Our Advisory Board
The Advisory Board of the PiR Group was established to give PiR a unique cross-cultural insight into the life science industry. Its members gain too, with a stimulating and intimate forum in which leading figures from established and emerging biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies can come together and talk confidentially about the challenges they face. The Board is made up of recognised experts in their respective fields, who together, provide a wealth of experience and perspective in the world of pharmaceuticals.
The Advisory Board helps to guide the activities of the PiR Group by identifying common issues the life science industry faces and, crucially, is a partnership in which the value flows both ways so that the forum is of value to PiR as well as the members. Clients and candidates also gain because the Advisory Board gives the PiR Group a diverse, broad and balanced range of skill sets and experience spanning the clients we works with from the pharma, biotech, CRO, medical devices and diagnostics sectors.
If you are interested in understanding more about the Advisory Board, please contact Maurice Herring: mh@pir-group.com
Dr Ken Cunningham
COO SkyePharma Plc
Ken is Chief Operating Officer and Board Director at SkyePharma Plc. He is also Non-Executive Director of Xention Ltd. He was previously CEO of Arakis, Vice President European Affairs for Alza Corporation and Vice President Clinical Development for Sequus Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this he held a variety of clinical development and commercial strategy positions in GlaxoWellcome and Warner-Lambert. Dr Cunningham qualified from St Mary’s Medical School, London University.
Dr David Ebsworth
Chairman of Wilex AG, A&D Pharma, Atani and Xention
David is currently Chairman of Wilex AG, A&D Pharma Holdings NV, Atano Ltd and Xention Limited. He is a Non-Executive Director of Intercell AG and Renovo PLC as well as a consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
In June 2002, David joined Oxford GlycoSciences as an Executive Director and assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in July 2002. In June 2003, David moved on from his position as Chief Executive Officer following the takeover by Celltech. David has over 25 years experience within the Pharmaceuticals industry. Prior to joining OGS, he was head of the worldwide Pharmaceutical Business Group of Bayer AG. Before that, he was President of Bayer Pharmaceutical Division in North America with responsibility for all functions from research through clinical development, regulatory affairs, sales and marketing, finance and strategy. Previously, he held a number of senior management positions within Bayer in Canada, Europe and the US. In 2001, he received the Global Citizen Award from the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. David holds a PhD from Surrey University.
Mr Ed Hoskin
Senior Director, Human Resources, Gilead Sciences
Ed Hoskin started his career in finance and the City, before moving into executive search where his clients included many of the major banks and stockbroking institutions. He then moved his career into mainstream Human Resource Management, including 9 years at Genzyme Corporation where he was UK Human Resources Director before moving to Powderject in 2001 to work with the plc Board in shaping the HR strategy and delivery.
Upon Chiron’s acquisition of Powderject in July 2003, Ed was appointed Vice President responsible for HR in the new combined business, and a member of the Executive Committee of Chiron Vaccines. Following the successful sale of Chiron to Novartis in April 2006, Ed now leads the International HR organisation for Gilead Sciences where he leads HR across Europe, Australasia, Asia and Latin America. Ed is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, and has an MSc in Strategic International Human Resource Management.
Dr Bill Mason
Non Executive Chairman or Director of Amarin, Orthomimetics, Sphere Medical, Camlab, Team Consulting, Zygem and Sage Healthcare
Bill works with companies focused in the healthcare, life sciences, and biotechnology markets. He is Lead Independent Director and Chairs the Audit Committee of Amarin plc, a mid-cap pharmaceutical company listed on the NASDAQ exchange in the USA and London and Irish Stock Exchanges Additionally he holds the role of Chairman or Director of OrthoMimetics, Sphere Medical, Camlab, Team Consulting, Zygem and Sage Healthcare, and he is a Partner in In Vivo Capital, a UK-based med tech fund.
During a distinguished academic career leading a medical research team in Cambridge, Bill founded two high technology healthcare companies, which he grew from start-ups through private equity funding and acquisitions, to divestiture to major international quoted companies. He has experience of both private and public companies, quoted and unquoted, as well as several charitable trusts involved in the arts. Bill is also an Executive Director of Sage Healthcare, the European operating arm of US-based Sage Group. Sage provides strategic transactional and consultancy services to a wide range of healthcare companies operating in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices and biotechnology. Bill gained a PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge, in Physiology.
Dr Mark Treherne
Chief Executive of Senexis and on the Board of NeuroDiscovery, Population Genetics, Xention and Faust Pharmaceuticals
Mark obtained his PhD in neuropharmacology from Cambridge University and now has over 20 years experience in the discovery of novel treatments for diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, latterly at Pfizer Central Research.
Mark was a founder member and CEO of Cambridge Drug Discovery in 1997 prior to merger with BioFocus plc, where he remained on the Board until 2002. Mark was formerly Chairman of the Eastern Region Biotechnology Initiative and is a visiting Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Kent. Currently, Mark is Chief Executive of Senexis and on the Board of NeuroDiscovery, Population Genetics, Xention and Faust Pharmaceuticals. So far, Mark has raised over £60 million for various early stage biotechnology companies.