Leadership team

Pablo Legorreta

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Pablo is the founder, CEO and Chairman of Royalty Pharma plc. Since its founding in 1996, Royalty Pharma has been the pioneer and market leader in royalty funding of life science innovation. The company’s collaborations span the entire research and development ecosystem, from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits to small- and mid-cap biotechnology companies and global pharmaceutical companies. To date, Royalty Pharma has deployed more than $20 billion of capital to advance innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Pablo is a co-founder of Pharmakon Advisors, a leading provider of debt capital to the life sciences industry. He is also a co-founder of ProKidney, LLC, a biotech company developing pioneering therapies that have the potential to change the lives of people with chronic kidney disease.

Pablo is also the founder and Chairman of Alianza Médica para la Salud, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the quality of health care in Latin America by providing doctors and healthcare providers with continued education opportunities.

Pablo serves on the Board of Governors of the New York Academy of Sciences, as well as the Boards of Trustees of Rockefeller University, the Hospital for Special Surgery, Pasteur Foundation (US), Open Medical Institute and Park Avenue Armory.

Prior to founding Royalty Pharma, Pablo was an investment banker at Lazard Frères in Paris and New York.

Terrance Coyne

Chief Financial Officer

Terry joined Royalty Pharma in 2010. Previously, Terry was a biotechnology analyst at JP Morgan and Rodman & Renshaw, and began his career at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Terry has a BS in business administration from La Salle University and an MBA from La Salle University.

Christopher Hite

Vice Chairman

Chris has over 25 years of experience advising biopharmaceutical companies on mergers and acquisitions and capital formation. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma in 2020, Chris was an investment banker at Citi where he was the Global Head of Healthcare for nearly 12 years and most recently a vice chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (“BCMA”) and also sat on the Executive Committee of BCMA. Prior to joining Citi, Chris was the Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers.  Chris serves on the Board of Trustees at Lehigh University, the Board of Advisors of Faster Cures, a center of the Milken Institute, and served on the Board of Directors of Acceleron Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: XLRN) until its acquisition by Merck in November 2021 for $11.5 billion. Chris has a BS from Lehigh University and a JD and MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Marshall Urist, MD, PhD

Head of Research & Investments

Marshall joined Royalty Pharma in 2013. Previously, Marshall was an executive director and the senior biotechnology analyst at Morgan Stanley. Marshall has a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from Johns Hopkins University, a PhD from Columbia University and an MD from Columbia University.

Sandy Balkin, PhD

Strategy & Analytics

Sandy joined Royalty Pharma in 2021. He is responsible for building and managing a cross-functional team charged with leveraging data to identify and support investment opportunities. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma, Sandy was managing director and leader of the Truist Securities’ Data Science and Engineering Research team developing capabilities in data science, machine learning and alternative data and integrating them into quantamental investment research. Over his career, he has built and led advanced business analytics functions at top pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi.

Sandy has a PhD in business administration from Penn State University, an MA in statistics from Penn State University, as well as a BA in mathematics and economics and music from Lafayette College, where he graduated with honors. Sandy currently holds adjunct faculty positions at New York University and Columbia University.

George Grofik, CFA

Head of Investor Relations & Communications

George joined Royalty Pharma in 2020. Previously, he served as VP, Head of Global Investor Relations at Sanofi. Prior to joining Sanofi, George was the senior equity research analyst at Citi covering the US large-cap pharmaceutical industry. He is a CFA®charterholder and holds a BS in accounting from Binghamton University.

Sara Klymkowsky

Research & Investments

Sara joined Royalty Pharma in 2012. Previously, Sara was an analyst in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Goldman Sachs & Co. Sara has a BSBA and BA in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Brienne Kugler

Research & Investments

Brienne joined Royalty Pharma in 2014. Previously, Brienne was a biotechnology equity research senior associate at Morgan Stanley. Brienne has a BS in materials science and engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sam Landsberg

Finance and Treasurer

Sam joined Royalty Pharma in 2020. Previously, Sam was a vice president in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Morgan Stanley, covering a variety of companies across the biopharmaceutical industry. Sam has a BS in business administration with a concentration in finance from Northeastern University.

George Lloyd

Chief Legal Officer & Investments

George focuses on transaction structuring and execution and also leads the legal and compliance function at Royalty Pharma. George joined Royalty Pharma in 2011 after representing Royalty Pharma on all transactional work since 2006. George was previously a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Private Equity group and an associate in Davis, Polk & Wardwell’s New York and Paris offices. George has an AB from Princeton University and a JD from New York University Law School.

Arthur McGivern

General Counsel & Investments

Art joined Royalty Pharma in 2022. Previously, Art was a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Life Sciences practice. Art holds a BS in civil engineering from Tufts University and a JD from Boston University.

Jason Mehar

Investments & Deputy General Counsel

Jason joined Royalty Pharma in 2018. Previously, Jason was an associate in the Mergers & Acquisitions groups of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Jason has a BA in business from York University and a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Ashwin Pai, MD

Investments

Ashwin joined Royalty Pharma in 2023. Ashwin has nearly two decades of experience advising biopharmaceutical companies on mergers and acquisitions as well as capital formation. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma, Ashwin was a managing director of Morgan Stanley and led the firm’s West Coast Biotechnology Investment Banking practice. Ashwin received both his MD in the accelerated Honors Program in Medical Education and his BA in economics with highest distinction from Northwestern University.

Jim Reddoch, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer & Investments

Jim has more than 25 years of experience in biopharma investing. He leverages our science expertise to identify trends and find new investment opportunities. He led the Research and Investments team from 2008 to 2020. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma in 2008, Jim led healthcare research at FBR Capital Markets. Previously, Jim was a biotechnology analyst at Bank of America and CIBC World Markets. Jim serves on the Board of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), the Board of Avillion, a London-based drug development company and on Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s External Review Board for its Technology Development Fund. Jim has a BA from Furman University, a PhD in biochemistry and molecular genetics from the UAB and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University.

Molly Sawaya

Head of Human Capital

Molly joined Royalty Pharma in 2024. Previously, she was Managing Director and Head of Colleague Experience at Hudson Bay Capital. Prior to Hudson Bay, Molly held various HR roles of increasing responsibility at large companies, including QBE Insurance, Perpetual Limited and the National Australia Bank. Molly graduated from the University of Sydney with a BA and MASc in psychology.

Close

Eric Schneider

Chief Technology Officer

Eric was formerly Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Officer at Verisk. During his tenure, he led Verisk’s strategic technology and data management teams. This included developing Verisk’s data governance and data strategy program as well as leading all strategic technology initiatives, including Verisk’s migration to the Cloud, application modernization, and the establishment of Verisk’s offshore development team in Nepal. Eric has more than 30 years of IT experience, including leadership roles at Moody’s Investors Service, Barclay’s Capital, AIG, and McKinsey & Company.

Kristin Stafford

Chief Accounting Officer

Kristin joined Royalty Pharma in 2016. Previously, Kristin was a director at Ernst & Young LLP Capital Markets in London, specializing in US transactions involving European life sciences companies. Kristin also previously managed the external SEC reporting for iHeartMedia and was an auditor at Deloitte. Kristin has a BA, with honors, from Sonoma State University.