Open Orphan appoints Stephen Pinkerton as chief financial officer

Dublin-listed pharmaceutical services company Open Orphan has announced the appointment of Stephen Pinkerton as chief financial officer and as an executive director with immediate effect.

Mr Pinkerton succeeds Leo Toole who has stepped down from the board and CFO role to pursue other interests. Mr Toole will remain with the company until the end of the year.

Mr Toole was appointed to the board and as CFO in February 2020 following the acquisition of Hvivo. He was described by the company on Tuesday as “a key member” of the team that helped to turnaround the company’s financial position.

He was also said to have actively supported the company in its engagement with the UK government to complete the world’s first Covid-19 characterisation study in 2021.

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Mr Pinkerton is a chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience in senior financial roles and has served as commercial financial director of Hvivo since July 2017, having previously been a consultant to the company.

Prior to joining Hvivo, he spent 11 years in various senior financial roles at Thomson Reuters. He will be based in the company’s Plumbers Row headquarters in East London alongside the company’s CEO Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan.

The company said Mr Pinkerton has a strong background in financial planning and analysis, commercial finance, financial systems and financial control.

Following the appointment of Mr Khan as CEO in February, Cathal Friel is reverting to non-executive chairman.

“Having worked at Hvivo for over six years, both in a permanent role and previously as a consultant, I have built a deep knowledge of the business and forged relationships with many of our longstanding clients as part of the BD team,” said Mr Pinkerton.

“I am excited to begin this new role as CFO of the wider group as we look to continue the fantastic momentum that we have built in recent years.”

Mr Khan said: “I am delighted that Stephen is stepping into the role of chief financial officer. His experience and knowledge of the business mean he is ideally suited to support our growth strategy.

“I would like to thank Leo for his significant contribution to the company over the past three years, where he has played a pivotal role in our progress to date.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Cathal as we build on the progress that both the company and the entire team have made over the last three years.”