Management committee
Dr Alessandro RIVA, MD
Chairman and CEO
Dr. Riva has nearly 30 years’ experience in the Life Sciences industry. He was CEO of Intima Bioscience which specializes in cell therapies for solid cancers and was previously CEO of Ichnos Sciences. Dr Riva was also Executive Vice President (EVP), Global Head of Oncology Therapeutics and Cell & Gene Therapy at Gilead Sciences, where he was instrumental in the acquisition of Kite Pharma and led its integration and growth. He also managed the US and EU approvals of Yescarta, the first approved CAR-T cell therapy for adult patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
Prior to Gilead, Dr. Riva was EVP, Global Head of Oncology Development and Medical Affairs at Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Riva currently serves on the Boards of BeiGene and Century Therapeutics. He received his bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Milan and a certificate board in oncology and hematology from the same institution.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Eric QUÉMÉNEUR, PharmD, PhD
Executive Vice President and Vice President, Research & Development
Eric Quéméneur joined Transgene in September 2014 as Executive Vice President in charge of Research and Development. Before joining Transgene, he spent over 20 years at the CEA (Atomic Energy Commission) where he was Director of research programs and industrial partnerships in the life science division. His responsibilities included: the management of R&D programs and their transition into applications, the management of multidisciplinary teams and the development of national and international alliances. Eric Quéméneur has a PhD in Biochemistry from the Claude Bernard University in Lyon, France. He is the author of nearly 80 articles published in international scientific journals.
Executive VP, & Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
Christophe ANCEL, PharmD
VP, Pharmaceutical Operations & Qualified Pharmacist
Christophe Ancel joined Transgene in 2008, first as Head of Quality Assurance and then as Vice President, Operational Quality. Prior to that, he was a consultant for several international pharmaceutical groups. From 2001 to 2005, he was Head of Quality, Assistant Pharmacist and Interim Responsible Pharmacist for the French production site of E. Lilly. In 2001, he was Director of Quality Assurance and Interim Responsible Pharmacist for a Cardinal Health site. From 1992 to 2000, he worked on Quality Assurance for Alcon Laboratories and was Assistant Pharmacist at the production site. He has international work experience in the areas of production and commercialization of sterile products. Christophe qualified as a Doctor of Pharmacy.
VP, Pharmaceutical Operations & Qualified Pharmacist
Dr Maud BRANDELY, MD, PhD
VP Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
Maud Brandely joined Transgene as Chief Medical Officer in March 2016. Maud Brandely was previously Director of Clinical Development at Pierre Fabre Oncologie until February 2016. She was responsible for all clinical trials from Phase I to Phase III. As such, she was involved in the successful registrations of Navelbine oral in breast cancer and NSCLC and vinflunine in transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelial tract. Prior to Pierre Fabre, Maud was Director of Taxotere clinical development at Rhone-Poulenc (RPR, now Sanofi) and was responsible for setting up global registration of clinical studies in both the US and Europe. As such she shared her time between Collegeville and Paris to oversee her US and European teams. Before RPR, she worked at Hoescht-Roussel-Uclaf (now Sanofi) and was involved in the development of cytokines (Il2, IFN) and cytotoxics. Maud is an MD and obtained a PhD in Immunology.
VP Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
Lucie LARGUIER
VP, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Since 2016, Lucie has served as Director Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, reporting to the CEO. Specialist in financial communications and press relations, Lucie came with over 10 years’ experience in communications agencies. She spent 3 years as a financial communications consultant at Ogilvy PR (2006 to 2008) before joining Citigate Dewe Rogerson (2009-2016). Her strategic contribution helped to ensure the smooth execution of four successful securities transactions, as well as multiple scientific, clinical and corporate announcements. Within the Paris office, she has also created a franchise dedicated to biotech companies, combining the sector expertise of the London subsidiary with her perfect knowledge of the French financial ecosystem.
Lucie will join Transgene’s Executive Committee in December 2023 as Vice President Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.
She is a graduate of Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), with a Master’s degree in communication with a specialization in finance.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
John FELITTI
VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
John Felitti joined Transgene in March 2016 as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. Before joining Transgene, he was Associate Vice President, Corporate Law, Finance & Securities Law at Sanofi and previously held other positions in the Sanofi and the Aventis legal departments. From 1996 to 2003, he was an associate attorney at the Paris offices of the global U.S. law firm Shearman & Sterling. He is admitted to practice in New York and is a former member of the Paris Bar. After majoring in economics at Harvard University (AB 1991) and the College of Europe (MA 1993), John Felitti studied law at the University of Michigan (JD 1996) and the University of Paris II – Panthéon (LLM 1997). He also holds a business degree from INSEAD (GEMBA 2015).
VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Christelle SCHWOERER
VP, Human Resources Director
Christelle SCHWOERER was appointed Director of Human Resources and joined the Executive Committee in April 2024.
She joined Transgene’s Human Resources department in December 2013 as a Human Resources Assistant, after initial experience in construction and industry.
Her various roles at Transgene have enabled her to develop generalist skills in human resources and to contribute to projects of major importance to the company. Her knowledge of the organization, its culture and its employees are real assets in her new missions.
Christelle SCHWOERER holds a Master 1 Ressources Humaines from the CNAM Grand-Est and a Master 2 Management – Ressources Humaines from the Ecole de Management de Strasbourg, obtained in 2020 and 2021.
Human Resources Director
James Wentworth, PhD
VP, Chief Business Officer
James Wentworth, PhD, joined Transgene in 2024. Dr. Wentworth is responsible for developing, leading, and implementing Transgene’s business, corporate development and partnering strategies.
He has over 15 years of experience working in the pharma and biotech industry. James was Director, Business Development and Strategy at Adaptimmune, a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company focused on developing T-cell receptor (TCR)-based cell therapies for solid tumors. His responsibilities included strategic pharma partnering, collaborations and transactions, corporate development projects, commercial strategy development and he also led the company’s competitive intelligence function. Prior to Adaptimmune, James worked with precommercial Biotech companies at inVentiv Health (now Syneos Health) and held strategic roles at Shire, contributing to product development, post M&A integration, and managing commercial launches in European markets for ViroPharma Europe.
James holds a BSc Hons degree in Pharmacology and a PhD in Pharmacology both from the University of Bristol and an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland.
VP, Chief Business Officer
