Steven H. Holtzman (right) has been named president and CEO of Decibel Therapeutics (Cambridge, MA, USA), which was founded to discover and develop new therapies to protect, repair and restore hearing. He succeeds interim CEO Kevin Starr, a partner at Third Rock Ventures, who will remain chairman of the company's board of directors. A 30-year industry veteran, Holtzman joins the company from Biogen, where he most recently served as executive vice president, corporate development. Previously he was the founder, CEO and chairman of Infinity Pharmaceuticals.

“Steve is a recognized leader in the development and growth of successful, product-driven biotechnology companies, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team,” said Starr. “Steve's deep experience in building and leading organizations, business development, drug discovery and R&D makes him the ideal individual to cultivate our culture, team and science to pioneer the development of new therapies for the millions of people with hearing disorders.”

Sosei Group (Tokyo) has announced the appointment of Peter Bains as representative executive officer and CEO, reporting to company founder, representative executive officer and executive chairman Shinichi Tamura. Bains was most recently executive director and CEO at Syngene International and a director at Heptares Therapeutics.

Gene therapy developer Calimmune (Tucson, AZ, USA) has promoted Jeffrey Bartlett to the position of CSO. Bartlett joined the company in 2012 as vice president, R&D. In addition, Tana Session has been appointed vice president, human resources. She previously served as a human resources executive for companies including Golden State Water Company, Capco, The Center for Discovery, and Coleman Research Group.

TapImmune (Jacksonville, FL, USA) has appointed John N. Bonfiglio, a member of its board of directors, as president and COO. He joined TapImmune in early 2015 as a strategic advisor.

Clinical-stage biopharma Leading BioSciences (San Diego) has named Greg Doyle CEO. A long-standing member of the company's executive management team and board of directors, Doyle previously served as COO and CFO.

VAXIMM (Basel, Switzerland, and Mannheim, Germany) has announced the election of Thomas Hecht and Mathieu Simon to its board of directors. Hecht is founder and owner of Hecht Healthcare Consulting and was previously vice president of marketing (hematology, oncology, new products) at Amgen Europe. He has been appointed as chairman of the board, succeeding Klaus Breiner, who will continue his role in the company as vice chairman. Simon is executive vice president, COO and a member of the board of directors of Cellectis.

The newly elected board of France Biotech (Paris), an association of French life sciences companies, has appointed Maryvonne Hiance as chairman, succeeding Pierre-Olivier Goineau, who has headed the association since February 2014. Hiance is vice president of the board and strategic director of OSE Immunotherapeutics and is also vice president of the Atlanpôle Biothérapies (Nantes) cluster.

James Hindman has been appointed to the board of directors of Millendo Therapeutics (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) and as chairperson of its audit committee. He most recently served as executive vice president of finance and business development and CFO at Allergan. In addition, Millendo has appointed current board member Carol Gallagher as chairperson of the board.

Bicycle Therapeutics (Cambridge, UK) has named Stephen J. Hoffman chairman of the board of directors. Hoffman is president of 10x Capital and senior advisor to PDL BioPharma. He also serves on the board of directors of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, AcelRx Pharmaceuticals and Genocea Biosciences.

Andrew E. Koopman has been appointed president and CEO of Zero Gravity Life Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zero Gravity Solutions (Boca Raton, FL, USA). He was most recently director of new ventures at New York University's Office of Industrial Liaison.

Sage Bionetworks (Seattle) has announced the promotion of Lara Mangravite (right) to president, replacing Sage co-founder Stephen Friend, who will transition from his role as president to chairman of the board. Friend has accepted a position with consumer technology giant Apple, where he will work on health-related projects. Mangravite joined Sage in 2010, and was most recently director of the organization's systems biology research team.

Glenn Nedwin has been named president, CEO and member of the board of directors of privately held microbiome therapy company Second Genome (S. San Francisco, CA, USA). He brings over 30 years of industry experience, most recently as CEO of Taxon Biosciences.

Flagship Ventures (Cambridge, MA, USA) has announced the appointment of Michael Rosenblatt to the new position of chief medical officer. He joins Flagship from Merck, where he served as executive vice president and chief medical officer.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, Washington, DC) has announced the appointment of James C. Stansel as executive vice president and general counsel. Stansel is a former acting general counsel for the US Department of Health and Human Services and was the chief legal officer for the agency, as well as sub-agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the National Institutes of Health.