Dr. Juho Jalkanen, M. Sc, M.D., PH.D.
CEO and Founder
Management
The company’s administration and control are divided between the shareholders, the Board of Directors and the CEO. The Management Team assists the CEO in the development and operational management of Faron’s business operations.
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for implementing the strategy of the Board and managing Faron’s day-to-day business activities. The Chief Executive Officer, reviewing the operating results regularly to make decisions about the allocation of resources and to assess overall performance, is the chief operating decision-maker.
Management Team
Dr. Juho Jalkanen is an experienced biopharmaceutical industry executive with extensive leadership experience across key functional areas including operations, business development, clinical development, medical and regulatory affairs.
Dr. Jalkanen earned a Master´s degree in economics and business administration from the Turku School of Economics and both his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Turku. He is a fully licensed general practitioner and specialist in vascular surgery.
Relevant work experience
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, CEO, 2024-
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, COO, 2022-2024
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, CDO 2018-2022
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, Vice President, Business Development 2017-2018
Positions of trust
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, Member of the Board, 2013–2018
Shareholdings
1,112,015 shares and 767,040 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.
Jurriaan Dekkers, M. Sc.
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Dekkers has more than 20 years of experience in biopharma and healthcare companies. Most recently, he has been the CFO at ProQR Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing RNA therapies for severe unmet medical needs. Prior to that, he served as CFO of AstraZeneca in the Netherlands and CEO of Acerta Pharma (part of the AstraZeneca Group). He has also held global and European finance roles at DaVita Medical Group, a US-listed international healthcare provider, and Sandvik, amongst others.
Mr. Dekkers holds a MSc. in Economics from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and is a Certified Public Auditor (Register Accountant, RA) graduate from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Relevant work experience
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, CFO, 2025-
- ProQR Therapeutics, CFO
- AstraZeneca in the Netherlands, CFO
- Acerta Pharma (part of the AstraZeneca Group), CEO
Positions of trust
- Stichting Kinderpostzegels, Netherlands, Supervisory Board member and Audit Committee Member
Shareholdings
180,000 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.
Yrjö Wichmann, M. Sc.
Senior Advisor
Mr. Wichmann is an accomplished biotech and financial executive with over 20 years’ experience in financing and investment banking.
Prior to his roles at Faron, Mr Wichmann held a number of senior positions within the life sciences and biotechnology sector companies. Mr Wichmann holds a master’s in economics from Helsinki University.
Relevant work experience
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, Senior Advisor, 2025-
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, CFO, 2024-2025
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, Senior Vice President, Financing & IR 2019-2024
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, CFO, 2014-2019
- IP Finland Oy, Director, 2011-2014
- Biohit Oyj, VP, 2010-2011
- CapMan Oyj, Director, 2003-2009
- FibroGen Europe Oyj, CFO, 2000-2003
- D. Carnegies & Co AB, Director, 1995-2000
Positions of trust
- Dasos Timberland Fund I and II, member of the Investment Committee 2009–
- Nordic Science Investment Oy, Member of the Board 2023-
Shareholdings
98,132 shares and 598,000 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.
Dr. Petri Bono, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Petri Bono, M.D, Ph.D, is a seasoned senior pharmaceuticals executive with a background in oncology and various leadership positions.
Dr. Bono has participated in numerous oncology trials from Phase 1 to 3, including early phase immuno-oncological trials and published 102 peer reviewed papers in international journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, JAMA as well as Cancer Cell.
Relevant work experience
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, Chief medical Officer 2024-
- Terveystalo, Chief Medical Officer 2019-2024
- Helsinki University Hospital, Chief Medical Officer 2016-2019
- Helsinki University Hospital, Director and Physician-in-Chief of the Comprehensive Cancer Center 2010-2016
- Helsinki University Hospital, Head of Department 2006-2009
- Post-doctoral fellow, Centrer for cancer Research, MIT 1998-2000
Positions of trust
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Member of Scientific Advisor Board 2015 –
- Oncorena AB, Member of Scientific Advisor Board 2018 –
- CurifyLabs, Member of Medical advisory Board 2024-
- GostaLabs, Member of Medical Advisory Board 2025-
Shareholdings
4,500 shares and 130,000 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.
Dr. Maija Hollmén, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Maija Hollmén joined Faron as Chief Scientific Officer in December 2022. Dr. Hollmén will oversee preclinical and support clinical development for Faron. Her priority will be the further development of Bexmarilimab, Faron’s wholly owned, novel precision cancer immunotherapy candidate.
Dr. Hollmén earned both her Ph.D. and MSc degrees from the University of Turku.
Dr. Hollmén’s post-doctoral studies were conducted at ETH Zurich alongside Professor Michael Detmar, focusing on tumor immunology and how cancer cells educate macrophages to support tumor growth. Dr. Hollmén returned to Turku and formed her own laboratory to develop strategies to resolve immunosuppressive cells and pathways and during this time, concentrated working on Clever-1.
Relevant work experience
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, Chief Scientific Officer 2022-
- University of Turku, Faculty of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Tumor Immunology and Principal Investigator 2014-
Positions of trust
–
Shareholdings
807,542 shares and 18,000 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.
Vesa Karvonen, LLM
General Counsel
Mr. Vesa Karvonen is a legal professional with more than 25 years of experience.
Mr. Karvonen holds a Master of Laws from the University of Turku, Finland.
Relevant work experience
- Faron Pharmaceuticals, General Counsel 2022-
- Deloitte Finland, Director and Head of Legal 2019-2022
- Owens Corning, Director 2018-2019Paroc Group, General Counsel 2002-2019
Positions of trust
–
Shareholdings
104,000 shares and 120,000 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.
Ralph Hughes, M.Sc., B.Sc.
Chief Business Officer
Mr. Hughes has extensive experience in commercial due diligence, market access and business development processes through his various roles in the pharmaceutical industry. At Mundipharma, he was responsible for the commercial launch strategy for pipeline assets and commercial assessment of new assets. At Pfizer, he developed global commercial, market access and pricing strategies across multiple disease areas for early-stage and in-market assets.
Mr. Hughes holds an MSc in Public Health and Health Economics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Newcastle. Throughout his career, Mr. Hughes has developed a strong understanding of what it takes to overcome access hurdles and commercialize novel therapeutics.
Relevant work experience
-
PharmaVentures, Senior Vice President, 2022-2025
-
Mundipharma, Commercial Development Director, 2021-2022
-
Mundipharma, Global Market Access, 2019-2021
-
Pfizer, Various positions, 2013-2019
Positions of trust
-
Healthwatch Islington, Chair, 2024-2025
-
Healthwatch Islington, Board Member, 2019-2023
Shareholdings
0 shares and 100,000 stock options, entitling to same amount of shares in the company.