Elona Baum is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience in the biotech industry. She is currently a Managing Director at DEFTA Partners and an Independent Board Director for a range of innovative biotech and regenerative medicine companies. Elona is an expert in therapeutic and digital health technologies, particularly regenerative medicine, point-of-care devices, and sensor technologies.

Elona's early career was spent at Genentech, where she managed legal issues relating to the company's Spanish manufacturing subsidiary and regulatory policy and strategy matters. Later, she held leadership roles in business development, legal, and regulatory at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), where she oversaw $1 billion of investment in regenerative medicine research and clinical programs. Elona was also responsible for the creation of a $40M induced pluripotent stem cell bank and the revamp of intellectual property regulations governing CIRM grants.

Elona is an accomplished attorney, with a Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law. She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is a director on the boards of Endogena, Abilitech, Aegle, BioEclipse, and Orig3n, and she has previously served on the board of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC).