Team
Our Team
HLS Therapeutics is led by a team of seasoned executives. Prior to founding HLS, our management team led the turnaround of Biovail Pharmaceuticals through its restructuring and transformation into a leading CNS-focused company.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Former Chief Operating Officer at Corbus Pharmaceuticals
Prior to Corbus, he held various commercial leadership positions at EMD Serono, where he was responsible for leading the strategic direction and driving operating results for several important franchises in the U.S. Previously Vice President, Commercial at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, he helped design and build commercial infrastructure, organizational capabilities, and go-to-market plans of their first commercial launch.
Former executive with Cubist Pharmaceuticals through its acquisition by Merck & Co in early 2015.
Mr. Hendrickson is a financial executive with over 15 years of experience at companies such as Procter & Gamble, P&G Pharmaceuticals and Warner Chilcott. He has held leadership roles in finance & accounting, forecasting & financial analysis, business development & planning, customer service, distribution and operations.
Former SVP Worldwide Commercial & Country Head-US for NicOx, and VP Commercial for Duchesnay USA.
Mr. Sharma has been a pharmaceutical executive for over 25 years. He is equally experienced in large, mid-size and startups in North America and Asia, with national and global responsibility for General Management, Sales & Marketing, and Market Access & Business Development. Mr. Sharma oversaw strategic marketing & planning for Biovail and spent 15 years with Sanofi-Aventis in Sales and Marketing leadership roles in Canada and the US.
Ryan C. Lennox is a former Senior Counsel at Amgen Inc., where he was responsible for all of the legal affairs of the company’s Canadian affiliate. He also took on increasing responsibility, including managing the legal team and affairs of Amgen’s Intercontinental Region, comprised of Canada, Latin America, Turkey, Middle East and Africa.
Mr. Lennox is called to the bar in both California and Ontario. Prior to joining Amgen, Mr. Lennox practiced corporate law at two international law firms, in San Diego, California and Toronto, Ontario, where he advised a wide variety of clients on corporate finance, M&A, private equity, venture capital and other kinds of transactions.
Dr. Gross spent five years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Dr. Gross is a pharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years of experience focused on clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and quality assurance. He is a former VP of Scientific and Medical Affairs at Cipher Pharmaceuticals, MDS Capital, and Zenith Goldline.
Patricia brings over twenty years in human resources management, in administration and operations in various contexts, including manufacturing, retail, educational and health care institutions. After several years as an HR consultant for a variety of public and private clients, primarily pharmaceutical companies, she joined HLS Therapeutics, where she is leading, among other things, staffing, compensation, talent and organizational development.
Mr. Spence is a finance executive with over 25 years of experience in financial reporting, planning and analysis, treasury, risk management and taxation. Prior to joining HLS in 2018, David held management positions at PwC, Sherritt International and Corus Entertainment, as well as seven years spent as sole proprietor of a tax and accounting practice.
Former Director of Finance and Director of Compliance & Treasury at Biovail Laboratories International SRL and Valeant International (Barbados) SRL.
Mrs. Edinboro is a finance executive with over 20 years of experience in finance, corporate governance, business integration, compliance, operations, and administration in various industries including pharmaceutical, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, and energy.
Jeff’s 20 years of commercial leadership, both in consumer package goods and the healthcare industry, spans sales, sales management, marketing intelligence, marketing, and operations. Specific to neuroscience, he has 15 years of experience across specialty therapeutic areas encompassing launch to end of patent lifecycles.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Co-Founder and founding CEO of HLS, Former Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel of Biovail Corporation.
Mr. Gubitz is a seasoned executive and business lawyer, with significant transaction, investment & operating experience.
Former Chief Operating Officer at Corbus Pharmaceuticals
Prior to Corbus, he held various commercial leadership positions at EMD Serono, where he was responsible for leading the strategic direction and driving operating results for several important franchises in the U.S. Previously Vice President, Commercial at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, he helped design and build commercial infrastructure, organizational capabilities, and go-to-market plans of their first commercial launch.
Former chief executive officer of KPMG Canada, is a member of the Order of Canada and has served on various boards including TMX Group and The Bank of Canada.
Mr. Lanthier served as Lead Director of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., has been Director of Biovail Corporation, and was Corporate Director of Ontario Genomics Institute. He has been recognized in the Financial Post’s Top 200 Chief Executive Officer listings. Mr. Lanthier was educated at McGill University and holds an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from the University of Toronto.
Former chief executive officer of Sanofi Canada and currently serves on the boards of Helix BioPharma and Telesta Therapeutics.
Mr. Bastien has more than 25 years of very successful experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where he occupied senior positions both at the national and international levels. He has held executive positions at Laboratoire Debat in Paris, IMS Canada in Montreal, and Eli Lilly in Montreal.
Ms. Brege is Managing Director of Cervantes Life Science Partners, LLC., a health care advisory and consulting company.
Ms. Brege has extensive public company life sciences experience in the U.S. as both a C-level executive and as a Board member. Ms. Brege currently serves on the boards of Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD), Aratana Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PETX), Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PCRX), Portola Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PTLA), and Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: DVAX).
Founder & CEO and director of the Board of Vertice Pharma.
Mr. DeGolyer has over 30 years of pharmaceutical experience building and leading top tier performing organizations. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Endo Pharmaceuticals where he built one of the fastest growing Specialty Pharmaceuticals businesses. He also served as President & CEO of Sandoz North America as it became the second largest generics company in the world. Mr. DeGolyer began his career at Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and then Novartis, progressing through various roles of increasing responsibility.
Chief Risk Officer of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Administration Corporation (“OMERS”).
Mr. Hill has more than 28 years of experience in business management, risk management, finance and accounting. Mr. Hill joined OMERS in 2011 as EVP & Chief Auditor and moved to his current position in 2015. Prior to joining OMERS, Mr. Hill spent 22 years working at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the last 10 years as a Partner specializing in auditing complex public and private companies in a variety of sectors including pharmaceuticals.
Managing Director, Co-Chief Investment Officer for Stadium Capital Management, LLC, an investment advisory firm.
Mr. Welborn has an extensive investment and advisory background, including at The Beacon Group, LLC, which is now part of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Mr. Welborn has also served on the boards of Intermountain Community Bancorp, Panhandle State Bank, Inc., and Ascena Retail Group, Inc. He has also served as a board observer at West Coast Bancorp. Mr. Welborn holds a B.S. degree in Commerce, with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia in 1998.
A corporate director with over 30 years of health care experience in corporate and non-profit organizations, including executive positions at Bayer Healthcare (Canada and Global) and Sanofi Canada.
Ms. Beauchamp currently serves on the boards of directors of Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX: ACB) (“Aurora”), as Chair of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a member of its Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Extendicare Inc. (TSX:EXE), as a member of the Investment Committee and the Quality and Risk Committee, and Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. (TSX:CARE), a leading telehealth service. Formerly, Ms. Beauchamp served on the board of directors of MedReleaf Corp., prior to its acquisition by Aurora. Ms. Beauchamp also serves as a member of the National Research Council of Canada, is on the board of the Ontario Caregiver Organization, and is a Regional Ambassador with Women Get on Board. Ms. Beauchamp has completed the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management Directors Education Program (ICD.D), and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Bishop’s University.
Dr. Kyle Dempsey is a partner at MVM Partners.
Kyle joined MVM Partners, a healthcare focused private equity fund based in Boston, Massachusetts and London, UK, in 2017. Prior to MVM, he was a consultant at Bain & Company, working mainly in the healthcare practice to support medical device and healthcare provider clients. During his undergraduate and graduate education, Kyle was a prolific researcher and writer, publishing a half-dozen peer-reviewed papers on topics ranging from homologous chromosome pairing genetics to orthopedic surgery outcomes. Kyle completed MD studies at Harvard Medical School and MBA studies at Harvard Business School. He also holds an AB in biochemistry from Bowdoin College. Kyle is also a board director of Optinose, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPTN), and GT Medical Technologies, Inc.; he is also an observer on the board of MDxHealth SA (NASDAQ: MDXH).