Executive Management Team

Michael V. Novinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, joined Emisphere in May 2007. Previously, Mr. Novinski was President of Organon USA, and Executive Vice President of Operations and Marketing for Organon International. He served on the Board of Directors for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America from 2004 through 2008. Mr. Novinski received his B.S. in Biology from Washington and Jefferson College.

Michael R. Garone, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, joined Emisphere in August 2007. Mr. Garone was the previous CFO and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Astralis, Ltd., a biotechnology company. Prior to that, Mr. Garone spent two decades at AT&T, where he held a variety of positions, including CFO of AT&T Alascom. Mr. Garone received his MBA from Columbia University and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. He received his B.A. in Mathematics from Colgate University.

Nicholas J. Hart joined Emisphere as Vice President of Strategy and Development in August 2008. Mr. Hart is the former Leader of the Contraception Therapy Area and ELT member at Organon, part of Schering Plough Corporation. Also at Organon, he served as Senior Director/Executive Director of Marketing of the Women’s Healthcare Franchise; Director of CNS Marketing, and Associate Director of Specialty Products. Prior to Organon, Mr. Hart held various marketing and sales positions with Novartis, Sankyo Parke Davis Pharmaceuticals, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. Hart is a graduate of West Point and holds an MBA Finance, International Business NYU Stern School of Business.

Bob Madison, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, joined Emisphere in June 2007. Previously, Mr. Madison was Public Affairs Director at Hoffmann-La Roche and National Communications Director at the American Liver Foundation (ALF). Mr. Madison holds a B.A. in English Literature from Queens College.

Daria Palestina, Human Resources Director, joined Emisphere in April 2008. Ms. Palestina comes to Emisphere from Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she served as an HR Generalist. She was also a Staffing and Recruiting Consultant for Biovail Pharmaceuticals and a Project Manager at ADP. Ms. Palestina holds a B.A. in English from Boston College. She earned her PPOD certificate at Columbia Teachers College and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Gary Riley, DVM, Ph.D., Vice President, Nonclinical Development and Applied Biology, joined Emisphere in October 2007. Previously, he was the Vice President of Toxicology and Applied Biology at Alkermes, Inc. and Director of Pathobiology at Lederle Laboratories. He is certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and the American Board of Toxicology. His professional contributions include over 50 scientific publications and preclinical submissions to the U.S. F.D.A. and EU drug registration agencies.