Management Team
Kenneth J. Hillan, M.B. Ch.B.
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer
Kenneth joined Achaogen in April 2011 as Chief Medical Officer. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the company in October 2011. Prior to joining Achaogen, Kenneth served as Senior Vice President and head of Clinical Development and Product Development Strategy in Asia-Pacific for Roche at the company's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, China. Previously, he held a variety of leadership positions in R&D at Genentech, Inc. (acquired by Roche in 2009) including Senior Vice President Clinical Development, Inflammation, Vice President Research Operations and Pathology, Vice President Development Sciences, and Vice President Immunology, Tissue Growth and Repair (ITGR). While in these roles, Kenneth also served as Chair, Roche: Chugai Development Committee and Member, Roche: Chugai Joint Commercial Committee, Head, Roche Inflammation Disease Biology Leadership Team, Member, Roche Personalized Healthcare Steering Committee, Co-Chair, Genentech’s Late-Stage Portfolio Committee, Executive Sponsor and Chair, Development Review Committee, Member, Genentech Research Review Committee, Member, Genentech Healthcare Compliance Committee, and Member, Genentech Product Safety Committee.
Kenneth holds an M.B. Ch.B. (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Glasgow, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), and a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath). He serves as Honorary Professor of Molecular and Therapeutic Pathology at the University of Leeds and as a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Pathology. Kenneth has authored dozens of scientific publications and is a named inventor on almost 50 issued patents.
Becki Filice
Senior Vice President, Development Operations and Portfolio Management
Becki joined Achaogen in 2011 as Vice President, Development Operations and Portfolio Management. In this role, she has responsibilities for Development Sciences, Clinical Operations, Biometrics, and Project Leadership and Management. Previously, Becki was Senior Director of Project Excellence at Genentech, Inc. from 2009-2011. Prior to that, she held a number of other leadership roles at Genentech in the areas of Clinical Data Management, Clinical Operations, Project Management, and Resource Management, and also served as Project Team Leader for both the Avastin® and Nutropin® products. Earlier in her career, Becki held management positions in clinical research with Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Syntex, Inc. She started her career as a clinical microbiologist at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. Becki received her Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology from University of California, Davis, and an MBA from Santa Clara University, California. She also holds a Project Management Certification from the Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute, and is a current faculty member of the American Course on Drug Development and Regulatory Sciences (ACDRS).
Christine Welch
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Christine joined Achaogen in August 2011 as Senior Director Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. From 2008 to 2011, Christine was Senior Director Regulatory Affairs at Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where she was responsible for global filing strategies and regulatory agency interactions. From 2004 to 2008, Christine held positions of Director and then Senior Director in the global Regulatory Affairs department of Gilead Sciences, Inc. where she led regulatory submissions, medical writing and regulatory operations teams. Her responsibilities included oversight of global marketing applications for HIV and chronic hepatitis B products. Prior to Gilead, Christine worked as an independent regulatory affairs consultant in the UK. She started her career in regulatory affairs at Smithkline Beecham Pharmaceuticals after earlier positions as a clinical biochemist at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow. Christine received a B.Sc degree in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Liverpool (UK), and a M.Sc degree in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK). Christine holds the regulatory affairs professional certification (RAC) and has completed the University of California Santa Cruz certificate program in regulatory affairs.
Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development
From 2011-2012, Dennis was Executive Director, Corporate Development at Amgen where he was responsible for evaluation of external opportunities across multiple therapeutic areas, as well as geographic expansion into China. From 2005-2011, he held a various positions in Merger & Acquisitions, Business Development & Licensing, and Sales with Novartis across multiple sites and divisions. Dennis started his career in investment banking, including over 6 years with JPMorgan and predecessor company Hambrecht & Quist. He holds a B.S. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
