Discover Veranova

Mike Riley joined Veranova as Chief Executive Officer in May 2023. Mike has over 25 years of professional experience, the majority of which has been spent in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) industry. Prior to joining Veranova, he spent 19 years at Catalent, Inc., most recently serving as President of Biotherapeutics. During his tenure at Catalent, Mike led and built Catalent’s biologics business into a leading service provider for advanced biologics modalities, including proteins, monoclonal antibodies and Antibody Drug Conjugates. Mike served in multiple executive positions at Catalent and was part of the core leadership team that transformed Catalent from its inception into an S&P 500 company. He began his career as a management consultant for Marakon Associates, providing strategic advisory to companies across multiple industries. Mike holds a B.A. degree from Duke University, and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Scott Lassonde joined Veranova as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in March 2024. Scott has over 14 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer in private equity-backed manufacturing-based businesses. Prior to joining Veranova, he served as CFO at Lacerta Group, where he contributed to the company’s focus on sustainability in the packaging manufacturing industry. Scott began his career at General Electric in the Financial Management Program, followed by roles of increasing responsibility over twelve years. Scott holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Dartmouth College, and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Joe Torres-Ocasio joined Veranova as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in September 2025. Joe is a seasoned operations and business leader who has managed global site networks and driven transformational performance improvements over a 20+ year career in the CDMO, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Prior to joining Veranova, Joe served as Global Vice President of Operations for Catalent’s Biologics division, where he played a pivotal role in transforming the performance of several key operations while commercializing multiple products. His career also includes leadership roles at Baxter Healthcare International, where he led the turnaround and growth of critical sites across the Americas while managing a complex network of plants. Joe began his career at Amgen as a manufacturing leader, where he led a high-impact Lean transformation. He later held senior operational roles at Immucor and Therapeutic Proteins International. Joe holds a dual B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology from Universidad de Puerto Rico, as well as an MBA in International Business from Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.

Jacquelyn Martin joined Veranova as Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer in January 2026. Jacquelyn has more than 20 years of quality leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and CDMO sectors, with expertise spanning multiple modalities. She most recently served as Chief Quality and Regulatory Compliance Officer at Alcami Corporation, where she oversaw a global network of CDMO facilities and drove significant advancements in quality system maturity, inspection readiness, and quality culture. Prior to Alcami, she held quality leadership positions at Gilead Sciences, AAIPharma Services, TriPharm Services, and has served as an advisor to multiple companies on compliance and operational transformation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Carolina–Columbia.

Victoria Brown joined Veranova as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer in August 2023. Victoria joins Veranova with over 25 years of professional experience, including nearly 12 years in leadership roles within the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) industry. This includes various global HR leadership roles at Catalent, where she most recently headed HR for Catalent Biologics and the global Sales & Marketing teams. She previously led Catalent’s Executive and Global Recruiting functions, and her leadership was instrumental in supporting numerous transformations within Catalent’s Global Operations. Prior to joining Catalent, Victoria held various talent acquisition and management roles with GSK Vaccines, Heidrick & Struggles, and Marsh, Inc. Victoria holds a B.A. degree in Psychology/Business from The University of Tulsa.

Jose Ibietatorremendia joined Veranova in December 2023 as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Jose has over 20 years of in-house legal leadership experience spanning private equity-backed growth companies through established publicly traded companies. Jose most recently served as VP, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary at Catalent. Prior to that, he served in roles of increasing responsibility at GE Capital, Goldman Sachs, APX, NYSE Blue, and Liquid Holdings Group. Jose began his career at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell after clerking for the Hon. Eduardo Robreno in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He holds a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Mayya Buffington joined Veranova as Vice President and Chief Information Officer in August 2024. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry, including over 15 years in global IT leadership roles, with a strong track record of advancing digital strategies that support operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and enterprise growth. Prior to joining Veranova, Mayya served as Chief Information Officer at Ascensus Specialties, where she led enterprise-wide technology modernization and digital transformation initiatives across chemical manufacturing and regulated operations. Her career also includes senior IT leadership roles at Catalent and Roche, where she drove strategic technology initiatives across global operations and strengthened digital capabilities supporting quality, supply chain, and R&D functions. Mayya holds an MBA from Indiana Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Purdue University.

Dr. Rajni Aneja is a seasoned physician executive and strategic advisor, bringing a wealth of experience from her work across the healthcare, business, and technology sectors. She served in 2023 as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow and has extensive board and advisory experience. Dr. Aneja encompasses the creative characteristics that allow various vantage points as a Clinician, Executive, Advisor, Entrepreneur, Speaker and Technology Advocate from Managed Care (United Health Group, Humana) to WebMD (Consumer, technology, digital) to Joslin (Academic-Harvard Medical School/ MIT) or Pharma (Novartis, Sanofi) spreading the vision for strategy and innovation across different spectrums of the health care ecosystem.

Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and a recipient of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She is also the Baker Family Director of Stanford’s Sarafan ChEM-H Institute and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Carolyn is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society (UK). She is a member of the Board of Directors of Alnylam and of OmniAb, Inc. and a former Director of Eli Lilly.

Dr. Marvin H. Caruthers is a distinguished American biochemist internationally recognized for his pioneering work in nucleic acid chemistry. A member of the University of Colorado Boulder faculty since 1973, he currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry. His research has been foundational to the development of gene sequencing technologies, molecular diagnostics, and therapeutic oligonucleotides.

Dr. Caruthers is also a successful biotechnology entrepreneur, having co-founded leading companies such as Amgen and Applied Biosystems. His contributions to science and innovation have been honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Science (2006) and the inaugural Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology (2023). He is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, reflecting the broad impact and enduring significance of his work.

Carlo de Notaristefani is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of experience building and leading some of the most complex supply chains in the pharmaceutical industry. Carlo led manufacturing operations for Operation Warp Speed, the public/private partnership that delivered billions of vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was previously President & CEO of Global Operations for Teva Pharmaceuticals, President of Technical Operations for Bristol Myers Squibb and held multiple senior leadership positions with Bristol Myers Squibb and Aventis.

Dr. Bradley L. Pentelute, a Professor of Chemistry at MIT, is renowned for his groundbreaking research in developing innovative chemistries and technologies to accelerate the manufacturing and delivery of therapeutic biopolymers including peptides and oligonucleotides. Dr. Pentelute is an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, an Extramural Member of the MIT Koch Cancer Institute and a Member of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences at MIT. He has been recognized with numerous accolades from institutions such as the American Chemical Society and the American Peptide Society, underscoring his contributions to the field.

Edward Robinson is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of experience building and growing businesses in the CDMO industry. He served as President of Lonza Biologics where he was instrumental in launching Lonza’s US operations. Ed served as Executive Vice President of Cambrex, President of Solutia Pharmaceutical Services, Vice President of Genencor International, and held multiple leadership positions with Snomax Technologies and Eastman Kodak.