ReNeuron Group PLC said it appointed John Hawkins as its chief financial officer (CFO) and a board member with immediate effect.
The UK-based leader in stem cell derived exosome technologies also announced that Simon Dew will be joining its executive team as chief business officer (CBO).
Hawkins joined ReNeuron in October 2014 as financial controller and was also appointed company secretary in June 2021. He is an experienced finance professional with a breadth of experience gained within a variety of businesses, from large PLCs to family-owned SMEs. Hawkins graduated from university with a 1st class honours degree in industrial chemistry and started his career with KPMG, where he qualified as a chartered accountant and worked for the initial part of his career.
Dew is a senior healthcare executive with extensive experience in Business Development and Corporate Strategy. His career spans working at SmithKline Beecham, IQVIA, Astellas Pharma, Gyroscope and more recently exosomes company Evox Therapeutics, where he was responsible for leading two transformational partnership deals with global pharmaceutical companies.
Additionally, ReNeuron said it is making other changes to its executive team. With immediate effect, Dr Randolph Corteling assumes the role of chief scientific officer (CSO) with Professor Stefano Pluchino moving to the role of chair of the company's Scientific Advisory Board, continuing to combine working with ReNeuron and his academic work in Exosomes and Regenerative Neuroimmunology at the University of Cambridge.
Meanwhile, Suzanne Hancock, currently Head of Operations, who has worked with the group since 2017, moves to the position of chief operations officer (COO), it added.
In a statement, Iain Ross, ReNeuron non-executive chairman, commented: "I am delighted to announce John Hawkins' appointment as CFO and a director of the Company and also to welcome Simon Dew as member of the Executive team. I believe under Catherine's leadership we have a strong executive team in place to execute our plans."
Catherine Isted, ReNeuron chief executive officer, added: "I am delighted John has accepted the position of CFO. He has been a key part of the team redefining the operational and strategic focus of the Group and his extensive knowledge of the business and tireless work ethic have been invaluable especially in this period of transition."
"The appointment of Simon Dew as CBO will be a key role in the new ReNeuron Executive team to maximise the opportunity we see ahead of us in the field and to accelerate our partnership opportunities. We are delighted to have been able to attract a candidate of such high calibre and experience, especially in the field of exosomes, to join the Group.
"With the other Executive changes announced today, I believe we have the right team in place to deliver on the full potential that our customisable Exosomes platform has to offer to biotech and pharma partners and ultimately deliver value to our shareholders as we build ReNeuron into the sustainable growing and commercially validated business we know it can become," she concluded.