Zymeworks Reduces Board to Nine, Appoints Brian Cherry and Elevates Hollywood and Mekan
Zymeworks appointed Brian Cherry to its Board, reduced from 12 to 9 directors, and promoted Mark Hollywood to EVP and COO. Dr. Sabeen Mekan will become Chief Medical Officer on February 1, 2026, as CFO Leone Patterson and General Counsel Daniel Dex depart, with CEO Kenneth Galbraith serving as interim CFO.
1. Strengthened Board Composition
On January 12, 2026, Zymeworks expanded its Board of Directors to nine members with the appointment of investment veteran Brian Cherry. Mr. Cherry brings over 25 years of private equity experience across healthcare, industrials, financial services and consumer products, having overseen buyout and growth equity deals totaling more than $25 billion in enterprise value. His prior roles include Managing Partner at Oak Hill Capital and board memberships spanning over a dozen public and private companies, the U.S. Air Force Academy Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania’s Undergraduate Financial Aid Leadership Council. This appointment follows a deliberate board reduction from twelve to nine directors over the past year to align oversight capabilities with the Company’s strategic priorities.
2. Executive Leadership Promotions and Transitions
Effective February 1, 2026, Dr. Sabeen Mekan will assume the role of Chief Medical Officer, overseeing clinical development, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and clinical operations, succeeding Dr. Jeff Smith who will retire on January 31 and continue in an advisory capacity. Concurrently, Mark Hollywood has been elevated to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, expanding his remit beyond technology and manufacturing operations to include quality and alliance management. In the first quarter of 2026, Chief Financial and Business Officer Leone Patterson and General Counsel Daniel Dex will depart, prompting a search for a permanent CFO; Kenneth Galbraith has taken on Acting Chief Financial Officer duties in the interim.
3. Senior Vice President and Vice President Appointments
Zymeworks has bolstered its leadership bench with five new Senior Vice Presidents: Laura O’Connor (Human Resources), Bijal Desai (Finance), Lindsey Foulkes (Corporate Development and Strategy), and two additional senior roles. Seven Vice Presidents have also been named, including Charles Chen (Translational Sciences), Shrinal Inamdar (Investor Relations), Diana Papove (Corporate Communications), Victoria Spencer (Treasury and Tax) and Lingxing Zheng (Regulatory Affairs). These appointments reflect a concerted effort to cultivate internal talent and ensure that specialized expertise supports the Company’s evolving asset-aggregation and biotherapeutics R&D strategy.