Jeff George
Jeff is the Managing Partner of Maytal Capital, a healthcare-focused venture capital and private equity firm he founded in 2017. He was previously the global CEO for Sandoz and Alcon, both of which are now publicly-listed companies, at Novartis Group, where he served on the Executive Committee between 2008 and 2016. He currently serves on seven public, private and non-profit boards of directors in addition to serving as a Partner at Bridge Builders Collaborative.
Jeff is currently Chairman of LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ: LENZ), a San Diego-based ophthalmic biotech whose lead program in presbyopia has completed its Phase 3 clinical trials, and serves on the board of directors at Amneal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMRX), a high-growth leader in specialty and complex generic pharmaceuticals with ~$2.5 billion in revenues; 908 Devices (NASDAQ: MASS), a pioneer in bioprocessing diagnostics; and Dorian Therapeutics, a Silicon Valley-based biotech spun out of Stanford University. Jeff also serves as Chairman of Lykos Therapeutics, whose FDA-designated breakthrough therapy for PTSD has completed two Phase 3 clinical trials, as well as on several non-profit boards including the North Texas Food Bank. He previously served as Chairman of Education Opens Doors between 2019 and 2023.
Between 2008 and 2016, Jeff served on the Executive Committee of Switzerland-based Novartis Group (NYSE: NVS), first as the global CEO of Germany-based Sandoz, Novartis’s ~$10 billion revenue generic pharma and biosimilar subsidiary during his tenure and is now publicly-listed, and then as CEO of Texas-based Alcon (NYSE: ALC), Novartis’s ~$10 billion revenue eye care division, which was spun out from Novartis as an NYSE-listed firm in 2019. At both Sandoz and Alcon, Jeff was responsible for leading over 25,000 people across more than 160 countries and had leadership responsibility for all functions, regions, and franchises.
Prior to these roles, Jeff headed Emerging Markets for the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and CIS at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, leading a team of over 3,000 people across 65 markets and serving on its Executive Committee, as well as Vice President and Head of Western & Eastern Europe for Novartis Vaccines, where he had P&L responsibility for over 35 markets. Before joining Novartis, Jeff was a Senior Director of Strategic Planning & Business Development at Gap Inc. and an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Co., both in San Francisco.
Jeff holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MA from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he studied international economics and emerging markets political economy and was a John W. Watzek Fellow. He received his BA, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Carleton College, where he studied international relations and economics. Jeff previously served on the boards of AdvaMed (the medical device industry association), Roam Analytics (a healthcare AI software firm sold to Parexel in 2020), Young President’s Organization (YPO) of Dallas, and Breck School in Minneapolis, his high school alma mater. He was twice named to Fortune’s “40 under 40” global leaders list and has lived in seven countries on four continents. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Dallas and enjoys live music, running, Iyengar yoga, meditation, skiing, surfing, travel, and foreign affairs.