- Push-out Score determined
- After almost 11 years in the position
- Praise and thanks for Suria
- Dan Faga taking over temporarily
(exechange) — San Diego, California, March 21, 2022 — Hamza Suria, chief executive of AnaptysBio, leaves. As announced by AnaptysBio Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Monday, March 21, 2022, Hamza Suria has left his post as chief executive officer at the clinical-stage biotechnology company, after almost 11 years in the role, effective March 20, 2022.
Hamza Suria’s duties as CEO will be taken over temporarily by Daniel (Dan) Faga, most recently chief operating officer at Mirati Therapeutics, as interim chief executive officer.
Already a director
Faga is already a director of AnaptysBio. Generally speaking, most director-turned-CEO appointments occur following a sudden resignation of the outgoing CEO and signal a lack of preparedness on the company’s part to groom internal talent. Directors-turned-executives represent a blend of outsider and insider.
They don’t have the constraints of a pure insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions, and they have more company knowledge than a pure outsider.
Having been a director, Faga understands the expectations and dynamics of the board and has knowledge of AnaptysBio’s organization, risk-management practices and strategy.
No reason given
In the announcement, AnaptysBio did not explicitly explain the reason for the move.
Precise information regarding Hamza Suria’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Stepped down/resignation”
AnaptysBio said: “Mr. Faga currently serves on the company’s Board of Directors and will succeed Hamza Suria, who has stepped down from his role as president and CEO and as a board director.”
AnaptysBio further said: “On March 20, 2022, Hamza Suria, provided notice to the board of directors (the “Board”) of AnaptysBio, Inc. (the “Company”) of his resignation as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a Class II director of the Company, effective immediately.”
Share price decline since March 2018
The announcement follows a decline in AnaptysBio Inc.’s share price of 78% since March 2018.
In the position of CEO since 2011
Hamza Suria became CEO of the Company in 2011.
Suria will continue to support the Company in an advisory capacity.
Hamza Suria, M.B.A., has served as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s board of directors since July 2011.
From January 2009 to June 2011 Suria served as Vice President of Corporate Development.
Before joining the Company in December 2008, Suria worked at Maxygen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for partnering and alliance management of next-generation protein therapeutics in oncology supportive care, hematology and autoimmunity, including partnerships with healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, such as Roche, Sanofi S.A., Bayer Corporation and Astellas Pharma.
Suria received his M.S. in immunology from the University of Western Ontario, his Executive M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario and his B.A. in biochemistry from Kalamazoo College.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Hamza Suria’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to AnaptysBio and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 13.2022 ($).