TOP TALENT FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS

Filter View:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Headshot of Masayuki Kobayashi

Masayuki Kobayashi

PRESIDENT & REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTOR

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Masa has held the position of President since April 2012, having joined Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in 1993. In his over 25 years with the organization, he considers the formation of Taiho Oncology Inc., his greatest accomplishment, and is most proud of his role as head of Taiho Global. He brings a background in political and law studies, as well as his extensive business experience.

Beyond his position at Taiho, Masa works with a variety of other organizations. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Association of Tokushima Prefecture in Japan, Committee Member of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, and Councilor at the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Japan, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Tokyo, and the Kobayashi Foundation for Cancer Research.

Headshot of Tim Whitten

Tim Whitten

President & CEO

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Tim assumed the role of President & CEO in May 2018, having joined Taiho Pharma U.S.A., Inc. in February 2013 as Chief Commercial Officer. He is uniquely suited to the role, with an MBA and a pharmacy degree. Before joining Taiho, he served as President & CEO of Insmed, Inc., working to help patients with rare and serious lung diseases. Prior to Insmed, he was the President & CEO of Transave, Inc., and held senior management positions at Pharmacyclics and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

As the company’s first commercial hire, Tim oversaw the creation of the US commercial and Canadian businesses, with successful launches of LONSURF® (trifluridine and tipiracil) in both markets. Under his leadership, Taiho’s North American oncology commercial...

U.S. LEADERSHIP TEAM

Taiho Oncology’s U.S. leadership team brings strong guidance and insight to the North American marketplace, while staying true to Taiho’s legacy of developing the highest quality pharmaceuticals that improve the lives of people everywhere.

Headshot of Tim Whitten

Tim Whitten

President & CEO

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Tim assumed the role of President & CEO in May 2018, having joined Taiho Pharma U.S.A., Inc. in February 2013 as Chief Commercial Officer. He is uniquely suited to the role, with an MBA and a pharmacy degree. Before joining Taiho, he served as President & CEO of Insmed, Inc., working to help patients with rare and serious lung diseases. Prior to Insmed, he was the President & CEO of Transave, Inc., and held senior management positions at Pharmacyclics and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

As the company’s first commercial hire, Tim oversaw the creation of the US commercial and Canadian businesses, with successful launches of LONSURF® (trifluridine and tipiracil) in both markets. Under his leadership, Taiho’s North American oncology commercial...

Headshot of Michael Schick

Michael Schick

Chief Business Officer

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Michael became Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer in 2017, having started at Taiho Oncology as Vice President, Sales and Marketing in 2013. He has been working in oncology since 1996, and began his career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry at Abbott Pharmaceuticals. He has since had roles of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology, Pharmacia Oncology, Pharmacyclics, Amgen, ImClone Systems, and Allos Therapeutics. Michael has a proven track record of leadership that has consistently delivered excellent business and people development results. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University.

Harold Keer

Chief Medical Officer

TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC.

Harold Keer, MD, PhD, joined Taiho Oncology as Chief Medical Officer in January 2024. He has more than 25 years of drug development experience in industry and academia. Most recently, Dr. Keer served as Chief Medical Officer at Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where his numerous accomplishments included leading development activities resulting in the approval of Inqovi® for MDS in the U.S. and Canada, and Inaqovi® for AML in the EU and UK. From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Keer served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Five Prime Therapeutics and, prior to that, served in a variety of capacities at Exelixis. Dr. Keer earned both his medical degree and doctorate in Tumor Cell Biology from Northwestern University Medical School. He completed his residency...

Headshot of Kazuhiko Okamoto

Kazuhiko Okamoto

Senior Vice President, Finance

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Kazu has held a number of roles since joining Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in September 2009, culminating in his current position as Senior Vice President, Finance. During his tenure, he has also been responsible for Information Technology, Procurement and Human Resources. Kazu’s contributions have helped transform Taiho from a clinical development company to a fully integrated commercial organization.

Kazu has lent his talents to a diverse group of global semiconductor organizations, including Infineon Technologies and Oki Electric, based in Germany and Japan. He credits his leadership skills to his distinct set of professional and cultural experiences across the world, and he prides himself on a career spent bettering society.

Headshot of Juliet Agranoff

Juliet Agranoff

Chief People Officer

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Juliet joined Taiho Oncology, Inc. as Senior Vice President, People in March 2019. Over the past decade, Juliet has brought her experience to specialty pharmaceutical firms such as The Medicines Company and Melinta Therapeutics, where she served as Senior Vice President and Head of Human Resources. Prior to that, she honed her talents and helped lead organizational change at a number of larger organizations including Pfizer, General Electric, Avon Products and Morgan Stanley.

With an inclusive, collaborative and empowering leadership style, Juliet leads the People function department at Taiho, and values her role in contributing to the growth of the company through building a foundation of credibility and trust.

TEHSEEN SALIMI, M.D, MHA.

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF MEDICAL AFFAIRS

TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC.

Tehseen became Senior Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs in 2021 having joined Taiho Oncology Inc.in April 2020 as Vice President Medical Affairs.

In her role, Tehseen is responsible for leading Taiho Oncology’s Medical Affairs organization including Medical Content, Communications and Training, Evidence and Value Development, Field Medical Teams and supporting the development and launch of new products through scientific alliance management in US and EU.

A physician and accomplished leader in the Managed Care and biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Salimi has over 30 years of experience encompassing 10 years in US Managed care, including Fallon Health Care (an integrated Health Care System) and Cigna. During the past 20 years...

Volker Wacheck, MD, PhD

Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical Development

TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC.

Volker joined Taiho Oncology in May 2020 as Vice President, Clinical Development, and was promoted to Head of Clinical Development in 2023. He oversees the clinical development programs of Taiho Oncology's global oncology portfolio from first-in-human trials through registration studies and lifecycle management, including biomarker development and pharmacokinetic studies.

Volker has more than 20 years of drug development experience in academia and industry. He is a board-certified oncologist and clinical pharmacologist by training. Prior to joining industry, Volker served as an associate professor (“Habilitation”) for clinical pharmacology and section head of a translational research team for experimental oncology and...

Sushil Rijhwani

Senior Vice President, Clinical and Pharmaceutical Development Management

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Sushil has more than 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He began his career at Bristol Myers Squibb where he served in various roles, including as leader of the Decision Analysis Group for Oncology. He later joined Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. where he led the Project Management Office and global portfolio management activities before joining Taiho Oncology.

Sushil earned a B.Tech. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, and...

STEPHEN E. YODER, MD, MBA

Vice President, Business Development

TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC.

Steve joined Taiho Oncology Inc. as Vice President, Business Development in June 2020. In this newly created role, he is leading the company’s efforts to in-license and acquire additional oncology marketed products and late-stage development therapeutic candidates for treating solid tumors and hematological malignancies. These partnered assets will be added to Taiho Oncology’s expanding portfolio of internally-discovered candidates and approved products addressing the needs of cancer patients in North America.

Dr. Yoder received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Virginia and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He subsequently received a Masters of Business Administration in Health Care Management at...

Headshot of Chris Jewell

Chris Jewell

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Taiho Oncology, Inc.

Chris was promoted to Taiho Oncology, Inc.’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel in January 2020. Chris’ work in the legal department has assisted Taiho in transforming the legal function primarily from a development stage contracts department to its present structure of a fully capable legal function within the company. Prior to joining Taiho Oncology, Chris represented both domestic and global public and private life science and pharmaceutical companies having worked both in-house and in the business and finance unit of a large international firm. He holds each of a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University, a Juris Doctorate from the Villanova University School of Law, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Villanova University College of Commerce and Finance.

Kathy Calarco

Senior Vice President, Quality Assurance

TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC.

Kathy joined Taiho Oncology, Inc. as Vice President, Quality in March 2020. Over the past 14 years, Kathy brought her experience to Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical, where she served as Head of Compliance, Scientific Systems and Laboratory Operations. Prior to that, she was part of Merck & Company supporting the Vaccine Division in various leadership roles in Laboratory and Quality.

With an energetic, collaborative and empowering leadership style, Kathy leads the Quality function department at Taiho, and values her role in contributing to the growth of the company through building a foundation of credibility and trust.

Kathy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia.

Ed Chapman

VICE PRESIDENT, Chief Information Officer

TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC.

Ed became Vice President, Chief Information Officer in 2020. He started at Taiho Oncology in 2013 as Sr. Director, IT and later became VP, IT in 2016. As the first member of the Taiho Oncology IT organization, he has built a team that provides and supports innovative technology solutions, infrastructure, service desk, validation, cyber security, and data privacy for all regions outside of Asia. His responsibilities also include Facilities. He began his career with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) as an Advanced System Engineer before working in technical sales, which led him to the biopharmaceutical industry. He has since held roles of increasing responsibility at Celgene, Immunomedics, and Taiho Oncology.

Ed graduated from California State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Management Information...