Akebia Therapeutics Company Culture

Mr. Jason A. Amello has been the Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer at Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. since September 23, 2013. Mr. Amello served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Ziopharm Oncology, Inc., from May 8, 2012 to May 31, 2013. He served as Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer of ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. He led ZIOPHARM's financial and capital markets activities, as well as advise on business development and transactional activities. He has more than 20 years of leadership experience guiding strategic business growth and operational performance through roles covering finance, accounting, corporate and capital markets strategies and mergers and acquisitions. For 11 years, he served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Genzyme Corporation and also served as Senior Vice President of Finance, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller of Genzyme Corporation since December 2, 2008. Mr. Amello oversees and directs all aspects of Genzyme's accounting operations, including the selection and implementation of significant accounting policies; valuation of assets; internal controls, processes and reporting; and external financial reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, he provides financial advisory and support services on strategic transactions and assists Genzyme 's business units in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, strategic alliances, joint ventures and licensing arrangements. From June 2004 to December 2008, he served as Vice President of Strategic Financial Services at Genzyme Corporation. He joined the Genzyme Corporation in April 2000 and served as the Assistant Corporate Controller from 2000 to June 2004. He has been a Director of Acer Therapeutics Inc. since October 12, 2017. Prior to Genzyme Corporation, he worked as a Certified Public Accountant in the business advisory and assurance practice of Deloitte LLP where he held various positions over a period of approximately 10 years. Mr. Amello serves as Trustee of the New England Baptist Hospital. Mr. Amello holds a B.A. from Boston College and is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Ms. Theresa McNeely serves as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. Ms. McNeely served as the Chief Communications Officer and Executive Vice President of OvaScience, Inc. from December 2014 to November 30, 2015. Ms. McNeely served as an Executive Vice President of Strategic Corporate Communications at OvaScience, Inc. since August 2012 until December 2014. She has over 20 years of integrated Corporate Communications experience spanning Investor Relations, Public Relations and Marketing Communications in Life Sciences companies, including pharmaceutical and biotech, molecular diagnostics, tools and service providers. She has counseled executive teams on communications strategies around key events, such as international product launches, clinical trial results, strategic redirection, executive transitions and regulatory decisions. Prior to OvaScience, Ms. McNeely served as Vice President of Corporate Communications at Clinical Data, Inc., a company that developed and obtained FDA approval for a new antidepressant which led to its acquisition by Forest Laboratories for $1.2 billion. She has held management positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, EXACT Sciences and Pyrosequencing. Earlier in her career, she worked on Wall Street for a boutique investment bank. She serves as Member of Advisory Board at The Cramer Productions Company, Inc. Ms. McNeely received her undergraduate degree from Providence College and an M.S. from Simmons College.

Ms. Nicole R. Hadas, J.D. serves as Senior Vice President at Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. and has been its Secretary and General Counsel since 2013. Ms. Hadas served as Vice President of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. since 2013. Ms. Hadas joined Akebia in 2013. She served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., where she managed the successful sale of its hemophilia assets to Cangene Corporation and Baxter International. From 2001 to 2011, she worked at Genzyme Corporation, where she was a Senior Corporate Counsel. She was an Associate at Foley Hoag and represented biopharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers. Ms. Hadas received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Dr. Bradley J. Maroni, also known as Brad, M.D., has been Medical Advisor of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. since May 2017 and served as its Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President from August 06, 2014 to May 2017. Dr. Maroni served as the Managing Director at CytoPherx, Inc. He served as Vice President of Medical Research at Biogen Idec. He served as Chief Medical Officer of Stromedix, Inc. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CytoPherx, Inc. since January 2006. Dr. Maroni is a nephrologist with more than 20 years of experience in the field. He served as Vice President of Clinical Development at NeoStem, Inc., since August 2004. He served as Vice-President of Clinical Research at Amgen Inc. in Thousand Oaks, Calif., where he was responsible for the anemia/nephrology therapeutic area. He served as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta and an internationally recognized authority on the mechanisms responsible for malnutrition in patients with kidney disease. He held positions as an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Maroni received his MD from the University of Washington School of Medicine and graduated from Seattle University with a B.S. in Psychology. He completed his internal medicine residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and nephrology fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Nikki Hadas serves as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Akebia Therapeutics. Nikki started at Akebia Therapeutics in Dec of 2013. Nikki currently resides in the Greater Boston Area.

Randy Bennett serves as the Director & Chief of Staff, CMO Office of Akebia Therapeutics. Randy started at Akebia Therapeutics in January of 2018. Randy currently resides in the Greater Boston Area.

Michel Dahan serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Akebia Therapeutics. Michel started at Akebia Therapeutics in October of 2015. Michel currently resides in the Greater Boston Area.

Emil deGoma serves as the Vice President, Clinical Development of Akebia Therapeutics. Emil started at Akebia Therapeutics in July of 2017. Emil currently resides in the Greater Boston Area.