Sijmen de Vries, MD MBA
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. de Vries has been our Chief Executive Officer since 2008, and he has also served in the capacity of interim Chief Financial Officer from May 2020 through November 16, 2020, upon the commencement of Mr. Wakkerman’s tenure as Chief Financial Officer. Dr. de Vries is responsible for daily management of the company and the execution of the strategy. Prior to joining Pharming, Dr. de Vries was the CEO of 4-Antibody and Morphochem AG. Dr. de Vries also held senior business and commercial positions at Novartis, Novartis Ophthalmics and at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals plc. Dr. de Vries holds an MD degree from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA in General Management from Ashridge Management College in the United Kingdom. Dr. de Vries is on the Board of Directors of Pharming's fill & finish partner, BioConnection B.V. and is also a non-executive director of Midatech Pharma plc.
Paul Sekhri
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Member of the Corporate Governance Committee
Mr. Sekhri has been the Chairman of our Board of Directors (or the former Board of Supervisory Directors until December 2020) since 2016 and has served as a director since 2015. Mr. Sekhri was appointed the President and CEO and Director of vTv Therapeutics, Inc. in August 2022. Prior to joining vTv Therapeutics, Mr. Sekhri served as President and CEO of eGenesis, Inc. in 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Sekhri served as President and CEO of Lycera Corp from February 2015 through December 2018. From April 2014 through January 2015, Mr. Sekhri served as Senior Vice President, Integrated Care at Sanofi. From May 2013 through March 2014, Mr. Sekhri served as Group Executive Vice President, Global Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Prior to joining Teva, Mr. Sekhri spent five years as Operating Partner and Head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech, the life sciences venture capital arm of TPG Capital. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Sekhri was Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to founding Cerimon, Mr. Sekhri was President and Chief Business Officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously, Mr. Sekhri spent four years at Novartis, as Senior Vice President, and Head of Global Search and Evaluation, Business Development and Licensing for Novartis Pharma AG. Mr. Sekhri also developed the Disease Area Strategy for Novartis, identifying those specific therapeutic areas upon which the company would focus. Mr. Sekhri’s first role at Novartis was as Global Head, Early Commercial Development. Mr. Sekhri completed graduate work in Neuroscience at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he also received his BS in Zoology. Mr. Sekhri is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Compugen Ltd. and Longboard Pharmaceuticals, and is on the Board of Axcella Therapeutics, eGenesis, Inc., Ipsen S.A., Spring Discovery, Inc., Veeva Systems, Inc. and Oryn Therapeutics. As an avid classical music enthusiast, Mr. Sekhri is on the Boards of The Metropolitan Opera, The Knights, and is the new Chairman of the Board of Young Concert Artists (YCA).
Deborah Jorn, MBA
Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, Member of the Remuneration Committee and Member of the Audit Committee
Ms. Jorn has served as a Non-Executive Director since 2019.
Ms. Jorn is Director & Founder of Jorn Consulting LLC. Ms. Jorn was Executive Vice President of Corporate and Commercial Development at Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals from 2016 to 2018. Prior to joining Eyepoint, she was Executive Vice President and Group Company Chair at Bausch Health (formerly Valeant Pharmaceuticals) where she led the dermatology, gastroenterology and HAE businesses. Ms. Jorn was Chief Global Marketing Officer at Bausch & Lomb prior to its acquisition in 2013 by Bausch Health where she led the launch of several new products and the integration of Ista Pharmaceuticals following acquisition. Previously, she was Group Vice President of Women’s Healthcare and Fertility (2008-2010) and Allergy and Respiratory (2004-2008) at Schering Plough Corporation prior to its acquisition by Merck and Co., Inc. Ms. Jorn was also at Johnson & Johnson as the Worldwide Vice President of Internal Medicine and Early Commercial input. She began her career at Merck and for more than 20 years held roles of progressive responsibility in various functional areas including R&D, Regulatory and Sales and Marketing.
Ms. Jorn served as a member of the Board of Directors of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. from May 2016 until July 2018, Diurnal Group in 2021 and 2022 and ViveveMedical, Inc from May 2016 until March 2023.
Barbara Yanni
Non-Executive Director, Member of the Audit Committee and Member of the Corporate Governance Committee
Ms. Yanni has served as a Non-Executive Director since 2020.
Ms. Yanni was Vice President and Chief Licensing Officer at Merck & Co., a pharmaceutical company, from November 2001 until her retirement in March 2014. Prior to this, Ms. Yanni served in various roles at Merck including in corporate development, financial evaluation, and tax.
Ms. Yanni currently serves on the Board of Directors of three other public biotechnology companies: Oncorus, Inc., Trevena, Inc. and Vaccinex, Inc. Ms. Yanni is also a Member of the Board of Directors of Mesentech, Inc., a private Canadian biotechnology company. Ms. Yanni earned a J.D. from Stanford Law School and an A.B. from Wellesley College. She also holds a Masters of Law in Taxation from New York University. Before joining Merck in 1985 Barbara was a tax lawyer in New York City.
Mark Pykett, VMD, PhD
Non-Executive Director, Member of the Remuneration Committee
Dr. Pykett has served as a Non-Executive Director since 2020.
Dr. Pykett is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the Biotechnology company Myrtelle, Inc. Dr. Pykett was previously the Chief Scientific Officer of PTC Therapeutics. Dr. Pykett was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Agilis Biotherapeutics from 2014 until its acquisition by PTC Therapeutics in 2018. Prior to Agilis, Dr. Pykett served as CEO of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, President of Alseres Pharmaceuticals, President of Cygenics, and President and CEO of Cytomatrix.
Dr. Pykett currently serves on the Board of Directors of the private companies Myrtelle, InFlectis BioSciences and Exubrion Therapeutics. Dr. Pykett holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, a VMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, a B.A. in Biology from Amherst College and an MBA from Northeastern University
Leonard Kruimer
Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Audit Committee
Mr. Kruimer has served as a Non-Executive Director since 2021.
He has more than 30 years of experience in corporate finance, planning and strategy, including 20 years in senior executive positions in private and publicly listed biotechnology companies. Mr. Kruimer served as CFO of Crucell N.V. from 1997 to 2011. Prior to Crucell, he was Managing Director of Europe TIP Trailer, a GE Capital company. Mr. Kruimer was also a consultant with McKinsey & Co and an auditor at Price Waterhouse & Company, New York.
Mr. Kruimer is currently Chairman of the Board at Swedish BioInvent International AB. In addition, he is a Board Member of both Zealand Pharma A/S in Copenhagen and of Basiliea Pharmaceutica in Basel. He is Director of AI Global Investments (Netherlands) PCC Ltd. Mr. Kruimer holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and is Certified Public Accountant in New York State.
Jabine van der Meijs
Non-Executive Director, Chairwoman of the Corporate Governance Committee and Member of the Audit Committee
Mrs. van der Meijs has served as a Non-Executive Director since 2021.
Prior to this, she served as the Executive Vice President & CFO of the Royal Schiphol Group (2017 - 2021) and worked for the Royal Dutch Shell Group for 25 years in primarily financial leadership positions, but also in HR and strategy positions in The Netherlands, Scotland, England, Brunei, and Australia. In her most recent position at Shell, she was VP Finance Projects for Shell’s Projects and Technology business. Mrs. van der Meijs is also a Non-Executive Director at V.Group Ltd (since September 1, 2022) and VFS Global AG (since January 1, 2023). Mrs. van der Meijs is a Member of the Supervisory Board of Koole Terminals Holding B.V. and a Member of the Board of Directors of Grundfos Holding A/S. Previously, Mrs. van der Meijs served as a Non-Executive Director on various boards, including Kendrion N.V., Aeroports de Paris (France) and Brisbane Airport Corporation.
Mrs. van der Meijs holds a Master of Science (Pharmacy) and a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) degree from the University of Utrecht, and she completed her professional accounting degree in the U.K. with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA).
Steven Baert
Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and Member of the Corporate Governance Committee
Mr. Baert is the managing partner of Propuli LLC. and is a senior advisor to private equity and venture capital. He previously served as Chief People Officer and Member of the Executive Committee of Novartis from 2014 until June 2021, and held several leadership roles within that company, including Head of Human Resources for Emerging Growth Markets, Head of Human Resources, United States and Canada, and Global Head, Human Resources, Novartis Oncology. Prior to joining Novartis, Steven held senior HR positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Unilever. Mr. Baert holds a Master of Business Administration from the Vlerick Business School, Gent; a Master of Laws from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and a Bachelor of Laws from the Katholieke Universiteit Brussels. Mr. Baert also serves on the Board of WeSeeHope USA, a charity that focuses on empowering children isolated by poverty in Africa.
