Attorney Intel is pleased to announce The Top 25 General Counsels in Biotechnology of 2024. Innovative biotech firms across the globe are harnessing the power of technology to transform research and science into life-changing treatments and heal the world’s patients. From the protection of intellectual property among a rapidly evolving discovery landscape, to upholding careful regulatory standards and ethical patient care, the increased complexity of managing patient health puts legal resources at the forefront of the biotech industry.
The recent emergence of biomedical law requires highly skilled lawyers to synthesize the intersection of numerous traditional law fields. This year’s nominees have decades of cumulative legal practice and exemplify the high caliber of legal dexterity required to lead their organizations to success.
Among this year’s awardees, Kening Li, General Counsel and VP of Corporate Development for GenScript, stands out for his 26 years of legal experience, which combined with a PhD in molecular biology, provides a uniquely remarkable depth of industry knowledge. Annie McGuire, General Counsel and Chief People Officer for Veracyte, boasts more than 15 years of legal leadership experience, and is known for her guidance on MyoKardia's $13 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb. And Irene Pleasure, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Arsenal Biosciences, carries an astounding 22 years of experience in life science law, ranging from large global life science companies to small biotechnology firms.
Awardees were carefully selected through a methodical nomination process and chosen for their unique capabilities, exemplary leadership, and dedicated passion to the industry. Please join us in celebrating the achievements of The Top 25 General Counsels in Biotechnology of 2024.
1. Perry Siatis
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, AbbVie
Perry Siatis is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for AbbVie, responsible for global legal and the office of ethics and compliance. AbbVie is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on creating medicines and solutions that put impact first for patients, communities, and their world. Siatis is credited with negotiating highly successful global business deals, navigating complex government policy, and providing strategic legal guidance for multiple billion-dollar brands. In 2020, he led the legal strategy for the acquisition of Allergan, one of the largest acquisitions in pharmaceutical history.
Siatis began his career by practicing commercial and intellectual property (IP) litigation at DLA Piper LLP. He joined Abbott in 2005 as Counsel and progressed to Division Counsel, IP Litigation, later becoming Divisional Vice President and Section Head of IP Strategy. In January 2013, Siatis joined AbbVie where he served as Vice President, Biologic Strategic Development and Legal Regulatory, where he strengthened the legal strategy surrounding AbbVie’s premier biologic and the world’s top selling drug. Prior to his most recent role, Siatis was the Senior Vice President of Legal Transactions and R&D, in addition to his role as Alliance Management and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. Siatis earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from George Mason University and a JD from Brigham Young University.
2. Mauricio Pinheiro
General Counsel, Teva Pharmaceuticals
Mauricio Pinheiro is the General Counsel of Teva Pharmaceuticals in Brazil and Latin America. Teva Pharmaceuticals has been developing and producing medicines to help improve people’s lives for more than a century. They are committed to being a global leader in generic and specialty medicines and boast a portfolio of 3,500 products in nearly every therapeutic area. In addition to his legal career, Pinheiro also holds a Master's degree in Business Management, specializing in international M&A, IP, Contracts Negotiation, Regulatory, Compliance, Litigation, Tax, and Labor.
With over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Pinheiro has advised companies like Teva, Shire, AstraZeneca and Unilever, in IP, M&A, Gov. Affairs, Corporate Communications, and Privacy Law. He is known for his determination, pro-activity, goal orientation, flexibility, adaptability, and assertive positioning. Pinheiro’s international experience includes expatriations across Latin America and Europe. He served as the PMO for the combination of Shire with Baxalta, Dyax, and NPS and has been recognized with various industry accolades, including General Counsel Power List Brazil 2023, 2017, and 2016 by The Legal 500.
Pinheiro graduated with a JD from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo in 2003, completed a Post Graduate in Tax & Tax Planning at Escola de Negócios Trevisan in 2009, and obtained an MBA from Fundação Getúlio Vargas de São Paulo in 2011.
3. Charles Dadswell
General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Illumina
As General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Illumina, Charles Dadswell has worldwide responsibility for all legal and intellectual property matters and also serves as Illumina's Code of Ethics Compliance Officer. Illumina is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of life science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and function. They provide innovative sequencing and array-based solutions for genotyping, copy number variation analysis, methylation studies, gene expression profiling, and low-multiplex analysis of DNA, RNA, and protein.
Before joining Illumina, Dadswell was Vice President, General Counsel for North and Latin America and Corporate Director of Global Intellectual Property at bioMerieux, a global biotechnology organization. He was previously General Counsel of BioDelivery Sciences International, a specialty pharmaceutical company, and oversaw US intellectual property in a variety of positions with Glaxo, GlaxoWellcome and GlaxoSmithKline. Dadswell received an LLM in patent law and trade regulation from The George Washington University Law School, a JD from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and a BS in Pharmacy from Ferris State University.
4. James Herriott
Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Exact Sciences
James Herriott has served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Exact Sciences since January 2022, and Secretary since December 2022. As a leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, Exact Sciences gives patients and health care professionals the clarity needed to take life-changing action earlier. Building on the success of the Cologuard® and Oncotype DX® tests, Exact Sciences is investing in its pipeline to develop innovative solutions for use before, during, and after a cancer diagnosis.
Herriott previously served as Exact Science’s deputy general counsel from February 2020 until January 2022 and senior counsel from August 2018 to February 2022. He previously worked for the global law firm K&L Gates, where he practiced corporate and securities law. Before his tenure at K&L Gates, Herriott practiced corporate and securities law at Paul Hastings, a global law firm that serves the globe’s leading financial institutions and corporations. Herriott earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University and his JD from Vanderbilt University Law School.
James Herriott’s Insight
“Serving as general counsel for Exact Sciences, I get to do what I do best alongside passionate colleagues to achieve an almost unthinkably awesome goal: Helping to eradicate cancer and the suffering it causes. It’s amazing to show up daily with the opportunity to deliver legal advice that can contribute to the development and delivery of life-changing healthcare.”
5. Chan Lee
General Counsel, BeiGene
Chan Lee joined BeiGene as General Counsel in July 2022. BeiGene is a global, science-driven biotechnology company focused on developing innovative and affordable medicines to improve treatment outcomes and access for patients worldwide. With a broad portfolio of more than 40 clinical candidates, they are expediting development of their diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics through their own capabilities and collaborations.
Lee previously worked at Sanofi from 2016 to 2022, where he served as North America General Counsel and Head of Legal for the Specialty Care Global Business Unit, responsible for the legal oversight of the company’s U.S. and Canada and global Specialty Care businesses. Prior to Sanofi, Lee held roles of increasing responsibility from 2008 to 2016 at Pfizer, most notably as Chief Counsel for Pfizer’s Innovative Health global business Chief Counsel for the Vaccines, Oncology and Consumer Health global businesses, and as Assistant General Counsel for Asia. Lee earned his JD from the University of California at Berkeley and his BS in applied economics from Cornell University.
6. Sheila Denton
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Incyte
Sheila A. Denton joined Incyte in 2023 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, with more than 30 years of legal, policy and compliance experience across the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and animal health industries. Incyte,a Wilmington, Delaware-based, global biopharmaceutical company, focuses on finding solutions for serious, unmet, medical needs through the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics.
Prior to joining Incyte, she spent nearly 20 years at Boehringer Ingelheim, where she held various leadership positions, including her most recent role as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In this role, she was responsible for leading a team of professionals across legal, compliance, governmental affairs and policy functions, focused on providing solution-oriented support for the pharmaceutical and animal health businesses. Denton earned a JD in law from Western New England School of Law and an undergraduate degree in business administration from Sacred Heart University.
7. Michael MacDougall
Senior Vice President and General Counsel, EMD Serono
Michael MacDougall is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for EMD Serono. EMD Serono is the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the US and aspires to create, improve and prolong life for people living with difficult-to-treat conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and infertility.
Since taking on this role in 2015, MacDougall has overseen legal affairs across the company and served on the US Country Council, the Pricing Committee, the Compliance Committee, the Compensation Committee, and as Chair of the Law Section Executive Committee of PhRMA, the largest trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the US. MacDougall joined EMD Serono in 2007 as Associate General Counsel for Market Access and Commercial Operations. In 2013, he relocated to the company’s global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany and served as Associate General Counsel for Commercial where he led the legal teams supporting the company's Global Business Franchises and the Intercontinental Region.
MacDougall has more than twenty-five years of both in-house and law firm professional experience. He started his career in Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions at Sullivan & Worcester LLP in Boston. MacDougall holds a BS in Finance from Boston College and a JD from Boston College Law School.
8. Paul Lucchese
General Counsel, TRINITY
Paul Lucchese is the General Counsel for TRINITY,a trusted strategic commercialization partner, providing evidence-based solutions for the life sciences. With 25 years of experience, Trinity is committed to revolutionizing the commercial model by providing exceptional levels of service, powerful tools and data-driven insights.
Lucchese has extensive experience as a General Counsel in high-growth, technology-forward, organizations including Aspect Software, Candela Corporation, Aternity, Inc. and EnterpriseDB. He also was the President of Outsourced General Counsel, a firm that provided cost-effective legal services to technology companies. Lucchese holds an MBA from Suffolk University, a JD from the University of Dayton School of Law, and a BA from Providence College.
9. Ryan Brown
General Counsel, Sarepta Therapeutics
Ryan Brown joined Sarepta in February 2018 as Vice President, Global Chief Compliance officer and Regulatory Counsel. He was named General Counsel in February 2021, and prior to that, he served as Interim General Counsel and became a member of the Executive Committee in December 2020. As Chief General Counsel, Brown is responsible for the Company’s global legal and compliance functions. Sarepta is on an urgent mission: engineer precision genetic medicine for rare diseases that devastate lives and cut futures short. As a market leader in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs) research, they currently have more than 40 programs in various stages of development.
Before entering the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industry, Brown specialized in corporate criminal investigations at the international law firm of Jones Day. In 2008, a fortuitous call from a recruiter with an opportunity matching his specific background – at a local company called Allergan, Inc. – changed everything, and he fell into the industry and loved it.
At Allergan, Brown served as Vice President, Chief Compliance Cfficer, where he was responsible for the strategic vision and management of its global corporate compliance program and held other senior positions including General Counsel for subsidiary SkinMedica and Chief of Staff to the office of the president. After Allergan, Brown served as Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer at Acadia Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for creating, implementing, and managing its corporate compliance program. Nearly a decade after that fateful call, Brown was drawn to Sarepta by the company’s mission, powerful science, and strong leadership team. Brown received his BA in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University and his JD degree from Harvard Law School.
Ryan Brown’s Insight
“Humility, good judgment and an appreciation for the broad swath of human conditions are far more important to the sound practice of law than any technical knowledge of a code or rule.”
10. Markus Dreissigacker
Group General Counsel, Bruker
As a Group General Counsel at Bruker Calid Group, a global leader in medtech, research, diagnostics and life sciences, Markus Dreissigacker leads the group’s global legal, compliance, and ESG functions, with a focus on delivering business partnering solutions with an entrepreneurial mindset at fast paced and high agility, and enhancing sustainability performance. Dreissigacker has over 20 years of business experience in various industries, ranging from FMCG to technology, and in different roles and countries, spanning from start-ups to listed companies.
Dreissigacker has successfully supported or led more than 50 M&A, seed and VC projects, and post-merger integrations, as well as IPO preparation and underwriter presentation.
Previously, Dreissigacker was a GCO and General Counsel of Global Sales at JDE Peet's. Prior to JDE Peet’s, Dreissigacker served Kellogg Company as General Counsel Northern Europe and Director of Corporate Communications.. Earlier in his career, he worked with Schimmelpfennig & Schaarschmidt as a lawyer. Dreissigacker has a PhD in comparative consumer laws from the University of Heidelberg, and he is a certified key account manager and an executive leadership program graduate.
11. Kening Li
General Counsel & Vice President for Corporate Development, GenScript
Kening Li is the General Counsel and Vice President for Corporate Development of GenScript and brings 26 years of legal experience to the firm. GenScript Biotech Corporation is a world leader in technologies and services for life science R&D and manufacturing. Built upon its solid DNA synthesis technology, the company comprises four major business units: a life-science services and products business unit, a biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business unit, an industrial synthetic products business unit, and an integrated global cell therapy company.
Before joining GenScript, Li was a partner and Chief of IP in Asia Pacific at Duane Morris & Selvam, and before that, a Chief of Intellectual Property at Miller Canfiled Paddock and Stone. Earlier in his career, he worked with Foley & Lardner as an associate. Li graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a PhD in molecular biology and plant pathology and a JD in law and from Nanjing University with an undergraduate degree in biology.
Kening Li’s Insight
“After practicing IP law for over 20 years, I found my switch to the General Counsel role at GenScript both challenging and rewarding. In addition to being exposed to various new areas of the law, and managing a much larger team, shouldering the ultimate responsibility for many strategic legal decisions is quite different from being a partner in a firm, especially for a large international organization against the ever-shifting geopolitical winds. I have enjoyed the journey and will continue to do so.”
12. Stacy Taylor
Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Adaptive Biotechnologies
Stacy Taylor is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Adaptive Biotechnologies, a commercial-stage biotech company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease. As General Counsel, Stacy leads Adaptive’s legal functions, including strategic transactions, commercial contracting, corporate governance, and compliance with healthcare, privacy and securities laws, as well as the protection, enforcement and strategic monetization of Adaptive’s intellectual property assets.
She is a registered patent attorney with decades of business law and litigation experience. Stacy was previously a partner in several major law firms, most recently DLA Piper, where she co-chaired the firm’s global medical device practice. She has also served as Senior Assistant General Counsel for five business units at BTG International (now Boston Scientific), a life sciences product company. In the late 1990s, Stacy co-founded Endicor Medical, an interventional cardiology device company which was later acquired by Medtronic. Stacy holds degrees in biological sciences and chemistry from California Polytechnic State University and is registered to practice law in Washington and California.
13. John O'Leary
General Counsel, LetsGetChecked
John O'Leary began his professional career 13 years ago. Today, he is the General Counsel of LetsGetChecked. LetsGetChecked is a global healthcare solutions company that provides the tools to manage health from home through health testing, virtual care, and medication delivery for a wide range of health and wellness conditions. LetsGetChecked's end-to-end model includes manufacturing, logistics, lab analysis, physician support, and prescription fulfillment. The company empowers people with accessible health information and care to live longer, happier lives.
O'Leary first got his start in 2011 as an Associate at Mason Hayes & Curran, his most recent position prior to joining LetsGetChecked. O'Leary graduated from the University College Dublin with a master’s in international business and an undergraduate degree in business and law.
14. Annie McGuire
General Counsel and Chief People Officer, Veracyte
Annie McGuire joined Veracyte in 2022,serving as General Counsel and Chief People Officer. In this role, she oversees all aspects of the company’s legal functions and leads the company’s global Human Resources team. Veracyte is a global diagnostics company whose vision is to transform cancer care for patients all over the world. They empower clinicians with the high-value insights they need to guide and assure patients at pivotal moments in the race to diagnose and treat cancer.
McGuire has more than 15 years of leadership experience across various Fortune 100 and healthcare companies. Prior to joining Veracyte, she served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Rakuten Medical, Inc., a global biotechnology company. Prior to that, McGuire was Vice President, Legal, at MyoKardia, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on cardiovascular disease, where she helped lead the team through MyoKardia's $13 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb. Before that, she spent 13 years at Amgen, Inc. where she held various legal and compliance leadership roles, including Senior Corporate Counsel for global commercial operations and employment and executive compensation.
McGuire began her legal career at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York City. She holds a BS in Criminal Justice from Pace University, Summa Cum Laude, and a JD from New York Law School, Magna Cum Laude.
Annie McGuire’s Insight
“I am grateful for the growth and learning opportunities I have experienced throughout all chapters of my life science journey from my start at big law to my long tenure in pharma and my now exciting and invigorating chapter in diagnostics - not only as a general counsel but also as a chief people officer. Being a general counsel is so much more than interpreting law and risk, and the success I have been fortunate to experience is a direct result of continual curiosity with the right combination of head and heart, and caring about the why which has, and will always be for me, the impact I get to have on patient and caregiver lives.”
15. Hunter Murdock
General Counsel, Axsome Therapeutics
Hunter Murdock has served as Axsome Therapeutics’ General Counsel since June 2022 and has been a member of the Axsome team since December 2021. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) conditions that have limited treatment options.
Prior to joining Axsome, Murdock served in various in-house counsel leadership positions of progressive responsibility within the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as the Vice President and General Counsel of Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. and Acrotech Biopharma LLC. Murdock started his legal career in private practice as an associate at White & Case and subsequently was an associate and then partner of Kirkland & Ellis. Murdock earned his BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
16. Vanina de Verneuil
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Vir Biotechnology
Vanina de Verneuil, J.D., has served as Vir’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since October 2023. Vir Biotechnology, Inc. is an immunology company focused on powering the immune system to transform lives by treating and preventing infectious diseases and other serious conditions, including viral-associated diseases. Vir has assembled two technology platforms that are designed to modulate the immune system by exploiting critical observations of natural immune processes. de Verneuil joined Vir in 2020 as Vice President, Corporate Law. In 2022, she took on the Senior Vice President, Corporate Law and Interim General Counsel role and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary in July 2023. de Verneuil has over 20 years of experience representing publicly listed companies and their boards of directors, as well as biopharma investors.
Prior to joining Vir in 2020, de Verneuil was a partner at DLA Piper, a leading international law firm with deep roots in the life sciences industry, where she served as outside counsel to publicly listed companies and biopharma investors. Prior to that, she was Global General Counsel at Reliance Communications (Enterprise)/Global Cloud Xchange, a publicly listed global data communications service provider. de Verneuil received a B.A. in psychology and French from Duke University, and a JD from New York University School of Law.
Vanina de Verneuil’s Insight
“It’s exhilarating to be Vir Biotechnology’s General Counsel and I have never been prouder of what I do on a day-to-day basis. My job is a wonderful mix of law, finance, and science backed by a deep-rooted mission to push the boundaries of innovation to help patients. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
17. Martin Wartmann
Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Geistlich Pharma
Martin Wartmann serves as the Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer of Geistlich Pharma AG, Switzerland. With over 15 years of diverse experience in international corporate in-house roles, private law firms, and entrepreneurial ventures, he is a highly regarded advisor specializing in compliance and transactional matters. Martin has extensive expertise in contract negotiation and drafting, underpinned by sound business acumen and pragmatic judgement.
Previously, Wartmann was a group general counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and company secretary at Selecta. Earlier in his career he worked with FRORIEP as an attorney at law and civil law notary. Wartmann earned an LLM from California Western School of Law, an EMBA in business administration and management from the University of St. Gallen, and an undergraduate degree in law from the University of Lucerne.
18. Daniel Song
General Counsel, Biofourmis
Daniel Song is the General Counsel at Biofourmis. Biofourmis is a Boston-headquartered digital health leader that augments personalized patient care and therapies with Digital Therapeutics for better management of patients with complex chronic conditions. Biofourmis built Biovitals, a highly sophisticated personalized artificial intelligence (AI)-powered health analytics platform that predicts clinical exacerbation days in advance of a critical event.
Prior to joining Biofourmis, Song spent 12 years practicing law for leading law firms in Singapore and Australia and is admitted to practice in the Supreme Courts of Singapore and Victoria, Australia. Song graduated from Monash University with an undergraduate degree in LLB and finance.
19. Scott Willoughby
Senior Vice President and General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Sangamo Therapeutics
Scott Willoughby serves as Sangamo’s Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, acting as lead attorney for the company and advising the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors and other members of the executive leadership team on legal and business matters. Sangamo Therapeutics is a genomic medicine company dedicated to translating ground-breaking science into medicines that transform the lives of patients and families afflicted with serious neurological diseases who do not have adequate or any treatment options. Willoughby brings more than 20 years of expertise in senior legal and compliance roles at global public and private companies across multiple industries.
Willoughby joined Sangamo in March 2020 as Vice President and Head of Corporate Law. Since joining the company, he has been an active member of the Legal Leadership Team, where he has helped lead the legal and compliance functions. Prior to joining Sangamo, he served as Vice President-Deputy General Counsel, Assistant Corporate Secretary and Head of Corporate Law at Achaogen, a biotechnology company developing innovative antibiotics. Earlier in his career, he held several senior counsel roles where he built his expertise in corporate governance, SEC reporting, corporate finance, compliance, M&A and transactions. Willoughby received a BA and JD from the University of California, Berkeley.
20. Mas Matsuda
General Counsel, Arcutis Biotherapeutics
Matsuda joined Arcutis in January 2022 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. He is responsible for all legal and compliance for the company, as well as serving as secretary of the board of directors. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. is an early commercial-stage medical dermatology company that champions meaningful innovation to address the urgent needs of individuals living with immune-mediated dermatological diseases and conditions.
Matsuda previously served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Halozyme, Matsuda worked at Amgen for 18 years, rising to the position of Vice President, Law, Global Commercial Operations, responsible for strategic commercial legal support to the US Commercial Operations organization, as well as Medical Affairs, Compliance, Global Value, Access & Policy, Global Marketing, and Biosimilars divisions. Matsuda received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a dual emphasis in Corporate Finance and International Finance from the University of Southern California, and a JD from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Mas Matsuda’s Insight
“This is truly humbling. No real quote per se. All I can say behind a recognition such as this, there is always an amazing and dedicated team working alongside the individual, as well as a supportive and collaborative cross-functional team to work with.”
21. Mikhail Eydelman
Senior Vice President General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary, Vaxcyte
Mikhail Eydelman is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Vaxcyte. Vaxcyte is a vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases. The Company is developing broad-spectrum conjugate and novel protein vaccines to prevent and treat bacterial infectious diseases. Eydelman is an accomplished legal executive who brings over 15 years of legal experience in multiple areas, including commercial agreements and partnerships, securities matters, business development, litigation, healthcare compliance, and product launches.
Most recently, Eydelman served as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Sagent Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, where he built the legal team and drove value across the organization. Previously, he was Assistant General Counsel for Integrated DNA Technologies, a supplier of nucleic acids acquired by Danaher Corporation, where he led the international legal function and supported the company’s strategic initiatives. Eydelman also held legal roles of increasing responsibility at Akorn, a publicly traded commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, where he supported overall business growth as the company quadrupled in size. Prior to that, he practiced law at the international law firms of Latham & Watkins, Allen & Overy, and Bryan Cave. Eydelman earned his BA in Economics from Brandeis University and JD from New York University School of Law.
22. Jennifer Kamocsay
General Counsel, Akoya Biosciences
Jennifer Kamocsay is the General Counsel of Akoya Biosciences. Akoya Biosciences’ mission is to bring context to the world of biology and human health through the power of spatial phenotyping. The Company offers comprehensive single-cell imaging solutions that allow researchers to phenotype cells with spatial context and visualize how they organize and interact to influence disease progression and response to therapy. Kamocsay will oversee all company legal activities and provide strategic guidance and corporate governance oversight.
Kamocsay most recently served as General Counsel of Rubius Therapeutics, Inc., where she was responsible for overseeing and managing the company’s legal affairs. Prior to joining Rubius, she was Associate General Counsel for Progress Software Corporation, where she oversaw the company’s corporate, securities law, and mergers and acquisitions activities. Ms. Kamocsay began her legal career at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom , where she represented public and private company clients in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on mergers and acquisitions, securities law, and corporate governance matters. Ms. Kamocsay holds a BA in History from the University of California, Los Angeles and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.
23. Irene Pleasure
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Arsenal Biosciences
Irene Pleasure is the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Arsenal Biosciences. Arsenal, headquartered in South San Francisco, CA, is a clinical stage programmable cell therapy company focusing on discovering and developing a pipeline of next-generation autologous T cell therapies to defeat cancer. The organization’s full-stack R&D engine is designed to generate multifunctional T cell medicines, enabled by precise and specific CRISPR-mediated insertion of large synthetic DNA cassettes. Pleasure brings 22 years of experience in life science law, working in a large global life science company and small biotechnology companies. She has been recognized for mentoring, coaching, people development skills, and being an effective collaborator across corporate groups and global cultures.
Pleasure was previously Vir Biotechnology’s Executive Vice President & General Counsel, preceded by her position as Vir’s Vice President of Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel. Prior to Vir, Pleasure served San Francisco-based biotechnology company, Achaogen, Inc., as Vice President of Intellectual Property from March 2018 to August 2018 and Chief Patent Counsel from May 2017 to March 2018. From November 2003 to April 2017, Pleasure held various positions at Genentech, Inc., including Senior Associate General Counsel and Head of Patents. Pleasure was also a member of the Roche Holding AG global patent leadership team where she was involved in strategic oversight of patent issues at the local and global level.
Prior to Genentech, Pleasure practiced intellectual property law at Morrison and Foerster LLP and QuineIP Law Group, P.C. Pleasure received her BA in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD in Biochemistry from Thomas Jefferson University, and a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law.
24. Mohammed Hill
General Counsel, Dark Horse Consulting Group
Mohammed Hill, also known as "Mo", has been a commercial and corporate governance counsel for over 25 years in the areas of technology, advertising, biotechnology and telecommunications. Mo currently serves as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Dark Horse Consulting Group, Inc., a cell and gene therapy consulting firm. His practice at Dark Horse Consulting is broad, encompassing everything from commercial transactions, establishing new global subsidiaries to HR and M&A.
Previously, Mo was a senior corporate counsel at Essence, and before that, a project manager and zoning specialist at T-Mobile USA. Earlier in his career, he worked with Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner as an associate. Mo earned a JD in law from the University of Virginia School of Law and an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.
25. Samantha Myerberg
General Counsel, US HealthVest
Samantha Alongi Myerberg is the General Counsel for US HealthVest, an innovative developer of psychiatric hospitals with locations in the Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston and Indianapolis markets. US HealthVest’s portfolio of hospitals are accredited by The Joint Commission and provide specialized psychiatric care to patients with a full continuum of inpatient and outpatient services. De novo strategies and acquisitions of operating facilities with unrealized potential are at the core of the US HealthVest business model. Each hospital is structured to offer multiple service lines in order to serve the needs of specific patient population groups.
Myerberg began her legal career in the Office of the Bronx District Attorney, before moving into the healthcare industry at Aaronson Rappaport Feinstein and Deutsch and Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman and Dicker. Prior to her most recent role, Myerberg was an assistant general counsel at Metropolitan Jewish Health System. Myerberg earned a bachelor's degree in political science and government from The George Washington University and a JD from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
