Ovid Therapeutics Reshapes Executive Leadership to Drive Next Phase of CNS Pipeline Development
Key Insights
Ovid Therapeutics announced multiple strategic executive appointments to support its advancing pipeline of neurological and neuropsychiatric medicines.
Kevin Norrett, with over 30 years of life sciences leadership, joins as Chief Business Officer to spearhead strategic partnerships and corporate development.
Charles Carter has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Jeffrey Rona who transitions to a long-term advisory role through 2027.
Ovid Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: OVID), a New York-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for brain disorders with significant unmet need, announced on July 8, 2026 a series of strategic appointments to its executive leadership team. The moves are designed to support the company's next phase of development as its clinical programs advance.
The leadership restructuring includes the appointment of Kevin Norrett as Chief Business Officer, the promotion of Charles Carter to Chief Financial Officer, the addition of Eliseo Salinas as Executive R&D Advisor, and the promotion of Victoria Fort to Chief Strategy Officer. These changes come as Jeffrey Rona, the outgoing Chief Business and Financial Officer, transitions to a long-term advisory role.
"With the progress across our clinical development programs, we are adding to a world-class team of experienced leaders who are dedicated to driving Ovid's success," said Meg Alexander, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ovid Therapeutics.
New Chief Business Officer Brings Transaction Expertise
Kevin Norrett, MS, MBA, joins Ovid with more than 30 years of leadership experience in the life sciences sector. His track record includes executing strategic partnerships, launching commercial medicines, overseeing operations, and working in capital markets. Most recently, Norrett served as Chief Business Officer at Soleno Therapeutics, where he led the company's acquisition by Neurocrine Biosciences. His prior experience includes executive roles at Codexis, Sierra Oncology, and Angion Biomedica, as well as senior leadership positions at Aimmune Therapeutics, ZS Pharma, Exelixis, and Genentech.
At Ovid, Norrett will spearhead business and corporate development functions as well as strategic partnerships. Alexander highlighted his "expertise in realizing high-impact collaborations and transactions" as critical to accelerating the characterization and value creation of Ovid's programs.
Financial Leadership Transition
Charles Carter, MS, MBA, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer from his previous role as Senior Vice President of Finance and Financial Planning. Carter brings more than 30 years of experience across finance, strategy, and operational leadership. Prior to joining Ovid, he served as Chief Financial Officer of CERo Therapeutics and held financial leadership roles at several public and private life sciences companies.
Carter succeeds Jeffrey Rona, whose departure from all officer roles was effective July 6, 2026. The company stressed that Rona's departure was not due to any disagreement over financial or accounting matters. Under a separation agreement, Rona will receive 12 months of salary, a prorated 2026 bonus, up to one year of COBRA benefits, and ongoing non-solicitation covenants. A consulting agreement retains him as an advisor through December 31, 2027, with continued vesting of his equity awards.
Carter's compensation package includes a $460,000 base salary, performance-based cash bonuses, and restricted stock units vesting over time, aligning his incentives with long-term corporate objectives.
R&D Leadership Bolstered by Veteran Drug Developer
Eliseo Salinas, MD, MSc, transitions from a consulting role to the permanent position of Executive R&D Advisor to the CEO. Salinas brings more than three decades of experience in drug development, having contributed to 15 international regulatory approvals, including multiple approved neurological and psychiatric medicines. Throughout his career, he has held research and development leadership positions at leading organizations, advancing next-generation treatments for neuropsychiatric and neurologic disorders.
Alexander noted that Salinas's "experience successfully developing medicines for intractable psychiatric and neurological conditions is invaluable as we advance our KCC2 (search) activators."
Strategy Leadership Expanded
Victoria Fort has been promoted to Chief Strategy Officer from Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Strategy. Since joining Ovid, Fort has helped shape the company's corporate strategy and organizational direction and has strengthened its financial position, leading two successful financing rounds that extended Ovid's cash runway into 2029. Prior to Ovid, Fort served as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Affairs at Frontier Medicines, following decades as a consultant to emerging and leading biopharmaceutical companies.
Pipeline Context
Ovid Therapeutics is developing a portfolio of differentiated, small molecule medicines for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Its pipeline includes OV329, a next-generation GABA-aminotransferase (search) inhibitor being investigated as a potential therapy for treatment-resistant focal onset seizures (search) and developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (search), including tuberous sclerosis complex (search)-associated seizures and infantile spasms (search). The company is also advancing OV4071 (search) and other compounds within a library of KCC2 (search) transporter activators for multiple CNS disorders.