About Us

TONY COLES, M.D.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 Dr. Coles joined Onyx in March 2008 as President and Chief Executive Officer. In 2012, Dr. Coles was appointed as Chairman of the board of directors. Prior to joining Onyx, he was President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the board of directors of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before joining NPS Pharmaceuticals in 2005, Dr. Coles was Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, which he joined in 2002. Beginning in 1996, he held a number of executive positions while at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Policy; Senior Vice President of Marketing and Medical Affairs, Neuroscience/Infectious Diseases/Dermatology; Vice President, Western Area Sales Cardiovascular and Metabolic Business Unit for U.S. Primary Care; and Vice President, Cardiovascular Global Marketing. From 1992 until 1996, Dr. Coles also held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc., including Vice President of the Hypertension and Heart Failure Business Group.

 Dr. Coles completed his cardiology and internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School. He earned an M.D. degree from Duke University, a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University, and an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Coles currently serves as a trustee and member of the Executive Committee for the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees, as well as a member of the board of trustees for Johns Hopkins Medicine. Dr. Coles is also a member of the board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

PABLO J. CAGNONI, M.D.

Executive Vice President, Global Research & Development and Technical Operations

Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D. joined Onyx in March 2013, as Executive Vice President, Global Research and Development and Technical Operations. Prior to joining Onyx, Dr. Cagnoni was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development at Novartis Oncology, where he was responsible for all clinical development, clinical operations, clinical pharmacology and correlative sciences activities for the oncology development pipeline. He played a key role in the U.S., European and Japanese regulatory submissions and approvals of Afinitor^®, Tasigna^®, Signifor^®, Exjade^®, Jakavi^® and Glivec^® in various indications. From 2007 to 2009, Dr. Cagnoni was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Allos Therapeutics, and prior to that Chief Medical Officer of OSI Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Bone Marrow Transplant Program. Dr. Cagnoni earned his medical degree from University Buenos Aires School of Medicine, and he completed his fellowship in Hematology and Oncology in Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York and a fellowship in Stem Cell Transplantation at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

MATTHEW K. FUST

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Matthew K. Fust joined Onyx in January 2009 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Mr. Fust is responsible for key functions including financial planning and analysis, accounting, tax and SEC reporting, as well as information technology, facilities and purchasing. Prior to joining Onyx, Mr. Fust was executive vice president and chief financial officer at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which he joined in 2003. From 2002 until 2003, he was chief financial officer at Perlegen Sciences, a biotechnology company. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief financial officer at ALZA Corporation where he was an executive from 1996 until 2002. From 1991 until 1996, Mr. Fust was a manager in the healthcare strategy practice at Anderson Consulting. Mr. Fust earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Stanford University. He serves as a member of the board of directors for Sunesis Pharmaceuticals.

JUERGEN LASOWSKI, Ph.D.

Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy

Juergen Lasowski, Ph.D., executive vice president of corporate development and strategy, joined Onyx in May 2008 as senior vice president of corporate development. Recognizing the important role that corporate development has in shaping the company’s pipeline and strategic direction, Dr. Lasowski’s role was expanded to include corporate strategy in January 2011. While at Onyx, he has been the architect of many transactions, most notably the acquisition of Proteolix and the out-licensing of Kyprolis^® (proposed tradename for carfilzomib) and ONX 0912 to Ono Pharmaceutical for Japan. Before joining Onyx, he was the senior vice president of corporate development at NPS Pharmaceuticals. Previously, Dr. Lasowski spent 17 years at Sanofi-Aventis and its predecessor companies in business development, strategy and marketing positions in the U.S., Japan and Germany. Dr. Lasowski earned his MBA from INSEAD, France, and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Mainz, Germany.

SUZANNE M. SHEMA, J.D.

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Suzanne M. Shema, J.D. joined Onyx in August 2009 as senior vice president, general counsel. She assumed her role as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary in January 2012.  Prior to joining Onyx, Ms. Shema was senior vice president and general counsel of law and compliance at ZymoGenetics, which she joined in 2001.  Before ZymoGenetics, Ms. Shema served as general counsel at aQuantive, Inc.   She also served as associate general counsel at Research Corporation Technologies, Inc.  Prior to Research Corporation Technologies, Ms. Shema served as associate general counsel at NeoRx Corporation.  Earlier in her career, she served as an associate at the law firm of Seed and Berry.  Ms. Shema earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Texas, a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Washington and a J.D. from the University of Washington.

HELEN I. TORLEY, M.B., CH.B., M.R.C.P.

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Helen I. Torley, M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C.P. joined Onyx in August 2011 as executive vice president and chief commercial officer.  Dr. Torley oversees all commercial activities for Nexavar^® (sorafenib) Tablets and Kyprolis^® (carfilzomib) for Injection and will oversee the development of Onyx’s commercial capabilities in Europe. Throughout her career, she has led several successful product launches including Prolia®, Sensipar^®, and Miacalcin^®. Prior to joining Onyx, Dr. Torley spent almost ten years at Amgen where she most recently served as vice president and general manager of the Bone Health Unit, after leading the company’s Nephrology Business Unit for 5 years.  From 1997 to 2002, she held various positions at Bristol Myers Squibb, including regional vice president of cardiovascular and metabolic sales.  Dr. Torley began her industry career at Sandoz/Novartis, where she led a number of clinical development programs in Inflammation and Transplantation and ultimately served as vice president of medical affairs.  Earlier in her career, she had a private practice in rheumatology and internal medicine in Scotland.  Dr. Torley received her M.B. Ch.B (the U.K. equivalent to an M.D.) from the University of Glasgow and is a Member of the Royal College of Physicians.

KAYE FOSTER-CHEEK

Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources

Kaye Foster-Cheek joined Onyx Pharmaceuticals in September 2010 as Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources. Ms. Foster-Cheek is responsible for all aspects of the human resource function at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, including staffing, recruiting, compensation and benefits, performance management, organizational learning and development, organizational structure and design, and employee relations. Prior to joining Onyx, Ms. Foster-Cheek was Vice President of Human Resources and Executive Committee Member at Johnson & Johnson where she was responsible for the human resources and talent management functions. Ms. Foster-Cheek began her career at Johnson & Johnson in May 2003, as Vice President, Human Resources for the Johnson & Johnson North American Consumer Products Companies. In March 2004, she was promoted to Vice President, Human Resources, for the Consumer & Personal Care Group, the position she held until assuming her role as Vice President of Human Resources in 2005. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Ms. Foster-Cheek held several senior Human Resources executive positions with Pfizer Inc, and led the integration of both the Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia mergers for multiple countries. Ms. Foster-Cheek earned her undergraduate degree at Baruch College of the City University of New York and received an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

JULIANNA WOOD

Vice President, Public Affairs

Julie Wood joined Onyx in May 2003 to manage all communications for the company. She has an extensive background in investor relations and corporate communications, with a particular emphasis on the life sciences. In her current role, Ms. Wood is responsible for overseeing investor relations, corporate communications, advocacy relations, media relations and internal communications. Prior to Onyx, Ms. Wood was senior director of investor relations and corporate communications at Caliper Technologies Corp. Ms. Wood has served in a similar capacity at Sangamo BioSciences and Chiron Corporation. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and has an MBA from Duke University.