CMTRF Board of Directors
Meet the Board of Directors who govern the CMT Research Foundation’s activities.
Peter J. deSilva
Board Chair CMT Research Foundation and CEO of Iralogix
Peter deSilva is CEO of IRALOGIX and a former Senior Fellow at Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative. Before that, he spent three years as the retail president for TDAmeritrade, where he was responsible for all facets of the +$5 billion retail business segment, including strategy formulation, financial performance, sales, digital strategy, distribution, client experience, associate experience for the 5,000 employees, and compliance and risk management. He also served as president of Scottrade Financial Services and UMB Financial Corporation as well as a senior leader at Fidelity Investments.
deSilva understands the immense physical and mental toll of CMT having been diagnosed with 1A in his early teens. He joins the board of directors to raise significant capital to invest in drug development research projects that lead to treatments and cures for CMT.
Cleary Simpson
Vice Chair of the Board of Directors
Cleary Simpson is a founding member of the Board of CMTRF and accepted the Board’s appointment as CEO as part of a planned succession strategy on January 10th, 2022. She served until October 16, 2024 then became Vice Chairman of the Board. According to Board Chair Peter de Silva, “Her tenure brought fresh perspectives, increased awareness, fundraising success and strategic investments in many new exciting potential CMT therapies, and inspired employees (and Board members) through her unique leadership style. She served well beyond the Board’s requested term and CMTRF is better for it.”
Simpson came to CMTRF with more than 30 years of experience in the marketing and advertising industries, having held senior positions in general management, sales and marketing, business development, emerging markets and product development. Before joining the Board of CMTRF, she was a Managing Director at consulting firm MediaLink, where she advised Fortune 500 media and entertainment companies and emerging technology companies on business strategy, revenue acceleration and organizational restructuring.
Prior to joining MediaLink, Simpson was Senior Vice President for Global Marketing Solutions at Time Warner Inc., managing relationships with major companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Campbell’s, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and Cadbury, to develop integrated advertising and content partnerships across Time Warner’s television, print, digital, film and book publishing companies. Earlier, she worked in senior positions at Time Inc. properties, including TIME magazine and Sports Illustrated.
Simpson also served on the Boards of Do Something and St. Luke’s School (New Canaan, CT). Simpson received her bachelor’s degree in history and asia studies from Connecticut College and was a Fulbright Fellow in Japan.
Her daughter, Anna, has CMT1A.
Maximiliano Barrientos
Co-founder, Investor and CFO, EntreConsultas.AI
Maximiliano Barrientos is a Co-founder, Investor and CFO of EntreConsultas.AI, a start-up in artificial intelligence providing biometric authentication services to fintech and insurance companies. As someone who lives with CMT, Mr. Barrientos understands the complexity – and urgency – of finding a cure and shares CMTRF’s vision and singular mission.
Before EntreConsultas.AI, Barrientos spent 11 years with TE Connectivity based in Berwyn, PA (a $15 billion Swiss technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors), serving in financial positions of increasing scope and responsibility. Before that, he was with Bunge Limited (a $50 billion food and agribusiness company headquartered in White Plains, NY) as Strategic Planning Associate. Barrientos started his career with General Motors as a Finance Analyst based in Buenos Aires. He received his MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a degree in business administration/CPA from Argentina’s Universidad Austral.
Santo Caivano
Customer Engagements, Cisco’s Critical Accounts Program
Santo Caivano is Director, Customer Engagements of Cisco’s CAP (Critical Accounts Program) Americas team resolving the most complex and critical problems of Cisco customers. He joined Cisco in March 2011 as Cisco acquired Inlet Technologies, a company where he was a principal and led Product Management, Professional Services, and Technical Services. Prior to Inlet Technologies, Caivano spent over a decade leading teams in several successful start-ups, including three which were acquired and one that went public. Earlier in his career, Caivano worked at IBM.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from the University of North Carolina, an Executive Certificate in Leadership from the University of Notre Dame and he completed eCornell’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program.
Susan Canavari
Secretary of the Board of Directors
Susan Canavari was the senior vice president of marketing for TIAA, a New York City-based company that provides financial services to the academic, research, medical, cultural and governmental fields. Before that, Susan was the global chief brand and experience officer for JPM Wealth Management where she was responsible for brand and experience for JPM’s Asset Management and Private Bank Businesses. She started at JPM Chase as the chief brand officer for Chase where she worked on marketing all lines of business, including cards, retail banking and Chase for Business as well as ran the internal creative services, newsroom and global employee recruitment marketing.
Earlier in her career, Canavari worked for several top advertising agencies. She was a managing director of Mcgarrybowen, a global, full-service, integrated marketing communications agency network; and held senior positions at Digitas and Ogilvy & Mather. She received her bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Miami (Ohio) University and an MBA from Boston College.
Adam Kauffman
VP of Engineering, Kelvin
Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Adam Kauffman has been a software engineer for the past 20 years, specializing in internet security and managing the product development for a number of Fortune 500 companies, banks and the federal government. He joined Kelvin as VP of Engineering in 2023 where he’s helping to decarbonize the world’s legacy buildings by making them more fuel efficient. Kauffman previously worked at Stord as Director of Engineering, Pindrop as an Engineering Manager, and was a Software Engineer at Damballa and EarthLink for many years. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Kauffman has CMT1A, as do his mother and sister. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Kate, his sons James and Sam, and Pomeranian, Louie.
Will Motley
Rapport Therapeutics
Dr. Motley is currently Senior Director of Clinical Development and Program Lead at Rapport Therapeutics, a precision neuroscience company, and worked as a consultant to the company’s founding team at Boston-based Third Rock Ventures. Previously he served as Director of Translational Medicine for Flare Therapeutics and was a Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures where he was a member of Flare’s founding team and worked on diverse aspects of company creation. Dr. Motley also serves as a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of Palvella Therapeutics, a company focused on bringing therapies to patients with rare dermatologic diseases with no approved therapies. A member of CMTRF’s Scientific Advisory Board since 2020, he holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania, a Doctorate in Neurogenetics from the University of Oxford (UK) and a BA in Biochemistry from Middlebury College.
He completed a neurology residency at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His doctoral and post-doctoral research experiences focused on identifying new causes of CMT, and characterizing pathological mechanisms of the disease.
Susan Ruediger
Founder and Chief Mission Officer
Susan Ruediger has CMT1A that she can trace back five generations in her mother’s family. Since 2007, she has been deeply engaged with the patient and research communities, building connections to fund efficient and effective research leading toward drug delivery.
From its launch in 2018, she was the Foundation’s CEO. In January 2022, she became the organization’s first Chief Mission Officer continuing to serve on the Board of Directors, helping support CMTRF’s rapid financial growth and serving as the primary spokesperson for the Foundation. Before that, she held an executive position with CMTA.
As a member of the BIO Patient Advocacy Committee, Ruediger built a robust network of experts in drug delivery and patient advocacy and continues to be sought after by peers in patient-led drug discovery and as an expert in CMT. She has spoken on CMT at Georgia Tech, Emory University, Hanger, Inc., The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association and BIO. Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Clemson University.
Thomas Sander
Clinical Account Manager, Hematology Rare Disease at Sobi Biotech
Thomas Sander, whose daughter has CMT, has been a Clinical Account Manager, Hematology Rare Disease at Sobi Biotech since 2021 and before that was a Key Account Manager, Infectious Disease at Paratek Pharmaceuticals. He has been a rare disease advocate for the past 15 years, both personally and professionally serving as a key Account Manager with increasing scope and authority for small to mid-sized Biotech’s. In his earlier career, Sander founded Nexus Technology Group, an outsourced IT company for small to mid-sized businesses in Columbus, Ohio. Sander is a graduate of Miami University.
Dr. Arthur Suckow
Former Co-founder and CEO of DTx Pharma
Dr. Suckow is an innovative executive leader and scientist with 15 years of experience leading drug development programs across multiple therapeutic areas leveraging small molecules, biologics and oligonucleotides. Most recently, he founded DTx Pharma and served as its Chief Executive Officer until it was acquired for $1B by Novartis. In 6 years, he helped this San Diego-based RNA therapeutics company develop a pipeline of therapies for rare diseases, including CMT1A, and raise more than $120M through grants and leading healthcare investors. Prior to DTx, he served in roles of increasing responsibility at Johnson & Johnson, MedImmune/AstraZeneca and Regulus Therapeutics.
Dr. Suckow received his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from University of Delaware and his PhD in Biomedical Sciences/Pharmacology from University of California, San Diego. In addition to being on the board of CMTRF, he currently serves as a strategic and/or scientific adviser to Transcera, Actio Biosciences, Palm Therapeutics and numerous institutional investors. He has received numerous awards throughout his career including a Beckman Fellowship, a NSF graduate research fellowship, and a BIOCOM catalyst award.
Patrick Livney
CEO, LoanEco Systems Online
Board Chair Emeritus
Pat Livney has CMT type 2 diagnosed but unconfirmed and has volunteered on behalf of families living with CMT for years. Through this work, he has come to understand the gaps in delivering treatments for CMT and wants to close them by making therapies available for all types of CMT.
He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Charcot Marie Tooth Association for four years and as its CEO for five years. In 2008, he was instrumental in developing the CMTA’s STAR Research platform, dedicated to treating CMT through drug development. To this day, he continues to work with the brightest minds and best talent in CMT research.
Livney is currently CEO of Loan EcoSystem Online. Before that, he was the senior managing director and head of the Structured Finance Group at Vanderbilt Capital Advisors where he grew assets from $300 million to over $20 billion in four years. He also functioned as the CEO and chairman of the Vanderbilt Financial LLC, a permanent capital vehicle. Prior to that, he held senior positions in Institutional bond sales for Wall St firms. He has a degree in industrial engineering from Roosevelt University in Chicago and holds series 3, 7 and 63 certifications.
Dr. Michelle Moon, MD
Neurologist, Vancouver Clinic
Board Member Emeritus
Dr. Michelle Moon is a neurologist and palliative care physician, in practice for more than 10 years. Dr. Moon brings her clinical expertise and her personal passion to CMTRF with the goal of preventing other families from suffering the devastating loss of a child to CMT.
In 2016, she lost her 5-year-old daughter, Julianna, to a severe and rare form of CMT. Michelle’s story received international attention on CNN and in People Magazine. The coverage brought attention to CMT, but her ultimate goal is to help the Foundation find a treatment. She continues to tell Julianna’s CMT story and the story of a grieving family on the blog (michelle-moon.com) and throughout social media.
Dr. Moon received her medical degree from Nova Southeastern University and completed her neurology residency at the University of Colorado.