The leadership shuffle involves a transition for co-founder and founding chairman John Flavin, who moves into the role of lead independent director while retaining his seat on the board. Civik, who has served as a director at the company since 2021, brings significant experience in navigating industry acquisitions to the position. Before joining Pyxis, he led Five Prime Therapeutics as president and CEO until its 2021 sale to Amgen. His background also includes leadership tenures at Foundation Medicine and Genentech, alongside chairmanship roles at ImCheck Therapeutics and Repare Therapeutics.