Our Team

Barry Greene is the Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Sage Therapeutics. He joined the company in 2020, bringing more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience to this position. Prior to Sage, Mr. Greene served as president of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since 2007, and he previously held the position of chief operating officer when he first joined the company in 2003.

Prior to his 17-year tenure at Alnylam, Mr. Greene was the general manager of oncology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he led global strategy and execution for its oncology business, culminating in the successful U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and launch of VELCADE® (bortezomib) in mid-2003. Prior to joining Millennium in 2001, Mr. Greene served as executive vice president and chief business officer for Mediconsult.com, a healthcare consulting company. Earlier in Mr. Greene’s career, he held multiple leadership positions at AstraZeneca (formerly AstraMerck), and was a partner at Andersen Consulting, where he was responsible for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology marketing and sales practice.

Mr. Greene is a member of the board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). He received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and served as a Senior Scholar at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Chris Benecchi joined Sage in 2021, bringing a proven track record of designing commercial strategies and launching novel therapies that drive long-term growth in competitive markets. As Chief Operating Officer, Chris oversees Sage’s commercial operations, finance and accounting, medical affairs, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), digital enterprise capabilities, and technical operations. Additionally, Chris is responsible for corporate strategy, business development, commercial initiatives, new product planning, and alliance management.

Before joining Sage, Chris served as Vice President and Global Head of Commercial Excellence at Alexion, where he led integrated global launch planning and readiness. He also spent eight years at UCB in progressively responsible commercial roles, including Global Launch Head for Immunology and Global Commercial Strategy Lead. Chris began his career in sales at Johnson & Johnson and held leadership positions in sales and senior marketing at Takeda.

Chris holds an MBA from Duke University and a B.A. from Colby College.

As Chief Medical Officer for Sage, Dr. Laura Gault focuses on advancing the development and delivery of Sage’s current and emerging product pipeline. Dr. Gault joined Sage in 2022 and brings more than 15 years of pharmaceutical industry experience advancing programs at early and late stages of development in rare and common diseases. She has led multidisciplinary teams focusing on neuropsychiatry, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration and has extensive knowledge of clinical trial design and conduct, and the regulatory landscape in these areas. In her previous role, Dr. Gault was Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head for Neurology and Ophthalmology at Alexion/Astra Zeneca Rare Disease and was responsible for the development of ravulizumab in generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and the initiation of new programs in dermatomyositis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, age-related macular degeneration, and gMG. Prior to that, Dr. Gault, held positions as Vice President, Neurology Clinic Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Group Project Leader at AbbVie.

Dr. Gault received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Case Western Reserve University and a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed an internship in Pediatrics, followed by residency in Adult Psychiatry and fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Yale University.

Pamela Herbster joined Sage in 2019, leveraging over a decade of biopharmaceutical industry expertise to drive the company’s growth. At Sage, Pamela has been pivotal in shaping the organization, overseeing Talent Acquisition, Learning, Organizational Development, and Business Partner duties. Her experience spans various facets of the industry, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and the launch of consumer products, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.

Prior to Sage, Pamela held a global role at EMD Serono, managing Regulatory Affairs, Business Development & Alliance Management, and serving as the US Site Head for Research & Development. Her career also includes significant contributions at Biogen, where she supported Pharmaceutical Operations & Technology, General and Administrative, and Research and Development in business partner roles of increasing responsibility. Pamela spent the formative years of her professional journey at the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

Pamela holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA. Her diverse background and deep industry knowledge make her a vital asset to Sage, where she continues to drive strategies that support Sage’s culture and strategic direction.

Mike Quirk joined Sage in 2014, initially helping to build translational science and establish Sage’s NMDA receptor modulator platform and over the last 9 years has taken on increasing roles of responsibility. In his role as Chief Scientific Officer, Mike leads Sage’s Research, Nonclinical Development, and Clinical Pharmacology teams supporting programs from early discovery through commercialization. Prior to joining Sage, Mike was a Director within the Neuroscience Innovative Medicines group at AstraZeneca where he worked on a variety of programs within psychiatry and neurology. With over 15 years of diverse industry experience, Mike has been critically involved, as both scientific and program lead, in over 10 programs that have made the transition from preclinical to clinical development.

Mike is a trained neurophysiologist and translational scientist with over 25 peer reviewed manuscripts in the areas of neurotransmission, memory formation and retrieval, and neural mechanisms of decision-making and goal-directed behavior. He holds both a S.B degree in Cognitive Science and a Ph.D. in Systems Neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and completed his post-doctoral training at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.

Vanessa Procter is Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Sage, with over 20 years of experience leading initiatives at the intersection of business and public policy. Vanessa aligns the activities of Sage’s communications, public policy, government affairs, and patient advocacy teams, to advance Sage’s patient-centric mission.

Vanessa joined Sage from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for patients with ultra-rare and rare diseases, where she led Government Affairs and Patient Advocacy for North America, with a focus on patient access to existing and new medical therapies.

Prior to Alexion, Vanessa led U.S. Government Affairs for MedImmune, a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca. Vanessa began her career working as a staff member in the United States Congress, where she served as a senior health policy advisor.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Civil War Studies from Gettysburg College.

Gregory Shiferman serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Sage, a role he has held since November 2024. Previously, he was Vice President and Program Leader for ZURZUVAE® (zuranolone) from February 2022, where he led development and execution of the drug's development and commercialization strategy. Earlier in his career at Sage, Greg held progressive leadership roles within the legal team, advising on legal strategy and navigating complex commercialization and regulatory challenges.

Before joining Sage, Greg was Senior Counsel at Takeda Oncology from June 2017 to March 2018 and Corporate Counsel at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from July 2015 to June 2017. He began his career as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he represented pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in civil and criminal investigations and provided counsel on various healthcare issues. Greg started his legal journey as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Michael A. Silverstein at the Rhode Island Superior Court from August 2010 to September 2011.

Greg holds a B.A. from Boston University and a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Barry E. Greene joined the Sage Board of Directors in October 2020 and brings over 30 year of experience to this position. He most recently served as President of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., since 2007 and he previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer when he first joined the company in 2003. Prior to his 17 year tenure at Alnylam, Mr. Greene was the General Manager of Oncology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc where he led the company’s global strategy and execution for its oncology business, including strategic business direction and execution, culminating in the successful U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and launch of VELCADE® (bortezomib) in mid-2003. Prior to joining Millennium in 2001, Mr. Greene served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer for Mediconsult.com, a healthcare consulting company. Earlier in Barry’s career, he held such leadership positions as Vice President of Marketing and Customer Services for AstraZeneca (formerly AstraMerck), Vice President, Strategic Integration with responsibility for the AstraZeneca North American post-merger integration; and as a partner of Andersen Consulting, where he was responsible for the pharmaceutical/biotechnology marketing and sales practice.

Barry has served as a member of the boards of directors of Karyopharm Therapeutics, Inc., since 2013, and Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., since 2007, where he also serves as a member of the compensation committee. He received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and served as a Senior Scholar at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Liz Barrett is the President & Chief Executive Officer of UroGen, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on urological-oncology diseases.

Prior to joining UroGen, Ms. Barrett was the Chief Executive Officer of Oncology at Novartis, where she oversaw more than 10,000 associates in 85 countries. Ms. Barrett was also a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis.

Ms. Barrett was previously Global President of Oncology at Pfizer, Inc. While at Pfizer, Ms. Barrett held numerous leadership positions, including President of Global Innovative Pharma for Europe, President of the Specialty Care business unit for North America, and President of United States Oncology. Prior to Pfizer, she was Vice President and General Manager, Oncology business unit at Cephalon Inc. from 2006 to 2009, where she built the unit from scratch and launched Cephalon into Oncology. Ms. Barrett also worked at Johnson & Johnson across their consumer, diagnostics and biopharma sectors. Ms. Barrett started her career at Kraft Foods Group Inc. in 1984.

Ms. Barrett holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Louisiana and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Joseph’s University.

Michael currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Cerecor, Inc., formerly Aevi Genomic Medicine, Inc., a position he has held since February 2020, when Cerecor acquired Aevi. Prior to joining Cerecor, Mr. Cola served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aevi since 2013. Michael has served as president of specialty pharmaceuticals at Shire Plc, a global specialty pharmaceutical company he first joined in 2005 as executive vice-president of global therapeutic business units and portfolio management. Previously, Michael also served as a growth capital provider and president of the life sciences group for Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., where he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Clarient, Inc., and chairman of Laureate Pharma, Inc. In addition, Michael has held senior positions in product development and commercialization at AstraMerck and AstraZeneca.

Michael received a B.A. in biology and physics from Ursinus College and an M.S. in biomedical science from Drexel University. He also serves on the board of directors at Phathom Pharmaceuticals and as chairman for the board of governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia.

Jessica Federer was the first Chief Digital Officer for the Bayer AG group, as well as the first woman to hold that role in the industry. During her tenure, Ms. Federer united the company’s global digital strategy and investments to accelerate growth. She also held leadership positions in regulatory affairs, market access, communications, and public affairs during her almost 10 years with Bayer AG.  

Ms. Federer has served on the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (UN-ITU) advisory board, as well as participated in engagements with the World Economic Forum, and is considered a thought leader in digital health. She began her public health career as an analyst at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She earned a Bachelor of Science from the George Washington University, and a Master of Public Health from Yale University.

James Frates serves as Chief Financial Officer at Amylyx Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Amylyx, he was Alkermes Chief Financial Officer for almost 23 years through its growth from a clinical stage company to an international commercial and development enterprise with multiple products in CNS, over $1 billion in revenue and over 2,000 employees. Earlier in his career, Jim was a Vice President in charge of the East Coast Life Sciences Practice at Robertson Stephens & Company. He also worked in healthcare investment banking at Morgan Stanley & Company and spent a year teaching secondary school at the Royal Shrewsbury School in the U.K., as the Harvard College Fellow. Jim served on the Board of Directors of GPC Biotech AG from June 2004 to June 2009 and was a national director of the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers. He also serves as a Trustee for St. Francis House, Boston’s largest day shelter for the homeless. He has previously served as a trustee and Treasurer for the Roxbury Latin School and St Paul’s School. Jim received a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

Geno has served as Chair of our Board of Directors since January 5, 2024. Mr. Germano was most recently President of Intrexon, a leader in synthetic biology, from June 1, 2016 to March 2017. As President, he led Intrexon’s management team and commercialization efforts utilizing the Company’s technology platform for biologically-based solutions across a broad range of industries including Health, Consumer, Energy, Environment and Food.

Mr. Germano has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a consistent track record of improving operating performance and increasing shareholder value. He held numerous leadership roles in multiple therapeutic categories and global markets at Pfizer, Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson. Prior to joining Intrexon, he was Group President of Pfizer’s Global Innovative Pharma Business, where he consistently grew this $14 billion global business and guided the development of an extensive portfolio of late-stage development candidates in the cardiovascular, metabolic disease, neuroscience, inflammation, immunology, and rare diseases therapeutic areas. Mr. Germano was also Co-Chair of the Portfolio Strategy and Investment Committee focused on maximizing the return on research and development investment across the Pfizer portfolio. Previously, Mr. Germano served as President and General Manager of Pfizer’s Specialty Care and Oncology business units where he led commercial, medical, and post proof-of-concept pipeline strategy and development across global markets, as well as held responsibility for driving P&L growth and pipeline value through disciplined portfolio management. In addition, while in this role he directed the integration of Wyeth and Pfizer Specialty Care and Vaccines Businesses and developed top talent within the organization focusing on the leadership team.

Prior to joining Pfizer, Mr. Germano held numerous executive and leadership roles at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals including President of Wyeth U.S., where he was responsible for delivery of operational results across four business units, as well as President of its Global Pharmaceutical and Women’s Healthcare Business. He has been a member of the Group of Fifty (G50) and served on the Board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, where he was a member of the Executive Committee and Chaired the International Committee. He continues to serve on the Advisory Board of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and as a Trustee of the Albany College of Pharmacy where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy. Geno was formerly a Director of Zoetis Inc., and is currently a director of Bioverativ.

George is currently President and Head of Corporate Development and Strategy at GRAIL, a health-care company focused on the early detection of cancer. Prior to joining GRAIL in 2018, he was Executive Vice President of Business Development for Celgene Corporation, where during his 9-year tenure he was responsible for a full array of business development including in-licensing, strategic collaborations, M&A, out-licensing and alliance management.

During his tenure at Celgene, George developed new models for corporate collaborations, and led a business development effort that saw Celgene become “Partner of Choice” according to Boston Consulting Group Survey data.

George was previously Vice President of Business Development, Licensing and Strategy at Novartis. Prior to Novartis, he was Vice President of R&D Business Development at Elan and Vice President of Corporate Development at Schwarz Pharma, where he led CNS acquisitions worldwide.

George holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he conducted his post-doctoral research in molecular biology at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Jeff applies his 25+ years of well-recognized expertise in neuroscience, drug development, and pipeline expansion to his role as chair of Sage’s Science & Technology Forum of the Board and member of our CNS Innovation Scientific Advisory Board. He most recently served as CEO at Sage from 2013 – 2020, providing his creative, innovative thinking to building one of the industry’s leading brain health product pipelines. Jeff is well-known for encouraging a pursuit of new opportunities by taking smart risks and challenging conventional wisdom. His approach is shaped by a career that encompasses one-on-one patient care, rapid advancement through corporate structures, academic accomplishments, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Before joining the Sage team, Jeff served as President of the Regenerative Medicine Division of Shire Plc and previously as Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Pharmaceuticals at Shire. Prior to Shire, he served as the Executive Vice President of ISIS Pharmaceuticals, as the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Forest Laboratories, Inc. and in senior-level positions at Upjohn Laboratories. Jeff is a member of the board for Generation Bio and Karuna Therapeutics. He has published more than 190 scientific papers and articles, chapters, abstracts and books, and has received numerous awards.

Jeff received his B.A. from Amherst College and M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in psychiatry at Harvard and then served as Chief Resident in psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School.