ByHeart Appoints Amy Schulman as Chair of the Board of Directors, Further Solidifying its Position as a Leader in the Infant Nutrition Category

March 05, 2024

As former leader of Pfizer's infant nutrition and consumer healthcare businesses, Schulman brings extensive experience in the space, in addition to serving on the boards of several biotech and pharmaceutical companies; This marks ByHeart's first non-executive Board chair appointment.

In addition to Schulman, ByHeart appoints Niall Mullane, PhD, as Chief Quality Officer to join the experienced executive team; Mullane brings 15 years of quality and food safety experience in the infant nutrition category.

NEW YORK, March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --Today, ByHeart, the next-generation baby nutrition company, announced the appointment of Amy Schulman, managing partner at Polaris partners, as Chair of the Board. A stalwart supporter of ByHeart since its inception, Schulman's designation signifies a pivotal moment for the company as it experiences momentous growth and solidifies its position as an industry leader.

Schulman's support of ByHeart dates back to the early stages of the company's development, when she played a crucial role as one of the first institutional investors, with Polaris co-leading the series A funding round and participating in each additional round since. With a distinguished career that spans various roles at Pfizer, including President of Pfizer Nutrition and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Schulman brings a wealth of experience and expertise in infant formula and consumer health.

"Amy's insights and passion for health innovation and social impact align with ByHeart's mission," said ByHeart Co-Founder and CEO Ron Belldegrun. "We chose Amy as the Chair because of her extensive track record in life sciences and infant nutrition. No one better understands what it takes to apply 21^st century functional nutrition to revolutionize babies' first food and set a strong foundation for future health."

In addition to her new role at ByHeart, Schulman also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY) and as executive chair of Lyndra Therapeutics, where she was co-founder and the company's initial CEO. She is also a managing partner at Polaris Partners and Co-Founder of the Polaris Innovation Fund, serving on the firm's life sciences investment team and a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. Her commitment to health also extends to her board appointments on the Boards of Action Against Hunger, Mount Sinai Hospital (where she co-chairs the Innovations Committee), and the California Institute of Technology. She is a member of Singapore's Health and Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council and the LifeSci NYC Advisory Council.

"I have been a staunch supporter of ByHeart from its early days, and I am honored to now chair their board," said Schulman. "The company takes a rare but much needed innovative, evidence-based approach to infant nutrition. This approach together with their unwavering commitment to quality and safety and dedication to making formula parents and babies love is setting a new standard. I look forward to working with the ByHeart team and the amazing founders on their journey to enhance the wellbeing of generations to come."

"We're honored that Amy agreed to chair our board. She leads with integrity and a people-first commitment, while also always thoughtfully challenging the status quo and seeking ways to push the bounds of what's possible to drive health innovation," said Mia Funt, ByHeart Co-founder and President. "Also, on a personal note, she's an inspiring business woman and family woman, who welcomes open conversations about the daily choices we make between family and career. We need more female leaders like her to set an example for the next generation."

ByHeart continues to build an impressive roster of talent with the addition of Niall Mullane, PhD, as Chief Quality Officer, joining the experienced executive team consisting of: Georg Krause-Vilmar, Chief Legal Officer; Bob Peruzzi, Chief Financial Officer; Elias Aoukar, Chief Operating Officer; Devon Kuehn, MD, Chief Medical Officer; Ron Belldegrun, CEO and Co-Founder; and Mia Funt, President and Co-Founder. Mullane is a global quality leader with over 15 years of experience working in the infant formula industry and brings unparalleled value to ByHeart's quality control and safety practices. He previously held senior quality and food safety positions with the industry's major players, Mead Johnson and Reckitt, in both their global and regional operational quality teams. With an extensive background in food safety oversight and as a microbiologist with a unique PhD specifically in Cronobacter, Mullane will play an integral role in managing the continued success of ByHeart's domestic supply chain and infrastructure. Alongside his distinctive industry experience, Mullane is fervently committed to upholding ByHeart – and the broader industry – to the highest global standards of quality for infant formula, the fundamental nutrition for babies worldwide.

This announcement comes at a significant juncture for ByHeart, following the successful integration of two new manufacturing facilities, which solidified the company's ownership of its end-to-end manufacturing supply chain in the United States. ByHeart now boasts a full omnichannel presence with direct-to-consumer and retail offerings at Target both in-store and online, further positioning itself as a dynamic force within the infant formula market. ByHeart remains dedicated to advancing infant nutrition through science, innovation and a commitment to excellence.