Management Team
Anthony J. Giovinazzo
President & CEO, Director
Anthony Giovinazzo has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since November 2009 and as a member of Cynapsus’ board of directors since May 2012. He is one of the inventors of the original APL-130277 intellectual property. Mr. Giovinazzo has been involved in the CNS field (relating to PD, Alzheimer’s, pain and anxiety) for over 20 years, with experience in clinical development, intellectual property protection and licensing. From April 2006 to November 2009, Mr. Giovinazzo served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cervelo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 2002 to 2006, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Cita NeuroPharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Giovinazzo obtained a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) and Audit Committee Certification (A.C.C.) from The Director’s College (where he was also a faculty member) in 2006 and 2011, respectively. He attended the Harvard Business School Executive Program: Leadership and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech in 2006. Mr. Giovinazzo completed his M.B.A. at IMD Geneva, Switzerland; Graduate Certificate Studies in Canadian Law (Taxation) Osgoode Hall Law School, York University; and a B.A. in Economics and Accounting, at McMaster University. He was also a business advisory board member of the National Research Council of Canada’s Genomics funding program, for two terms from 2007 to 2012.
Dr. Albert Agro
Chief Medical Officer
Albert Agro has served as Chief Medical Officer since August 2010. Since September 2008, Dr. Agro has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of HNZ Strategic Holdings, Inc., a pharmaceutical and biotech consulting firm developing treatments for serious diseases. Prior to this role, Dr. Agro was Senior Vice President, Drug Development of TransTech Pharma, a pharmaceutical company, from September 2007 to December 2009. Dr. Agro completed his Ph.D. from the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. Dr. Agro has been an assistant professor, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University since September 1996.
Thierry Bilbault
Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of CMC
Thierry Bilbault has served as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls since October 2014. Dr. Bilbault joined Cynapsus from Galderma Pharma S.A. (part of Nestle Skin Health S.A.), a dermatology company, where he was the Technical and Industrial Development Director from September 2009 to October 2014. He served as Vice President New Technology and Product Innovation at Novartis, a pharmaceutical company, from May 2006 to August 2009. Dr. Bilbault completed an M.S. in Biological Engineering from CUST Engineering (Clermont-Ferrand, France), and was granted a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Clermont-Ferrand II (Clermont-Ferrand, France).
Andrew Williams
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Andrew Williams is a co-founder and has served as Chief Operating Officer since March 2006 and as Chief Financial Officer since June 2007. Mr. Williams joined Cynapsus from Global Mentoring Solutions (GMS), an information and technology services company, where he was the Vice President of Strategic Planning from 2003 to 2004. Previous to his work at GMS, Mr. Williams was the Director of Business Development at CDI Education (CDI) from 2001 to 2002. Prior to joining CDI, Mr. Williams spent five years as a consultant at Williams & Goffin Consulting from 1995 to 2000 where he had engagements for clients in the retail, energy, and financial services industries. Mr. Williams earned an M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and a B.A. (Honours) in Economics from Queen’s University.
Kristen Galfetti
VP Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Kristen Galfetti has served as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications since November 2015. She has over 20 years of experience in investor relations and corporate communications. Ms. Galfetti has held key roles developing communications programs for small and large healthcare companies. Her recent corporate experience includes serving as Senior Director, Investor Relations at Sanofi responsible for integrating the Genzyme Corporation investor relations program post-merger. Prior to Sanofi, Ms. Galfetti was Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at AMAG Pharmaceuticals where she created the dual functioning department. Ms. Galfetti held roles of increasing responsibility at Genzyme Corporation serving most recently as Senior Director, Investor Relations assisting with integrating the tracking stock structure communications into a single business story. Ms. Galfetti received her M.B.A. (with distinction) from Bentley University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont.