Leadership
Mario Danek
Founder & CEO
As an inventor-executive, Mario possesses a demonstrated background in company launches and growth strategies. As the principal inventor of several granted and published patents, Mario brings his ingenuity and drive to ground-up business ventures along with 10 years of experience in sales, hardware manufacturing, product development and FDA regulatory strategy.
Team
Chris Cheng
CSO
Chris is a pulmonary biologist with a Ph.D. in Cell, Developmental, & Cancer Biology from OHSU and is uniquely suited to help scale Qnovia’s R&D efforts.
Chris was Twice awarded to be a member of the NHLBI Lung Repair and Regeneration Grant Consortium, 2014 & 2015 and was awarded the T32 Pulmonary & Critical Care Grant (OHSU 2016-2018).
Toriono Granger
Head of Commercialization
Toriono holds more than 25 years experience in engineering, manufacturing, and product realization with prior roles in quality, design, engineering, program management, director, and managing director at one of the world’s largest CMOs.
Toriono oversaw the development and launch of numerous projects in medical device, diagnostics, automotive, consumer, industrial, gaming, and juvenile products.
Joe Walsh
HEAD OF PRODUCT
Joe has been an R&D program manager for 6 years, helping bringing new technologies to market. As a project management professional (PMP) Joe has excelled with operations, financial modeling, and strategy execution. And as a biochemistry and molecular biology researcher at UCLA and University of Richmond, Joe brings many disciplines to Qnovia’s product management.
Francesca Lanuza
REGULATORY DIRECTOR
Francesca has over a decade of global regulatory leadership experience across Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Diagnostics, and Consumer Healthcare sectors, including management roles at Johnson & Johnson and McNeil AB. She has led regulatory strategy for portfolios in smoking cessation, anti-infectives and allergy with a focus on product development lifecycle management and global market access. Her work includes WHO prequalification for NRT and policy engagement through the European Health Parliament.
James Watson
COO
James has over two decades of global pharmaceutical and consumer health experience, previously holding senior leadership roles at industry-leading companies including Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue, Nicoventures, and Wyeth. He has has successfully managed significant product portfolios, launched synchronized global campaigns, and developed effective commercial strategies across EMEA.
Board & Advisors
Gregg Smith
Founder, Evolution VC Partners
Director
Qnovia Board
Sean Fahey
Trustee, Cancer Research Institute
Founder, Compass Rose Asset Mgmt
Director
Qnovia Board
Mario Danek
Director
Qnovia Board
Steve Holdych
Advisor
Former Co-CEO, Captech Consulting
Ramin Bastani
Advisor
CEO, Healthvana
Mitch Zeller, J.D.
Policy and Regulatory Strategy Advisor
Director FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) March 2013 – April 2022
Formerly official U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization (WHO) Working Group for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Dr. Robert West
CHAIRMAN OF SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Professor Emeritus Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre
Former advisor to UK’s Department of Health and Public Health England
Former Editor-in-Chief of ‘Addiction’