Alumnus Ryan Chavez (‘09) Appointed CFO of Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc.
November 22, 2016
Chapman University Fowler School of Law alumnus Ryan Chavez (‘09) was appointed last week as Chief Financial Officer of Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company pioneering the field of regenerative medicine.
Chavez joined the company in July of this year as Executive Vice President of Finance and General Counsel. He will retain the title of General Counsel in his new position. Prior to joining Asterias, he served as Vice President and General Counsel of Mallinckrodt’s Autoimmune and Rare Disease Division.
“Since Ryan joined Asterias earlier this year, he has provided strong financial and legal leadership for Asterias,” said Asterias’ President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Cartt. “Ryan’s financial and legal background and prior experience within the healthcare industry will continue to be instrumental as we further execute on our strategy to advance the clinical progress of our therapeutic candidates. He has quickly become a key member of our leadership team.”
Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Chavez worked as an associate at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth in Newport Beach, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions, securities reporting and other general corporate matters for public and private clients. He also previously worked as an associate at Rutan & Tucker, LLP in Costa Mesa, where he practiced corporate law.
He earned his JD, magna cum laude, from Chapman where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Chapman Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with honors and distinction, from Stanford University.