Rhythm is guided by strong leadership at every level. We share an unrelenting drive to develop new therapies for rare neuroendocrine diseases, offering hope to patients and their families.
David Meeker, MD
David Meeker, MD
Dr. David Meeker, a member of Rhythm’s Board of Directors since 2015 and Chairman of the Board since 2017, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in July 2020. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of KSQ Therapeutics for approximately three years. Previously, David was the Executive Vice President and Head of Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty-care global business unit of Sanofi that focused on rare diseases, multiple sclerosis, oncology, and immunology. He joined Genzyme in 1994 as Medical Director and, over the course of his tenure, served the company as Vice President of Medical Affairs, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. He led Genzyme’s commercial organization and global market access functions and managed the launch of several treatments for rare genetic diseases, including Aldurazyme®, Fabrazyme® and Myozyme®. Prior to his tenure with Genzyme, David was Director of the Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Ohio State University. Dr. Meeker earned his MD from the University of Vermont Medical School and completed the advanced management program at Harvard Business School.
Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Lee joined Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in November 2020 as Executive Vice President North America. Jennifer brings more than 20 years of strategy and commercial experience in rare diseases. Most recently, she was the Chief Commercial Officer at Krystal Biotech. Prior to that, she served as Vice President, Head of Genetic Diseases at Sanofi Genzyme, where she was responsible for the U.S. commercial strategy and implementation for seven brands and launch preparation within rare diseases. During her time at Sanofi Genzyme, Jennifer also held leadership roles as Vice President, Head of Global Nephrological Diseases, Senior Director of Global Marketing in Fabry disease, Senior Director of Global Market Access and International Marketing for the cardiovascular business, and Director of Business Development. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s in public health from Harvard University.
Yann Mazabraud
Yann Mazabraud
Yann Mazabraud joined Rhythm as Executive Vice President, Head of International, in October 2020. Yann brings more than two decades of experience leading rare disease global commercial strategy, market access and marketing. He joined the Company from Trevi Therapeutics, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International for two years. Prior to that, he held several leadership positions at Sanofi Genzyme, including, Head of Latin America, U.S. General Manager and North America Head, Rare Diseases. He also served as a member of the Sanofi Genzyme Executive Leadership Team. While at Genzyme and Sanofi Genzyme, he led and managed several launches for rare genetic diseases in Europe, Latin America and the United States across multiple areas including genetics, pediatrics, nephrology, neurology, and endocrinology. Yann holds a master’s degree in management from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de La Rochelle.
Hunter Smith
Hunter Smith
Hunter Smith has been our Chief Financial Officer since August 2017, and served as our interim Chief Executive Officer from March to July 2020. Since joining Rhythm, Hunter has led financings of over $1 billion in public equity, royalty, and convertible preferred stock markets. He has over 30 years’ experience in global finance and management roles across multiple industries and financial disciplines, including expertise in business analysis and planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and investor relations.
He joined Rhythm from Celgene Corporation, where he served as Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Company’s Inflammation and Immunology Business Unit. In this role, Hunter provided finance leadership for the global launch of Otezla® and led global business planning and analysis for operations in over 16 countries.
Before joining Celgene, Hunter worked for fourteen years in roles of increasing responsibility at Bunge Limited, including Director of Investor Relations, Chief Financial Officer–Asia, Chief Risk Officer, Corporate Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of Bunge’s Sugar and Bioenergy Segment.
He holds an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a BA in History, with honors, from Northwestern University. Hunter serves on the Board of Directors of Vanqua Bio. He previously served as an Independent Director and Audit Chair of Aeglea Biotherapeutics Inc. through its reverse merger with Spyre Therapeutics, and Genessee & Wyoming Inc., from 2015 until its acquisition by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in December 2019.
Joe Shulman
Joe Shulman
Joe Shulman was promoted to Chief Technical Officer in 2022. He had joined Rhythm as our Senior Vice President, Technical Operations in July 2020. Joe brings more than 20 years of industry experience and is responsible for chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC), clinical and commercial supply chains, and cGMP quality assurance and quality control. Prior to joining Rhythm, Joe served as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at Ra Pharmaceuticals, acquired by UCB in 2020, where he oversaw all aspects of CMC development, pre-commercialization supply chain planning and strategy as a member of the executive leadership team. Before that, he was senior vice president of global technical operations at Novelion Therapeutics, where he had responsibility for CMC, quality assurance, program management, patient/hub services, and global patient supply of Juxtapid® and Myalept®, two globally marketed products for rare metabolic diseases. Earlier in his career, Joe held roles of increasing responsibility at biotechnology companies in the areas of CMC, technical operations, and program and alliance management. He holds an MBA from Boston University and earned a BS in chemical engineering from Miami University.
Alastair Garfield, Ph.D.
Alastair Garfield, Ph.D.
Dr. Alastair Garfield joined Rhythm in July 2024 as Chief Scientific Officer. He rejoins Rhythm after serving as Senior Vice President and Head of Translational Sciences and Strategy at Rectify Pharma, where he helped deliver first-in-class therapeutics for rare disease. Prior to joining Rectify, Dr. Garfield was Senior Vice President and Head of Translational Research at Rhythm. He also held roles at Pfizer, where he was a lab head in the Cardiovascular Metabolic Disease Research Unit and led novel obesity target identification.
Dr. Garfield’s holds a first-class degree in molecular and cellular biology and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of Bath, UK. His postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Cardiff, UK and University of Cambridge, UK focused on neural pathways and genes underlying mammalian energy balance. As an assistant professor at the University of Edinburgh, UK and visiting professor Harvard Medical School, Dr. Garfield’s independent research expanded the field’s understanding of the hypothalamic melanocrotinergic networks regulating metabolism, body weight and appetite. His research has been published in leading scientific journals including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and Cell Metabolism. Dr Garfield has authored numerous original research and review articles on the MC4R pathway, including “Melanocortin-4 receptor-regulated energy homeostasis,” which was published in Nature Neuroscience in 2016 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26814590/).
Pamela Cramer
Pamela Cramer
Ms. Cramer joined Rhythm as Chief Human Resources Officer in July 2021. She brings 20 years of leadership experience in organizational effectiveness, talent development and human resources (HR) transformation with globally diverse life sciences and financial services companies. She joins Rhythm from Foundation Medicine, where she most recently served as Head of People Solutions and was responsible for leading HR delivery for its more than 1700 employees. Prior to that, Ms. Cramer held senior HR positions at Cambridge Associates, PAREXEL International and Epsilon Data Management. Earlier in her career, Ms. Cramer served in a wide range of positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and General Electric, where she began her career as a graduate of the Human Resources Leadership Program. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University.
Dana Washburn, MD
Dana Washburn, MD
Dana Washburn joined Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in September 2022 as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development. Dana brings more than 20 years of experience in biopharmaceuticals and medical devices as a physician executive. Most recently, he was Executive Director and Global Medicine Leader at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which became AstraZeneca Rare Disease following its July 2021 acquisition. Prior to that, Dana was Chief Medical Officer at Lyra Therapeutics, Corporate Vice President and Head of Global Medical Services for Parexel International, and CMO of Lantheus Medical Imaging. Earlier in his career, he was a cardiologist at the Framingham Heart Center, and he also served as Assistant Director of the Cardiovascular Hemodynamic and Imaging Laboratory at Tufts Medical Center. Dana holds a medical degree from the University of Massachusetts.
Elisabeth Crönert-Bendell, MD, MBA
Elisabeth Crönert-Bendell, MD, MBA
Elisabeth Crönert-Bendell joined Rhythm in April 2021 bringing over 20 years of country level, regional and global strategy and commercial experience in specialty care and rare diseases. Most recently, she was Head of the Neuroscience Business Franchise and Head of New Product Planning at Kyowa Kirin International. Prior to that, she was a senior vice president at Sanofi where she led the strategy for Neuroscience and Rare Disease at the Genzyme Business Unit. Elisabeth also worked in strategic consulting at Monitor (now Monitor-Deloitte). She also held leadership roles of increasing responsibility in Sanofi from Sales & Marketing roles in the French affiliate to global positions (head of the rare cardio franchise, head of new product planning). Elisabeth is a physician who specializes as a neurologist and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Jim Flaherty
Jim Flaherty
Jim Flaherty, our Senior Vice President and General Counsel, joined Rhythm in July 2019 and is responsible for all legal and compliance matters. Prior to joining us, Jim spent six years at Fresenius Medical Care, a dialysis and renal care company, where he served as VP & Associate General Counsel supporting the Renal Therapies Group pharmaceutical and medical device division, Frenova Renal Research, the Renal Research Institute (RRI), and the FreseniusRx pharmacy. Before that, Jim was with the law firm Foley Hoag in Boston for eleven years, where he advised pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies on a variety of legal issues, including intellectual property, commercial, and regulatory matters, among others. Before Foley Hoag, Jim began his career with Johnson & Johnson, serving as Regulatory Affairs Manager at the Codman neurosurgical division. Jim is a registered patent attorney and earned his bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs and Health Policy (RAHP) at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and law degree, summa cum laude, at Suffolk University Law School.
David Meeker, MD
Chairman
Dr. David Meeker, a member of Rhythm’s Board of Directors since 2015 and Chairman of the Board since 2017, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in July 2020. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of KSQ Therapeutics for approximately three years. Previously, David was the Executive Vice President and Head of Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty-care global business unit of Sanofi that focused on rare diseases, multiple sclerosis, oncology, and immunology. He joined Genzyme in 1994 as Medical Director and, over the course of his tenure, served the company as Vice President of Medical Affairs, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. He led Genzyme’s commercial organization and global market access functions and managed the launch of several treatments for rare genetic diseases, including Aldurazyme®, Fabrazyme® and Myozyme®. Prior to his tenure with Genzyme, David was Director of the Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Ohio State University. Dr. Meeker earned his MD from the University of Vermont Medical School and completed the advanced management program at Harvard Business School.
Ed Mathers
Lead Independent Director
Mr. Mathers has served as a member of our Board of Directors since March 2013 and was named Lead Independent Director in January 2021. He joined NEA as a partner in August 2008 and is focused on biotechnology and specialty pharmaceuticals investments. He is a director of Ra Pharmaceuticals, Envisia Therapeutics, Synlogic, Lumos Pharma, Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Senti Biosciences, Inozyme Pharma, Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Akouos, Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Trevi Therapeutics, Curzian, and ObsEva. Previously, he was a board member of Lumena Pharmaceuticals (sold to Shire), Ziarco (sold to Novartis), Motus Therapeutics (sold to Allergan), Plexxikon (sold to Daiichi Sankyo), Intarcia Therapeutics, Satori Pharmaceuticals, Liquidia, Southeast BIO, MedImmune, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Prior to joining NEA, Mr. Mathers most recently served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Venture, at MedImmune. In this role, he was a member of the leadership team that executed the sale of the company to AstraZeneca for $15.6 billion in 2007. Before joining MedImmune in 2002, he was Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Licensing and Acquisitions at Inhale Therapeutic Systems. Mr. Mathers spent 15 years at Glaxo Wellcome, Inc. (GlaxoSmithKline), where he held sales and marketing positions of increasing responsibility. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from North Carolina State University.
Stuart Arbuckle
Mr. Arbuckle has served as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2019. Mr. Arbuckle is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he oversees Vertex’s global commercial team, which includes activities that support the approved use of Vertex’s marketed medicines around the world. He also leads the program and portfolio management, human resources and corporate communications functions. Prior to joining Vertex, Mr. Arbuckle held several commercial leadership positions at Amgen, including leading sales and marketing efforts for Amgen’s portfolio of cancer medicines, leading the successful launches of XGEVA® injection and Nplate® injection, and leading efforts to expand the company’s presence in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Prior to these roles, Mr. Arbuckle spent 15 years at GlaxoSmithKline, where he held sales and marketing roles for medicines aimed at treating metabolic, respiratory, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and other diseases. Mr. Arbuckle currently serves as a board member of ImmunoGen and as a national board member of Cancer Support Community, an international non-profit organization dedicated to providing support and education to people affected by cancer. He also serves on the Executive Committee and Health Section Governing Board for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), where he is co-chair of the BIO Standing Committee on Access & Value. Mr. Arbuckle holds a BS in Pharmacology and Physiology from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.
Camille L. Bedrosian, MD
Dr. Bedrosian has served as a member of our Board since December 2020. Since November 2023, she has served as Chief Medical Officer of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company. Previously, Dr. Bedrosian served at Ultragenyx as the Executive Vice President and CMO, where she was responsible for leading drug development programs and supporting translational research programs. During her time there, she helped Ultragenyx grow and greatly advance its many pipeline programs in rare genetic diseases to their pivotal stages. While CMO for Alexion, she provided leadership for the development of drugs and drug candidates including those designed to address devastating rare diseases caused by defects in the complement system for people with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. She also had served as CMO at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, and previously in the Clinical Research and Development Department of Genetics Institute, Inc. Before transitioning to industry, Dr. Bedrosian was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center where she was a member of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Bedrosian holds an AB from Harvard University, MD from Harvard Medical School, and MS in Biophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jennifer Good
Ms. Good has served as a member of our Board of Directors since June 2019. She is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Trevi Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing nalbuphine ER to treat serious neurologically mediated conditions, which she co-founded in March 2011. Previously, Ms. Good worked at Penwest Pharmaceuticals from 1997 to 2010, where she held various positions including President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, and led the company through its transition from development-stage into a revenue-generating entity. Ms. Good served on the board of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded healthcare company, from September 2017 until it was acquired by Catalent, Inc. in August 2018. She has also served as a board member of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), a patient advocacy group advancing treatments for the cure of Friedreich’s ataxia, since 2011, and is the Treasurer for a nonprofit organization, Newtown Youth & Family Services, which provides mental health services and programs to support the community. Ms. Good holds her BBA in accounting from Pacific Lutheran University in 1987 and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the State of Washington, although her license is currently inactive.
Christophe R. Jean
Mr. Jean has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 2015. He is a seasoned global pharmaceutical industry executive, having held leadership positions in strategy, finance, business development, M&A and alliances, and managing international operations. He recently retired from Ipsen in July 2018, where he was Executive Vice President for Corporate Strategy, Business Development, and Strategic Alliances, a position he assumed in 2013 after serving for 11 years in the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for all commercial operations and medical affairs worldwide as well as Ipsen’s therapeutic area franchises. Prior to joining Ipsen, Mr. Jean was President and CEO for the pharmaceutical activities of the Pierre Fabre Group and President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Novartis’ Pharmaceutical Division. Prior to the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz that formed Novartis, he held a number of marketing and management positions in Europe and Latin America for Ciba-Geigy, culminating as Head of Finance and IT Worldwide and Member of the Pharma Executive Committee. Mr. Jean is a Senior Advisor of JSB Partners, a boutique firm providing advisory services to the pharmaceutical industry, and he presently is a board member of Keosys and B-Cell-Design in France. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
David McGirr
Mr. McGirr has served as a member of our Board of Directors since November 2015. Mr. McGirr serves as a director of Insmed Inc., a pharmaceutical company devoted to the treatment of rare diseases; Menlo Therapeutics Inc., focused on the development of serlopitant for the treatment of pruritus (itch) associated with various conditions; and X4 Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is developing therapeutics to improve immune cell trafficking to treat rare diseases. From March 2013 until June 2014, Mr. McGirr was Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, and from November 2002 to March 2013, Mr. McGirr was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cubist. Prior to joining Cubist, Mr. McGirr was President and Chief Operating Officer of Hippo Inc., an Internet technology company, from 1999 to 2002, for which he also served as a director. He was President Chief Executive Officer of GAB Robins North America, Inc., a risk management company, from 1997 to 1999, where he had previously served as President from 1996 to 1997. Mr. McGirr was a private equity investor from 1995 to 1996. Prior to that, he served in various positions within the S.G. Warburg Group from 1978 to 1995, ultimately as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Managing Director of S.G. Warburg & Co., Inc., a position he held from 1992 to 1995. Mr. McGirr received a BS in civil engineering from the University of Glasgow and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Lynn Tetrault, JD
Ms. Tetrault has served as a member of our Board since December 2020. She is a global business leader with more than 25 years of experience in the health care industry. Ms. Tetrault spent most of her career with Astra Zeneca PLC, serving in a variety of senior roles, including as EVP of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs for seven years. She joined the Board of Neo Genomics Clinical Laboratories in 2015 and is currently Lead Independent Director. Ms. Tetrault is the founder of Anahata Leadership, an advisory firm focused on supporting the leadership and development of executive women. She is a Fellow of Simmons University’s Institute for Inclusive Leadership and is a Director of Paradigm for Parity, a non-profit organization whose mission is to close the gender parity gap in corporate leadership by 2030. She began her career as a lawyer in private healthcare practice in Boston. Ms. Tetrault holds a BA from Princeton University and a JD from the University of Virginia.
