Biopharma CFO appointments in October
AIRNA, a clinical-stage biotech company developing RNA editing therapeutics for rare and cardiometabolic conditions, announced Allison Dorval as its chief financial officer. Dorval has over 25 years of experience and most recently served as CFO of Verve Therapeutics, where she led financial strategy and execution, and played a key role in its acquisition by Eli Lilly. Prior to Verve, she was CFO of Voyager Therapeutics and held senior finance leadership positions at multiple other biopharma companies.
Allison Dorval
Ardelyx, a publicly traded biopharma focused on gastrointestinal and kidney disease, announced that Sue Hohenleitner will serve as its chief financial officer, effective November 4, 2025. Hohenleitner brings more than 30 years of experience in corporate finance, strategic planning, investor relations, and operations across a variety of therapeutic areas and stages of development. She most recently served as the vice president and CFO of Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine North America, leading financial strategies for a $36 billion commercial business.
Hohenleitner is a certified public accountant in Pennsylvania and a certified management accountant. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from La Salle University and a Master of Business Administration from Villanova University.
Artelo Biosciences, Inc., a publicly traded, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on modulating lipid-signaling pathways to develop treatments for cancer, pain, dermatological, and neurological conditions, appointed Mark Spring, CPA, as chief financial officer, effective November 1, 2025. Spring had been serving as a financial consultant to the company since December 2024 and brings 30 years of experience, including financial leadership of private and public, domestic and multinational, commercial, and development stage companies. Spring recently served as interim CFO for LENZ Therapeutics through its reverse merger transaction and was co-founder and CFO of Secura Bio, a commercial-stage oncology therapeutics company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Monmouth College, completed postgraduate studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, and is a certified public accountant (active).
Mark Spring
Atossa Therapeutics, a publicly traded, clinical-stage biopharma company developing new approaches to breast cancer treatment and prevention, announced Mark Daniel, CPA (WA; inactive), as its chief financial officer. Daniel has more than 25 years of experience and has overseen weekly revenue forecasting in partnership with commercial leadership, managed operating expense budgets exceeding $200 million, implemented and certified Sarbanes-Oxley controls, and led programs delivering over $50 million in cost savings. Daniel also brings deep treasury and capital-markets expertise relevant to Atossa’s transition from clinical development to commercialization, as the company plans its launch path for (Z)-endoxifen.
Climb Bio, a publicly traded, clinical-stage biotech company developing therapeutics for immune-mediated diseases, appointed Susan Altschuller, PhD, MBA, as chief financial officer. Altschuller brings over two decades of strategic and financial leadership experience, including her role as CFO of Cerevel Therapeutics until its $8.7 billion acquisition by AbbVie, and as CFO of ImmunoGen, supporting the company’s first commercial launch. Altschuller holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Biomedical Engineering with honors from Tulane University, a PhD in biomedical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
CREATE Medicines, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing RNA-based in vivo multi-immune programming, has named Allan L. Shaw as chief financial officer and chief business officer. Shaw has more than 20 years of experience in financing, strategic planning, and corporate development and has served as CFO of five publicly traded companies, including Serono S.A. and Syndax Pharmaceuticals. He joins CREATE as the company expands its clinical and commercial ambitions.
Allan Shaw
Publicly traded, clinical-stage biopharma Fate Therapeutics announced the appointment of Kamal Adawi, MS, MBA, as chief financial officer. Adawi brings more than 20 years of financial leadership experience in the life sciences industry, including over 10 years as CFO at companies in various stages of growth. Fate is progressing its clinical programs and is on a registrational path for FT819 in systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE.
Adawi was most recently the CFO of Mindera Health, a precision medicine company for autoimmune skin disorders. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Michigan State University, an MBA from Oakland University, and an MS in Finance from San Diego State University.
Kamal Adawi
Phathom Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded, commercial biopharma company, announced the appointment of Sanjeev Narula as chief financial and business officer. Narula most recently was CFO at Intra-Cellular Therapies, where he oversaw its $14.6 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. He has served as CFO at other biopharma companies as well as in roles across commercial, R&D, IT, and global supply. Narula earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from the University of Delhi and is a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Phathom focuses on gastrointestinal diseases and has in-licensed the exclusive rights to vonoprazan, a first-in-class potassium-competitive acid blocker, for the U.S., Europe and Canada.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage neuroscience-focused biopharma company that is traded publicly, has appointed Tucker Kelly as its chief financial officer. He joins the company as it prepares to report topline results and plans for the anticipated launch of azetukalner in epilepsy. Kelly most recently served as executive vice president, CFO and treasurer at Deciphera Pharmaceuticals. Kelly was a life sciences investment banker at Robertson Stephens and Canaccord Adams, and earlier in his career was an attorney in the corporate and securities group of Foley Hoag LLP. Kelly received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School.
These announcements are from October 1 through October 27, 2025, as posted on BusinessWire, PRNewswire, Yahoo Finance, or company postings. If your company has an executive appointment announcement related to finance and accounting, please forward to Brandy Fidler at [email protected].
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