SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alector, a privately held biotechnology company pioneering immuno-neurology, a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegeneration, today announced the following additions to its board as independent directors:
- David Wehner, Chief Financial Officer of Facebook
- Richard Scheller, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of 23andMe
- Louis J. Lavigne, Jr. former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Genentech
“David, Richard and Lou bring extensive technical and operational expertise to our team, as we continue our progress towards becoming a fully integrated biotechnology company,” said Arnon Rosenthal, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Alector. “We look forward to leveraging their insights in drug development, strategic financial management, business operations and corporate growth strategies in order to accelerate transformative medicines with the goal of curing neurodegenerative diseases.”
Mr. Wehner brings extensive financial and operational experience to Alector. Prior to his current position as chief financial officer of Facebook, Mr. Wehner served as vice president of corporate finance and business planning at Facebook. Before that, he was the chief financial officer of Zynga and served in various positions at Allen & Company for nine years, where he ultimately served as a managing director. Earlier in his career, Mr. Wehner was an equity analyst at Hambrecht & Quist. Mr. Wehner holds an M.S. in applied physics from Stanford University and a B.S. in chemistry from Georgetown University.
Dr. Scheller is a preeminent neuroscientist and experienced drug development leader. Prior to 23andMe, he served as executive vice president and head of Genentech Research and Early Development, and as a member of both the Genentech and Roche executive committees. Prior to joining Genentech, Dr. Scheller was a professor of biological sciences and molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University and was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where, among other prizes, he won the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. He is a member of the board of trustees at the California Institute of Technology; a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; a member of the National Academy of Sciences; and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He earned his B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.
Mr. Lavigne has extensive life science experience. In 2005, he retired from his position as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Genentech, Inc., where he had served in roles of increasing responsibility since 1982. He currently serves on the boards of Accuray, Inc., Assertio, Inc., DocuSign, Inc., Zynga, Inc., Rodan & Fields, LLC, and Puppet, Inc. Mr. Lavigne also previously served on the boards of Allergan, Inc., BMC Software, Inc., and SafeNet, Inc. Mr. Lavigne is a member and former chairman of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals board of directors and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals Foundation. Mr. Lavigne earned a B.S. in business administration from Babson College and an MBA from Temple University.
About Alector
Alector is a privately held biotechnology company whose mission is to empower the immune system to cure neurodegenerative diseases. Alector is headquartered in South San Francisco, Calif. For more information, please visit www.alector.com.