Geron names new commercial chief as executives depart

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) announced executive leadership changes effective October 15 and October 20, according to a company statement.

Andrew Grethlein, who served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since January 2019, will leave the company October 15 to transition to a consulting role. Jim Ziegler, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer who joined in September 2024, will also depart October 15.

Ahmed ElNawawi will succeed Ziegler as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer effective October 20. ElNawawi previously served as Senior Vice President and U.S. Commercial Head at Stemline Therapeutics, where he led the commercial organization and oversaw the U.S. launch of ORSERDU in metastatic breast cancer. He spent nearly two decades at Novartis Oncology in various global leadership roles.

The Foster City, California-based biopharmaceutical company also appointed three additional executives: Shantha Tyavanagimatt as Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Dawn Schottlandt as Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, and Bryan Ridgell as Senior Vice President of Portfolio and Project Management and Chief of Staff.

Tyavanagimatt brings over 25 years of drug development experience and previously served as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at IDEAYA Biosciences. Schottlandt has more than 20 years of investor relations experience in life sciences and most recently worked as Managing Director at Argot Partners. Ridgell has over 20 years in program and portfolio management and previously served as Senior Vice President at GlycoMimetics.

Geron's telomerase inhibitor RYTELO is approved in the United States and European Union for treating certain adult patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes with transfusion dependent anemia.

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