- After less than two years in the position
- Praise and thanks for Gergen
- Kristin Yarema taking over
- Gergen will remain as Executive Chairman at Poseida
- Gergen spoke at length and said 170 words
(exechange) — San Diego, California, October 10, 2023 — This news came on Columbus Day. Mark Gergen, chief executive of Poseida, leaves his position. As announced by Poseida Therapeutics Inc. in a news release published on Monday, October 9, 2023, and in a regulatory filing published on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, Mark J. Gergen leaves his post as chief executive officer at the clinical-stage cell and gene therapy company, after less than two years in the role, effective January 1, 2024.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves his post after a short tenure.
Mark Gergen’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Kristin Yarema, currently President, Cell Therapy at Poseida Therapeutics Inc.
“The time is right”
The management change is explained as follows. Gergen stated: “With the Company on a strong foundation, the time is right to transition the role of CEO to Kristin Yarema – a proven leader in allogeneic cell therapy with deep experience across the entire spectrum of drug discovery, development, and commercialization spanning multiple disease areas.”
Gergen will remain as Executive Chairman at Poseida
Poseida stated: “Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTX), a clinical-stage cell and gene therapy company advancing a new class of treatments for patients with cancer and rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Mark Gergen as Executive Chairman and the transition of Kristin Yarema, Ph.D., currently President, Cell Therapy, to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, each expected to be effective January 1, 2024.”
Share price decline since February 2022
The announcement follows a decline in Poseida Therapeutics Inc.’s share price of 51% since February 2022. February 2022 is the month in which Gergen’s tenure as CEO began.
In the position of CEO since 2022
Mark Gergen became CEO of the Company in 2022.
Gergen has served as the Company’s Chairman since February 2023, Chief Executive Officer since February 2022 and the Company’s President since July 2020.
In addition, from February 2018 to February 2022, he served as the Company’s Chief Business Officer and from February 2018 to July 2020 he served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.
From September 2016 to February 2018, Gergen initially served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and later as a Consultant for Halozyme, Inc., a publicly held biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing cancer therapies that target the tumor microenvironment.
From February 2013 to August 2016, Gergen served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a pipeline of targeted oncology products.
From May 2005 to November 2012, Gergen served in senior management positions, including most recently as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., publicly held biopharmaceutical company that was focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to treat chronic diseases.
From July 2003 to March 2005, Gergen served as Executive Vice President of CardioNet Inc., a cardiovascular diagnostic company.
From June 1999 to May 2003, Gergen served initially as Chief Financial and Development Officer and later as Chief Restructuring Officer of Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., a company that engaged in the development and manufacturing of human-based tissue products for tissue repair and transplantation.
From August 1994 to June 1999, Gergen held various leadership positions at Medtronic, Inc., a medical device company.
Gergen received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and his B.A. in Business Administration from Minot State University.
170 words by Mark Gergen
In the release announcing his departure as CEO of Poseida Therapeutics Inc., Mark Gergen received praise and thanks.
In announcing his departure, Mark Gergen spoke at length and said 170 words.
“Set the Company up for success”
Mark Gergen stated: “I am proud of the progress Poseida has made since I joined the company almost six years ago. It has been an honor to work with the Poseida team to make significant advances in our capabilities and position. With this leadership transition, our goal is to set the Company up for success in its next phase of growth as we continue to redefine cell and gene therapy. With the Company on a strong foundation, the time is right to transition the role of CEO to Kristin Yarema – a proven leader in allogeneic cell therapy with deep experience across the entire spectrum of drug discovery, development, and commercialization spanning multiple disease areas. As I move into the role of Executive Chairman, I look forward to continuing to lead the Board of Directors and focus on additional strategic opportunities for the business. I’m excited to work closely with Kristin as she assumes the CEO role and continue to work with Brent Warner, President Gene Therapy, on strategically advancing our gene therapy pipeline.”
Push-out Score for Mark Gergen’s move determined
The Push-out Score indicates on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely it is that Mark Gergen was pushed out or felt pressure to leave his position.
exechange reached out to Poseida and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 42.2023 ($).