Cyclerion Announces Leadership Transitions
Cyclerion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CYCN) announced key executive promotions effective January 1, 2021. Anjeza Gjino has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Bill Huyett, who will transition to a part-time Strategic Advisor role. Cheryl Gault is elevated to Chief Operating Officer. Amy Schulman is stepping down from the Board of Directors. Both Gjino and Gault have extensive backgrounds, with Gjino previously leading finance at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Gault having significant corporate strategy experience. These changes are expected to strengthen leadership and strategic direction at Cyclerion.
- Promotion of Anjeza Gjino to Chief Financial Officer may enhance financial oversight and strategic funding initiatives.
- Cheryl Gault's elevation to Chief Operating Officer could lead to improved operational efficiency and new product planning.
- Transitioning Bill Huyett to a Strategic Advisor role may cause concerns over continuity in financial leadership.
- The departure of Amy Schulman from the Board could create gaps in governance and strategic insight.
Anjeza Gjino promoted to Chief Financial Officer; Bill Huyett to transition to Strategic Advisor
Cheryl Gault promoted to Chief Operating Officer
Amy Schulman stepping down from Board of Directors
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CYCN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines for people with serious diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), today announced, effective January 1, 2021, the promotions of Cheryl Gault to Chief Operating Officer and Anjeza Gjino to Chief Financial Officer. Bill Huyett, the Company’s current CFO, will continue to work part-time as a Strategic Advisor providing strategic, operational, and organizational development insight.
Cyclerion also announced that Amy Schulman, Managing Director of Polaris Partners, will be stepping down from the Board of Directors. Terrance McGuire, Co-founder and General Partner of Polaris Partners, continues to serve on the Board of Directors.
“Cyclerion puts a high priority on recruiting and developing outstanding talent and preparing them to take on broader responsibilities. Cheryl and Anjeza are terrific leaders who have made important contributions to Cyclerion, and I congratulate them on their expanded roles. I am pleased that we will continue to benefit from Bill’s strategic acumen going forward. I also want to express my deep appreciation to Amy Schulman for her service as a founding member of the Company’s Board of Directors,” said Peter Hecht, Ph.D., Cyclerion’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Cyclerion executive team directly reporting to Dr. Hecht includes Andy Busch, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer; Cheryl Gault, Chief Operating Officer; Anjeza Gjino, Chief Financial Officer; and Chris Wright, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer.
Anjeza Gjino was Vice President, Finance and Corporate Secretary and helped lead the execution of the Company’s spin-off, the creation of the Company’s financial systems and processes, its strategic funding and capital allocation efforts, and also has served as Corporate Secretary. Previously, Ms. Gjino served as head of Financial Planning and Analysis at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, supporting the transition to commercialization. Earlier, Ms. Gjino held various finance roles at PerkinElmer. While at Ironwood and PerkinElmer, she provided financial counsel that included strategic planning, portfolio optimization, business development and commercial execution. Ms. Gjino holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in corporate finance from Bentley University.
Cheryl Gault was Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and Corporate Development. Ms. Gault has been responsible for corporate and business development, program management, portfolio strategy, new product planning, and corporate strategy functions. Previously, Ms. Gault served as Vice President, Commercial Strategy & New Product Planning at Ironwood, where she partnered with the R&D team to advance differentiated pipeline programs and played a central role in the launch of LINZESS®, the market leader in irritable bowel disease. Prior to that, she was at Genzyme Corporation in a variety of sales and marketing roles in the biosurgery division, including in a leadership role in the launch of Synvisc-ONE, an injectable for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Ms. Gault obtained her BA in marketing from Boston College.
About Cyclerion Therapeutics
Cyclerion Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative medicines for people with serious diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Cyclerion’s lead program is CY6463, previously known as IW-6463, a pioneering CNS-penetrant sGC stimulator in clinical development for Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-like episodes (MELAS) and Alzheimer's Disease with Vascular pathology (ADv).
For more information about Cyclerion, please visit https://www.cyclerion.com/ and follow us on Twitter (@Cyclerion) and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/cyclerion).
Forward Looking Statement –
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Our forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our management team that involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties. We may, in some cases use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “likely,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of the future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include the risks listed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our 2019 Form 10-K filed on March 12, 2020, and in Cyclerion’s subsequent SEC filings, including the Form 10-Qs filed on May 4, 2020, August 3, 2020 and November 5, 2020. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements (except as otherwise noted) speak only as of the date of this press release, and Cyclerion undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Investors
Carlo Tanzi, Ph.D.
Kendall Investor Relations
ctanzi@kendallir.com
FAQ
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