ABOUT US

JESSE SHEFFERMAN

Jesse Shefferman

Co-founder, Director, Chief Executive Officer

Jesse Shefferman is a co-founder of Protara and has led the Company since its inception through the addition of two late-stage assets, the establishment of multiple late-stage development programs and its listing on NASDAQ in early 2020…

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JESSE SHEFFERMAN

Co-founder, Director, Chief Executive Officer

Jesse Shefferman is a co-founder of Protara and has led the Company since its inception through the addition of two late-stage assets, the establishment of multiple late-stage development programs and its listing on NASDAQ in early 2020. Mr. Shefferman has spent over twenty years in the biopharma industry holding several strategic leadership and financial roles.

Prior to co-founding Protara, Mr. Shefferman was Vice President and Head of Business Development at Retrophin Inc., a leading rare diseases company where Jesse was a member of the executive leadership team and executed a number of company-defining transactions.

Prior to Retrophin, Mr. Shefferman served as Director, Strategy and Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he focused on hepatology and rare disease programs. Mr. Shefferman previously served as an investment banker with Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers Inc., where he focused on providing strategic and financial advice to the management teams and boards of directors of numerous biopharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Shefferman holds an MBA and Certificate in Health Sector Management from Duke University and a B.A. in Accounting from Gordon College.

BLAINE DAVIS

Blaine Davis

Chief Financial Officer

Blaine Davis has served as Protara’s Chief Financial Officer since February 2020 and brings more than 20 years of experience in investor relations, corporate affairs, and sales and marketing at life sciences companies. Prior to joining Protara, Blaine served…

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Blaine Davis

Chief Financial Officer

Blaine Davis has served as Protara’s Chief Financial Officer since February 2020 and brings more than 20 years of experience in investor relations, corporate affairs, and sales and marketing at life sciences companies. Prior to joining Protara, Blaine served as Vice President, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Insmed starting in July 2017. Previously, Blaine held multiple executive leadership positions at Endo International, including Senior Vice President and General Manager, Specialty Pharmaceuticals; President of Endo Ventures; and Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Prior to Endo, Blaine held positions in corporate and business development and investor relations at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Blaine holds a BA in Biology and Psychology with a minor in Economics from Middlebury College.

JACQUELINE ZUMMO

JACQUELINE ZUMMO, PhD, MPH, MBA

Co-founder, Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Operations Officer

Dr. Jacqueline Zummo is a co-founder of Protara and has served as Senior Vice President, R&D Operations since March 2019 and previously served as the Company’s Vice President, Research Operations since November 2017…

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JACQUELINE ZUMMO, PhD, MPH, MBA

Co-founder, Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Operations Officer

Dr. Jacqueline Zummo is a co-founder of Protara and has served as Senior Vice President, R&D Operations since March 2019 and previously served as the Company’s Vice President, Clinical Research and Medical Affairs since November 2017. Dr. Zummo has over 15 years of experience in senior leadership roles in the biopharma industry, with a strong track record of streamlining clinical development programs and driving successful regulatory outcomes. In addition to her work in clinical development, Dr. Zummo has been instrumental in the launch and commercialization of multiple products through strategic relationship building with KOLs, generating HEOR analytics, and communicating real-world value to managed care organizations.

Prior to joining Protara, Dr. Zummo was Assistant Vice President, Medical Affairs at Vyera Pharmaceuticals, LLC, with prior clinical development, operations and medical affairs roles at Alkermes, Inc., Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. (later acquired by Pfizer, Inc.).

Dr. Zummo holds a BA from Penn State University, an MBA in Healthcare Marketing from Benedictine University, an MPH in Epidemiology from Benedictine University, and a PhD in Global Health Sciences from Nova Southeastern University.

JATHIN BANDARI

JATHIN BANDARI, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Jathin Bandari, M.D. joined Protara in April 2020 and has served as Chief Medical Officer since January 2022. He previously served as Vice President, Head of Clinical Development, Interim Chief Medical Officer…

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JATHIN BANDARI, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Jathin Bandari, M.D. joined Protara in April 2020 and has served as Chief Medical Officer since January 2022. He previously served as Vice President, Head of Clinical Development, Interim Chief Medical Officer. He is a Urologic Oncologist who specializes in both minimally invasive urologic oncology and advanced open pelvic and retroperitoneal cancer surgery. Dr. Bandari received his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University and completed his urology residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Following residency, he completed a Society of Urologic Oncology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is an active member of the American Urological Association, Society of Urologic Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Southwest Oncology Group. He has over 50 authorships, national speakerships, textbooks, and grants. He maintains an academic appointment at the University of Rochester.

Mary Grendell

Mary Grendell

General Counsel, Corporate Secretary

Mary Grendell is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Protara. Ms. Grendell joined Protara in October 2021 and brings over 15 years of experience on a range of strategic legal matters, including advising senior management and board of directors at life sciences…

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Mary Grendell

General Counsel, Corporate Secretary

Mary Grendell is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Protara. Ms. Grendell joined Protara in October 2021 and brings over 15 years of experience on a range of strategic legal matters, including advising senior management and board of directors at life sciences companies. Previously, Mary served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Intercept, Mary served as Senior Counsel, Global Business Development, and Securities Group at Mylan (now part of Viatris) and as Senior Counsel, Transactions Group, in the Law Department at Amgen. She began her legal career at law firms Sullivan & Cromwell and Covington & Burling specializing in mergers and acquisitions.

Mary holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA from Yale University.

Kristy Rosse

Kristy Rosse

Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer

Kristy Rosse is the Senior Vice President and Chief People officer at Protara. Ms. Rosse joined Protara in 2020 and brings over 20 years of human resources experience in a variety of human resources roles across different industries including biotechnology, consumer…

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KRISTY ROSSE

Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer

Kristy Rosse is the Senior Vice President and Chief People officer at Protara. Ms. Rosse joined Protara in 2020 and brings over 20 years of human resources experience in a variety of human resources roles across different industries including biotechnology, consumer products, and consulting. Throughout Ms. Rosse’s career, she oversaw human resources team and led successful HR strategies in talent acquisition, workforce planning, culture, total rewards, and organizational/leadership development. Prior to joining Protara, Kristy served as Vice President of Human Resources at Acorda Therapeutics where she progressively served in senior human resources roles. Prior to Acorda, Kristy held positions of increasing responsibility at PepsiCo, Gartner, and Accenture.

Kristy holds an MS in Human Resource Management from Marymount University and a BA in Criminal Justice from University of Maryland, College Park.

Justine O'Malley

Justine O’Malley

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs

Justine O’Malley is the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs at Protara. Ms. O’Malley joined Protara in 2020 and brings over 20 years of experience in investor, advocacy, and media relations as well as global, corporate, and internal communications…

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JUSTINE O’MALLEY

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs

Justine O’Malley is the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs at Protara. Ms. O’Malley joined Protara in 2020 and brings over 20 years of experience in investor, advocacy, and media relations as well as global, corporate, and internal communications at life sciences companies. Prior to joining Protara, Justine served as Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Intercept Pharmaceuticals; Vice President, Corporate Communications at G&W Laboratories; Vice President, Global Corporate Communications at PTC Therapeutics, and Head, Global Corporate Communications at NPS Pharmaceuticals (now Shire). Prior to joining NPS, Justine held roles of increasing responsibility at Merck.

Justine holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Northwestern University.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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