MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured, today announced the appointment of several key leaders as it continues to build its Executive Team. George Golumbeski has been appointed as President and will also serve as a Director on GRAIL’s Board, effective August 1, 2018. Onaiza Cadoret-Manier has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer, and Fred Kohler as Vice President of People. In addition, Angela Lai has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer and now oversees software engineering and data science at GRAIL.
“As we make continued progress in the development of our product candidate for early detection of multiple cancer types, I am excited to welcome these exceptional leaders to the GRAIL team,” said Jennifer Cook, Chief Executive Officer of GRAIL. “George is known globally for his involvement in cutting-edge science and creating strategic partnerships. Onaiza and Fred bring strong strategic and operational experience in commercial-stage companies. Together, these leaders provide a depth of experience that will greatly enhance our team and support our goal of delivering early detection products to people globally.”
“Our data technology expertise and platforms will be foundational for our early detection products, and I’m very pleased to announce the promotion of Angela Lai to lead our experienced software engineering and data science teams at GRAIL,” Ms. Cook continued.
As the company continues its transition to an operational and commercial stage, Ken Drazan has stepped down from his position as President to pursue his passion of helping early-stage start-up companies secure funding and partnerships. He will continue to contribute his business insights and counsel to GRAIL in an advisory role.
“We are grateful for Ken’s contributions, which have helped the company make great strides in its efforts to develop new ways to detect cancer early, including securing the capital to undertake this challenge and growing the company’s operations in Asia,” said Ms. Cook.
About George Golumbeski
George Golumbeski joins GRAIL with more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology industry. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of several biotechnology companies, including KSQ Therapeutics, Carrick Therapeutics, Enanta Pharmaceuticals, and MorphoSys. Dr. Golumbeski was most recently Executive Vice President of Business Development for Celgene, where he was responsible for forging collaborations with biotechnology companies seeking to bring breakthrough medications to people suffering from cancer and chronic inflammation. He holds a PhD in genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and conducted his post-doctoral research in molecular biology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Golumbeski holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Virginia.
About Onaiza Cadoret-Manier
Onaiza Cadoret-Manier joins GRAIL with more than 30 years of international commercial and operations experience, driving growth for Fortune 500 and start-up companies. Before GRAIL, Ms. Cadoret-Manier was Vice President of the Respiratory Franchise at Genentech, where she built and managed a team of more than 400 employees responsible for successfully commercializing Genentech’s portfolio of respiratory medicines with revenue of approximately $3 billion. Before that, she held various senior management positions overseeing sales and marketing for a number of different products at Genentech, Pfizer, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and Quest Diagnostics. Ms. Cadoret-Manier holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Queens College.
About Fred Kohler
Fred Kohler joins GRAIL from Roche where he most recently led transformation work globally. He specializes in organizational assessment and development, as well as talent and performance management. Mr. Kohler has helped companies forge strong partnerships across levels and functions to achieve strategic business and organizational objectives. Previously, Mr. Kohler worked at Autodesk and Juniper Networks where he held a wide variety of HR roles in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Kohler holds an MBA from University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in economics and English from Bucknell University.
About Angela Lai
Angela Lai has been with GRAIL since July 2016. Prior to her promotion to Chief Technology Officer, Ms. Lai served as Vice President of Clinical Technology and was responsible for building the team developing GRAIL’s software systems supporting the company’s population-scale clinical studies. Before joining GRAIL, Ms. Lai was a Vice President at Google, where she led the Product and Engineering teams that developed key Google products, including Search, Payment, and AdWords. She holds a master’s degree in computer engineering and bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and finance from the University of Pennsylvania.
About GRAIL
GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is using the power of high-intensity sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to enhance the scientific understanding of cancer biology, and to develop and commercialize pioneering products for the early detection of cancer. The company is located in Menlo Park, California and Hong Kong. It is supported by leading global investors and pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare companies. For more information, please visit www.grail.com.
