Our Team

Owen A. O’Connor, M.D., Ph.D.

Founder, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Owen is the Founder, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Nouveau Biosciences. Under his leadership, Nouveau Biosciences has matured a platform to drug focused biotechnology company leveraging the latest advances in synthetic lethality screens, genomics and computational biology to produce a pipeline of novel, derisked nanotherapeutic drugs for cancer.  Their lead drug candidate, kromastat, has been shown to be a best-in-class and best-in-disease drug for the treatment of T-cell malignancies, pancreas cancer and a variety of aggressive forms of leukemia.  Nouveau has raised substantial capital to support its ambitious clinical programs, which has complimented many strategic collaborations around the world.  Dr. O’Connor is a world renowned physician-scientist who holds many patents on methods to treat cancer, and has led global regulatory approval of many drugs across a host of indications in cancer and autoimmune diseases.  Owen has studied and been on faculty at Cornell University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Columbia University to name a few. He has well over 300 publications, and has authored and edited many books on lymphoma and targeted drug therapies for cancer.  He is passionate about creating teams that think outside the box, and have a penchant for solving the field’s most significant challenges.

Mr. Turgeon brings more than 38 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with a career distinguished by leadership in oncology drug development, global sales and marketing, and product strategy. He most recently served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, where he successfully guided the company’s operations and strategic direction from 2017 to 2021.

Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Turgeon served as President & Chief Operating Officer (2014–2017) and as Senior Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer (2012–2014) at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure, he played a central role in building Spectrum’s commercial and development capabilities, positioning the company as a recognized leader in oncology innovation.

Before joining Spectrum, Mr. Turgeon spent 22 years at Amgen Inc., where he rose to the position of Vice President of Sales. At Amgen, he was instrumental in launching many of the company’s most successful drugs across oncology, inflammation and bone health, and was a key member of the original commercial team that helped establish Amgen as a global leader in biotechnology.

As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Turgeon will oversee all operational aspects of Nouveau Biosciences, including clinical development execution, business operations, and commercial strategy, supporting the company’s mission to deliver next-generation cancer therapies to patients worldwide.

Mr. McGahan brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience across the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and life sciences sectors, with a distinguished track record in corporate governance, compliance, and regulatory strategy. He most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SPPI), where he guided the company through significant corporate milestones, culminating in its successful acquisition in 2023.

Earlier in his career, Mr. McGahan held senior legal and compliance positions at Avanir Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson, where he led global compliance initiatives and provided strategic legal oversight for innovative therapeutic portfolios. He also served in the U.S. Navy healthcare system as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and as Assistant General Counsel to the Navy Surgeon General.

As Chief Legal Officer, Mr. McGahan will oversee all legal, compliance, and governance functions at Nouveau Biosciences. He will play a key role in shaping the company’s regulatory pathway, strengthening its intellectual property portfolio, and supporting strategic collaborations.

Mr. Elmasri is a CPA and seasoned business professional with 20 years of experience in financial and management consulting. Mr. Elmasri began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers(“PwC”) and worked on several of the firm’s Fortune 500 clients, primarily focused on the Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical industry. From PwC, he transitioned to lead advisory practices at boutique consulting firms, specializing in transaction and complex accounting advisory.

From September 2020 to the present, he has served as the Managing Partner at Titan Advisory Services LLC, a boutique advisory firm focused on providing collaborative and customized financial operations and CFO services to early-stage companies. From June 2019 to August 2020, he was Managing Director at DLA LLC. From March 2018 to June 2019, he worked as Senior Director for Pine Hill Group LLC, an accounting and transaction advisory firm. From September 2007 to March 2018, Mr. Elmasri advanced through a series of roles, culminating in the position of Senior Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Big-4 Accounting and Global Professional Services firm. Mr. Elmasri received B.S. degrees in Accounting and Finance from Rutgers University in 2007.

Chuck Karan, Ph.D., serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Nouveau Biosciences, where he oversees the development of a comprehensive scientific platform spanning drug discovery to clinical trials. Dr. Karan holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Rochester. He is a leader in novel assay and technology development, contributing to both academic and biotech sectors. At Columbia Medical Center, Chuck led the High-Throughput Screening Facility, where he spearheaded the creation of an automated transcriptomic platform now adopted by research hospitals for accelerating biological systems analysis. His leadership drove the development of innovative tools that directly improved patient outcomes. This extensive experience in building and managing multi-disciplinary teams and pioneering automation technologies informs his strategic direction at Nouveau Biosciences, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of scientific innovation.