Simon Allen
Chief Executive Officer and Director
At Ambrx, Mr. Allen established multiple partnerships with companies including Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly, Astellas, BeiGene and Sino Biopharma that have generated more than $270 million in revenue with a potential $1 billion in future milestones and royalties. From 2016 to 2018 he was Chief Executive Officer of CohBar, where he transitioned the company from the preclinical to the clinical stage and managed the listing of its shares on Nasdaq, with subsequent inclusion in the Russell 2000 Index. Earlier Mr. Allen held various management, commercial and business development positions at Nuvelo, Skyepharma, CovX and Kalypsys.
Mr. Allen started his career as a research biologist in the antiviral group at Gilead Sciences before working in healthcare equity research and investment banking in the U.S. and Australia. He holds a BSc in biochemistry and genetics from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Dr. Kenneth Cundy, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Rex Merchant
Chief Financial Officer
Rex Merchant joined our company as Chief Financial Officer in January 2021. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer of JFL Capital Management LLC since 2018 and of various other investment advisors and non-profit organizations since 1998. Prior to joining JFLCapital Management, Mr. Merchant served as Chief Financial Officer of Western Investment LLC, a hedge fund manager and investment advisory firm, from 2008 to 2017. Mr. Merchant also served as Chief Financial Officer of Leadership Foundations, a non-profit organization, from 2011 to 2018. He also has performed business valuation, litigation analysis and expert witness services, as well as extensive work in information technology throughout his career. Mr. Merchant received a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and he holds Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.