Jesse Shefferman is a Co-founder, Director, and Chief Executive Officer of Protara. He has led the Company since its inception, through the addition of two late-stage assets, the establishment of multiple late-stage development programs and its listing on NASDAQ in early 2020. Mr. Shefferman has spent over twenty years in the biopharma industry holding several strategic leadership and financial roles. Prior to co-founding Protara, Mr. Shefferman was Vice President and Head of Business Development at Retrophin Inc., a leading rare disease company, where Jesse was a member of the executive leadership team and executed a number of company-defining transactions. Prior to Retrophin, Mr. Shefferman served as Director, Strategy and Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he focused on hepatology and rare disease programs. Mr. Shefferman previously served as an investment banker with Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers Inc., where he focused on providing strategic and financial advice to the management teams and boards of directors of numerous biopharmaceutical companies. Mr. Shefferman holds an M.B.A. and Certificate in Health Sector Management from Duke University and a B.A. in Accounting from Gordon College.