Mary Szela has nearly 35 years of experience in both the commercial and clinical arenas. Her accomplishments in building billion-dollar businesses, turning around faltering businesses, igniting growth in stagnant businesses and devising innovative, differentiated strategies for undistinguished products make for a remarkable record.
Mary is currently CEO of TriSalus Life Sciences, an immuno-oncology company focused on transforming the way liver and pancreatic tumors are treated. The platform integrates a drug delivery technology with SD-101, a toll-like receptor 9 agonist and other pipeline assets in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy to improve patient response rates.
Previously, Mary served as Chief Executive Officer of Novelion Therapeutics, a rare disease company, where she orchestrated the merger of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals and QLT Therapeutics. Prior to Novelion, she was Chief Executive Officer of Melinta Therapeutics, leading the company’s revitalization effort and accelerating clinical development of its lead asset for treatment of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
Mary held ascending management positions at Abbott Laboratories including President of the company’s $8 billion U.S. pharmaceutical business. She developed global brands such as Humira® and served as Senior Vice President for global strategic marketing and services. Mary currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Kura Oncology, Prometheus Biosciences, Omega Therapeutics, Senda Biosciences and TriSalus Life Sciences.
She earned an MBA and a BS in nursing, both from the University of Illinois.
