Jean-Pierre Garnier, Ph.D., was appointed non-executive Chairman of the board in November 2020.  Dr. Garnier is a seasoned leader with decades of experience within the global bio-pharma industry.

Most recently, Dr. Garnier was Chairman of Idorsia, a public bio-technology company based in Switzerland and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX), which was spun off of Actelion LTD with a billion-dollar investment from Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Previous to his tenure at Idorsia, he was Chairman of Actelion Ltd., a Swiss pharmaceuticals and bio-technology company. In 2017, Actelion LTD was sold for $30 billion to J&J.

Dr. Garnier previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Pierre Fabre SA (2008 to 2010), as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of the Board of Directors of GlaxoSmithKline plc (2000 to 2008), and as Chief Executive Officer of SmithKline Beecham plc (2000). Before becoming CEO at SmithKline Beecham plc, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Member of the Board of Directors from 1996 to 2000. 

Dr. Garnier has been a Board member of Renault S.A. (2008 to 2016), United Technologies Corporation (1997 to 2019), and Max Planck Institute (2013 to 2019).

Since 2019, Jean-Pierre Garnier is director of Carrier Global Corp. a NYSE-listed heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire and security solutions company. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Carmat, a public (Euronext Paris - from 2018 til 2022) artificial heart company based in France. From 2016 til 2022, Dr. Garnier served as Director of the board of Radius Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical company.

In 2006, Dr. Garnier was named as one of the top 20 Worldwide CEOs by the Best Practice Institute. He was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire. Finally, he was most recently promoted from Chevalier to Officier de la Légion d’Honneur of France.

Dr. Garnier holds an MS in pharmaceutical science and a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg, France. He subsequently earned his MBA at Stanford University, California, as a Fulbright Scholar.

Dr Garnier is considered an independent director in accordance with the criteria of the Nasdaq rules and the Middlenext Code.