SR One Summit 2025 Sponsors
Israel Akinrinsola
Israel Akinrinsola is a Director in Evercore’s Healthcare Strategic Advisory practice, based in London. Since joining Evercore in 2018, Mr. Akinrinsola has advised on a broad range of M&A and capital-raising transactions across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical technology, and healthcare services. Notable experience includes Novo Nordisk’s acquisition of three manufacturing sites from Catalent; Autolus’s cell-therapy collaboration with BioNTech; Sanofi’s acquisition of Principia Biopharma; SIFI’s sale to Faes Farma; Product Life Group’s transaction with Oakley Capital and 21 Invest CV; SERB’s acquisition of bentracimab; Nestlé’s sale of Galderma (Nestlé Skin Health) to EQT/ADIA; Blue Earth Diagnostics’ sale to Bracco Imaging; and Brainlab AG’s sale of its Orthopaedic Joint Reconstruction business to Smith & Nephew. Previously, Mr. Akinrinsola was an equity research analyst at Barclays, covering European large- and mid-cap pharmaceuticals. He began his career as a Chartered Accountant with EY and holds an MSc in Investment Management from Bayes Business School and a BSc in Economics from Royal Holloway, University of London.
Simon Elliot
Senior Managing Director. Investment Banking I Strategic Advisory | London. Simon Elliott is a senior managing director in Evercore's healthcare strategic advisory practice based in London. Having joined Evercore in 2013, he has worked extensively with clients across the healthcare subsectors, including pharma, biotech, medtech and healthcare services for c. 20 years. Recent notable transactions include advising Novartis on the sales of its PET networks to Siemens Healthineers; Novo Nordisk on the acquisition of three manufacturing sites from Catalent; Autolus on the cell therapy collaboration with BioNTech; Novartis on the sale of its “front-of-eye” ophthalmology assets to Bausch + Lomb, Bristol-Myers Squibb on its acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics; Takeda on its acquisition of Nimbus Therapeutics; Novo Nordisk on its acquisition of Dicerna and Emisphere Technologies; AstraZeneca on its acquisition of Alexion; Nestle on the sale of its allergy portfolio, the sale of Galderma (Nestle Skin Health) and on the acquisition of Zenpep; Philips on its acquisitions of BioTelemetry and Capsule Technologies; Sanofi on its acquisition of Principia Biopharma; Eli Lilly on its acquisition of Dermira (and subsequent sale of Qbrexza); Bristol-Myers Squibb on its acquisition of Celgene; AstraZeneca on the sale of its anti-infections business to Pfizer; AstraZeneca on its defense against Pfizer; Shire on its acquisition of Baxalta International; Takeda Pharmaceutical on its acquisition of Shire and subsequent sale of Xiidra to Novartis; Takeda on its acquisition of Ariad Pharmaceuticals; and Partners Group and Duke Street on the acquisition of Voyage Care. Mr. Elliott received a master's in biochemistry from the University of Oxford.
Francois Maisonrouge
Francois Maisonrouge is the chairman of the Global Healthcare Group, with 38 years of relevant experience.
At Evercore, among other transactions, Mr. Maisonrouge was involved in advising Novo Nordisk in its acquisition of manufacturing facilities from Catalent; Takeda on its acquisition of Nimbus; Arena Pharmaceuticals on its sale to Pfizer; Novo Nordisk on its acquisition of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals; Parexel on its sale to EQT; AstraZeneca on its acquisition of Alexion; Sanofi on its acquisition of Principia; Nestlé on its sale of Nestlé Skin Health to EQT and ADIA; Bristol-Myers Squibb on its acquisition of Celgene; Takeda on its acquisition of Shire; AstraZeneca on its defense across from Pfizer; and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on its acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories from Daiichi-Sankyo.
In addition, Mr. Maisonrouge has advised on numerous IPOs and follow-on equity offerings, principally for biotech companies, as well as structured capital raising transactions.
Prior to joining Evercore, Mr. Maisonrouge was a managing director and chairman of life sciences at Credit Suisse.
He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Harvard Business School Health Care Initiative, and the chairman of the Pasteur Foundation. In 2014, Mr. Maisonrouge was awarded the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
Mr. Maisonrouge holds an M.S. in engineering from Ecole Centrale de Lyon and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Jamie Bignal
Based in Cambridge, Jamie is a Director in HSBC Innovation Bank’s Life Science & Healthcare team where he works with exciting companies and Founders from Series A onwards.
Michael White
Mike leads HSBC Innovation Banking UK & Nordics as Head of Life Sciences. Previously, Mike was with Silicon Valley Bank San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle, and held leadership roles National Head of Life Sciences BD, Co-Manager SVB San Diego, and SVB Southwest Regional Manager Life Sciences. Mike also held roles at GE Capital in San Francisco, CA and Oracle Corp in Redwood Shores, CA. Mike and his family relocated to London from Del Mar, CA.
Ryuk Byun
Dr. Byun joined Morgan Stanley in 2017. Dr. Byun was a biotech investor at TCG Crossover and Aisling Capital, and started his career in Lazard’s Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions group. He graduated with a BS in Biochemistry with Specialization in Molecular Genetics and BA in Biology from the University of Virginia, an MD from Tulane University School of Medicine and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also a member of the University of Virginia Northern California Regional Board.
David Haber
Mr. Haber joined Morgan Stanley’s Healthcare investment banking team in New York in October 2024. He has extensive experience advising companies on a variety of strategic and transformative transactions across the healthcare ecosystem, with a primary focus on life sciences. Mr. Haber has advised on >$100bn of announced transactions, including complex sell-side and buy-side M&A, as well as shareholder defense engagements. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he spent ~14 years at Centerview Partners focused on strategic advisory to life sciences and other healthcare focused organizations. Mr. Haber began his career at Lazard and graduated with honors from NYU’s Stern School of Business with a dual degree in Finance and Accounting.
Matthew Harrison
Mr. Harrison joined the Biotechnology investment banking team in May 2023 after 10 years of experience in Morgan Stanley’s Healthcare Equity Research team. He previously led Morgan Stanley’s Biotechnology Research team and covered a variety of biotechnology companies. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2013, Matthew spent 3 years working at UBS as a small / mid cap biotech analyst and an associate on the spec pharma team. Mr. Harrison was a highly ranked biotech analyst in the Institutional Investor All-America poll and was a recognized thought leader at the onset and during the COVID-19 pandemic. He graduated from Yale with a BS in Physics and has an MS in Physics and MSM in Finance from Case Western Reserve University.
Cailin McGurk
Dr. McGurk is a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley’s Healthcare Investment Banking Team with over 20 years of corporate and strategic advisory experience. Calin has advised on over $100bn of announced M&A and BD&L transactions, including Genmab on its acquisition of Merus, 3SBio on its licensing with Pfizer, Gubra on its licensing with Abbvie, Novo Holdings on its acquisition of Catalent, Numab on the sale of Yellow Jersey Therapeutics to JNJ, Novartis on the separation of Alcon and MYR Pharma on its sale to Gilead.
Dr. McGurk joined Morgan Stanley in 2020 having previously spent five years in UBS’s Healthcare Investment Banking Team in London. Prior to that she was with J.P. Morgan for over a decade. Dr. McGurk qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Cape Town and practiced medicine in South Africa prior to her career in investment banking.
Moneisha Banerjee
Dr Monisha Banerjee is a Partner at Spencer Stuart, where she leads the firm’s Healthcare Practice in the UK and is a key member of the Global BioPharma and Board & CEO Practices. She has nearly twenty years’ experience in board evaluation, CEO succession and C‑suite executive search and leadership advisory for biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, from venture‑backed innovators to large‑cap enterprises. Her recent mandates include board, CEO and senior leadership succession across Europe and North America, bringing a global perspective on governance and leadership patterns that sustain innovation and scale.
Monisha holds a PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from King’s College London and a BSc in Applied Biology from Imperial College London. Earlier in her career, she worked in healthcare communications at Publicis Healthcare Group before moving into the leadership advisory arena.
Lisa Flavin
Lisa Flavin is a member of Spencer Stuart’s global Biopharma Practice and the firm’s Board Practice. Lisa specializes in CEO, C-Suite and non-executive director engagements in the biopharmaceutical sector. With over 20 years of experience recruiting at the C-level and board level, she has completed more than 400 executive search engagements, including over 320 with a core emphasis on research & development and technical operations leadership functions. During her tenure in executive search, Lisa has developed deep relationships with R&D leaders in the Boston biopharma ecosystem as well as in other global innovation hubs.
Lisa is an expert across the continuum of R&D executive functions, including discovery, translational, development, regulatory and medical affairs. She also has extensive experience with manufacturing functions, particularly in biologics and cell and gene therapies.
Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Lisa was a consultant for a leading national search firm specializing in the healthcare and academic research sectors. In this position, she recruited physician leaders at the intersection of academia and industry to guide hybrid and non-profit research enterprises.
Lisa began her career as a member of the healthcare products practice for a top-tier global search firm, where she co-led the healthcare products practice associate team in North America and recruited senior-level talent for life sciences and medical device clients in the U.S. and Europe.
Lisa earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Maine.
Niren Thanky, Ph.D.
Niren Thanky is a leadership advisor and executive coach based in Spencer Stuart’s London office, where Niren is a member of the global Healthcare, Board & CEO practices and leads the firm’s Healthcare Practice across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Previously, Niren led the global Biopharma Practice. With over 16 years of experience in board advisory, executive search, and C-suite coaching, Niren has worked on over 500 biotech-related assignments, partnering with leaders and organizations across the biopharmaceutical, venture, private equity, and healthcare sectors to accelerate growth and transformation.
Niren’s expertise spans leadership development, succession planning, and organizational effectiveness, with a focus on supporting boards and executives navigating the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Niren was a partner in the healthcare and life sciences practices of another global executive search firm, co-leading its biopharmaceuticals practice and building strategic client relationships across the sector. Earlier, Niren worked as an executive recruiter at a boutique search firm and as a PR consultant at a healthcare agency, following post-doctoral research in infectious diseases.
Niren holds a Wellcome Trust-funded Ph.D. in infectious diseases and a B.Sc. in biochemistry from Imperial College London. Niren is a trained psychometric assessor, a member of the British Psychological Society, and an associate of the Royal College of Science
Misha A. Wolfe
Misha Amy Wolfe is a consultant in Spencer Stuart’s Biopharmaceuticals and Boards practices. She recruits senior-level leaders and board directors across all functions for the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors as well as the broader life sciences industries including digital health and diagnostics. Misha’s specializes in placing key leaders in R&D, commercial, business and corporate strategy, legal, and HR on the West Coast. She works closely with Board of Directors to drive diversity. She brings over 20 years of experience in professional services spanning pharmaceutical, technology, and legal industries. West Coast biopharma leadership expertise. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Misha helped develop and lead the West Coast life sciences practice at Axiom. During her tenure, she developed strategic relationships with general counsels and heads of procurement across biopharma, technology and retail clients and advised on how to leverage talent to transform their legal departments. She also worked with clients to support their M&A activity to develop solutions to increase speed and efficiency in contract review. Earlier, Misha was a trial services consultant, where she was responsible for business development and managing the lifecycle of products for RLM/TrialGraphix’s San Francisco office. She focused heavily on patent work including ANDA and pharmaceutical patents. As an associate director with The Corporate Executive Board, she advised CIOs and information services leaders on the value of the organization’s product amid industry challenges. Misha served as an associate transaction adviser at UGL Equis, working with C-level leaders across a range of industries. Misha earned her bachelor’s degree in government from University of Virginia and received her M.B.A. from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Kassandra Castillo
Partner, Corporate, San Diego
Kassandra serves as outside general counsel and advises life sciences and technology companies at all stages of development. She works closely with entrepreneurs to counsel them through initial company formation issues, day-to-day corporate governance matters, venture capital financing transactions, and liquidity events. She also counsels venture capital funds on structuring and executing investment transactions and managing their existing portfolio companies.
Michael Hostetler
Partner, Patents and Innovations, San Francisco/San Diego
Michael has designed and implemented IP strategy for 9 FDA-approved drugs and 60 active clinical trials. Michael has extensive experience representing clients on both sell-side and buy-side M&As with six over $1 billion, as well as representing underwriters, investors, and companies in financings. Michael is the co-creator of Wilson Sonsini’s Healthcare Investment Initiative, which includes the Healthcare Investment Forum and the Innovator’s Edge Series. He is also on the board of directors for LaunchBio.
Dr. Norm Hovijitra
Partner, Technology Transactions, Hawaii
Norm's practice focuses on the representation of clients in complex partnering and licensing arrangements, merger and acquisition transactions, and spin-outs. In addition, he advises clients on a range of related transactions such as license agreements with academic and nonprofit institutions; research and development services agreements; clinical trial agreements; and manufacture, supply, and distribution agreements. Previously, Norm worked as a patent agent at the firm, focusing on patent preparation and prosecution, research related to intellectual property, and due diligence matters in the life sciences and clean technology industries.
Dan Koeppen
Partner, Corporate, San Diego
Dan specializes in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and venture capital financings. He has extensive experience representing public and private life science and technology companies in a wide range of sectors, including biotechnology, consumer products, data security, medical device, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, software, and social media, through all stages of their growth from start-up to mature public companies. In addition, Dan represents leading investment banks in their underwriting transactions, and regularly advises numerous venture capital firms and corporate strategic investors in connection with their investments in emerging growth companies.