Sanford Zweifach has served as a member and Chair of the Carisma board of directors since November 2021. Mr. Zweifach has served as the Founder and President of Pelican Consulting Group, a biotechnology consulting firm, since December 2019. Mr. Zweifach founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Nuvelution Pharma, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, from June 2015 to November 2019. Mr. Zweifach currently serves on the boards of directors of Essa Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: EPIX) and Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN). Mr. Zweifach received a B.A. in Biology from University of California San Diego and a M.S. in Human Physiology from University of California Davis.
Steven Kelly has served as Carisma’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Carisma board of directors since February 2018. Prior to joining Carisma, Mr. Kelly served as Chief Executive Officer of Pinteon Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, from April 2014 to July 2015 and as the Chief Executive Officer of Theracrine, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from June 2011 to August 2012. Mr. Kelly currently serves on the board of directors of Artelo Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARTL). Mr. Kelly received a B.S. from the University of Oregon and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.
Regina Hodits, Ph.D., has served as a member of the Carisma board of directors since June 2018. Dr. Hodits has served as a Managing Partner at Wellington Partners, a venture capital firm investing in companies mainly in areas of technology, life sciences and digital media, since 2010. Prior to that, Dr. Hodits served as Partner of Atlas Ventures from 2004 to 2010. She currently serves on the board of directors of Onward Medical. Dr. Hodits received a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Technical University of Vienna, Austria.
John Hohneker, M.D., has served as a member of the Carisma board of directors since April 2024. Dr. Hohneker brings over 30 years of extensive experience in drug development and leadership across the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. He most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Anokion SA. Prior to this, he held the role of President of Research and Development at FORMA Therapeutics Inc. Before joining FORMA Therapeutics, Dr. Hohneker held roles of increasing responsibility at Novartis AG, including most recently as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Development, Immunology, and Dermatology.
Dr. Hohneker currently serves on the Board of Directors of Curis, Inc., Sonata Therapeutics, Inc., and Trishula Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Hohneker received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Gettysburg College and his M.D. from the Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Rutgers Medical School).
Briggs Morrison, M.D., has served as a member of the Carisma board of directors since July 2020. Dr. Morrison has served as President, Head of Research and Development of Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, since February 2022; he was previously Chief Executive Officer of Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. from June 2015. Dr. Morrison currently serves on the boards of directors of Repare Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: RPTX), Werewolf Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: HOWL), Arvinas, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARVN) and Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SNDX). Dr. Morrison received an M.D. from the University of Connecticut and a B.S. in Biology from Georgetown University.
Björn Odlander, M.D., Ph.D. has served as a member of the Carisma board of directors since February 2022. Dr. Odlander is a co-founder of HealthCap, a family of venture capital funds investing globally in life sciences, where he has been a Managing Partner since 1996. Dr. Odlander received a M.D. and Ph.D. from Karolinska Institute.
Michael Torok is the co-founder and managing director of JEC Capital Partners, LLC, an investment company with offices in the United States and Germany founded in 2008. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Integrated Dynamics Engineering Inc, a semiconductor equipment technology company that was acquired by Aalberts Industries. Earlier in his career, Mr. Torok served in various positions for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a multinational professional services network of firms. Mr. Torok currently serves on the board of directors of Liberated Syndication, Inc., a podcasting platform for creators and advertisers. He previously served on the board of directors of Photon Control Inc., which, prior to being acquired by MKS Instruments, Inc., designed and manufactured optical sensors and systems to measure temperature and position. In addition, he previously served on the board of Symbility Solutions Inc., which prior to being acquired by Corelogic, Inc, was a software company focused on the insurance industry. Mr. Torok received a B.S. in Finance and a Master in Finance from Boston College.