An Australian stem cell and regenerative medicine company

Board Of Directors

Dr Kilian Kelly

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Dr Kilian Kelly has over 20 years’ experience in biopharmaceutical research and development, including more than 13 years focussed on development of mesenchymal stem (MSC) based therapies. He joined Cynata in March 2014, initially as Vice President, Product Development, then acted as Chief Operating Officer from May 2019, before taking on the role of CEO & MD in July 2023. At Cynata, he has overseen all stages of the development of the Cymerus™ iPSC-derived MSC technology, including the first completed clinical trial of any iPSC-derived product worldwide.

Dr Kelly previously held positions at Biota Pharmaceuticals, Mesoblast Limited, Kendle International, Amgen and AstraZeneca. He holds a Masters in Pharmacy degree from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Strathclyde University, Glasgow. He is a graduate and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), and a member of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. He also currently serves on the ISCT Asia-Pacific Industry Committee, the ISSCR Best Practices Regulatory Working Group and the Industry Interface Committee of the Center for Commercialisation of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) Australia.

Dr Geoff Brooke

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

Dr Brooke joined the Cynata Board in May 2019 as Non-Executive Director, and was subsequently appointed Chair in August 2020. He has more than 30 years’ venture capital experience, including co-founding GBS Venture Partners in 1996 and serving as President of Medvest Inc., a US-based early-stage venture capital group he founded with Johnson & Johnson. Dr Brooke’s experience includes company formation and acquisitions, as well as public listings on the NYSE, NASDAQ and ASX. Additionally, from 2009 until 2015, he was an Independent Director of the Victoria Workcover Authority. Dr Brooke currently serves on the Boards of two other public companies, as Chair of Actinogen Medical Limited (ASX: ACW), and Non-Executive Director of Acrux Limited (ASX:ACR). He also works with a number of other entities, including as a consultant to BioScience Managers. Dr Brooke holds a Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery from Melbourne University and a Masters of Business Administration from IMEDE (now IMD) in Switzerland.

Dr Paul Wotton

Independent Director

Dr. Wotton joined Cynata’s Board of Directors in June, 2016. He is Executive Chairman of the Biotech LaunchPad at Rice University, Houston. He was President and CEO of Obsidian Therapeutics, Founding CEO of Sigilon Therapeutics (Acquired by Lilly) and President and CEO Ocata Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCAT) which was acquired by Astellas in 2016. Prior to Ocata, Dr. Wotton had served as President and CEO of Antares Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRS). Prior to joining Antares, Dr. Wotton was the CEO of Topigen Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career he held senior level executive positions at SkyePharma plc,  Eurand International BV, Penwest Pharmaceuticals, Abbott Laboratories and Merck, Sharp and Dohme. Dr. Wotton is a member of the board of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), Chairman of Dimension Inx., and Chairman of Kytopen Inc. Dr. Wotton received his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Nottingham. In 2014 he was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year (NJ) in Life Sciences.

Ms Janine Rolfe

Independent Director

Ms Rolfe joined the Cynata Board in September 2022 and brings over two decades’ of legal, governance and management experience across multiple sectors, including highly regulated industries and complex global businesses.  Before recently transitioning as a professional non-executive director, Janine’s last executive position was General Counsel & Company Secretary of Link Administration Holdings Limited (Link Group).  Prior to that, Janine founded Company Matters Pty Limited and worked both in-house (Qantas Airways Limited) and in private practice (Mallesons Stephen Jaques, now King & Wood Mallesons), across a diverse and distinguished career.  Janine is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cloudwerx Holdings Pty Limited and a Board Member of the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority, NSW Government.  Janine has held a number of Board positions in the past including with Property Exchange Australia Limited (PEXA), the Qantas Foundation Trustee, and Bothar Boring Pty Limited.  Janine is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and received a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Sydney.

Dr Darryl Maher

Independent Director

Dr Maher joined the Cynata Board in June 2020 following over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry as a senior R&D Executive at CSL Limited.  His most recent position was Vice President of R&D and Medical Affairs at CSL Behring Australia where he was responsible for the development of multiple successful drug products from initiation through clinical development and ultimately to commercialisation.   Dr Maher undertook medical training, qualified as a specialist haematologist and completed a PhD before commencing his career in the pharmaceutical industry.  He was a former President of the Australian Pharmaceutical Physicians Association and a director of Vaccine Solutions.  He earned his Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery from the University of Melbourne, Australia and undertook his PhD at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.  He is a retired Fellow of both the Royal Australian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia.

Mr Peter Webse

Company Secretary

Mr Webse has over 28 years’ company secretarial experience and is a director of Governance Corporate Pty Ltd, a company specialising in providing company secretarial, corporate governance and corporate advisory services.