Board of Directors

Mark was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and Board member of Silence Therapeutics in September 2020.

Mark has three decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry including driving the transition of multiple emerging biotech companies from R&D stage to commercialization. During his career, he has focused on bringing novel therapies to patients with rare diseases and has launched seven orphan drugs. Mark previously served as CEO of Orchard Therapeutics, where he oversaw its transformation from a small U.K.-based, privately held company with two clinical-stage programmes into a leading gene therapy company with seven clinical-stage programmes and fully integrated capabilities. Prior to that, Mark served as chief commercial officer of PTC Therapeutics, where he successfully launched two rare disease therapies and helped lead the company’s transition from a private, U.S.-based R&D biotech to a public company with a global commercial footprint. Mark’s previous roles include serving as head of the EMEA region of Shire Human Genetics and Commercial Director for EMEA region for Chiron/PathoGeneis.

Mark holds an M.A. in natural sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Iain Ross has served as our Chairman since April 2019. Mr. Ross previously served as our Chairman between 2004 and 2010.

Mr. Ross has over 40 years’ experience in the international life sciences and technology sectors, where he has held leadership positions as an executive and board member of numerous companies. In addition to serving as our non-executive chairman, Mr. Ross currently serves as non-executive chairman of Redx Pharma plc and Kazia Therapeutics Limited. In his career, Mr. Ross has held senior positions at several companies including Sandoz AG, Fisons Plc, Hoffmann-La Roche AG and Celltech Group Plc and he has also advised banks and private equity firms on numerous company turnarounds. Mr. Ross has overseen multiple financing transactions in his career, and he has led and participated in six initial public offerings, including four on the London Stock Exchange, one on Nasdaq and one on the Australian Stock Exchange. Mr. Ross holds a BSc degree in Biochemistry from London University, is a qualified Chartered Director and is the former Vice Chairman of the Council of Royal Holloway, London University.

We believe that Mr. Ross is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as well as his track record while leading numerous multinational companies.

James Ede-Golightly has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2019.

Mr. Ede-Golightly is currently non-executive director of Gulfsands Petroleum Plc, East Balkan Properties Plc and Oxford Advanced Surfaces Ltd. Among other directorships, Mr. Ede-Golightly is a non-executive director of Oxehealth Ltd, Sarossa plc and Serendipity Capital Ltd and has extensive experience as a non-executive director of AIM-quoted companies with international business interests. Mr. Ede-Golightly was a founder of ORA Capital Partners in 2006, having previously worked as an analyst at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and Commerzbank. Mr. Ede-Golightly is a CFA Charterholder and holds an M.A. degree in economics from Cambridge University. In 2012, he was awarded New Chartered Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors.

We believe that Mr. Ede-Golightly is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his experience as a director on several publicly-listed companies and his financial background.

Alistair Gray has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2015 and was appointed as Senior Independent Director in December 2019.

Mr. Gray currently serves as non-executive director/chair of the Edrington Group’s Employee Benefit Trust, Scottish Enterprise’s Pension Trustee Board and Clyde Bergemann Pension Scheme. Mr. Gray is also a founder and director of Renaissance & Company, a strategic management consultancy firm. Mr. Gray previously held senior management positions with Unilever and John Wood Group PLC, and he also chaired the Audit and Remuneration committees of AorTech International PLC and Highland Distillers PLC. Mr. Gray entered strategic management consulting at Arthur Young (now Ernst and Young) Management Consultants and PA Consulting Group, where he served as a director for over ten years. Mr. Gray also served as a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and Institute of Consultants. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in Mathematics and Economics, following this with a management accounting qualification. He is a member of the faculty of Strathclyde Business School and a Visiting Professor at the University’s Design Manufacturing and Engineering Management department.

We believe that Mr. Gray is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive consultancy and business experience.

Dave Lemus has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2018.

Mr. Lemus is currently the Chief Executive Officer & Chief Financial Officer of Ironshore Pharmaceuticals Inc.. From January 2016 to May 2017, Mr. Lemus served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Medigene AG. From 2011 to 2015, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Sigma Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Lemus was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of MorphoSys AG from 1998 to 2011, during which time he helped take the company public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany’s first biotechnology initial public offering. In addition to his position on our board of directors, Mr. Lemus also currently serves on the boards of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and BioHealthInnovation, Inc.. Mr. Lemus received an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Maryland College Park. Mr. Lemus is also a Certified Public Accountant in the United States.

We believe that Mr. Lemus is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his financial expertise and experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Steven Romano, M.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2019.

Dr. Romano is a board-certified psychiatrist and pharmaceutical executive with 25 years of research and development experience across a wide range of therapeutic and disease areas. Dr. Romano currently serves as executive vice president and chief scientific officer at Mallinckrodt plc, where he has responsibility for research and development and regulatory and medical affairs. Prior to joining Mallinckrodt, Dr. Romano spent 16 years at Pfizer, Inc. where he held a series of senior research and development and medical roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in his most recent position as SVP, Head, Global Medicines Development, Global Innovative Pharmaceuticals Business. Dr. Romano received his M.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in biology and English literature.

We believe that Dr. Romano is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his experience in the pharmaceutical industry and his medical background.

Giles Campion, M.D. has served as our Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer since June 2019 and as a member of our board of directors since May 2020.

Dr. Campion is an expert in translational medicine and a highly experienced biotech and pharmaceutical professional across many therapeutic areas, most recently in orphan neuromuscular disorders. He has held senior global research and development roles in several large pharmaceutical, diagnostics and biotech companies, including responsibilities at the board level. Dr. Campion served as Chief Medical Officer for Albumedix Ltd. from January 2017 to July 2018. He previously served Group Vice President, Neuromuscular Franchise at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., or BioMarin, from February 2015 to March 2016, following BioMarin’s acquisition of Prosensa Holding N.V., or Prosensa. Dr. Campion served as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Prosensa from 2009 until its acquisition by BioMarin. Dr. Campion has also served as a medical advisor to MyoTherix, Inc. and a co-founder of PepGen Ltd.
Dr. Campion holds bachelors and doctorate degrees in medicine from the University of Bristol, is listed on the General Medical Council (UK) Specialist Register (Rheumatology).

We believe that Dr. Campion is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his medical background and his significant industry experience in senior research and development
positions.