Management Team

Luca Santarelli is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Windward Bio and has served as the chair of our board of directors since January 2025.

Luca was recently the Chief Executive Officer and founder of VectivBio Holding AG, where he led their strategic vision, R&D, and capital raising until its acquisition by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, from June 2019 to June 2023. Previously, from January 2016 to June 2019, he served as Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of Therachon Holding AG that was acquired by Pfizer Inc. Prior to Therachon, he spent 11 years at F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, most recently serving as the Senior Vice President and Head of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Rare Diseases, as well as Small Molecules Research, where he advanced over 20 NMEs to the clinic and various NMEs to registration studies.

Luca is also the chair of the board of directors of Alentis Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on cancer and fibrosis, since June 2023 after joining its board of directors in November 2021. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of Cimeio Therapeutics, an immunotherapy company, from August 2022 until April 2025.

Luca received his MD and Psychiatry Residency at the University of Turin, Italy and a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of psychiatric disorders and adult brain stem cell biology.

Claudia D’Augusta has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Windward Bio since January 2025.

Previously, Claudia served as Chief Financial Officer of VectivBio Holding AG through its acquisition by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, from July 2019 to June 2023, where she was responsible for the company’s overall financial strategy and growth. From January 2019 to July 2019, prior to its acquisition by Pfizer Inc., Claudia was the Chief Financial Officer at Therachon Holding AG. From February 2011 to June 2018, prior to becoming its General Manager, Claudia served as Chief Financial Officer of TiGenix, now owned by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., leading TiGenix’s initial public offering in 2016.

From April 2004 to February 2011, Claudia served as Chief Financial Officer of Cellerix before being acquired by TiGenix. She holds a BSc in Economics and a PhD in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

Omar Khwaja has served as the Chief Medical Officer for Windward Bio since January 2025.

Previously, Omar served as Chief Medical Officer at VectivBio Holding AG from May 2021 to June 2023, where he oversaw drug development and medicine, and Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research & Development at Voyager Therapeutics from April 2019 to May 2021.

From January 2013 to April 2019, he served as Global Head of Rare Diseases and Neuroscience Translational Medicine at F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.

Preceding Omar’s industry experience in drug development, he practiced medicine and taught in academia for over a decade, including as Director of the Clinical Neurogenetics program at Boston Children’s Hospital and as a member of faculty at Harvard Medical School. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, serves as a chair or member of a number of industry and foundation scientific or clinical advisory boards, and is also part of the advisory board for Pureos Bioventures.

Omar received his MD and PhD in Human Molecular Genetics from the University of Cambridge.

Kevin Harris has served as the Chief Operating Officer of Windward Bio since January 2025.

Previously, Kevin served as Chief Commercial Officer of VectivBio Holding AG from November 2019 to July 2023, where he led program management, prelaunch, and commercialization planning for apraglutide prior to the company’s sale to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Before that, Kevin was at Incyte Corporation for more than 10 years, most recently as Group Vice President of Global Product Strategy and Strategic Planning from January 2017 through October 2019. From June 2015 to January 2017, he served as Vice President of Global Product Strategy. Prior to this role, he served as Vice President of Commercial from February 2009 through June 2015 where he built and led most of the US commercial functions for the launch of Jakafi. Previously, Kevin held roles of increasing responsibility at Pfizer Inc. across the company’s HIV and oncology portfolios. Additionally, before that, he served in commercial development and marketing roles at Bristol Myers Squibb in HIV and oncology.

Kevin began his career in management consulting at PRTM and subsequently joined Parexel in a marketing and strategy role. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Biology from Cornell University.

Scott Applebaum has served as the Chief Legal and Corporate Development Officer of Windward Bio since January 2025.

Most recently, Scott served as Chief Legal and Business Officer of VectivBio Holding AG from August 2021 to July 2023, leading the company’s sale to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he served as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Trevena, Inc. from February 2020 to August 2021, where he played a key role in gaining FDA approval for their first commercial product, Olinvyk. Prior to that, he served as President of Context Therapeutics from September 2017 to June 2019 and was General Counsel at Vitae Pharmaceuticals from July 2016 to December 2016, where he was instrumental in their sale to Allergan. He was formerly Chief Legal Officer for Medgenics from September 2014 to July 2016, a rare genetic disease company.

Scott spent 10 years at Shire, where his roles included heading up their global legal group, managing their neuroscience portfolio outside of the United States as SVP of the Neuroscience Business Unit and leading the implementation and execution of the regulatory strategy for all of Shire’s specialty pharmaceutical products worldwide as SVP of Global Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance and Compliance. Previously, he was Senior Counsel for medicines and medical imaging at Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to his career in the biopharmaceutical industry, he was a lawyer at Dechert LLP and also served on the board of directors of Cingulate Inc. from August 2022 to November 2023.

Scott received a JD from Stanford Law School and a BS in Economics, Finance, and Accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Steininger is a seasoned HR executive with more than 25 years of experience in pharma & biotech across several professional service companies, including Roche and VectivBio. Until June 2024, he served as Head of HR at VectivBio and led the integration of the organization into its new parent company after its acquisition by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals.

Michael is a high-energy HR executive, who has demonstrated impact across global life sciences. From pioneering HR strategies in publicly listed VectivBio to steering organizational transformations at industry giant Roche, he blends business acumen with people-first leadership.

Michael has built, transformed, and led people-related functions across continents—Europe, Asia, and North America—cultivating high-performance cultures in complex, fast-paced environments. His record includes shaping HR and integration strategies at VectivBio (through IPO and acquisition), designing the HR architecture that enabled the development of several blockbuster drugs at Roche, and launching a clinical-stage biotech company, Windward Bio, alongside visionary peers.

Leading with clarity, courage, and authenticity, Michael connects with people while driving tangible results. Whether navigating M&A integrations from both sides, scaling organizations, or nurturing leadership pipelines, he acts as a trusted partner and architect of sustainable success.

Michael holds degrees in business administration and sports medicine from the University of Bayreuth, Germany, with specializations in HR, organizational development, psychology, and health. He also studied at Massey University in New Zealand. Certified both as an agile coach and health & fitness coach, Michael champions holistic leadership, team vitality, individual and team performance—grounded in strategic thinking and holistic well-being.

Martine Mazzetti is a senior pharma executive with 30+ years of global leadership in drug development, regulatory affairs, and project management across Clintec Salvia, Roche, AstraZeneca, and other biotechnology companies. Until January 2024, she held executive roles at VectivBio, including Project Leader, Non-Clinical Team Leader, and Chief of Staff. She contributed to strategic governance, executive operations, and development of key assets such as apraglutide.

A seasoned pharmaceutical leader, Martine’s experience involved regulatory affairs, project leadership, and executive strategy. She began her career at Clintec Salvia progressing rapidly to head regulatory and quality functions. At Roche, mainly in Basel, Switzerland she spent nearly 2 decades in key roles, ultimately as Global Head Project Management for pRED, leading global early development projects and complex organizational change.

At AstraZeneca in Cambridge, UK, Martine served as VP, Head of Project Management for IMED, transforming team structures and introducing new systems and roles to support over 75 projects globally. Following a sabbatical, she founded her own consultancy, guiding biotech firms through governance, regulatory milestones, and portfolio strategy.

Martine holds a PhD degree from the University of Saarbrücken, a DUT in Biology & Biochemistry from Paris-Sud University (Paris XI), and completed the Abibac diploma at the International School of Saarbrücken. Her scientific foundation and leadership experience have made her a trusted figure in advancing complex drug development programs.