Meet Our Leaders

Our management team is dedicated to making Novalar the best partner to dentists by providing inventive solutions for patients. As company leaders, their passion and integrity guides Novalar to redefine possibility in dentistry. Backed by vast industry expertise, they inspire our own people with their creativity and unwavering commitment to excellence.

Donna Janson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Janson joined Novalar™ as CEO in June of 2004, and brings more than 20 years experience in leading dental companies and launching novel products to the dental market. Between 2002 and 2004, Ms. Janson served as President and CEO of Biora AB, a public dental biotech company specializing in periodontal regeneration. As CEO, she successfully reorganized and refocused the organization and achieved continued profitability. Ms. Janson managed the acquisition of Biora by Straumann at a 50% premium to the share price.

Prior to being appointed CEO, Ms. Janson served as president of Biora Inc., the North American subsidiary of Biora AB. In this role, she was responsible for establishing Biora, Inc., played an active role in Biora's Independent Public Offering and was able to achieve profitability in less than 5 years. She currently serves as a board member of Axenic Dental, Inc., a dental device company focused on developing a disposable dental handpiece.


Robert S. Stefanovich, MS
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Stefanovich joined Novalar in October of 2007, and brings extensive experience in managing finance and administration for start-up and Fortune 500 hi-tech and biotech companies, both publicly traded and privately held. Most recently he served as interim Chief Financial Officer of Xcorporeal, Inc., a publicly traded medical device company. Previously, Mr. Stefanovich served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Artemis International Solutions Corporation, a publicly traded software company. He also held several other senior finance positions, including Chief Financial Officer of Aethlon Medical Inc. and Vice President of Administration at SAIC, a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Stefanovich was a member of the Software Advisory Group and Audit Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers' hi-tech practice in San Jose, CA and Frankfurt, Germany. He received his Masters of Business Administration/Accounting and Engineering from the University of Darmstadt, Germany.


Laura A. Navalta
Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Navalta joined Novalar in October 2004, and currently leads operational areas for the organization, including Medical/Clinical, Product Development, Regulatory and Human Resources. Ms. Navalta brings over 23 years of industry experience with proven expertise in clinical and regulatory arenas, as well as driving projects to commercialization. Prior to joining Novalar, Ms. Navalta served as Executive Director of Clinical Research Operations for Vical Inc., responsible for the clinical operations for oncology and infectious disease programs. She also spent over 6 years with Baxter Healthcare Corporation. As Senior Director of Global Clinical Operations for Baxter's BioScience Division, she was responsible for clinical research involving coagulation disorders, biosurgery and critical care areas with management and corporate responsibilities for global teams in the U.S., Germany and Austria. Her biopharmaceutical experience also includes drug development of products involving CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's, stroke, insomnia, in addition to Kaposi's sarcoma and solid tumor research while at CoCensys, Inc., Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Vestar, Inc. Ms. Navalta earned her BA from the University of Southern California.


Richard Ghalie, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Ghalie joined Novalar in January 2009 to lead clinical research, medical affairs, medical information, and pharmacovigilance. He is a Board certified hematologist/oncologist who brings more than 16 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with expertise in the development of drugs, biologics, and radiotherapeutics. Prior to joining Novalar, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Favrille, Vice-President of Medical Affairs and Professional Services at Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Vice-President of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs at NeoRx, and Senior Medical Director at Immunex. Previously, he was Medical Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He is member of several medical societies and has authored or co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts, abstracts, and book chapters. Dr. Ghalie received his medical doctorate from the French School of Medicine in Beirut, Lebanon, a MS from the University of Paris VII, France, and an MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle.