Board of Directors

Overview

The following members make up the Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Board of Directors.  Please select an individual member below to learn more about them and the committees they contribute to.

  • Mr. Chaim Hurvitz

    Chaim Hurvitz, our chairman of the Board, joined our Board in 2011. Mr. Hurvitz currently serves as the CEO of CH Health, a private venture capital firm, a position he has held since May 2011. Since October 2011, Mr. Hurvitz has served and continues to serve as a member of the board of directors of Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. Previously, he was a member of the senior management of Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., serving as the President of Teva International Group from 2002 until 2010, as President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals Europe from 1992 to 1999 and as Vice President — Israeli Pharmaceutical Sales from 1999 until 2002. Mr. Hurvitz presently serves as a director of Aposense Ltd., a company specializing in the development of proprietary drug conjugates for approved drug therapies to enhance their effectiveness. He is a member of the management of the Manufacturers Association of Israel and head of its pharmaceutical branch. Mr. Hurvitz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from Tel Aviv University, which was awarded in 1985. 

  • Mr. Allen Baharaff

    Allen Baharaff, our Chief Executive Officer, co-founded the Group in 2000 and served as the Chief Financial Officer of GHI since 2000 and as Chief Executive Officer since January 2012. Prior to which, he held a number of senior executive positions, including a Senior Vice President position at Isramex Projects Ltd., an energy project financing company, and Managing Director of T+M Trusteeship & Management Services (Israel) Ltd., a subsidiary of a Swiss company providing trust and similar services. Since 2001, Mr. Baharaff also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Tel-Aviv Museum of Arts, chairing its educational activities and, since 2005, Mr. Baharaff serves as a Director of the Rubin Museum. Mr. Baharaff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the London School of Economics, University of London and LLB and MA degrees from Cambridge University. Since 1993, Mr. Baharaff has been a member of the Israel Bar Association. 

  • Mr. William Marth

    William Marth has served as the chairman of the board and president and chief executive officer elect of Albany Molecular Research Inc. since May 2012 and has served as the chairman of the board of directors of Sorrento Therapeutics since January 2014. Previously, Mr. Marth has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. in the Americas from June 2010 to November 2012, prior to which he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Teva North America from January 2008 to June 2010 and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Teva USA from January 2005 to January 2008. From July 1999 to January 2002, he was the Executive Vice President and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Teva USA. Prior to joining Teva USA, he held various positions with the Apothecon division of Bristol-Myers Squibb. In February 2008, Mr. Marth was elected Chairman of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association where he is also a member of the executive committee. He is a licensed pharmacist and serves on various boards and committees, including The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists and the Board of Ambassadors for John Hopkins’ Project RESTORE. Mr. Marth earned his B.Sc. in pharmacy from the University of Illinois in 1977 and his M.B.A. in 1989 from the Keller Graduate School of Management, DeVry University. 

  • Dr. Maya Halperin

    Dr. Maya Halperin, our Chief Medical Officer and a member of our Board since 2011, is a Medical Advisor at CH Health, an Israeli private venture capital company controlled by our Chairman since 2011, prior to which, from 2000 to 2010, Dr. Halperin worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical director of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. in Israel and in Teva’s international group of subsidiaries. Dr. Halperin’s experience covers managing clinical trials, as well as medical and ethical aspects of drug marketing. Dr. Halperin holds a Medical Degree from Hadassah Medical School, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem and an M.A. in philosophy from the Tel Aviv University. 

  • Mr. Shmuel Nir

    Shmuel Nir, a director since 2007, serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tushia Consulting Engineers Ltd., an investment and management services company, and Chairman of the board of directors of Matan Digital Printers Ltd. From March 1998 to January 2008, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Macpell Industries Ltd., a leading industrial group. Between January 1991 and March 1998, Mr. Nir was an Executive Vice President of Operations at Macpell Industries Ltd. and President and Chief Executive Officer of two of its subsidiaries, New Net Industries Ltd. and New Net Assets Ltd. Prior to January 1991, Mr. Nir had held various positions with Intel Corporation in Jerusalem, Israel and Tefen Management Consulting. Between 1999 and 2006, Mr. Nir served as managing partner at Spring Venture Capital Fund. Mr. Nir holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, which was awarded in 1989. 

  • Ms. Tali Yaron-Eldar

    Tali Yaron-Eldar is an Israeli attorney specializing in taxation. Ms. Yaron-Eldar co-founded Yaron-Eldar, Paller, Schwartz & Co., Law Offices, in January 2013. Prior to January 2013, she was a partner at the law firm of Tadmor & Co. from March 2007 until December 2012 and a partner at the law firm of Cohen, Yaron-Eldar & Co. from 2004 until March 2007. From January 2004 until January 2008, Ms. Yaron-Eldar served as the Chief Executive Officer of Arazim Investment Company and she has also served in a variety of public positions, including as the Chief Legal Advisor of the Customs and V.A.T department of the Finance Ministry of the State of Israel from 1998 to 2001 and as the Commissioner of Income Tax and Real Property Tax Authority of the State of Israel from 2002 to 2004. Ms. Yaron-Eldar also serves as a director of a number of public companies, including Alliance Tire Company Ltd., Rossetta Genomics Ltd., Medtechnica Ltd., Magicjack Vocaltec Ltd., Lodgia Rotex Investments Ltd. and Tadea Technological Development and Automation Ltd. Ms. Yaron-Eldar holds an M.B.A. specializing in finance from Tel Aviv University which was awarded in 1995 and an LL.B. from Tel Aviv University which was awarded in 1987. Ms. Yaron-Eldar is also a member of the Israeli Bar Association. 

  • David Sidransky, M.D.

    David Sidransky, M.D., joined our Board as an external director in accordance with the Israeli law on June 2014, is a renowned oncologist and research scientist named and profiled by TIME magazine in 2001 as one of the top physicians and scientists in America, recognized for his work with early detection of cancer.  He serves as the Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Research Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.  He is a Professor of Oncology, Otolaryngology, Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Urology, Genetics, and Pathology at John Hopkins University and Hospital. Dr. Sidransky has written over 450 peer-reviewed publications, and has contributed to more than 60 cancer reviews and chapters. Dr. Sidransky is a founder of a number of biotechnology companies and holds numerous biotechnology patents. He has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including the 1997 Sarstedt International prize from the German Society of Clinical Chemistry, 1998 Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health by the American College of Chest Physicians and the 2004 Hinda Rosenthal Award presented by the American Association of Cancer Research. Dr. Sidransky has served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of ImClone. He is Chairman of the Board of Champions Oncology and Tamir Biotechnology and is on the board of directors of Rosetta Genomics Ltd., Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celsus Therapeutics Plc and Advaxis, Inc. He is serving and has served on scientific advisory boards of corporations and institutions, including Amgen, MedImmune, Roche and Veridex, LLC (a Johnson & Johnson diagnostic company), among others. In Addition, Dr. Sidransky served as Director of American Association for Cancer Research from 2005 to 2008. Dr. Sidransky received his B.A. from Brandeis University and his M.D. from the Baylor College of Medicine.