Our People
To a patient without access to a critical needed therapy, we imagine that the world must seem like an awfully big place.
At Tanner Pharma Group, experience has taught us that when all of us work together, as a healthcare family, we have the power to make the world a small place – a place where hopeful patients have access to the medicines they need – a world where medicine has no borders.
Banks BourneFounder and Chairman

OUR LEADERSHIP
Together we are boundless. Meet our family.
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Banks Bourne
Founder and Chairman
Banks is founder and chairman of Tanner Pharma Group and the founder of Bourne Partners, a leading financial services firm. For over 20 years, Bourne Partners has transacted with nearly all major pharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceuticals companies around the world, including Banks’ initial investment in King Pharmaceuticals in the late 1990s. This investment introduced Banks to the pharmaceutical world and jumpstarted his interest in the healthcare sector. Since then, Bourne Partners has participated in more than $10 billion of transactions in pharmaceutical, pharma services and consumer health, and has invested in more than 200 private companies and assets since 2000.
Banks previously held the position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for TITAN Technology Partners and worked for Wachovia Securities, Inc. He received a degree in business management from North Carolina State University and an MBA from Wake Forest University. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO).
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Steve Scalia
President
Steve Scalia is the President of Tanner Pharma Group, a 20-year-old specialist pharmaceutical services provider headquartered in Charlotte, NC USA with offices in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Switzerland and Ireland. Tanner provides a portfolio of service offerings focused on improving global access to medicines around the world. In his role, Steve leads the company’s business activities with oversight of the commercial divisions, cross-functional departments, the Corporate Governance Team and the Senior Management Team. Prior to joining Tanner Pharma in 2011, Steve founded three start-ups that included complex operating models and custom facilities requiring real estate development. Steve began his career in the pharmaceutical industry, holding sales and management positions at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacia Corp.
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Maryori Alvarenga
EVP of Global Access Programs, EVP-Clinical Trial Procurement
Maryori is the Executive Vice President of Global Access Programs leading the Global Access Programs division. As one of the first employees at Tanner Pharma Group, Maryori is an expert in every facet of the business; her previous roles at Tanner include marketing, sales management, operations management, and research. She also earned a double degree in Management and Marketing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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Jonathan Bracey
EVP of Corporate Development
Jonathan is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and the Global Head and Managing Director of CTS UK. Jonathan’s experience includes generics, specialty pharma and most recently, he was a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry. Within these organizations, he worked in general management, operations, sales, procurement and supply chain roles with UK, EU, MENA and global reach. Jonathan also served as a logistics officer in HM Forces. He earned a degree in Management Sciences from University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
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Carolina Cortez
EVP of Licensing, Acquisition, and Commercialization
Carolina is the Executive Vice President of Licensing, Acquisition and Commercialization. She leads all business activities including partner relations, business development and commercialization strategies. She has 16 years of international pharmaceutical experience and is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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Lee Holmes
EVP of Technical Operations
Lee is the Executive Vice President of Technical Operations. With over 25 years of experience across a wide range of global leadership roles in the healthcare industry, Lee offers a wealth of knowledge, offering particularly significant expertise in the development and supply of specialty pharmaceuticals and specialized, niche medicine. Prior to joining Tanner, Lee led held various commercial and operational roles within biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and service providers (notably Clinigen and WEP Clinical) and had his own consulting company. He has a BSc in Applied Microbiology from John Moores University in the UK.
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Robert Keel
EVP of Managed Access Programs
Rob is the Executive Vice President of Managed Access Programs and Managing Director in Switzerland. He has lived and worked extensively across the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and has held global general management and finance roles within the pharmaceutical, airline and agriculture industries. Within the pharmaceutical industry, Rob has previously been responsible for the management and operation of the EMEA commercial supply chain at AstraZeneca and led business development activities at UK-based Alliance Healthcare. Rob holds an industrial engineering and management sciences degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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John Lagus
EVP of Business Development
John is the Executive Vice President of Business Development. John spent more than a decade at Orphan Medical where he held various roles in development, commercial, corporate development, and oversight of international. Prior to joining Tanner Pharma, John worked for 12 years at Idis (and subsequently Clinigen) with roles in commercial, operations, and general management. John has a BA in mathematics from St Olaf College and a MS in statistics from Iowa State University.
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Bill Taylor
SVP, General Counsel
Bill is General Counsel. He has broad experience in international law. Bill has established an active attorney network in more than forty countries relating to intellectual property, corporate law, labor law and product distribution legal matters. Prior to joining Tanner Pharma Group, Bill had extensive litigation experience in private practice. While at King Pharmaceuticals International, he served as director of international legal affairs. He is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and a former member of the American Trial Lawyers Association.
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Katie Smoot
EVP of Business Operations
Katie is the Senior Vice President of Business Management and oversees project implementation, IT, infrastructure, team development and HR activities. She has 17 years of project and change management experience, both with local and international teams. Katie has a dual degree in marketing and communications from Clemson University and is a Six Sigma Certified Blackbelt, focused on lean and design methodologies.
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Caleb LofferEVP of Managed Access Programs, Managing Director Switzerland Rob is the Executive Vice President of Managed Access Programs and Managing Director in Switzerland. He has lived and worked extensively across the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and has held global general management and finance roles within the pharmaceutical, airline and agriculture industries. Within the pharmaceutical industry, Rob has previously been responsible for the management and operation of the EMEA commercial supply chain at AstraZeneca and led business development activities at UK-based Alliance Healthcare. Rob holds an industrial engineering and management sciences degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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