Our team’s deep expertise in retina, global business experience, and determination to make a real difference in the lives of people affected by blinding eye diseases, drives our work and decisions, every day. We are supported by expert board members as well as global thought leaders in retina who share our dedication to deliver superior vision for fuller and healthier lives.
Karen Adams, B.BBUS, CPA, GAICD, FCC GFIA
Vice President, Finance & Company Secretary
Karen Adams, B.BBUS, CPA, GAICD, FCC GFIA
Vice President, Finance & Company Secretary
Ms. Adams is directly accountable to the board, through the chair, on all matters to do with the proper functioning of Opthea’s board.
Prior to joining Opthea, Ms. Adams was the Chief Financial Officer of the Victor Smorgon Group in Melbourne.
Ms. Adams has over 20 years of experience in financial management in board‐level positions for private and listed companies in Australia, UK, the US, and Ireland.
Ms. Adams holds a Graduate Degree in Business from Swinburne University and is a member of the Australian Society of Chartered Accountants, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Company Secretaries. Ms. Adams is also the Company Secretary of the Company’s subsidiary, Vegenics Pty Ltd.
Jeremy M. Levin
Chairman of the Board
Jeremy M. Levin
Chairman of the Board
Dr. Levin held leadership roles in major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and made significant contributions to the industry. He is currently Chairman and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics and Chairman of Opthea. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, was on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Executive Committee, where he led the transformative “String of Pearls” strategy in immuno-oncology, and held the position of Global Head of Strategic Alliances at Novartis. Dr. Levin holds numerous board positions and serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) as Emeritus Chairman.
He earned a BA in Zoology, an MA, and a DPhil in Chromatin Structure from Oxford University, followed by medical degrees from Cambridge University, where he won the Kermode Prize for his work on Captopril. In 2019, he published Biotechnology in the Time of COVID-19, detailing the industry’s early efforts to create vaccines and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Scrip Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. He was named one of the 60 living pioneers of the industry by Endpoints, one of the 25 most influential biotechnology leaders by Fierce Biotech, and one of the top 3 biotech CEOs by The Healthcare Technology Report. Among other honors are the Albert Einstein Award for Leadership in Life Sciences and the B’nai B’rith Award for Distinguished Achievement.
Kathy Connell, GAICD
Non-Executive Director and Chair of Remuneration Committee
Kathy Connell, GAICD
Non-Executive Director and Chair of Remuneration Committee
Kathy Connell is an internationally recognised healthcare and life sciences leader with deep and broad investment and licensing expertise, delivering a solid track record of value creating deals across pharmaceuticals, medtech, vaccines consumer and digital healthcare for some of the world’s largest companies.
For the past 20 years, Kathy has held senior executive leadership positions in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer health sectors specialising in business development, licensing, acquisitions and venture investment, as well as having worked in healthcare and Life Sciences executive search and management consulting with Korn Ferry. During her tenure at Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi, Kathy led external innovation investment, licensing and acquisition across ANZ, with more than $US1B of capital being deployed in Australia with industry, academia, VCs and government organisations. A dedicated advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion, Kathy co-founded Medicines Australia’s Pharmaceutical Australia Inclusion Group (PAIG) – a special working group designed to foster diverse and inclusive corporate cultures and was awarded BioMelbourne Network’s Woman of the Year in 2018 for her leadership in supporting Australia’s high priority strategic growth sectors of biotech, medtech and pharmaceuticals.
Kathy serves as a Non-Executive Director for ASX listed biotechnology company Avecho (drug delivery company), Proto Axiom (biotech investment company with an incubation arm) and BioNSW (Life Sciences industry association) as well as an advisory board member for Flinders University Medical Device Research Institute. Kathy is a registered psychologist, holding tertiary degrees and qualifications in Applied Science, Psychology, Mediation and Law as well as being a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Lawrence Gozlan
Chair of Nominations and Governance Committee
Non-Executive Director
Lawrence Gozlan
Chair of Nominations and Governance Committee
Non-Executive Director
Lawrence Gozlan has 20 years of experience as a leading biotechnology investor and corporate advisor with deep roots in the scientific community. He is the Chief Investment Officer and Founder of Scientia Capital, a specialized global investment fund focused exclusively on life sciences. The Company was founded to provide high level expertise and manage investments for high-net-worth individuals, family offices and institutional investors wanting exposure to the biotechnology industry.
Prior to this, Mr. Gozlan managed the largest biotechnology investment fund in Australia at QIC (“the Queensland Investment Corporation”), an investment fund with over AU$60 billion under management. Earlier in his career, he worked as the senior biotechnology analyst in the equities team at Foster Stockbroking, and gained senior corporate finance experience advising life sciences companies at Deloitte.
He currently serves as a director on several private and public company boards in Australia and the US. Mr. Gozlan holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors from the University of Melbourne.
