This prestigious recognition celebrates alumni who have excelled in their professions and contributed to ASU, the ASU Alumni Association and the community.

Mark McKenna, a luminary biotech entrepreneur, executive and director, is this year’s recipient of the 2025 Alumni Achievement Award.

• Founder, chairman and CEO of Mirador Therapeutics, Inc.
• Currently serves as chairman of the board of directors at Apogee Therapeutics, Inc.
• Over 20 years of experience and strategic leadership from the pharmaceutical, medical device, medtech, consumer and diagnostics sectors.

Mark McKenna is a distinguished biotech entrepreneur, executive and director, celebrated for his visionary leadership and contributions to the advancement of both entrepreneurship and science. With a deep commitment to partnering with innovative companies, McKenna strives to drive positive change for patients and families.

McKenna is the founder, chairman and CEO of Mirador Therapeutics, Inc. and has served as the chairman of Apogee Therapeutics, Inc. since August 2023. In July 2024, he was appointed to the board of directors at NewAmsterdam Pharma, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral medicines for cardiovascular disease patients who are underserved by existing therapies. Additionally, McKenna is a director at Spyre Therapeutics, Inc., a venture partner at Arch Venture Partners and a senior advisor at Fairmount Funds. He is also the chief investment officer and managing director of McKenna Capital Partners, a family office dedicated to investing in breakthrough treatments for debilitating diseases.

From 2019-23, McKenna served as chairman and CEO of Prometheus Biosciences, where he led the company through a remarkable growth period. He raised over $1 billion in private and public financing, led the top-performing biotech IPO of 2021 and launched the first precision therapeutics clinical trial for immune-mediated diseases. Prior to his roles at Prometheus, McKenna was a corporate officer of Bausch Health and served as president of its subsidiary, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He spent more than a decade in various roles with Bausch + Lomb, a division of Bausch Health, and served as senior vice president and general manager of its U.S. Vision Care business. Through strategic acquisitions and product launches, he doubled revenue to exceed $2 billion.

McKenna earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Arizona State University in 2002 and an MBA from Azusa Pacific University. He first began his career at Johnson & Johnson, acquiring positions of increasing responsibility. Passionate about addressing complex challenges in medicine, McKenna is regularly invited to speak at industry-leading events such as the Longwood Healthcare Conference and is a frequent guest on CNBC’s Mad Money and Bloomberg Radio. He was selected as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023 and has also completed the Wharton Fellows Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.