Co-Founder, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Jack Lief is a co-founder of Arena and has served as a director and our President and Chief Executive Officer since April 1997. Mr. Lief has also served as the Chairman of our Board of Directors since October 2007. From 1995 to April 1997, Mr. Lief served as an advisor and consultant to numerous biopharmaceutical organizations. From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Lief served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Secretary of Cephalon, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Lief served as Director of Business Development and Strategic Planning for Alpha Therapeutic Corporation, a manufacturer of biological products. Mr. Lief joined Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company, in 1972, where he served until 1983, most recently as the head of International Marketing Research. Mr. Lief serves as a member of the board of directors of Adventrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a research and development company focused on pharmaceuticals for cancer and infectious disease. Mr. Lief is also an Executive Board Member of BIOCOM, a life science industry association representing more than 550 member companies in Southern California, and was the Chairman of the board of directors of BIOCOM from March 2005 to March 2006. Mr. Lief holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.S. in Psychology (Experimental and Neurobiology) from Lehigh University.
Co-Founder, Director, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer
Dominic P. Behan, Ph.D., is a co-founder of Arena and has served as a director since April 2000, and as our Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer since June 2004. Dr. Behan served as our Vice President, Research from April 1997 to June 2004. From 1993 to January 1997, Dr. Behan directed various research programs at Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 1990 to 1993, Dr. Behan was engaged in research at the Salk Institute. Dr. Behan holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Leeds University, England, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Reading University, England.
Donald D. Belcher has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2003. Mr. Belcher served as Chairman of the board of directors of Banta Corporation, a printing and supply-chain management company, from May 1995 to April 2004, Chief Executive Officer from January 1995 to October 2002 and President from September 1994 to January 2001. Mr. Belcher holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Scott H. Bice has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2003. Since June 2000, Mr. Bice has been the Robert C. Packard Professor at the University of Southern California Law School, where he served as Dean from 1980 to June 2000. Mr. Bice has experience on several corporate boards, including Imagine Films, from 1992 to 1994, Western and Residence Mutual Insurance Companies, from 1996 to 2003, and Jenny Craig, from 1996 to 2002. Mr. Bice holds a B.S. in finance and a J.D. from the University of Southern California.
Harry F. Hixson, Jr., Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since September 2004. Dr. Hixson has served as Chairman of the board of directors of BrainCells Inc., a neurogenesis-based drug discovery and development company, since December 2003. Dr. Hixson served as Chief Executive Officer of BrainCells, Inc. from July 2004 to September 2005 and as Chief Executive Officer of Elitra Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, from February 1998 to May 2003. Dr. Hixson held various management positions with Amgen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 1985 to 1991, most recently as President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Hixson serves as a member of the board of directors of Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a cancer drug discovery and development company, and as the Chairman of the board of directors of Sequenom, Inc., a genomics company. Dr. Hixson holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Physical Biochemistry from Purdue University.
J. Clayburn La Force, Jr., Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since October 2002. Dr. La Force served as a professor of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1962 to 1978, and served as Dean of the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles from July 1978 to June 1993. From 1969 to 1978, Dr. La Force served as the Chairman of the Economics Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. La Force currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the following registered investment companies: Payden Funds, Metzler Payden, and Advisors Series Trust. Dr. La Force holds an A.B. in Economics from San Diego State College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tina S. Nova, Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since September 2004. Dr. Nova is a co-founder of Genoptix, Inc., a provider of personalized medicine services, and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its board of directors since March 2000. Dr. Nova was a co-founder of Nanogen, Inc., a provider of molecular diagnostic tests, where she served as Chief Operating Officer and President from 1994 to January 2000. From 1992 to 1994, Dr. Nova served as Chief Operating Officer of Selective Genetics, a targeted therapy, biotechnology company. From 1988 to 1992, Dr. Nova held various director-level positions with Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a drug discovery and development company, most recently serving as Executive Director of New Leads Discovery. Dr. Nova has also held various research and management positions with Hybritech, Inc., a former subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Company, a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Nova serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Cypress Biosciences, Inc., a company focused on developing drugs for functional somatic syndromes. Dr. Nova is the life science sector representative to the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee overseeing the implementation of the California stem cell initiative, Proposition 71. Dr. Nova holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside.
Phillip M. Schneider has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2007. From 1987 to 2002, Mr. Schneider held various positions with IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, most recently as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to his association with IDEC, Mr. Schneider held various management positions at Syntex Pharmaceuticals Corporation and was previously with KPMG, LLP. Mr. Schneider is a member of the board of directors of Gen-Probe, Inc., a medical diagnostics company. Mr. Schneider holds an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis.
Christine A. White, M.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2006. Dr. White was with Biogen Idec Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 1996 to 2005, where she held several senior positions, most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Medical Affairs. From 1994 to 1996, Dr. White served as the Director of Clinical Oncology Research at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego and from 1984 to 1994, Dr. White was on the clinical staff and held various positions in the Department of Medicine at Scripps Memorial Hospitals in La Jolla and Encinitas, California, most recently as Chairman, Department of Medicine. Dr. White serves as a member of the board of directors at Pharmacyclics, Inc, a pharmaceutical company developing products to treat cancer and other diseases. Dr. White holds a B.A. in Biology and an M.D. from the University of Chicago and is Board certified in both Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.
Randall E. Woods has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2007. Mr. Woods is the President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sequel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. From April 2004 to September 2007, Mr. Woods was the President and Chief Executive Officer of NovaCardia, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, prior to its acquisition by Merck & Co. Previously, Mr. Woods served approximately eight years as the Chief Executive Officer of Corvas International, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He was also President of Boehringer Mannheim's U.S. pharmaceutical operations and spent more than 20 years at Eli Lilly & Company in sales and marketing positions. Mr. Woods serves as the chairman of the advisory board of the University of California, San Diego's Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center, and is an Executive Board Member, and the incoming chair of the board of directors, of BIOCOM. Mr. Woods holds an M.B.A. from Western Michigan University and a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from Ball State University.