Exhibit 99.1
Tenaya Therapeutics appoints Karah Parschauer, J.D., to its Board of Directors and Joanna Auch
as Senior Vice President of People and Culture
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., – December 22, 2021 – Tenaya Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNYA), a biotechnology company with a mission to discover, develop and deliver curative therapies that address the underlying causes of heart disease, today announced the appointments of Karah Parschauer, J.D., to its Board of Directors and of Joanna Auch as Senior Vice President of People and Culture.
“Tenaya is at an important inflection point in our growth and maturity. We are now a public company with more than 100 employees who represent our commitment to internalize critical capabilities, including cGMP manufacturing and clinical development,” said Faraz Ali, CEO of Tenaya. “Both Karah and Joanna are strong leaders who bring highly relevant strategic and operational experiences to Tenaya, and who also add to the diversity of our Board and our leadership team. We welcome their contributions as Tenaya advances TN-201 and TYA-11631 towards INDs in 2022.”
“I am delighted to join Tenaya’s Board of Directors at this important moment in the company’s history,” said Ms. Parschauer. “Tenaya is very well-positioned to take what the industry has learned from drug development efforts for rare diseases and gene therapies and to now apply that knowledge to advance potentially disease-modifying therapies for patients and families fighting severe genetic cardiomyopathies.”
Ms. Parschauer has nearly 20 years of relevant experience, including with biopharmaceutical companies, with proven success in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and leading organizations through growth and transformation. She currently serves as Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company advancing a diverse portfolio of approved therapies and product candidates – including gene therapies – for ultra-rare genetic diseases. Her previous experience includes over a decade in roles of increasing responsibility at Allergan plc. Ms. Parschauer began her legal career at Latham & Watkins LLP. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Evolus, Inc. (NASDAQ: EOLS) and Anebulo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANEB). Ms. Parschauer earned her B.A. from Miami University and J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Ms. Auch brings over 15 years of human resources experience across various industries, including pharmaceutical, healthcare and technology. She most recently served as Head of Human Resources for North America at Santen, Inc., a global pharmaceutical company focused on ophthalmology, where among other responsibilities she led the human resources integration for two acquisitions. Ms. Auch earned her B.A. from San Jose State University and is a member of CSHRP, Community for Strategic HR Partnerships. She will report to Tenaya’s CEO in a newly created role leading all aspects of human resources including talent acquisition and management, culture and values, compensation and benefits and organizational effectiveness.
