Who We Are

Dr. Stephen Dilly, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board member of SonomaBio, brings nearly forty years of executive management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of Codexis (Nasdaq: CDXS) where he continues to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors. At Codexis, Stephen led the transformation of the company from a life science tools provider into a full-service CDMO pioneering enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis. Prior to Codexis, he served as President and CEO of Sierra Oncology (Nasdaq: SRRA) through its recent sale to GlaxoSmithKline for $1.9 billion. Dr. Dilly also served as CEO of Aimmune Therapeutics, acquired by Nestle Health Science for $2.6 billion. Additionally, Dr. Dilly has served in executive roles at Genentech, Chiron and SmithKline Beecham and has been associated with the development, approval and launch of more than twenty-five marketed drugs across multiple therapeutic areas. He holds both an MBBS (UK equivalent of MD) and a PhD in Cardiac Physiology from the University of London.

Lisa Taylor Ash, JD has played key roles in multiple biotech startups through critical growth phases, raising private venture financing, negotiating high-value pharma partnerships, scaling clinical trials, and supporting two billion-dollar product launches. Most recently at Shape Therapeutics, Ms. Ash was instrumental in building their legal department and eventually leading operations. Before that role, Ms. Ash served as Vice President, Head of Healthcare Law and Compliance at Juno Therapeutics, where she led a team of lawyers advising on issues related to the manufacturing and clinical development of CAR-T cell therapy. Ms. Ash has also served as the Senior Director of Compliance and Legal Affairs at Exelixis and Corporate Counsel, Healthcare Law at Pharmacyclics, and as a Healthcare Associate at Sidley Austin LLP. Ms. Ash currently sits on the board of Fauna Bio.

Ms. Ash earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and her JD from Harvard Law School.

Jessica Stitt, MBA, is a global biotech financial executive with over 20 years of experience in corporate transactions, healthcare finance and strategy. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at Gyroscope Therapeutics, a global clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on disease of the eye, acquired by Novartis. Prior to Gyroscope, Stitt served as Vice President of Finance and Operations for MyoKardia, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies for the treatment of serious cardiovascular diseases, acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. She served as Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations for Theravance Biopharma, Inc., after the company’s spin-off from Theravance, Inc., now Innoviva, Inc. She previously held roles in finance at Nektar Therapeutics, Alkermes and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Stitt holds an MBA from Simmons School of Management and a BA from Saint Anselm College.