Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors provides senior advice and guidance to help HOOKIPA achieve its vision and comprises individuals with a broad variety of experience.
Julie O´Neill
Julie O’Neill is Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of HOOKIPA. A business professional with more than two decades of executive experience in senior leadership roles, Ms. O’Neill was formerly Executive Vice President, Global Operations at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to Alexion, she was Vice President of Operations at Gilead Sciences. Throughout her career in pharmaceutical operations, Ms. O’Neill has held a number of senior roles at the Board and Committee level. She is currently an Independent Director for at ICON plc, DBV Technologies SA, and ILC Dover LLC and is both a Board member and Audit & Risk Committee Chair for the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research & Training (NIBRT). Ms. O’Neill is a Chartered Director and holds a BSc in Pharmacy from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from University College Dublin.
David R. Kaufman
David R. Kaufman is a Non-Executive Director of the Board of Directors of HOOKIPA. He currently serves as a Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures. Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures,
Dr. Kaufman was Chief Medical Officer and Head of Translational Development at The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, and held several leadership positions at Merck Research Laboratories, including Head of Translational Oncology, Executive Director in Clinical Oncology and Associate Director of the Merck Drug Development and Leadership Program.
Dr. Kaufman is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), a not-for-profit medical professional society dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the science and application of cancer immunotherapy. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology & Immunology from The Rockefeller University and received his M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.
Malte Peters
Malte Peters was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2024 and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of HOOKIPA since January 2023. Dr. Peters retired as Chief Research and Development Officer at MorphoSys at the end of 2022. He joined MorphoSys in 2017 as Chief Development Officer. In these roles, he oversaw the company’s research and development pipeline, including the design and execution of three pivotal studies. Prior to joining MorphoSys, Dr. Peters was Global Head of Clinical Development of the biopharmaceuticals business unit of Sandoz in Germany. Dr. Peters also spent 12 years in leadership positions at Novartis Oncology, including Vice President, Clinical Head and Site Head for Basel, East Hanover and Shanghai. He was responsible for multiple development programs and clinical trials at Novartis, contributing to the approval of several cancer therapies. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Micromet AG and Merck KgaA, and also served as a research scientist in infectious disease.
Dr. Peters is a Member of the Board of Directors at Tango Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TNGX) and serves as Strategic Alliance Officer at EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer). He is board certified in internal medicine and earned his medical degree from Freie Universität in Berlin, with a postdoctoral fellowship in Toronto.
Terry Coelho
Terry Coelho was appointed Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer in July 2024 and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of HOOKIPA since April 2023. She has over 35 years of experience as a multinational leader and executive with broad business, strategic and leadership experience across all areas of finance, business development, investor relations, commercial and supply chain operations at public and private companies in multiple sectors, including pharmaceuticals. She has a proven track record of success in fast paced complex businesses and start-ups, leading business transformations, capital raises and corporate strategy. She was formerly Chief Financial Officer for Gamida Cell LTD, (NASDAQ: GMDA) where she was instrumental in navigating a successful exit for the company.
Prior to Gamida Cell, Terry served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Development Officer for CinCor Pharma, Inc., (NASDAQ: CINC) where she successfully led the company through its 2022 IPO and large follow-on offering, as well as preparing the company for its eventual sale to Astra Zeneca. Previously she served in a number of senior executive leadership roles, including Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ: BDSI), and Chief Financial Officer at both Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ: BCPC) and Diversey, Inc. Ms. Coelho’s experience also includes over seven years at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, primarily with the Oncology division, where she held roles of increasing responsibility focused in business planning and leading global oncology development finance, and 20 years of experience with Mars Incorporated in senior leadership roles, including starting up the Mars chocolate business in Brazil as CEO and General Manager. Ms. Coelho is a Member of the Board of Directors at Inotiv, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOTV), serving as Audit Committee Chair and member of the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She graduated summa cum laude from The American University in Washington, D.C. and earned her M.B.A from the Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais (IBMEC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Sean Cassidy
Sean Cassidy is a Non-Executive Director of the Board of Directors of HOOKIPA. He brings over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, most recently serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Arvinas (NASDAQ: ARVN) from July 2013 to February 2024. While at Arvinas, he led the company through numerous private and public financings, including its IPO in 2018, as well as multiple business development transactions with leading pharmaceutical companies including Merck, Genentech, Pfizer and Bayer. Previously, Mr. Cassidy was the Chief Financial officer at Axerion Therapeutics, Chief Financial Officer of CuraGen Corporation (NASDAQ: CRGN), and the Director and Controller of 454 Life Sciences Corporation.
Mr. Cassidy sits on the board of directors of Automera Therapeutics, Abbratech and ReNetx Bio and is a board member of the Friends of Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, a nonprofit organization that helps improve the health and well-being of pediatric patients and their families. Mr Cassidy is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting and finance and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut.