Adare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced changes to its Leadership Team to support the next phase of its growth strategy. Since its creation in 2015, the Company has been committed to becoming a global specialty pharmaceutical company applying its longstanding product development capabilities to advance its own pharmaceutical pipeline, while growing its business through partnerships and the continued advancement of its microbiome and consumer products.
The Company has today announced that Robert J. Rush has been appointed Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer; Ajay Damani has been appointed Vice President, Business Unit Leader – Pharmaceutical Technologies; and Giuseppe (Beppe) Di Vincenzo has been named the Vice President, Strategy. Rush, Damani, and Di Vincenzo will be based out of the Company’s headquarters in Princeton, NJ and will serve as members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Joseph Del Buono, currently Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer has resigned from the organization to pursue other opportunities.
John Fraher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Adare Pharmaceuticals, said: “As we enter the next phase of our growth, we are making these changes to deepen our understanding of the patient experience and the rapidly changing external healthcare environment – positioning us to align our innovation to meet these needs. Bob’s more than 20 years of strategic financial leadership experience is closely aligned with our future state. He will be instrumental in developing and implementing growth-oriented business plans for all of our business segments, as well as delivering financial and commercial excellence to support the future of the organization. I also want to take this moment to thank Joe for his contributions to the organization and wish him the best on his future endeavors.”
“We are delighted to have Ajay join our team to lead our Pharmaceutical Technologies business unit, an area where we have a legacy of success in building strategic partnerships to help companies develop innovative products, while leveraging our intellectual property and development capabilities. Beppe will lead our Strategy group to develop and build out growth strategies for each of our business segments, allowing us to capitalize on the opportunities that the evolving global healthcare environment presents. We thank Beppe for his leadership of our Pharmaceutical Technologies business over the past three years.”
Robert J. Rush will lead the Finance organization. Mr. Rush joins Adare from West Pharmaceutical Services, where he was responsible for enterprise-wide financial planning, forecasting and performance reporting as Vice President, Finance, Global Financial Planning and Analysis. Prior to this position, Mr. Rush held several roles with Endo, where he led operations for its branded and generic pharmaceutical segments in the United States. Before Endo, he was in a number of finance positions with Becton, Dickinson & Company; Alcon Laboratories; and AstraZeneca.
Ajay Damani will lead the Pharmaceutical Technologies business unit. Mr. Damani joins the Company from Lonza (formerly Capsugel), where he was most recently the Senior Director, Global Pharmaceutical Business Development and a member of the leadership team. Prior to this position, Mr. Damani worked for Booz & Co. as a Principal Practice leader in the Life Science Practice and with Merck in Strategy and Portfolio Analysis.
Giuseppe Di Vincenzo, previously Vice President of Commercial & Strategic Development at Adare, will lead the Strategy group. Mr. Di Vincenzo has been with predecessor companies of Adare – Eurand and Aptalis – since 2001, where he held roles in financial planning, market analysis, global strategy and sales.