Penrose TherapeuTx Announces Mark de Souza as CEO

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Mark de Souza
Mark de Souza // Courtesy photo

Plymouth Township-based Penrose TherapeuTx, a pharmaceutical company focused on developing small-molecule therapies to treat advanced cancers, has announced Mark de Souza as CEO and member of the board of directors.

De Souza has decades of leadership experience in supporting advancements in health care through organizations including the Lynn Sage Foundation, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation.

“Mark will provide Penrose with the necessary structure and leadership needed to see our company’s vision and commitment to patients brought to life,” says Dr. James J. Jaber, founder and chief scientific officer of Penrose. “His deep experience in navigating regulated industries like health care, coupled with his personal passion to improve cancer-related outcomes, will be instrumental in helping us bring potentially transformative therapies to patients who need them the most.”

De Souza has led fundraising initiatives for companies totaling more than $250 million. Most recently as CEO of Revolution Global, a multi-state cannabis company, de Souza raised more than $100 million in investments, which fueled research into commercialization.

“I am honored to join Penrose and eager to apply my experience in leading businesses from novel innovations to marketed products that impact patient care,” says de Souza.

As a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange since 1992, de Souza brings expertise in risk management, having managed more than $1 billion per day in notional transactions and valuation to Penrose. He also served as president of County Cork, a family-owned investment company specializing in senior management issues relating to asset allocation, risk analysis, and business development.

He also has lobbying and governmental relations experience and served on the board of directors of the Marijuana Policy Project and on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s agriculture transition committee, advising on issues related to the state’s agriculture industry, including medical and recreational cannabis and industrial hemp.