Occam Global Recruits CEO for Aura Biosciences
May 5, 2026 – New York City-based executive search firm Occam Global has recruited Natalie Holles as CEO of NASDAQ-traded Aura Biosciences in Boston, MA. She succeeds Elisabet de los Pinos, the company’s founder, who stepped down from her roles as CEO and president and member of the board of directors on the same date. “We are delighted to welcome Natalie as CEO at this important moment for Aura,” said David Johnson, chairman of the board of directors of Aura Biosciences. “Natalie brings significant experience across late-stage development, operations, and rare disease commercialization, making her exceptionally well-suited to lead Aura as we near completion of enrollment in our Phase 3 CoMpass trial and prepare for potential commercialization. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Elisabet for her leadership and vision in founding Aura and advancing the company to this critical point.”
Ms. Holles has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience spanning corporate strategy, business development, operations and commercialization across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Aura, Ms. Holles served as CEO of Third Harmonic Bio from August 2021 through December 2025. Before that, she was president and CEO of Audentes Therapeutics, which was acquired by Astellas Pharma in 2020.
Ms. Holles joined Audentes as senior vice president and chief operating officer in 2015, was an instrumental architect of the company’s GMP viral vector manufacturing capabilities and was subsequently promoted to president and chief operating officer in 2018, and then to CEO in 2020. Earlier in her career, she served as senior vice president of corporate development at Hyperion Therapeutics, which was acquired by Horizon Pharma in 2015, and as vice president of business development at KAI Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Amgen in 2012.
“I am thrilled to join Aura to lead the company through this next phase of its growth, including Phase 3 trial completion and the potential registration and commercial launch of bel-sar,” said Ms. Holles. “With the potential to bring the first frontline, vision-preserving therapy to patients with early choroidal melanoma, I believe the company is very well-positioned for meaningful value creation for our patients and shareholders. I look forward to working with this talented team to advance our work toward realizing the full clinical and commercial potential of bel-sar.”
Aura Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted therapies for solid tumors using its proprietary virus-like drug conjugate (VDC) platform. The company is advancing a pipeline of precision oncology treatments designed to selectively destroy cancer cells while activating the immune system to generate longer-lasting anti-tumor responses
Founded in 2012 by William Holodnak, Occam Global is an international executive recruiting and leadership advisory firm specializing in building management teams for companies in the life sciences, AI, robotics, defense, technology, and venture capital sectors. The firm’s success is rooted in cultivating and valuing relationships, establishing trust with entrepreneurs, executives, and investors. The firm employs a disciplined and comprehensive method for the sourcing, selection, and integration of executive leaders, involving in-depth research and rigorous due diligence. In addition, Occam Global provides sophisticated advice on organizational structure and development at the C-suite and board levels.
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Mr. Holodnak established his reputation by starting, building, and running an international search firm servicing leading companies and entrepreneurial organizations in the asset management, financial services, global health and biotechnology sectors throughout Asia, North America, and Europe. Prior to founding Occam, Mr. Holodnak created J. Robert Scott, a multinational executive search firm under the umbrella of Fidelity Investments. He specializes in recruiting C-level executives and board of director searches for the financial services and healthcare sectors, with clients including MIT, Ameriprise, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AstraZeneca, Venrock, New Enterprise Associates, and SingHealth.
John Holodnak is Occam Global’s president. He specializes in healthcare executive recruiting and technology executive recruiting, calling on nearly a decade of experience in C-level executive search and his extensive experience in the financial services sector. Mr. Holodnak previously worked as an equity analyst at Crédit Agricole, a fixed-income analyst at Western Asset Management, and a currency trader on Wall Street.
Recent Search
Occam Global also recently placed Marcus Schindler as a member of the advisory board at Cradle, the enterprise-grade AI platform for protein engineering. He will help accelerate the platform’s scientific impact and drive broader adoption of AI-powered protein engineering across the life sciences industry.
“Marcus is renowned for modernizing drug discovery at some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies,” said Stef van Grieken, co-founder and CEO of Cradle. “He has been transformative in building thriving cultures that turn technology into a genuine competitive advantage, disrupt drug discovery to deliver better outcomes and adopt AI solutions at larger scale. We’re excited to work closely with Marcus and draw on his deep experience driving R&D innovation to apply AI in practical, meaningful ways across biologics discovery and development.”
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
