Paul O’Riordan

Paul is a co-founder of Synexa and served as CEO from 2003 to 2022. His long-held ambition is to help build a unique global organisation of professional scientists that can significantly improve the efficiency and success rate of new drug R&D, which he believes is a critical strategic issue facing the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare systems throughout the world.

Paul chairs the supervisory board, which oversees key decisions related to the strategic direction of the group, the performance and growth of the company, good corporate governance, sustainability and social responsibility. He works closely with the CEO to drive accelerated scaling of the company through its ‘buy & build’ strategy. Paul is closely involved in building and maintaining key commercial partnerships and representing Synexa at industry level.

Paul is a chartered accountant (Ireland) and holds an MBA from Harvard University. He is a former partner at McKinsey & Co., where he worked from 1991-2003 in London, Dublin and Johannesburg.