James M. Gower has been our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since October 2001. Mr. Gower joined us as our President, Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors in January 1997. From 1992 to March 1996 Mr. Gower was president and chief executive officer of Tularik, Inc. (now Amgen), a biotechnology company developing small-molecule drugs regulating gene expression. From 1981 to 1991 he served as senior vice president at Genentech. At Tularik, Mr. Gower was involved in the development of the company from its inception until 1996. During his ten years at Genentech, Mr. Gower had responsibility for corporate and business development, and he established the sales and marketing functions. He previously held various positions with American Hospital Supply Corporation. He holds a B.S. and an MBA from the University of Tennessee.

Donald G. Payan, M.D., one of Rigel's co-founders, has been a member of our Board since July 1996 and was appointed Executive Vice President and President of Discovery and Research in February 2008 . From January 1997 to February 2008, Dr. Payan served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Payan also served as Rigel’s Chief Operating Officer from January 1997 to July 1998 and as our President and Chief Executive Officer from July 1996 to January 1997. Prior to Rigel, Dr. Payan was Vice President of AxyS Pharmaceuticals (now Celera), a biopharmaceutical company, and Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Khepri Pharmaceuticals, which he founded and subsequently merged with AxyS Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Payan is a former Professor at the University of California, San Francisco and Member of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Payan holds an M.D. and a B.S. from Stanford University and completed his residencies and fellowships at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Raul R. Rodriguez has been Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since June 2004. Mr. Rodriguez joined us in April 2000 as Vice President Business Development. From April 1997 to March 2000 Mr. Rodriguez was with Ontogeny, a biotechnology company, managing that Company's business development and other administrative areas. From April 1994 to April 1997 Mr. Rodriguez was with Scios, a biotechnology company and from 1989 to March 1994 Mr. Rodriguez worked at G.D. Searle, a pharmaceutical company. In these companies, Mr. Rodriguez held positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of business development and planning. After earning his A.B. from Harvard College, he went on to earn his Masters of Public Health at the University of Illinois. Subsequently, he received his M.B.A. at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Elliott B. Grossbard, M.D., is Rigel's Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. He joined us as Senior Vice President of Medical Development in April 2002. Prior to joining Rigel, Dr. Grossbard was Vice President, Clinical Affairs for Avigen Inc., an Alameda-based gene therapy products company, and he served as Senior Vice President of Development and Vice President of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Scios, Inc. During his tenure there he oversaw multiple operational areas and was also integral in the clinical development of Scios’ lead compound Natrecor® (nesiritide), which was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of acute heart failure and the preclinical development of a variety of proteins, peptides and small molecules. From 1982 through 1990, Dr. Grossbard held the position of Associate Director, Clinical Research, and was most recently Director, Clinical Research, at Genentech, Inc. At Genentech he directed the development of the thrombolytic agent Activase®, tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), from the earliest preclinical studies through clinical trials, NDA filing and FDA approval. Dr. Grossbard joined Genentech from Hoffman-LaRoche where he held various positions in clinical research, with a primary research focus on the interferon-alpha (Roferon®) program. Prior to joining the corporate sector, Dr. Grossbard held numerous academic appointments at such leading research institutions as Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Cornell University Medical Center, including Director of the adult bone marrow transplant program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Dr. Grossbard serves on the board of directors of VentiRX Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Grossbard received his B.A. from Columbia College in 1969 and his M.D. from Columbia University in 1973. In addition, he received a M.S. in Law from Yale University School of Law in 1981. He trained in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in Hematology at Columbia University and Sloan-Kettering.

Dolly Vance has been our Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since January 2007. Ms. Vance was first appointed Corporate Secretary in June 2006 and was appointed General Counsel & Vice President of Intellectual Property in January 2003. She joined Rigel in September 2000 as Rigel's first in-house counsel. From 1997 until September 2000 she was at the law firm of Flehr Hohbach Test Albritton & Herbert (now Dorsey Whitney), where she last held the position of partner. Prior to law school she worked in various research laboratories, including the laboratory of Norman Davidson, at California Institute of Technology. She holds a bachelor's degree from University of California, San Diego and a J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law.

Ryan Maynard was appointed Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in January 2007. He joined Rigel in September 2001 as Corporate Controller and was appointed as an Assistant Secretary in October 2001. In June 2006 he became Vice President of Finance and Acting Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Rigel, Mr. Maynard was Corporate Controller and Director of Finance and Accounting for Personify, Inc., an e-commerce software company, from November 1999 to April 2001. From July 1998 to October 1999 he served as Controller of General Magic, Inc. and from July 1994 to June 1998 he held various positions at Siliconix, Inc., most recently as Senior Finance Manager. He previously worked at Ernst & Young, LLP, where he became a certified public accountant. Mr. Maynard holds a B.S. degree in Commerce - Accounting from Santa Clara University.