Keith M. Gottesdiener, MD | Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Gottesdiener has been our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since October 2011. He joined Rhythm after 16 years at Merck Research Laboratories. Dr. Gottesdiener joined Merck early clinical development in 1995, helping to transition compounds from the bench to the bedside and through to proof of concept. He held positions of increasing responsibility, eventually leading Merck’s early clinical development across all therapeutic areas from 2001 through early 2006. From 2006-2011, he was a leader of Merck’s late clinical development organization, first overseeing the development of Merck’s infectious diseases and vaccine products through pivotal trials, registration, and life cycle management, including Gardasil™ (HPV Vaccine), Rotateq™ (rotavirus vaccine), Zostavax™ (zoster vaccine) and Isentress™ (HIV integrase inhibitor), among others. In 2008, Dr. Gottesdiener was appointed Late Stage Therapeutic Group Leader, and in that role led Merck’s late-stage clinical development efforts (from Phase 2 thru patent expiry) across all therapeutic areas. After Merck’s merger with Schering Plough in 2009, he continued as co-head of late development. Dr. Gottesdiener serves on the board of Intercept. He received his B.A. from Harvard College and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency and fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital-Beth Israel Medical Center-Dana Farber Cancer Institute Children’s Hospital programs. After his fellowship, Dr. Gottesdiener did postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Jack Strominger at Dana Farber Cancer Institute working on the molecular immunology of the T-cell receptor. In 1986, he joined the faculty as an assistant professor at Columbia University, started an independent research laboratory with NIH RO-1 funding, focusing on gene transcription, and was Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the time he left to join Merck in 1995.
Nithya Desikan | Chief Commercial Officer
Ms. Desikan has been our Chief Commercial Officer since August 2017. She is a seasoned biotechnology executive, with over 15 years of experience commercializing new therapies in domestic and global markets. Ms. Desikan joins Rhythm from Biogen Inc., where she served most recently as Vice President and Asset Executive, TECFIDERA®, overseeing the product’s global P&L and supporting the product’s position as the #1 prescribed oral therapy in multiple sclerosis. Earlier, Ms. Desikan held roles in Biogen’s Hematology business, leading cross-functional teams to drive the growth of ALPROLIX® and ELOCTATE® and the development of multiple preclinical assets. Before that, Ms. Desikan built the strategy to support the U.S. launch of ALPROLIX, Biogen’s first entrant into the orphan hemophilia market. Before joining Biogen Inc., Ms. Desikan spent 12 years at Johnson & Johnson in the United States and China, supporting brands including: XARELTO®, LEVAQUIN®, TOPAMAX®, ULTRACET®, NUCYNTA®, NUCYNTA®ER and VELCADE®. Ms. Desikan holds a B.S. in Material Science Engineering, with honors, from the University of Florida.
Simon D. Kelner, MBA | Chief Human Resources Officer
Mr. Kelner has been our Chief Human Resources Officer since June 2018. He has more than 20 years of experience serving in various human resources leadership roles across multiple industries, including with global pharmaceutical companies, and he has lived and worked in the U.S., Switzerland, Israel, and the U.K. Previously, Mr. Kelner worked at Teva Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition and Mobility and developed hiring practices and capabilities as well as talent engagement models. Prior to Teva, Mr. Kelner held roles of increasing responsibility over 13 years at Merck, serving most recently as Global Head Talent Development / Future Employment Models and Executive Director, HR Business Partner—R&D, Technology, Finance, and Strategy. Mr. Kelner’s early career was in consulting across biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods companies and began in the General Management Program of General Motors in the U.K. Mr. Kelner holds an International Executive M.B.A. from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, a B.Sc. with Honors in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and a certification in Human Resources from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Hunter Smith | Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Smith has been our Chief Financial Officer since August 2017. He brings over 20 years of global finance and management experience across multiple industries and financial disciplines, including expertise in business analysis and planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and investor relations. He joins Rhythm from Celgene Corporation, where he served as Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Company’s Inflammation and Immunology Business Unit. In this role, Mr. Smith provided finance leadership for the global launch of Otezla®, co-led the integration of Receptos, Inc. following its acquisition by Celgene, and led global business planning and analysis for commercial affiliates and clinical study activities in over 16 countries. Before joining Celgene, Mr. Smith worked in roles of increasing responsibility at Bunge Limited, including Director of Investor Relations, Chief Financial Officer–Asia, Corporate Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of Bunge’s Sugar and Bioenergy Segment. He holds an M.B.A. in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.A. in History, with honors, from Northwestern University. Mr. Smith also serves as an Independent Director of Genessee & Wyoming Inc. and is a member of the Compensation Committee.
Murray Stewart, MD | Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Stewart joined Rhythm as Chief Medical Officer in October 2018. He previously served as Head of R&D for Novelion, where he oversaw global medical affairs for Juxtapid® and Myalept®, two marketed products for rare metabolic diseases. Prior to that, Dr. Stewart was Chief Medical Officer at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), with global responsibility for patient well-being across the vaccine, pharmaceutical, and consumer business units. During his 18-year career at GSK, Dr. Stewart held multiple R&D leadership roles, including Chief Medical Officer for the pharmaceutical business, Clinical Head of the Biopharma Unit, and Therapy Area Head for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Prior to his tenure with GSK, he worked as a consultant physician and honorary senior lecturer at the Diabetes Center in Newcastle upon Tyne in the U.K. Dr. Stewart began his career as a physician and surgeon. He holds an M.D. and Bachelor of Medicine from Southampton Medical School and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
Lex H.T. Van der Ploeg, PhD | Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Van der Ploeg has been our Chief Scientific Officer since October 2011. He has more than 25 years of drug development experience focused on obesity, metabolic disorders, oncology, and neurodegenerative diseases. Before joining Rhythm, he was Senior Vice President of Integrative Medicine and Translational Science at Abraxis Bioscience and Head of R&D at Abraxis Health; both companies were acquired by Celgene Corporation. Prior to that, he held R&D leadership roles at MRL directing drug development programs in metabolism, oncology, and neurodegenerative diseases as Vice President, Basic Research and Site Head, MRL Boston; Site Head, MRL San Diego; and Head, Obesity Research for Merck Rahway and Banyu, Japan. Previously, Dr. Van der Ploeg was an associate professor in the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University. He has received numerous awards and grants for his research and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed research papers. Dr. Van der Ploeg is a named inventor on more than 50 patents and patent applications. He received an M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Amsterdam and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Enzymology/Genetics from the University of Amsterdam/Netherlands Cancer Institute.
