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our Leadership

Melissa Bonner

Vice President, Research

My pandemic hobby is gardening and attempting to make friends with all the local birds. I’ve gone from 0 to 8 birdhouses. This is a cry for help.

Melissa Bonner

Vice President, Research

Melissa Bonner, Ph.D. is vice president of research at bluebird bio. Prior to joining bluebird bio in 2014, Melissa was at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of the late Dr. Brian Sorrentino working on projects aimed at improving cell and gene therapy products; ranging from HSC expansion technologies to next-generation lentiviral vector production methods. Melissa received her Ph.D. in biology from University of Delaware and a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Jason F. Cole, Esq.

Chief Business Officer

I play the ukulele. It’s not that hard – if I can do it, uke can do it!

Jason F. Cole, Esq.

Chief Business Officer

Jason Cole has served as our chief operating & legal officer since February 2019 after serving as our chief legal officer for three years and our senior vice president, general counsel for two years. Prior to joining bluebird in 2014, Jason served as executive vice president, corporate development and general counsel at Zalicus Inc. from September 2011 through March 2014, and as senior vice president, general counsel of Zalicus, and its predecessor company CombinatoRx, Inc. from January 2006 to September 2011. From 1999 to 2006, Jason was a corporate and securities attorney at Ropes & Gray LLP. Mr. Cole holds an A.B. in government from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.

Rich Colvin, MD, PhD

Chief Medical Officer

You can tell I’m an Infectious Diseases Doc as I love camping in Southern Africa where you can observe the really big picture of biology!

Rich Colvin, MD, PhD

Chief Medical Officer

Richard Colvin, MD, PhD, has served as chief medical officer of severe genetic diseases at bluebird since March 2021. Rich joined bluebird in 2018 as medical lead for the thalassemia program where he played an important role in the conditional approval of Zynteglo in the European Union. While remaining part of the thalassemia program, Rich was promoted to lead Clinical Research and Development at bluebird during which time his team submitted a marketing authorization application to the EMA for eli-cel for the treatment of patients with cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. Prior to bluebird, Rich was an executive director in translational medicine at Novartis where he led anti-infective drug development programs for the treatment of patients with hepatitis, respiratory infections, resistant Gram-negative infections, and parasitic infections. Additionally, he led a gene therapy program to treat patients with hearing loss. Rich completed his clinical and research fellowships in the Mass General Brigham Infectious Diseases Program, and completed his internship and residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Rich is on faculty at Harvard Medical School and sees patients in the Infectious Diseases clinic at MGH Chelsea. Rich received his MD and PhD from Duke University School of Medicine and his BS from Cornell University.

Gina Consylman

Chief Financial Officer

I’m named after a gene – my father, Eugene!

Gina Consylman

Chief Financial Officer

Gina Consylman serves as our chief financial officer. She joined bluebird in August 2021, overseeing finance, tax, accounting, treasury, insurance and investor relations. She has over 25 years of experience in finance, investor relations, strategy and business development. Prior to joining bluebird, she served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Before Ironwood, Gina served as vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer at Analogic Corporation, a publicly-held healthcare and security technology solutions company, where she oversaw the company’s global accounting and treasury teams. Prior to her work at Analogic, Gina served as senior director of corporate accounting at Biogen Inc., where she led the accounting teams for the corporate and U.S. commercial business units. Gina, a Certified Public Accountant, began her career in public accounting at Ernst & Young LLP. She holds a B.S. in accounting from Johnson & Wales University and a M.S. in taxation from Bentley University.

Anne-Virginie Eggimann

Chief Regulatory Officer

I met my Swiss husband at a French movie in Los Angeles.

Anne-Virginie Eggimann

Chief Regulatory Officer

Anne-Virginie Eggimann, M.Sc. joined bluebird bio, Inc. to lead the Regulatory Science function in 2011. In her current role as Chief Regulatory Officer, beyond being an active member of the Leadership Team, Anne-Virginie is responsible for global regulatory strategy and focuses on innovative pathways to support the development of bluebird bio’s gene therapy products for the treatment of severe genetic diseases (SGD) and oncology indications.

In her tenure at bluebird, Anne-Virginie played a key role in leading the teams that managed the approvals of ZYNTEGLO and SKYSONA in Europe, as well as the approval of ABECMA in the US in 2021 in partnership with BMS. She is currently highly engaged in the efforts to bring bluebird bio’s late stage gene therapy products to patients in the US, while supporting the development of early stage innovative gene edited products. Passionate about advanced therapy, Anne-Virginie has also actively participated, throughout the past 20 years, in shaping the US and European cell and gene therapy regulatory environment.

Prior to joining bluebird bio, Anne‑Virginie was an Executive Director at Voisin Consulting, leading projects involving the design and implementation of regulatory strategies for medicinal products, with a specific focus on rare diseases, cancer and advanced therapies. Her experience spans from early development through commercialization, including lead roles on the registration of several orphan drugs, and regulatory expertise on both sides of the Atlantic.

Anne‑Virginie holds a Master of Science in Environmental Health Sciences from the UCLA School of Public Health, as well as a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Helen Fu

Senior Vice President, General Counsel

I started college intending to be a scientist, but my lab bench skills eventually led me to become a lawyer for biotech companies!

Helen Fu

Senior Vice President, General Counsel

Helen Fu currently serves as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel, having joined bluebird bio in 2016 and held roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to bluebird bio, Helen was a corporate attorney in the life sciences practice at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston. Helen received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and B.A. with the majors in biology and economics from Swarthmore College.

Kasra Kasraian

Senior Vice President, Technical Development and Operations

I’m fluent in two languages and I still can’t think of what to say…

Kasra Kasraian

Senior Vice President, Technical Development and Operations

Kasra Kasraian brings over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to bluebird bio, Kasra led the Technical Operation, Quality, and Regulatory CMC function at Zafgen. Before Zafgen, he held scientific and leadership roles at Genetics Institute, Pfizer, Wyeth, and Biogen in the areas of formulation development, process development, technical services, manufacturing, and CMC management encompassing both early phase development through commercialization for both small molecules and biologics. During his tenure at Biogen the CMC team he led guided the submission and approval of 4 BLAs/MAAs. As the Head of Technical Development & Operations at bluebird bio, Kasra oversees process development, analytical development, manufacturing sciences, manufacturing, patient operations, and supply chain.

Tom Klima

Chief Commercial Officer

My family often gets called the Brady Bunch, I’m part of a blended family with 8 kids!

Tom Klima

Chief Commercial Officer

Tom, who joined the flock in May of 2021 as our Chief Commercial Officer, has deep passion for patients and experience across multiple commercial roles in both rare diseases and oncology. Most recently, Tom served as Chief Commercial Officer at Gamida Cell, leading a high-growth, fast paced oncology cell therapy organization and establishing a culture of transparency, trust and empowerment. Prior to his tenure at Gamida Cell, Tom served in a variety of leadership roles at Atara Biotherapeutics, Navidea Biopharmaceuticals and Algeta U.S. where he led the successful commercial build-out and launch of Xofigo^®. Before Algeta, he held various commercial leadership positions at Dendreon. Tom began his pharmaceutical career at Eli Lilly where he held several positions of increasing responsibility and participated in the global launch of Cymbalta^®. Tom earned a B.A. in Business Administration and Marketing from Western State College.

Andrew Obenshain

Chief Executive Officer

Don’t be so sure that’s me in the pic - I have an identical twin!

Andrew Obenshain

Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Obenshain is president and CEO of bluebird bio.

A biotech business leader who is passionate about improving the lives of patients and their families, Andrew has dedicated his career to advancing therapies for rare diseases. He joined bluebird in 2016 as head of Europe and then served as President, Severe Genetic Diseases before being appointed to CEO in 2021. Today, Andrew is a champion for bluebird’s lentiviral vector gene therapy platform, as the company as the company prepares to launch three first-in-class therapies.

Prior to bluebird bio, Andrew served as general manager of France and Benelux at Shire where he was responsible for a portfolio that included seven rare disease products. Andrew spent eight years at Genzyme and Sanofi and held roles in business development, marketing and global commercial operations in both the US and Europe.

He began his career working with small biotech companies first as a consultant and then as a venture capital investor. He received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2004 and his B.A. in genetics, cell and developmental biology from Dartmouth College.

Scott Shoemaker

Senior Vice President, Quality

I’m very in to sports but geographically confused: I’m a big fan of the Washington Football Team, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Red Sox.

Scott Shoemaker

Senior Vice President, Quality

Scott Shoemaker is Senior Vice President and Head of Quality for bluebird bio. Scott has been with bluebird bio since 2017 where he has held leadership positions in manufacturing and quality. Prior to joining bluebird Scott held leadership positions in development, technical operations, and manufacturing with both Merck and Takeda, focusing mainly on live virus vaccine products. Scott is a chemical engineer by training with a B.S. from Drexel University and PhD from Princeton.

Board of Directors

Mark Vachon

Chairman; Formerly of GE

Mark Vachon

Chairman; Formerly of GE

Mark Vachon has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2014. Mr. Vachon served as an executive vice president sales, integration and operations at Change Healthcare Holdings, Inc. from November 2016 to April 2018. For over 30 years, Mr. Vachon held a variety of leadership positions across the General Electric organization, and was a company officer beginning in 1999 and a member of GE’s Corporate Executive Council. Mr. Vachon was president and chief executive officer of GE Healthcare Americas from 2009 and 2010, and prior to that he was president and chief executive officer of Global Diagnostics Imaging, GE Healthcare, between 2006 and 2009. Between 2003 and 2006, Mr. Vachon was executive vice president and chief financial officer of GE Healthcare. Mr. Vachon serves on the board of trustees of Northeastern University and the board of directors of Numotion, and the Charitable Health and Retirement Trust. Mr. Vachon holds a B.S. in Finance from Northeastern University and an M.A. from Boston College.

John O. Agwunobi, M.D.

Herbalife Nutrition

John O. Agwunobi, M.D.

Herbalife Nutrition

John Agwunobi is chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Herbalife Nutrition, a premier global nutrition company that serves customers in 94 countries. Agwunobi is a passionate proponent of Herbalife Nutrition’s mission to improve the nutrition habits of people worldwide, strengthening our communities and providing independent distributors a business opportunity to earn supplemental income. As chief executive officer, he sets the strategy for Herbalife Nutrition, overseeing all aspects of the company’s growth and ensuring that the company continues to be recognized worldwide as a leading nutrition company with a keen focus on initiatives that can positively impact issues affecting global society, including overweight and obesity, healthy aging, and a business opportunity.

Agwunobi previously served as co-president and chief health and nutrition officer, directing the company’s nutrition philosophy. Since joining the company in 2016, Agwunobi has worked closely with Herbalife Nutrition independent distributors and customers, ensuring that the company continuously innovates in the areas of product development, technology, marketing and distributor sales. He also led the Herbalife Nutrition Institute, the Herbalife Nutrition Advisory Board, and the Herbalife Dietetic Advisory Board and worked with the company’s Ph.D.s and scientists to integrate nutrition science into Herbalife Nutrition products.

Agwunobi brings a wealth of experience from both the public and private sectors to his role. Most notably, in the private sector, he served as senior vice president and president of health and wellness for the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, where he led a team of over 65,000 and grew the business from $25 billion to over $30 billion. In the public sector, Agwunobi served as Florida’s secretary of health and later as an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corps and the assistant secretary of health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In these roles, he was responsible for disease prevention and health promotion. He oversaw the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the office of the U.S. Surgeon General, and numerous other public health offices and programs.

Agwunobi has a broad educational background that includes a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University and a master's degree in business administration from Georgetown University. He completed his pediatric residency at Howard University and is currently a licensed physician in Florida and Maryland. He serves on numerous boards, including the U.S. African Development Foundation and bluebird bio.

Lis Leiderman, M.D.

Decibel Therapeutics

Lis Leiderman, M.D.

Decibel Therapeutics

Lis Leiderman, M.D., is Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development at Decibel Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel gene therapeutics for restoration of hearing loss and balance disorders.

Dr. Leiderman has over 20 years of experience in finance, strategy and business development in the life sciences industry. Before joining Decibel, she served as Chief Business Officer for Complexa, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on life-threatening fibrosis and inflammatory diseases. Prior to Complexa, Dr. Leiderman was Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Development at Fortress Biotech. Earlier in her career, Dr. Leiderman developed her transaction and capital markets expertise in the healthcare investment banking groups at Nomura, Credit Suisse, Jefferies and UBS. She began her career in medical affairs at AstraZeneca, where she analyzed product and industry trends related to the central nervous system. Dr. Leiderman earned an M.D. from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from The University of Pennsylvania.

Nick Leschly

2seventy bio

Nick Leschly

2seventy bio

Nick Leschly is currently Chief Kairos Officer of 2seventy. Formerly, Nick was chief bluebird at bluebird bio as well as a partner and founding member of Third Rock Ventures in 2007. Nick played an integral role in the overall formation, development and business strategy of several of Third Rock’s portfolio companies, including Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Edimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to joining Third Rock, he worked at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, leading several early-stage drug development programs and served as the product leader for VELCADE. Nick also founded and served as chief executive officer of MedXtend Corporation. He received his B.S. in molecular biology from Princeton University and his MBA from Wharton Business School. He currently serves as a board member of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and Synlogic Therapeutics.

Andrew Obenshain

Chief Executive Officer, bluebird bio

Andrew Obenshain

Chief Executive Officer, bluebird bio

Andrew Obenshain, who joined bluebird in 2016 as head of Europe, now serves as blue’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his time at bluebird bio, he was at Shire in Paris, France where he was the general manager of France and Benelux overseeing a portfolio including seven rare disease products. Andrew also spent eight years at Genzyme and Sanofi holding roles of increasing responsibility in business development, marketing and global commercial operations, received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and his B.A. in genetics, cell and developmental biology from Dartmouth College.

Najoh Tita-Reid

Logitech

Najoh Tita-Reid

Logitech

Najoh Tita-Reid is Chief Marketing Officer for Logitech, a global manufacturer of computer peripherals, software, and services with headquarters in Switzerland and California. In her role, Ms. Tita-Reid is leading the transformation of the global marketing function and spearheading a strategic, digital-first, and data-driven consumer and customer omnichannel experience. A multi-faceted executive with global marketing expertise, she has a record of strategic and operational ingenuity and transformation across complex organizations and a breadth of experience across the US and Europe.

Prior to her role at Logitech, Ms. Tita-Reid was Global Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Board Member for Hero-AG, a family-run healthy food company, where she developed the organization’s marketing function and brand strategy and built the first global innovation pipeline while overseeing the R&D, innovation, sustainability and quality functions. Ms. Tita-Reid previously held leadership positions at Bayer PLC, where she served as Vice President-Country Division Head for Consumer Care in the UK in Ireland and led the turnaround of the consumer care business; and Merck & Co, Inc where she served as General Manager for Western Europe.

Ms. Tita-Reid spent 19 years at Procter & Gamble where she managed a number of consumer brands in the baby and feminine care categories. At P&G, Ms. Tita-Reid spearheaded multi-cultural marketing strategy across 15 billion-dollar brands and led the multi-brand business unit for Hispanic and African American consumers. During her tenure, Ms. Tita-Reid trained and developed the P&G marketing function on ethnic marketing, and created breakthrough marketing strategies, including “My Black is Beautiful,” which stands as a template for multi-cultural campaigns across industry today.

Ms. Tita-Reid graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College and holds an MBA from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

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