Turn Therapeutics is in a period of rapid growth in multiple areas. We are quite fortunate to have come through a difficult market not only alive, but thriving.
This is in no small part due to the counsel of existing board members, thoughtful shareholders, and our team. Additionally, we have been fortunate to have the ears of some of the most storied people in Pharma throughout Turn Therapeutics’ development, with a particular emphasis on this recent period of rapid growth.
In an effort to more formally welcome these important individuals to Turn Therapeutics’ ecosystem, we recently established a Business Advisory Board which will serve to advise the company on all matters business related, ranging from financing to commercial strategy.
The first three members of the board have been announced internally; it is our honor to announce them publicly. These three wonderful characters are friends first, advisors second. They asked for nothing in return for advice informed by their decades of experience at such organizations as McKinsey, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi. Such people are rare.
With this in mind, the invitation to join the new board was extended as soon as its establishment was complete, and it is such an honor to announce their acceptance of the appointments.
Please see bio’s below for our first three members: Martin Dewhurst, Martin Bott, and Dr. Kent Kester.
About Martin Dewhurst
Martin Dewhurst spent 30 years with McKinsey, where his primary focus was life sciences, covering global biopharma, medtech, genetics, and consumer health. He led McKinsey’s life sciences practice for 7 years and co-founded and led the McKinsey Health Institute, a non-profit entity focused on addressing fundamental health challenges. Mr. Dewhurst has written extensively and spoken at multiple conferences, including Bloomberg New Economy, Milken, FT, Economist, and Suzhou Innovation Conference, among others. He is an external partner to Lightrock, an early stage / growth impact venture fund, advisor to PJT Partners, a notable M&A investment bank, and holds multiple board positions. Mr. Dewhurst completed an undergraduate at Magdalen College, Oxford and an MBA (Dean’s list) at INSEAD.
About Martin Bott
During his 31 year career at Lilly, Martin Bott held a series of leadership roles with growing responsibilities mainly in finance, business development, and project management. Notably, he served as the CFO of Lilly Diabetes, CFO of Global Manufacturing, led the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking group, and led the strategic review and resulting IPO and spin off of Lilly’s animal health division – Elanco Animal Health. Mr. Bott has lived and worked in the US, Germany, UK, and Switzerland. He was integral in the founding of AMR Action Fund, a $1B venture fund staked by Big Pharma intended to advance therapies for antimicrobial resistance. Martin holds a Master’s Degree of International Business from the University of South Carolina and a Commercial Assistant degree from Bayer AG/Chamber of Commerce Cologne.
About Dr. Kester
Kent Kester, M.D., is currently Executive Director of Vaccine Research and Development at Center for Epidemic Preparedness Institute (CEPI), where he directs a $1B research and development budget. Prior to CEPI, Dr. Kester served as Vice President, Translational Medicine, at International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Before IAVI, Dr. Kester was Vice President and Head, Translational Science and Biomarkers at Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine business unit of the Sanofi Group. Prior to Sanofi, he had a 24-year career in the U.S. Army, where he worked extensively in clinical vaccine development at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, an institution he later led as its Commander. His final military assignment was as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research in the School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). During his service, Dr. Kester was appointed lead policy advisor to the U.S. Army Surgeon General in both Infectious Diseases and in Medical R&D. Dr. Kester holds an undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and an M.D. from Thomas Jefferson University, completing his internship and residency at the University of Maryland and a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
