Management Team

John M. Gay serves as Novan’s Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Gay joined Novan in May 2018 and previously served as Novan, Inc.’s Chief Financial Officer and Secretary and Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller. Mr. Gay has more than 20 years’ experience in public company finance and accounting. Prior to Novan, Mr. Gay held director-level positions, including at Maxpoint Interactive, a digital marketing technology company, and Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical development company. Prior to joining Furiex, Mr. Gay served in roles of increasing responsibility at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen, registered public accounting firms. He is a certified public accountant and holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and History and a Master’s in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Melvin Whitehead leads Novan’s manufacturing operations, including drug substance and drug product manufacturing, and environmental health and safety. Mr. Whitehead has over 25 years of industry experience in Manufacturing, Technical Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain and Quality Assurance functions. Prior to Novan, Mr. Whitehead was the Site Head and General Manager for Catalent’s Analytical, Biologics and Inhalation site in North Carolina. Previously, Mr. Whitehead held the role of Chief Operating Officer for Asklepios Biopharmaceuticals and VP of Operations at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies where he spent 15 total years holding progressive roles in operations and quality. Mr. Whitehead holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from North Carolina State University.

Carri Geer, PhD, leads drug substance, drug product, device and analytical development for Novan’s drug candidates. Additionally, Dr. Geer serves as the technical liaison for collaborative partnerships. Dr. Geer has more than 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical product development, and a background in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. During her tenure at Novan, Dr. Geer has been responsible for establishing and growing the analytical capabilities of the company. Prior to joining Novan, Dr. Geer was employed at Merck and bridged the interface between R&D and cGMP analytical testing. Dr. Geer received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tomoko Maeda-Chubachi, MD, PhD, MBA, provides medical input to help drive the strategy, design, and execution of Novan’s development programs. Most recently, she served as senior medical director at GSK, leading clinical development projects for psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, pemphigus, and androgenic alopecia. Prior to GSK, she held clinical and medical affairs roles at Eli Lilly and Company and Pfizer, Inc. Dr. Maeda-Chubachi was an academic physician and dermatologist for ten years before entering the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Maeda-Chubachi received her MD and Ph.D. from Osaka University.