Management Team
Epizyme’s management team is composed of proven biopharma executives with a passion for creating innovative therapeutics for patients. A highly complementary team, we are proud to lead Epizyme’s exceptional organization.
Robert Bazemore
President and Chief Executive Officer
Paolo Tombesi
Chief Financial Officer
Matthew Ros
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Business Officer
Dr. Shefali Agarwal
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical and Development Officer
Jeffery Kutok, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Vicki Vakiener
Chief Commercial Officer
John Weidenbruch
General Counsel
Erin Boyer
Chief People and Culture Officer
John Bishop, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Tanja Weber
Senior Vice President, Business Development & Alliance Management
Huiping Jiang, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Jennifer Schmitke, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Portfolio & Program Management
Robert Bazemore
President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert (Rob) Bazemore has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since September 2015. Prior to joining Epizyme, Rob served as Chief Operating Officer of Synageva, where he established the company’s global commercial and medical organization to support the first product launch, and helped lead the broader transition to a sustainable commercial enterprise, through its acquisition in July 2015. With more than 25 years of experience across the life sciences industry, Rob held several senior leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson. This included his role as President of Janssen Biotech, where he led the successful launches of numerous products and indications, including the U.S. launches of the oncology therapies ZYTIGA® and IMBRUVICA®, as well as guiding the company’s worldwide immunology portfolio strategy. Prior to Johnson & Johnson, he worked at Merck & Co., Inc. for 11 years in roles of increasing responsibility, including the launch of SINGULAIR® in the U.S.
Rob received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Georgia. Formerly a board member of Neon Therapeutics, Rob currently sits on the Board of Directors of Ardelyx, Inc and Nuvation Bio, Inc.
Paolo Tombesi
Chief Financial Officer
Paolo Tombesi joined Epizyme as Chief Financial Officer in August 2019 from Insmed, Incorporated where he served as Chief Financial Officer. During his time at Insmed, Paolo played a key role in the evolution of the company from a late-stage to commercial organization. Paolo was instrumental in the fundraising of more than $1 billion in equity and debt financings and the buildout of the finance team. He also led the establishment of Insmed’s subsidiary in Japan and the overall subsidiary build-out. Prior to his role at Insmed, Incorporated, Paolo served as the Chief Financial and Administration Officer at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the U.S. He joined Novartis in 2006 as Chief Financial Officer, Europe, oncology, and held several positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as managing director and chief financial officer of Novartis Japan. Prior to joining Novartis, Paolo held various financial positions with Bristol-Myers Squibb, including Senior Finance Director, EMEA. He also previously held various positions with Unilever NV and Johnson & Johnson.
Paolo received a degree in business and managerial economics from Rome’s La Sapienza University and a degree in accounting from Duca degli Abruzzi Roma.
Matthew Ros
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Business Officer
Matthew (Matt) Ros now serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Business Officer, overseeing Epizyme’s corporate strategy and business functions. He joined Epizyme in May 2016 as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Epizyme, Matt served as COO and global head of Sanofi-Genzyme’s $1.4 billion Oncology franchise, leading its restructuring and revised business strategy. Prior to his tenure at Sanofi, Matt served as senior vice president at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, leading their oncology commercialization efforts. Matt also held positions of increasing responsibility throughout a highly distinguished 17-year career in Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Oncology franchise and contributed to the successful launches of brands that changed the standards of oncology care. Matt has built a career and reputation on his ability to build and lead organizations to deliver patient-focused results. Outside of work, Matt can be found enjoying time in the yoga studio, improving his golf game or patiently waiting for the Foo Fighters to announce their next concert tour date.
Matt earned a BS in Business Administration from SUNY Plattsburgh. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Cogent Biosciences (formerly Unum Therapeutics).
Dr. Shefali Agarwal
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical and Development Officer
Dr. Shefali Agarwal is Epizyme’s Chief Medical Officer. Prior to joining the company in 2018, Shefali held leadership positions across medical research, clinical development, clinical operations and medical affairs. She most recently served as chief medical officer at SQZ Biotech, where she built and led the clinical development organization, which included clinical research operations and the regulatory function. Before SQZ Biotech, Shefali also held leadership positions at Curis and Tesaro. At Curis, she oversaw the Phase 2 study for its dual HDAC/PI3K inhibitor in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and the Phase 1 study in solid tumors for its oral checkpoint inhibitor. At Tesaro, she led the NDA and EMA submissions for ZEJULA® (niraparib) in ovarian cancer. Shefali has also held positions of increasing responsibility at Covidien, AVEO Oncology and Pfizer.
In addition to receiving her medical degree, Shefali holds a master’s of public health and a master’s of science in business. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Fate Therapeutics.
Jeffery Kutok, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Jeffery Kutok, M.D., Ph.D., joined Epizyme in April 2020 as the Chief Scientific Officer from Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where he served as executive vice president and chief scientific officer. During his tenure at Infinity, Jeff was responsible for leading the organization’s scientific strategy, preclinical development and translational science. Prior to joining Infinity in 2010, Jeff was an associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he focused on translational medicine research and biomarker identification in cancer. Jeff is board certified in anatomic pathology and hematology, and had clinical duties in Hematopathology and Molecular Diagnostics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also an author of more than 200 journal articles, reviews and book chapters.
Jeff earned his B.S. in biology and his M.D., Ph.D. in medicine and molecular pathology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Outside of work, Jeff enjoys golf, hiking, and visiting small towns in New England with his wife.
Vicki Vakiener
Chief Commercial Officer
Vicki Vakiener is Epizyme’s Chief Commercial Officer, where she is building the commercial organization’s breadth and capabilities and leading the company’s launch efforts for Tazemetostat. During her more than 20 years of experience in oncology, Vicki has held positions of leadership across Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses. Most recently, Vicki was the Vice President and Oncology Global Commercial Leader for Prostate Cancer at Janssen and led a cross-functional team to develop and execute the global commercial strategy for its portfolio of late stage and early pipeline compounds. She also previously served as the Vice President of Oncology Marketing at Janssen Oncology U.S., where she directed all marketing activities for ZYTIGA®, IMBRUVICA®, DARZALEX® and YONDELIS® and drove launch planning for ERLEADA® and ZEJULA®.
Vicki received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Albright College. Outside of work, Vicki enjoys spending time in nature. Each winter, you can find her skiing with her family. In the warmer months, Vicki enjoys hiking with her two Labrador retrievers and going on biking vacations.
John Weidenbruch
General Counsel
John Weidenbruch is Epizyme’s General Counsel. With three decades of legal affairs and policy experience, John has served as General Counsel for some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotech organizations, including Biogen, Inc., Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Abraxis BioScience, Amgen and, most recently, Visterra, Inc. John began his career in healthcare policy as a lobbyist for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), formerly known as the Non-Prescription Drug Manufacturer Association.
John graduated with a BS in Sociology from Loyola University in Maryland and earned a JD from Georgetown University Law Center. An alumnus of the board of the trustees, John served as a board member of the American Kidney Fund for seven years.
Erin Boyer
Chief People and Culture Officer
Erin Boyer joined Epizyme in November 2020 as the Chief People & Culture Officer from Obsidian Therapeutics where she served as Vice President of Human Resources. With more than 25 years of experience in the human resources space, Erin has helped build, develop and engage talent across all areas and stages of biotechnology companies. Prior to Obsidian, Erin spent five years as the Global Head of Talent Strategy and Planning at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. During her tenure, she oversaw the growth of the workforce from 400 employees to more than 1,450 employees in 15 countries, and four successive elections to Boston’s Best Places to Work. Prior to Alnylam, she led Human Resources at both Dyax Corp. and Algeta.
Erin holds a B.A. in History from Macalester College and an Executive Certificate in Management from the Sloan School at MIT. Outside of work, Erin enjoys the Adirondack, Green and White Mountains where she sometimes hikes and sometimes sits and reads a good book while enjoying the beautiful view.
John Bishop, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Sciences
John Bishop, Ph.D. joined Epizyme in 2017 as Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Sciences, which includes oversight of the company’s Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) efforts, as well as supply chain management. Prior to joining Epizyme, John served as Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for all aspects of CMC across an array of novel, generic, and biosimilar products, including the approval and launch of generic versions of the complex mixture products Lovenox® and Copaxone®. Before Momenta, John spent 13 years in various industry roles including Millennium Pharmaceuticals as CMC Leader of Velcade®; DuPont Pharmaceuticals; and Alcon Laboratories, where he co-invented the anti-glaucoma drug Travatan®.
John holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.B.A. from Northeastern University, and a B.S. in Chemistry and German from Tufts University. A native of Maine, you can find John out on the ski slopes in his spare time with his friends and family.
Tanja Weber
Senior Vice President, Business Development & Alliance Management
Tanja Weber joined Epizyme in 2019 as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Alliance Management. Prior to joining Epizyme, Tanja was Vice President Business Development at Agios Pharmaceuticals, where she built that company’s business development function and was responsible for in- and out-licensing activities and strategic collaboration initiatives. While at Agios, Tanja executed several early stage in-licensing deals as well as a strategic development and commercialization collaboration on TIBSOVO® for Greater China. Before joining Agios, Tanja worked at Sanofi and its various predecessor companies for more than 20 years in Germany, France and the United States in positions of increasing responsibility, including her role as Vice President, Business Development for Oncology and Immuno-Inflammation for Sanofi-Genzyme. During her tenure at Sanofi, Tanja led numerous transactions, from strategic platform collaborations to early and late stage licensing deals, as well as several structured company acquisitions.
Tanja earned her law degree and JD at the Karl Ruprecht University in Heidelberg, Germany. She also successfully completed the CEDEP General Management Program at INSEAD in France. In her free time, Tanja enjoys traveling, visiting her family and friends in Germany, and spending time in her second “hometowns” of Paris and Miami.
Huiping Jiang, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Huiping Jiang, Ph.D. currently serves as Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs, having joined Epizyme in April 2018. With more than 20 years of experience, Huiping has worked in both the R&D and regulatory functions. She was previously at Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca working across discovery leading genetical engineering and genomics groups holding positions of increasing responsibility. On the Medical/Regulatory Affairs side, she worked in global clinical development across multiple indications, including: oncology, immunology, ophthalmology and metabolic diseases. Huiping has worked on successful submissions from INDs and CTAs to NDAs leading to approvals, most recently leading the regulatory strategy at Epizyme for the approval of TAZVERIK® (tazemetostat). Huiping began her career in science as a genetic engineering postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology and is a published author of many peer-reviewed journal articles.
Huiping holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology. She currently sits on the Board of Directors at Qx Therapeutics. Outside of work, Huiping is a US Masters swimmer and an avid beekeeper. She also enjoys hiking and traveling with her family.
Jennifer Schmitke, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Portfolio & Program Management
Jennifer is Epizyme’s Senior Vice President of Portfolio and Program Management, where she is building the organization’s portfolio and program management function, and the leading the planning, prioritization, and successful delivery of the organization’s core programs. As a versatile leader with more than 20 years of discovery and development experience, Jennifer has worked across early startups to large biopharmas bringing together cross-functional teams in asset development from late discovery through clinical development, approval and beyond. Most recently, Jennifer spent two years at Magenta Therapeutics as Vice President, Head of Program Management, building out both its Program Management function and Governance process. She previously served as the first Vice President and Executive at Omega Therapeutics to help build the organization from its nascency to a 25-person company advancing multiple discovery stage programs. Prior to her tenure at Omega, Jennifer led a team of program leaders and managers at Biogen, and prior to Biogen, Jennifer held positions of increasing responsibility at Alkermes across formulation development and CMC leadership to program management where she led multiple programs across all phases of development including key leadership roles on BYDUREON® and VIVITROL®.
Jennifer earned her B.S. in Chemistry with honors from Queen’s University in Canada and her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from MIT. When not at the office, you will find Jen spending time with her family, including her husband David and their two boys, Marcus and Lucas. As a family, they enjoy gardening, travelling and being outdoors.