NEW YORK, July 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Women In Bio (WIB), an organization of professionals committed to promoting careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship of women in the life sciences, announced today the fifth placement of a female executive to a life sciences company board as part of its Boardroom Ready program. WIB launched Boardroom Ready in 2016, with the goal of helping executive women achieve corporate board service. WIB is pleased to share that Mary Thistle, Chief Operating Officer at Dimension Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DMTX) has joined the Board of Directors of Enterome SA, a pioneer of innovative therapies for microbiome-related diseases, based in Paris, France and Cambridge, MA. Ms. Thistle’s appointment marks the fifth successful placement made by the program graduates in less than a year. LifeSci Advisors, the founding sponsor of the Boardroom Ready program, has also been instrumental in making several of these placements.
“I'm honored to serve on the Board of Directors of Enterome, which has impressed me with its management team and promising metagenomics platform identifying novel targets and biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and management of serious diseases,” said Ms. Thistle. “Enterome has been expanding rapidly and continues to make steady progress advancing its pipeline. I believe these clinical assets have potential in areas of high unmet need.”
Ms. Thistle is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Dimension Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DMTX), a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing new therapeutic products for people living with devastating rare and metabolic diseases associated with the liver, based on the most advanced mammalian adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene delivery technology. At Dimension, Ms. Thistle played a significant role in successfully closing an oversubscribed $65M series B round and introducing the company onto the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2015. Ms. Thistle is a biopharmaceutical leader with a 20+ year record in the life sciences industry, serving in senior finance, operations, and business development roles. Previously, Ms. Thistle was senior vice president, business development at Cubist Pharmaceuticals where she was drove four major acquisitions, including Trius Therapeutics and Optimer Pharmaceuticals, significantly driving growth of the company’s pipeline prior to Cubist’s recent $9.5 billion acquisition by Merck. Earlier in her career, Ms. Thistle held leadership positions ViaCell, Inc., ViaCell Reproductive Health, where she was responsible for the expansion of the company’s ViaCord™ umbilical blood-banking business and the eventual acquisition by PerkinElmer. Ms. Thistle began her career in finance as a certified public accountant working with both private and public companies.
“We could not be more impressed by the extensive knowledge base and depth of experience of Boardroom Ready graduate Mary Thistle,” said Dawn Hocevar, President, Women In Bio. “WIB is incredibly proud to be hosting this executive program – now it its second year – and we look forward to helping all of our Boardroom Ready graduates make meaningful connections, with the goal of getting placed on corporate boards and furthering gender equity in the C-suite.”
The Boardroom Ready training class is held on an annual basis, with applications accepted each spring. WIB’s Boardroom Ready program is seeking qualified executive women to join our class of candidates, sponsors, and coaches on an ongoing basis. If you are aware of open board seats, please contact boardroomready@womeninbio.org.
You can find out more information about Boardroom Ready and Women In Bio’s commitment to board diversity by visiting: http://womeninbio.org/executives/boardroom-ready.
Women In Bio (WIB) is an organization of professionals committed to promoting careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship of women in the life sciences. Each local chapter hosts numerous events throughout the year, that vary from networking events to career development, to professional education, to executive level-focused events. In addition to events, WIB hosts a mentorship program which offers women the chance to mentor or be mentored, a Young Women In Bio program, which offers events and encouragement to middle-school aged girls, webinars, and the support of a large national organization with 13 chapters and growing. As a volunteer organization, WIB offers leadership opportunities at every stage of your career, and a chance to expand your network in a supportive and professional environment. For more information, visit www.womeninbio.org.