Management Team

Ron Cohen, M.D. is President, CEO and founder of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., a public biotechnology company developing therapies for disorders of the nervous system, including approved therapies for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Dr. Cohen previously was a principal in the startup and an officer of Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the growth of human organ tissues for transplantation uses.

Acorda Therapeutics has been recognized as one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York State seven years in a row (2011-2017), among the Fortune 100 Best Medium-Size Workplaces the U.S. (2017), and among the Fortune 100 Best Workplaces for Women (2016-2017), Millennials (2017) and Baby Boomers (2017), and in the top 10 Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care & Biopharma (2020).

Dr. Cohen serves on the Boards of ZWI Therapeutics and of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He is past Chair the BIO Board, of BIO’s Emerging Companies Section of the BIO, and of the New York Biotechnology Association (NYBA).

He is a recipient of the NY CEO Lifetime Achievement Award and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the New York Metropolitan Region. He was named Neuroinvestment’s CEO of the Year and is an inductee of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association’s “Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame.” Dr. Cohen received the Burke Award from Burke Rehabilitation Hospital for his contributions to helping people with disabilities gain independence, and was awarded Columbia University’s Alumni Medal for Distinguished Service. He has been recognized by the New York Biotechnology Association as the NYBA “The Cures Start Here” Business Leader of the Year, by the Westchester County Association as its Leadership Award recipient, by Life Science Leader Magazine as True Life Science Leader of the Year, by PR Week/MM&M as one of the Health Influencer 50, by Scientific American as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Biotech, and by PharmaVOICE Magazine as one of the 100 Most Inspirational People in the Biopharmaceutical Industry.

Dr. Cohen received his B.A. degree in Psychology from Princeton University, and his M.D. from the Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia Medical Center, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine.

Neil Belloff has been the General Counsel at Acorda since November 2021. Mr. Belloff has over 30 years of business and legal experience and was formerly the Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals and held senior level positions at Celgene Corporation, Deutsche Telekom, AG, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Belloff received his J.D. from the University of Bridgeport School of Law, M.A. from New York University, his B.A. from Queens College of the City University of New York, and completed post-graduate studies in the LL.M Program in Securities Regulation at Georgetown University Law Center.

Kerry Clem has been the Chief Commercial Officer at Acorda since September 2021. He joined Acorda in January 2011 as VP of Sales, and most recently was Executive Vice President of Sales, Market Access, and Commercial Operations. Before joining Acorda, Mr. Clem was Vice President of Sales at Allos Therapeutics, Inc. where he built the organization’s inaugural sales force to launch their first commercially available product. Mr. Clem also served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Solstice Neurosciences, Inc. Mr. Clem has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the areas of neurology, oncology, movement disorders, cardiology, anesthesiology and pain. Over the span of his career he has been involved in the development of commercial organizations and multiple product launches. Mr. Clem holds a B.S. degree from Florida State University.

Denise Duca, Ed.M. has been Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Acorda since January 2015. She has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in our HR department since 2002.

Ms. Duca received her B.A. in Professional Studies from Pace University, and an M.A. and Ed.M. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has also been a doctoral candidate in the Organization and Leadership Department at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Michael Gesser has been the Chief Financial Officer at Acorda since November 2021. Mr. Gesser was most recently the CFO of Tergus Pharma and has also held CFO positions at BioMedomics, Inc., HAP Innovations, LLC, Suntech Medical, Inc., and Osmotica Pharmaceutical Corp. Previous to those roles, he held several senior-level financial positions at Allergan Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Gesser received his M.B.A. from the Belk School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and his B.S. in Finance at the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.