- Push-out Score determined
- After less than two years in the position
- Praise for Engle
- Joe Sarret taking over
(exechange) — Menlo Park, California, April 27, 2021 — Steve Engle, chief executive of CohBar, leaves. As announced by CohBar Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, Steven (Steve) Engle leaves his post as chief executive officer at the clinical stage biotechnology company after less than two years in the role, effective immediately.
Steve Engle’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Joseph J. (Joe) Sarret, most recently Chief Business Officer at Corium International, Inc.
The fact that Steve Engle’s successor is brought in from outside suggests that the board may seek to stimulate change with fresh ideas and new initiatives.
In general, an outsider does not have the constraints of an insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions.
“Exciting time”
CohBar did not give an explicit reason for Steve Engle’s departure from the CEO post, leaving room for speculation. Sarret said: “This is an exciting time to join CohBar with many potential milestones on the horizon.”
Precise information regarding Steve Engle’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Resigned”
CohBar said: “On April 27, 2021, Steven Engle, the Chief Executive Officer of CohBar, Inc. (the “Company”) and member of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), resigned from such roles effective as of the same date.”
Share price decline since May 2019
The announcement follows a decline in CohBar Inc.’s share price of 50% since May 2019. May 2019 is the month in which Engle’s tenure as CEO began.
In the position of CEO since 2019
Steve Engle became CEO of the Company in 2019.
Steven Engle joined CohBar as Chief Executive Officer in May 2019 and was appointed to the Company’s Board in July 2019.
From September 2011 until May 2019, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Averigon Consulting, an advisory firm providing business development, fundraising, operational and consultancy services to life science companies.
From August 2007 to August 2011, Engle was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ: XOMA), a publicly-traded biotechnology company.
Previously, he held multiple executive management roles at La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (NASDAQ: LJPC), a publicly-traded biotechnology company, including serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1997 to 2006, President and Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 1997, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 1993 to 1994.
Engle currently serves as Chairman of the board of directors of Prescient Therapeutics (ASX: PTX), and as a member of the board of directors at various private companies.
Engle received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, Austin.
In addition, David Greenwood, a current Director with 40 years of financial and operational experience in biotechnology and investment banking, has assumed the role of Chairman of the Board.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Steve Engle’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to CohBar and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 18.2021 ($).