dev |
Current |
| Pharmacia Corporation |
Director of Genomics Research |
Former |
| Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University |
M.B.A. |
Former |
| University of California, San Diego |
B.A. In Biology |
Former |
C. Augustine Kong, Ph.D., has served as Vice President of Statistics since January, 2001. Prevously he was Director of Statistics and has served as a full time consultant to deCODE since 1996. Prior to his appointment as VP Statistics, he served on the faculty of the University of Chicago. Dr. Kong received his Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard University in 1986.
Hakon Gudbjartsson, Ph.D. serves as our Vice President for Informatics. Dr. Gudbjartsson joined us to direct our Department of Informatics in 1996. He received his B.Sc. in electrical engineering in 1990 from the University of Iceland and his M.Sc. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT in 1992. In 1996, he received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and performed post-doctoral research concerning magnetic resonance imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston until joining deCODE.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Families of Sma |
FSMA Welcomes New Research Director |
Current |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Coordinator |
Current |
| Families of Sma |
Director |
Current |
| Yale University |
Ph.D. In Genetics |
Former |
| Yale University |
Master of Philosophy In Genetics |
Former |
Duke Collier joined Genzyme 1997 after having served as an outside lawyer for the company since 1990. He is responsible for managing Genzyme’s oncology and genetics businesses, as well as its multiple sclerosis program.
Before he joined Genzyme, Mr. Collier was president of Vitas Healthcare Corporation and a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm Hogan and Hartson. He also served as deputy administrator for the Health Care Financing Administration in Baltimore, MD, during the Carter administration.
Mr. Collier earned a J.D. at the University of Virginia Law School and a B.A. at Yale University.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Genzyme Corporation |
Executive Vice President |
Current |
| Mg Biotherapeutics, LLC |
Executive Vice President, Genzyme |
Current |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Mg Biotherapeutics, LLC |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Excigen, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Incube Ventures |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Pervasis Therapeutics, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Vitas Healthcare Corporation |
President |
Former |
| Genzyme Biosurgery |
President |
Former |
| Health Care Financing Administration |
President |
Former |
| Genzyme Corporation |
President, Biosurgery Business Unit |
Former |
| Genzyme Biosurgery |
Executive Vice President, Oncology |
Former |
| Hogan & Hartson LLP |
Partner |
Former |
| Health Care Financing Administration |
Deputy Administrator |
Former |
| Health Care, Inc. |
Deputy Administrator |
Former |
| Genzyme Corporation |
Outside Lawyer |
Former |
| Health Systems Management, Inc. |
Deputy Administrator |
Former |
| Genzyme Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| Encorium Group, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| University of Virginia School of Law |
J.D. |
Former |
| University of Virginia |
Jd |
Former |
| Yale University |
B.A. |
Former |
J. Neal Armstrong has served as a director since April 2007. Since February 2005, Mr. Armstrong has served as Vice President of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of an anesthesia monitoring system. He was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. from 1996 to January 2005. Mr. Armstrong is also a director of deCODE genetics, Inc. Mr. Armstrong received a Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting from the University of Texas and is a Certified Public Accountant.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Covington & Burling |
Senior Counsel |
Current |
| Martek Biosciences Corporation |
Chairman, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee |
Current |
| Visitors |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Orchid Cellmark, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Inion, Ltd. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Martek Biosciences Corporation |
Director |
Current |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| SmithKline Beecham Corporation |
Senior Vice President |
Former |
| GlaxoSmithKline Plc |
Senior Vice President |
Former |
| SmithKline Beecham Corporation |
General Counsel |
Former |
| GlaxoSmithKline Plc |
General Counsel |
Former |
| Stanford Law School |
Jd |
Former |
| Harvard College |
Undergraduate Degree In Physical Sciences |
Former |
| Harvard College |
degree in physical sciences |
Former |
| Orchid Co |
member |
Former |
| Martek Biosciences Corporation |
member |
Current |
Terrance G. McGuire is a managing general partner and co-founder of Polaris Venture Partners. He also co-founded Inspire Pharmaceuticals, AIR (Advanced Inhalation Research, Inc.), and MicroCHIPS. Mr. McGuire represents Polaris as a director on the boards of Acceleron Pharma, Biolex Therapeutics, GlycoFi, Life Line Screening, MicroCHIPS, and Remon Medical Technologies. He previously served on the boards of Akamai, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, and Aspect Medical Systems, as well as the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and MassMEDIC. Mr. McGuire holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in engineering from The Thayer School at Dartmouth College, and a B.S. in physics and economics from Hobart College.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Microbia, Inc. |
Managing General Partner and Co-Founder of Polaris Venture Partners |
Current |
| deCODE Genetics, Inc. |
Vice Chairman |
Current |
| Acceleron Pharma Inc |
Director |
Current |
| Thayer School of Engineering |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Microchips |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Acusphere, Inc. |
|
Former |
| Glycofi, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| MassMEDIC |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| Transform Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| Aspect Medical Systems Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| Dartmouth College |
M.S. In Engineering |
Former |
| Harvard Business School |
M.B.A. |
Former |
| Hobart and William Smith Colleges |
B.S. In Physics |
Former |
Ms Norinder has extensive experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry and has held senior clinical development and regulatory affairs positions in Europe and the United States at Pfizer, Astra, Glaxo and Pharmacia & Upjohn. She was CEO and Chairman of UK-based Prolifix Ltd, from 1998 until the merger of Prolifix and TopoTarget in 2002. She currently serves on the boards of several biotechnology companies including Antisoma plc, Artimplant AB, Photocure ASA, Biolipox AB, and is chairman of the board of Betagenon AB.
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