Steven Kafka, Jason Ryan, Daniel O'Day, and more

Foundation Medicine announced four executive promotions and the hiring of a global marketing senior vice president. Additionally, it proposed changes to its board in connection to its strategic collaboration with Roche. 

Those who were promoted include Steven Kafka, Jason Ryan, Elaine Labrecque, and Sarah Larson. Kafka has been promoted to president. He currently is Foundation Medicine's COO and will maintain that position. He joined the company in 2013 and was previously COO and CFO at Aileron Therapeutics. 

Ryan was promoted to CFO. He joined Foundation Medicine in 2011 and was responsible for building the firm's public company financial infrastructure. He previously led the finance and strategic planning functions at companies that include Taligen Therapeutics and Genomics Collaborative. 

Labrecque was promoted to senior VP of operations. She joined the company in 2013 as VP of laboratory operations from ConVerge Diagnostic Services where she was COO. She also was at Quest Diagnostics for 20 years. 

Larson was promoted to senior VP human resources. She has been at Foundation Medicine for four years and was one of the company's first employees. She previously led the global human resources function at CombinatoRx. 

Foundation Medicine also hired Matt Franklin to the new created role of senior vice president of global marketing. He will report to Chief Commercial Officer David Daly. Franklin was most recently VP of global marketing for Boston Scientific's interventional cardiology division. 

The Cambridge, Mass.-based cancer molecular diagnostics firm additionally proposed changes to its board, including expanding it to nine directors in connection to a $1.2 billion stake that Roche plans to take in Foundation Medicine. 

As part of the expansion of Foundation Medicine's board, Roche can designate three candidates to the firm's board. This week, Roche identified the designees as Daniel O'Day, Sandra Horning, and Michael Varney. 

O'Day is COO of Roche Pharmaceuticals. Horning is global head of product development and CMO of Roche/Genentech, and Varney is head of Genentech Research and Early Development. 

Foundation Medicine's current board members are CEO Michael Pellini, Alexis Borisy, Evan Jones, David Schenkein, Krishna Yeshwant, and Brook Byers, who is expected to leave the board upon the completion of the Roche transaction, anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2015. The final board seat will be filled after the close of the deal with an independent director mutually agreed upon by Foundation Medicine and Roche.