Cynthia Butitta

Ms. Butitta is a seasoned financial and operational executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience in both the biotechnology and high-technology industries. She has served as a director for UroGen since October 2017.

Most recently, Ms. Butitta served as Chief Operating Officer of Kite Pharma, where she played an instrumental role in the acquisition of Kite Pharma by Gilead Sciences for approximately $11.9 billion in cash. She also served as Kite Pharma’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2014 to 2016. During her tenure at Kite, Ms. Butitta was responsible for securing more than $1 billion in equity financing and oversaw the rapid growth of the organization.

Prior to joining Kite, Ms. Butitta served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired in 2012 by Pfizer, Inc. for $700 million.

Previously, Ms. Butitta held positions as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Telik Inc., a public biotechnology company focused on the development of small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer, before its acquisition by MabVax Therapeutics, Inc.

Ms. Butitta was also Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for Connetics, Inc., a public biotechnology company.

Ms. Butitta has also served on the boards of Autolus Ltd. since March 2018, Olema Oncology since August 2020, and Century Therapeutics since February 2021.

Ms. Butitta received a B.S. degree with honors in Business and Accounting from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and her M.B.A. degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.