Leadership

Anne co-founded 23andMe in 2006, three years after the first human genome was sequenced. Her goal was audacious: to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome and fundamentally change healthcare in the process. Prior to founding 23andMe, Anne spent a decade on Wall Street investing in healthcare and felt frustrated by a system built around monetizing illness instead of incentivizing prevention. She wanted to flip that model on its head and build a business that helps people prevent illness rather than profit from it. Anne focused on empowering people with direct access to genetic information so that they could use their data to make decisions that could lower their risks for disease. Under her leadership, 23andMe now provides the only personal genetic test with FDA authorization to deliver health information directly to consumers.

From the beginning, Anne's goal and 23andMe’s mission has not wavered. Along with empowering consumers with health information, Anne wanted 23andMe to transform how research discoveries are made and revolutionize the development of treatments for disease. By inviting people to participate in research, 23andMe is able to crowdsource billions of data points resulting in the world’s largest resource for genetic research. This novel, web-based approach has already resulted in thousands of new genetic insights and allows 23andMe to rapidly recruit participants to multiple studies at once, reducing the time and resources needed to make discoveries and is integral to 23andMe’s mission of understanding and benefiting from the human genome This new approach to research also powers 23andMe’s therapeutics group, which is helping to translate this knowledge into new treatments for serious unmet medical needs. In line with this, 23andMe is now also using its unique model to speed recruitment for clinical trials.

Anne is a pioneer in the direct-to-consumer DNA testing space and her vision and persistence have allowed 23andMe to provide people with unprecedented access to genetic information. Through its research platform, 23andMe has brought personalized medicine directly to millions of consumers.

Anne graduated from Yale University with a BS in Biology.

Joyce joined 23andMe in 2007 and leads the 23andMe research team, which is responsible for consumer health and ancestry research and development, academic and industry collaborations, computational analyses for therapeutics, and new research methods and tools development. While a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, Joyce studied the genetics of mouse and human pigmentation. She earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California, San Francisco where she was a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow.

Kathy Hibbs, Esq. joined 23andMe as Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer in 2014. Kathy brings more than 20 years of legal and management expertise in the clinical laboratory and medical device industries to 23andMe. Prior to joining 23andMe, Kathy served as senior vice president and general counsel, responsible for the legal, regulatory and business development functions at Genomic Health, Inc. Kathy has also held related posts at Monogram Biosciences Inc., and Varian Medical Systems, Inc.. Kathy is active in several industry groups including the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA), the Coalition for 21st Century Medicine and the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC). Kathy holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings School of Law, and a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, from the University of California, Riverside.

Arnab joined 23andMe in 2009 and is the architect of 23andMe’s platform for processing genetic data. Among other duties, Arnab oversees the design and analytic validity of our genotyping technology.

Over the years he has been instrumental in several successful upgrades of our testing infrastructure, as well as ensuring that the data from new genotyping chips work seamlessly with 23andMe’s product and research platform. Before joining 23andMe, Arnab earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied computational protein design, and developed protein inhibitors for breast cancer metastasis with Dr. Tracy Handel. Before that received a SmileTrain grant for his work with Dr. Simeon Boyadjiev at the Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital to determine the disease-causing loci for rare genetic conditions such as oculodentodigital dysplasia.

Originally from Rochester, New York, Arnab has been interested in genetics since childhood.

Katie joined 23andMe in 2018 to lead the company’s internal and external communications efforts. In her role, Katie is responsible for driving the overall communications strategy and messaging for the company, with a focus on creative storytelling.

Prior to joining 23andMe, Katie spent 11 years helping lead product communications at Google, where she launched popular products like Google Photos and the Google Assistant. During her time there, she advised and worked closely with product leadership teams to build long-term narratives and create compelling media campaigns. Prior to Google, Katie was an Account Director and Partner at tech PR agency LEWIS PR.

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Media Relations, and minor in Business Administration from the University of San Diego.

Adam joined 23andMe in 2015. Adam Auton is the Vice President of Human Genetics at 23andMe and is responsible for computational approaches to target discovery via statistical genetics and computational biology. Before joining 23andMe, Adam was an assistant professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where his group developed algorithmic approaches for using large-scale genomic data to understand human population genetics. Adam earned his DPhil in statistics from Oxford University, before completing his post-doctoral training at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford, and Cornell University.

Kent Hillyer joined 23andMe in October 2013 and is currently Vice President, Customer Care.

He has overseen the growth of 23andMe’s exceptional Customer Care operation, managing teams spread throughout the world. The support operation is now rated ahead of companies such as Zappos and Nordstrom, according to established third-party benchmark platforms. Prior to coming to 23andMe, Kent worked as the Director of Customer Support, Training, and Commercial Operations at Ingenuity Systems where he served in various senior positions in operations, strategic planning, and process design.

Kent holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University and an MBA from the University of Denver.

Noura joined 23andMe in 2022 as Vice President of Genomic Health, overseeing the development of genome-informed disease prevention and management strategies.

Noura is a physician scientist whose work aims to uncover the clinical impact of human genetic variation in diverse populations and drive the large-scale, equitable implementation of genomic medicine. She is known for pioneering genome-first approaches using electronic health record-linked biobanks to provide novel clinical insights, inform therapeutic discovery, and implement genomic medicine programs tailored to ancestrally diverse populations. Her work has been published in leading journals, including Science, Cell, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Noura is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Prior to joining 23andMe, she was the founding Chief of Genomic Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Clinical Director of the Institute for Genomic Health at Mount Sinai. She previously served as Director of Translational Genetics at the Regeneron Genetics Center, during which time she received a 40 under 40 Rising Star Award. She is the recipient of the 2021 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Foundation.

Noura received her undergraduate degree from Queen’s University in Canada. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Medical Genetics at Mount Sinai, and is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Medical Genetics.

Savita Pillai first joined 23andMe in early 2018, as the Director of People Systems & Operations where she focused on building automation and process efficiency for the People team. She helped implement 23andMe’s first HRIS system and with that laid the foundation of setting the function up for scalable operations. Over the following four years, she took on many other responsibilities, including HR Business Partner and Compensation Planning & Analysis. In early 2022, Savita joined a San Francisco-based software startup to head up their HR department, however she re-joined 23andMe as VP of People in August 2022.

Savita began her career in Mumbai as a Software (Application) Developer for an enterprise resource planning company before coming to the US in the early 2000s to work as an HR & Finance IT Analyst. She worked for companies including Altera (now part of Intel), Tibco, Taleo (now part of Oracle) and Infinera during which time she discovered a passion for HR operations, leading operational efficiency and compliance within the HR function.

With her non-traditional background, Savita enjoys shaping HR policies and operations through a values and data-driven approach.

Jon joined 23andMe as CMO in 2022 to lead the company’s global marketing efforts. His team is responsible for driving the consumer business while building the company’s brand into a leader in health and wellness.

Prior to 23andMe, Jon was Chief Marketing Officer for health insurer Sidecar Health, and grew the business in 18 states and channels including direct-to-consumer, broker and employer.

Between 2012 and 2019, Jon was a Vice President at 23andMe, leading a range of initiatives including international markets expansion, retail/Amazon sales, business development and acquisition marketing. Jon has also held executive leadership positions at eHarmony, AOL and McKinsey and Company.

Jon has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Williams College, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Joe Selsavage joined 23andMe in November 2021 through the acquisition of Lemonaid Health. Joining Lemonaid Health as Chief Financial Officer in 2020, Joe now serves as 23andMe’s Interim Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Accounting Officer.

Joe has over 25 years of experience in Accounting and Finance across multiple organizations. Before joining Lemonaid Health, from 2018 to 2020, Joe was a consultant at Red Eclipse Consulting, where he provided accounting and financial systems consulting services. Prior to that, Joe served as the Chief Financial Officer of Metromile, and as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and in other financial roles at Hotwire.com (Expedia, Inc.). Prior to 2001, Joe held various finance and accounting roles.

Joe received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Financial Management and his Master of Arts degree in Accountancy from Catholic University and received his Master of Business Administration degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an active Certified Public Accountant.

Dan Chu joined 23andMe as Chief Product Officer in September 2022, as the company embarks on transforming healthcare to deliver a more personalized experience.

Prior to 23andMe, Dan was the Chief Product Officer for Waymo where he launched the world's first commercial fully autonomous ride-hailing service. He oversaw the product management, program management, UX design/research, industrial design, product data science and strategy teams for Waymo. Before Waymo, Dan led the Google Maps platform product team, which included the Google Maps API, one of the most popular APIs of all time.

He holds a B.S. and AB from Stanford University, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Reza Afkhami joined 23andMe as Chief Corporate Development Officer in May 2023 to oversee the company’s corporate development efforts across its therapeutics, research services and consumer groups. Afkhami is responsible for spearheading and driving a wide range of industry collaborations.

Before joining 23andMe, Afkhami was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Global Blood Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease. He led business development, licensing, and strategy for the company. He also played a key role in Pfizer’s acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics in late 2022.

Afkhami brings over 20 years of corporate strategy and business development experience across the therapeutics industry. Prior to Global Blood Therapeutics, Afkhami served as Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Surrozen, a biotechnology company focused on developing tissue-specific antibodies to create therapies for a range of diseases. He has held numerous positions, overseeing global commercial strategy and planning, leading teams handling business development and market intelligence, and having managed and supported partnerships to help to grow a company from early-stage drug discovery to a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company.

Afkhami holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Guy Chayoun joined 23andMe in August 2021 and currently serves as 23andMe’s Vice President, Interim General Counsel. At 23andMe, Chayoun is responsible for providing legal guidance in the areas of securities law, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and ESG. In addition, he manages the Legal Operations, Contracts, APL (Advertising, Promotion and Labeling), and Risk Management legal teams.

Prior to 23andMe, Chayoun was Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded generics and specialty pharmaceutical company, Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Sealed Air Corporation, a publicly traded Fortune 500 packaging company, as well holding senior legal roles at B&G Foods and Amdocs. Prior to going in-house, Chayoun worked at the law firms WilmerHale, Skadden, Arps and Clifford Chance.

Chayoun holds a B.A in. economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.

Bill is the Head of Therapeutics Discovery at 23andMe. Bill leads a team focused on translating findings from 23andMe’s genetic database to the identification of therapeutic targets and advancement of therapeutic programs in immunology and inflammation.

In roles prior to joining 23andMe, Bill was Chief Scientific Officer at ProNeurotech (now Nura Bio). From 1996 to 2019, Bill held various positions of increasing responsibility at Amgen culminating as Executive Director Research. At Amgen Bill and his teams contributed to the pre-clinical development of numerous molecules, including Sensipar, Parsibiv, Evenity, Olpasiran, AMG 594 and AMG 609. Also, at Amgen Bill worked closely with the team at deCODE genetics in Iceland to identify and advance genetically validated therapeutic targets.

Bill received his Ph.D. in Genetics from SUNY-Stony Brook and conducted postdoctoral research at the Oak Ridge National Labs. Bill has co-authored numerous publications and is a co-inventor on many patents.

Tracy Keim returned to 23andMe in July 2023 to take on a new role at the company as Chief Brand Officer, with a focus on building the brand’s next chapter of personalized care. Tracy began her 23andMe career in 2013 and led the global marketing activities over her nine year tenure.

Prior re-joining 23andMe, Tracy was the Chief Marketing Officer at a menstrual blood diagnostic company, Qvin. Tracy spent her early career at consulting, advertising and database marketing agencies focused on driving brand and performance marketing campaigns for clients, including eHarmony, LegalZoom, Hotwire, ShoeDazzle, DIRECTV, Bank of America, Mercedes USA, and Volvo Cars North America.

Tracy holds a BS in Advertising from Syracuse University and an MS in Integrated Marketing from Northwestern University.

Jennifer Low, MD, PhD, is the Head of Therapeutics Development at 23andMe. She oversees the transition of potential therapeutics from 23andMe's research laboratories into clinical development studies, and leads a group that includes preclinical and clinical development and drug manufacturing.

Jennifer has over thirty years of drug development experience spanning academia, government, large pharma and small biotech. She has been the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Loxo Oncology where she oversaw the clinical development of Vitrakvi (Trk inhibitor). Prior to that, she led or oversaw the Erivedge (hedgehog), Zelboraf (b-RAF), Cotellic (mek), among many other clinical development programs at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

She received her undergraduate degree from Caltech, her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Georgetown, and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of California Davis, her medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, and was a Senior Investigator at the Cancer Therapeutics Evaluation Program at NCI and an attending physician in breast cancer at the National Institutes of Health and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. She has co-authored papers appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Cancer Discovery, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Nature Reviews Cancer.

Eli Fry joined the company in 2018 to drive scale and automation to 23andMe’s operational processes. As Vice President, Operations, Eli is currently responsible for all aspects of the organization's supply chain, strategic sourcing and procurement, lab operations and facilities for both the Consumer and Therapeutics businesses.

Prior to joining 23andMe, Eli was Director of Operations at A&D Medical with P&L responsibility overseeing North and South American operations. Before his time with A&D, Eli spent 12 years in various leadership roles within product development and commercialization, supplier development and management, manufacturing, and acquisition integration with Boston Scientific, Terumo Cardiovascular System, and Ford Motor Company.

Eli earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and a MBA from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.