Ambit Biosciences » About Ambit » Corporate Officers

Corporate Officers

M. Scott Salka
Chief Executive Officer
Member, Ambit Board of Directors

Wendell Wierenga, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Research & Development

Christopher J. Morl
Chief Business Officer

Kerry Kelly, J.D.
Vice President and General Counsel

M. Scott Salka

Chief Executive Officer
Member, Ambit Board of Directors

M. Scott Salka brings to Ambit expertise earned at the helm of several genomics companies. Prior to joining Ambit in 2001, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of two privately-held genomics companies, Arcaris, Inc. and 454 Corporation. He also previously co-founded one of the first commercial genomics companies, Sequana Therapeutics, Inc., a pioneer in the effort to commercialize the international Human Genome Project. As Sequana's Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer, Salka played key roles in financing the company through private and public stock offerings and in establishing research alliances with GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Mannheim, Boehringer Ingelheim and Parke-Davis. Salka has also held various management positions at Burroughs Corporation, Unisys Corporation and The BFGoodrich Company. He served honorably in the United States Army's Special Forces as an advisor to several Central American governments on matters of internal defense. Salka received his M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and his B.S. in finance from San Diego State University.

Wendell Wierenga Ph.D.

Executive Vice President, Research & Development

Wendell Wierenga brings more than 30 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical experience to Ambit. In addition to his current board position and management role at Ambit, Wierenga holds board of director's positions at XenoPort and Onyx Pharmaceuticals as well as a scientific advisory board position at Concert Pharmaceuticals. He previously served as Executive Vice President of R&D at Neurocrine Biosciences, where he managed a portfolio of six clinical programs including five INDs and two NDAs. Prior to Neurocrine Biosciences, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Syrrx, Inc. (now Takeda San Diego) and as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Pharmaceutical Sciences, Technologies and Development at Parke-Davis/Warner Lambert (now Pfizer), where he was responsible for worldwide drug development. Prior to joining Parke-Davis, Wierenga spent 16 years at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, where he lead cancer and infectious diseases research and later drug discovery research. He led/participated in the research and development of more than 60 INDs, 10 NDAs and 10 marketed products, including Lipitor(r) and Neurontin(r). Wierenga earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University and completed an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford. He earned his B.A. from Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

Christopher J. Morl

Chief Business Officer

Christopher J. Morl brings more than 25 year of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience to Ambit. He previously served as Vice President of Business Development at Agensys Inc., a formerly privately owned biotechnology company that became a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas U.S. in December 2007. At Agensys, Morl was responsible for a corporate development strategy that secured a series of partnership and licensing arrangements, and led to the acquisition by Astellas. Prior to joining Agensys, he undertook an interim role as Director of Integration GlaxoSmithKline for China/Hong Kong after serving as the General Manager at SmithKline Beecham (Tianjiin). Prior to that, Morl served 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility in research, sales, marketing, and business development with SmithKline Beecham. Morl holds a BS in Applied Biology with Honors in Pharmacology from the University of London (UK) and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management (UK).

Kerry Kelly, J.D.

Vice President and General Counsel

Kerry Kelly brings to Ambit 20 years of experience practicing law in the state of California. Most recently Kelly served as Associate General Counsel for The Scripps Research Institute, supporting the institute's expansion in Florida as well as its ongoing efforts in La Jolla, California. Prior to joining Scripps, she served as General Counsel and head of corporate affairs for biotechnology company Sugen (later acquired by Pfizer), where she was responsible for business development and strategic alliances, oversight of IP, and general legal matters. Kelly previously held the position of partner in a California commercial law practice. She received her J.D. from Santa Clara University and her B.A and M.A. from Stanford University.