Board of Directors
Zeev Zehavi, MBA
Chairman
Since joining Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) in 1999 as Vice President Venture Investments, Zeev has held multiple positions within the organization. From 2007-2015, Zeev served as the JJDC European representative out of Belgium, covering investments across Europe and Israel for all Johnson & Johnson sectors including Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Consumer.
Prior to joining JJDC, Zeev spent over 10 years with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., including a five-year assignment as President of the bulk chemical business in North America. He returned to Israel as President of Clal Pharmaceutical Industries (CPI) for four years, leading private equity investments in companies within areas of Generic R&D, Drug delivery, Chiral chemistry, and a large Public Commercial US entity.
Zeev has retired from JJDC in December of 2022 and serves as an Independent Industry expert board member and Advisor in several companies in the field of Life Science
Zeev holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Finance from Tel Aviv University
Lior Teitelbaum, MBA
Director
Mr. Lior Teitelbaum is a senior Director, Venture Investments Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc. Prior to joining JJDC, Lior was the Chief Business Officer at FutuRx. Lior is a healthcare executive experienced in Investments, Business Development, Strategy, Licensing, Partnering, Portfolio Planning and Strategic Alliance Management in the Medical Technology, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries. Lior was a co-founder and VP Business Development of MindUP , Israel’s first digital health incubator created by IBM, Medtronic, Pitango and Rambam Medical center in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority. Prior to that Lior was Senior Director of Business Development at BioLineRx Ltd., a biopharmaceutical development company where he led in-licensing, portfolio management and the strategic partnership with Novartis Pharma. Lior holds an MBA from the Recanati School of management at Tel Aviv University and an MSc. with distinction in Molecular Genetics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Lior is a graduate of the IDF Chaman Talpiot program and served as a team leader at the 8200 Intelligence unit.
Erez Chimovits, MBA, MSc
Director
Erez Chimovits has served as a member of our board of directors since its incorporation. Mr. Chimovits is a Partner at OrbiMed Israel, an investment firm. Mr. Chimovits currently serves as a director of several private companies. Mr. Chimovits also previously served on the boards of directors of Adicet Bio, Inc., BiomX Inc., Galecto, Inc., LogicBio Therapeutics, Inc., and Novus Therapeutics Inc. Mr. Chimovits has extensive operational experience, including senior managerial experience at public companies. Prior to joining OrbiMed, he was Chief Executive Officer of NasVax Ltd. And served different roles at Compugen USA Inc., formerly as President and as Executive Vice President in Commercial Operations. Mr. Chimovits earned his M.B.A., M.Sc. in Microbiology, and his B.Sc. from Tel Aviv University. We believe that Mr. Chimovits is qualified to serve on our board of directors based on his roles on several public and private boards of directors as well as his extensive experience in investing in healthcare companies.
Michael Martin, PhD
Director
Michael Martin is the Global Head of Takeda Ventures, Inc. (TVI) and is based in San Diego, California. His professional background includes venture capital, pharma business development and broad R&D experiences with an integral role in the discovery and development of 17 innovative investigational drugs and 4 commercial products. Prior to joining TVI, Michael was most recently a member of Global Licensing and Business Development at Takeda, heading efforts for sourcing and transacting technologies and early stage pipeline programs. He has held executive and scientific roles with Intellikine (acquired by Takeda), TargeGen (acquired by Sanofi-Aventis), Arena Pharmaceuticals and Monsanto Corporation. Michael earned his doctorate in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Illinois and holds a M.S. degree in analytical chemistry and B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics.
Lee Cooper, J.D., MBA
Director
Lee is Director of Venture Investments with Leaps by Bayer, where he aims to contribute to new biotechnologies that enable patients and communities to live healthier lives. Prior to joining Leaps, Lee was Entrepreneur-in-Residence with RA Capital and founder of Enlight Bio, a biotech focused on genetic disease. Previously, Lee worked in corporate development for Moderna Therapeutics, leading and supporting collaborations, financings, and other initiatives to advance mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Lee is founder of the Institute for Genetic Disease Prevention and has written on innovation and ethics for Wired, Slate, Neo.Life, STAT News, and other publications. Lee earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Columbia University where he was a Stone Scholar and currently lectures on topics in biotechnology, and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College with an A.B. in Religion and Public Policy.