Corporate Governance

Matthew has spent 27 years in the City working in senior positions in both fund management and investment banking. He started his career as a fund manager at Legal and General Plc before moving into broking at Nomura Holdings, Inc. He joined Collins Stewart Hawkpoint Limited in 1992 and was Head of Sales and a member of the management committee. After 12 years, he left to work for two charities, The Besom Foundation and The 999 Club. In 2011, Matthew set up the broking partnership Baden Hill LLP, where he remains as a partner and shareholder. He has a degree in law and an MBA in finance. Matthew joined the Board in December 2020. In December 2024, he took on some  executive responsibilities in advance of a planned move to Deputy Chairman following the appointment of Iain Ross as Executive Chairman, which is expected to take place in January 2025.

Alexandre was born in Ukraine, grew up in Georgia, and later studied mathematics, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and biophysics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, all countries then being part of the USSR. In 1989, he was selected by the George Soros Foundation for the Oxford Scholarship, associated with St. Antony’s College, along with 20 top Soviet graduate students. He obtained his PhD in cell biology from University College, London (with the research-based at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund). He then spent six years at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-UMDNJ, NJ, as a research assistant funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Upon his return to England, he established his research laboratory at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford. He was a University Academic Fellow (Research Council UK) and a Senior Fellow of Exeter College, sponsored by Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust, and The Medical Research Council. Alexandre is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Paul joined the Company in September 2017 from e-Therapeutics plc, where he held the position of Financial Controller from 2012. Paul is a Chartered Accountant and was a Senior Manager at Deloitte, where he worked from 1996 until 2004. Following this, he worked in finance and operations management in the charitable and automotive sectors. He read Natural Sciences at St John's College, University of Cambridge.

Stephen is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vulpes Investment Management, and co-founder and former managing partner of Artradis Fund Management, one of the largest hedge fund groups in Asia. Stephen has been involved in equity capital markets for nearly 30 years, leading trading teams across a number of institutions including Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers, and has considerable experience investing in and supporting life science businesses through the Vulpes Life Sciences Fund. Stephen holds an MA from the University of Oxford.

Dr. David Holbrook is a proven leader in business development and healthcare investing, with over 30 years’ experience in the life sciences sector. David, a qualified physician and MBA graduate from Harvard Business School, has worked for a variety of companies, charities and academic institutions including: GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. In addition to his non-executive directorship at OBD, David will continue in his roles as Head of Seed Funds at LifeArc, Senior Independent Director at Worldwide Healthcare Trust plc and Chairman of The Liver Group Charity. David brings a wealth of healthcare investment expertise as a former General Partner and Head of Healthcare Investing at MTI Ventures LLP, and Director, Life Sciences at the Cambridge University Seed Fund.