Management Team

James W. Young, Ph.D.

Since May 2000, James W. Young, Ph.D. has been Executive Chairman of our board of directors. Dr. Young was the Chief Executive Officer of Sunesis from May 2000 until November 2003. In April 2006, Dr. Young joined 5AM Ventures, a venture capital firm, as a venture partner. Prior to joining Sunesis, Dr. Young served as Vice President for Research; Senior Vice President, Research and Development; and Group Vice President at ALZA Corporation from 1995 to 2000. From 1992 to 1995, Dr. Young served as Senior Vice President for Business Development and as President of the Pharmaceuticals Division of Affymax, N.V. From 1987 to 1992, he served as Senior Vice President for Business Development and as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Pharmaceuticals Division at Sepracor Inc. Dr. Young holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Fordham University and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Cornell University.

Daniel N. Swisher, Jr.

Since December 2003, Daniel N. Swisher, Jr. has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Sunesis Board of Directors, and as our President since August 2005. Mr. Swisher joined the company in 2001 and he served as Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer until 2003. Prior to joining Sunesis, Mr. Swisher served in various management roles, including Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ALZA Corporation from 1992 to 2001. Mr. Swisher joined the board of the Okizu Foundation in 2007, an organization that provides support to families affected by childhood cancers. Mr. Swisher holds a B.A. in History from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Eric H. Bjerkholt

Eric H. Bjerkholt joined the company in 2004 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Since February 2007, he has served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Finance, and Chief Financial Officer. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Bjerkholt was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Bjerkholt was a co-founder of LifeSpring Nutrition, Inc., a privately held nutraceutical company, and from 1999 to 2002 served at various times as its Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Bjerkholt was an investment banker at J.P. Morgan & Co. from 1990 to 1997. Mr. Bjerkholt is a member of the Board of Directors of StemCells, Inc., a publicly held biotechnology company, and a privately held company. Mr. Bjerkholt holds a Cand. Oecon degree in Economics from the University of Oslo and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Judith A. Fox Ph.D.

Judith A. Fox, Ph.D. joined Sunesis in 2006 as Senior Director, Program Leader and now serves as Vice President, Product and Preclinical Development. Previously, she served as Senior Director in the Translational Sciences Department for Chiron Corporation (now Novartis AG) from 2005 to 2006, where she led the clinical pharmacology and preclinical pharmokinetics (PK)/drug metabolism group, supporting the development of the company's novel oncology compounds. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Fox was Senior Director/Senior Staff Scientist for Genencor International, where she started the Pharmacological Sciences Department. Dr. Fox's industry career began at Genentech, Inc. in the PK/Metabolism Department where she ultimately led the group responsible for oncology projects from late-stage research through clinical development. This was preceded by leadership of the immunology focus area within the PK/Metabolism Department. During her ten years at Genentech, she contributed to the development of products such as Herceptin®, Xolair®, Raptiva® and Avastin®. Dr. Fox received her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an A.B. in Chemistry from Bryn Mawr College. She conducted postdoctoral research at The Rockefeller University.

Steven B. Ketchum Ph.D

Steven B. Ketchum, Ph.D., Sunesis' Senior Vice President, Research and Development, brings more than fifteen years experience in late-stage product development and clinical regulatory strategy, having led the filings of multiple successful New Drug Applications (NDAs) and supplemental NDAs. He joined Sunesis in 2008 from Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President, Research & Development and Medical Affairs. In this role, he was responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations, as well as the organizational growth, of Reliant's clinical R&D and product development capabilities. Previously, Dr. Ketchum served as Senior Vice President, Operations and Regulatory Affairs for IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2002 to 2005, where he was responsible for regulatory affairs, project management, quality assurance, and supply chain management in support of late-stage clinical research. Dr. Ketchum also held positions of increasing responsibility in regulatory affairs during his nearly eight-year tenure at ALZA Corporation from 1994 to 2002, most recently as Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs. He earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from University College London (funded by the Sandoz Institute for Medical Research) and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.

Glenn C. Michelson M.D.

Glenn C. Michelson, M.D., joined Sunesis in 2006 as Senior Director and Head of Clinical Science, Oncology, bringing more than a decade of experience as a medical oncologist and in drug development in both industry and academic settings. Promoted to the position of Vice President, Clinical Strategy in 2008, he oversees the clinical development of Sunesis' novel cancer therapeutics, with an emphasis on the planning and execution of late-stage clinical studies focused on regulatory approval. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Michelson served as Director in the Clinical Oncology Therapeutic Unit at Chiron Corporation (now Novartis AG), where he served as Medical Director and as lead clinician for the company's kinase programs. Previously, he was Medical Director, Clinical Development for Cell Therapeutics, Inc. where he was responsible for Phase 3 studies of Xyotax®. Dr. Michelson began his pharmaceutical industry career at Pfizer Global Research and Development (formerly Agouron), from 1998 to 2003, where he led Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical development programs in oncology. Dr. Michelson has held faculty positions at the University of California, San Diego, and at the University of Louisville, and has been a Principal Investigator for a number of clinical trials. He received both his M.D. and B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Louisville.

Valerie L. Pierce

In 2007, Ms. Pierce joined Sunesis as Senior Vice President and General Counsel with more than 15 years of legal experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on corporate and transactional matters. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Pierce was General Counsel for the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company, from 2005 to 2006. Previously, Ms. Pierce served as Assistant General Counsel with Tularik Inc. from 2000 through the company's acquisition by Amgen in 2004. Ms. Pierce served as Senior Corporate Counsel with ALZA Corporation from 1995 to 2000. Ms. Pierce holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Yale University.

Lesley A. Stolz Ph.D.

Lesley A. Stolz, Ph.D. joined Sunesis in 2007 with more than a decade of biotechnology industry experience. Most recently, she served as Senior Director, Business Development for Aerovance, Inc. where she led efforts to partner the company's Phase 2 asset for uncontrolled asthma. Dr. Stolz was Senior Director, Business Development for GPC Biotech AG of Germany from 2002 to 2006 where she co-led the acquisition of Axxima Pharmaceuticals. From 2001 to 2002, Dr. Stolz served as Director, Business Development for Cell Genesys, Inc. with responsibility for identifying and negotiating partnerships for the company's cancer therapy research and development programs. Dr. Stolz received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Rochester and a B.S. from the University of Virginia. She conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology.