Dr. Jeffrey Chi has served on Aardvark's Board since May 2019 and as Lead Independent Director since December 2024. A veteran of the venture capital industry, he co-founded Vickers Venture Partners in 2005 and served as its Vice Chairman and a member of its Investment Committee until transitioning to a senior consultant role in 2025. He was Chairman and CEO of Vickers Vantage Corp. I from 2020 to 2022 and Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association from 2013 to 2017. Dr. Chi received his Ph.D. and S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.A. and B.A. from the University of Cambridge, and is a CFA charterholder. He serves on Aardvark's Nominating and Corporate Governance, Compensation and Audit Committees.
Dr. Roy D. Baynes has served on Aardvark's Board since December 2024. Since July 2022 he has been Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Eikon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIKN). He previously served as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Development at Merck Research Laboratories from 2013 and as Chief Medical Officer of Merck & Co. from 2016 until April 2022, and earlier led therapeutic areas at Gilead Sciences and Amgen. He has authored more than 150 publications. Dr. Baynes received his medical degree and Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He serves on Aardvark's Nominating and Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees.
Susan E. Graf has served on Aardvark's Board since November 2024. Since May 2021 she has been a Senior Advisor and Entrepreneur in Residence at Locust Walk Partners, LLC. She was Chief Executive Officer of Akamara Therapeutics from 2019 to 2021 and Chief Business Officer (and Principal Financial Officer) of Epizyme, Inc. from 2016 to 2018, and earlier held roles at NPS Pharma and spent nearly 18 years at Roche. Ms. Graf received her M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University and her B.Pharm. from Purdue University. She serves on Aardvark's Compensation and Audit Committees.
Victor Tong, Jr. has served on Aardvark's Board since May 2024. He is a Managing Director at Decheng Capital, where he has worked since the firm's inception in 2012, focusing on biotechnology and medical technology investments in China and the United States. He was previously a Principal at Bay City Capital and a member of the healthcare investment banking division at Morgan Stanley. He has served on the board of CG Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGON) since July 2023 and on the boards of several private biotechnology companies. Mr. Tong received his B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology and his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He serves on Aardvark's Nominating and Corporate Governance and Audit Committees.
Dr. Tien-Li Lee is Aardvark's founder and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since March 2017. He has more than 20 years of experience as a biotechnology innovator and executive involved in founding or advancing several biopharmaceutical companies. Before founding Aardvark, he was Chief Strategy Officer of NantKwest, Inc. (Nasdaq: NK) from 2013 to 2017, Director of Business Development at Simcere Pharmaceutical Group from 2011 to 2013, and co-founder and Vice President of Business Development of Onkor Pharma from 2007 to 2011. He is an inventor or co-inventor of multiple biomedical innovations. Dr. Lee received his M.D. from the University of California, San Diego and his B.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed post-graduate training at UCLA and UC Irvine.
Nelson Sun has served as Aardvark's Chief Financial Officer since June 2019 and additionally as Chief Operating Officer since February 2026. He has more than 20 years of experience in financial management, business operations and corporate strategy, with leadership roles at private equity firms. Before joining Aardvark he was an Operating Partner at Dubilier & Company from 2011 to 2019 and a Vice President at Valor Equity Partners from 2005 to 2011, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions, portfolio management and operational oversight of portfolio companies. Mr. Sun received his M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School, an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Manasi Jaiman has served as Aardvark's Chief Medical Officer since September 2024. From October 2022 to March 2024 she was Vice President, Clinical Development and Platform Lead at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX), and from 2020 to 2023 she served in various roles at ViaCyte, Inc., including Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Clinical Development, developing novel cell-therapy approaches. She was previously Senior Medical Director at Covance/LabCorp and, from 2014 to 2020, an attending physician at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital caring for pediatric endocrinology patients, including those with Prader-Willi syndrome. Dr. Jaiman received her M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina, her M.P.H. from Tulane University, and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of South Carolina Honors College.
Dr. Timothy Kieffer was appointed Aardvark's Chief Scientific Officer in May 2025. A globally recognized academic leader in diabetes mechanisms and translational medicine, he previously served as Chief Scientific Officer at ViaCyte, Inc. (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals) and subsequently at Fractyl Health. Before industry, he led the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Medicine at the University of British Columbia, focusing on gene and cell therapy approaches to treat diabetes. Dr. Kieffer has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and holds patents in the field. He received his Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of British Columbia and completed post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Danny Villeneuve was appointed Aardvark's Chief Commercial Officer in May 2025. He brings more than 20 years of commercial leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry across U.S. and international markets. Most recently he served as EVP, Chief Commercial Officer of Ironshore Pharmaceuticals, where he led the commercial relaunch of its flagship ADHD product ahead of the company's acquisition by Collegium Pharmaceuticals. Earlier he commercialized products in the ADHD, CNS, diabetes and obesity markets with Orexigen Therapeutics, Shire Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Medical Biology at Universite du Quebec.
Christian Zapf was appointed Aardvark's General Counsel in May 2025, bringing over 20 years of legal and transactional experience in the biotechnology sector. Most recently he was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and General Counsel at Abpro Corporation. Previously he was Vice President and Counsel at NantWorks and at Abraxis BioScience, and earlier served as Counsel, Corporate Development at American Pharmaceutical Partners. Mr. Zapf received a B.A. in Philosophy from Cambridge University, a J.D. from Columbia University, and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.
Derrick Li serves as Aardvark's Chief Business Officer and is a biotechnology executive with more than 20 years of global experience in biopharmaceutical business development, investment banking and corporate strategy. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at ODC Life Sciences and as Head of Strategy and Investor Relations at Cellular Biomedicine Group (now AbelZeta), and held investment banking roles including Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Group at Robert W. Baird. Mr. Li earned a dual bachelor's degree in accountancy and finance from Villanova University.
Dr. Zhenhuan Zheng serves as Aardvark's Chief Research Officer. Before joining Aardvark he was Senior Manager, Scientific Affairs at NantKwest, Inc. from 2016 to 2017, and previously served as Manager of Business Development at Simcere Pharmaceutical Group from 2009 to 2012. He earned his Ph.D. from Tsinghua University.