David Donabedian, CIO, CIBC Private Wealth Management

Dave Donabedian is the Chief Investment Officer at CIBC Private Wealth Management and serves on its Asset Allocation Committee. In this capacity, he oversees internal investment strategies as well as the external manager selection platform.

Donabedian has held multiple leadership roles at biopharmaceutical companies such as AbbVie and GSK. He holds a BA in chemistry from St. Anselm College and a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Early Life and Education

Hermine Margaret (Ohannessian) Donabedian, 89, of West Newton passed away on January 13, 2013. She was the beloved wife and mother to Hovhannes Donabedian as well as Aline, David, and Margaret “Meg” Donabedian. A beloved member of Newton’s community, she is survived by many family members and friends.

She will be remembered as a tireless volunteer and the driving force behind David’s House Compassion project, her philanthropic initiative which she founded in 2004 to provide shelter and support services to HIV/AIDS patients and their families throughout Boston.

David’s House site has been lauded for its dedication to philanthropy throughout her lifetime and has received recognition from organizations such as the World Health Organization, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry.

Professional Career

David Donabedian is a founding partner and current Chief Executive Officer of Longwood portfolio Company Axial Biotherapeutics, as well as an accomplished business development and strategy executive. He has extensive experience building companies, having previously served as Vice President & Global Head of Ventures & Early Stage Collaborations at AbbVie (NASDAQ: ABBV) and Senior Manager at GlaxoSmithKline.

Dave has been the Chief Investment Officer at CIBC Private Wealth Management since 2009, chairing its Asset Allocation Committee and overseeing internal investment strategies as well as our external manager selection platform. A recognized expert on investing, Dave often appears on television networks and gives insights to publications like Barron’s or The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, from 1996-2006 he served as managing director and chief economist at Atlantic Trust.

Achievements and Honors

Donabedian, a public health expert, was raised in Lebanon before moving to the United States. His passion for science was ignited when he won a Westinghouse Science Talent Search competition that led him to pursue academic work.

He attended Yale University, studying biology and chemistry. Ultimately earning an MD/PhD. For four years he was a physician at the National Institutes of Health, working on patients with immune deficiencies.

He joined Longwood Fund in 2015 as a Venture Partner and brings with him extensive leadership experience. He is the co-founder and start-up CEO of DEM BioPharma, founding CEO of ImmuneID founded by Longwood Fund, as well as founding executive for Alcyone Therapeutics founded by Longwood Fund. Additionally, he sits on the Boards of Directors for OncoSec Medical and Induce Biologics.

Personal Life

David Donabedian is currently Chief Investment Officer of CIBC Private Wealth Management and has held this role since 2009. In his role, he chairs the Asset Allocation Committee as well as overseeing internal investment strategies and the external manager selection platform.

He has also been an active volunteer for the National Brain Tumor Society and currently sits on its Board of Directors. He feels compelled to help fight brain tumors due to the tragic loss of his mother Marilyn in 2003 due to glioblastoma acoustimas (GBM).

Net Worth

Donabedian is a Venture Partner at Longwood Fund with over two decades of professional experience leading business development teams and creating companies. He co-founded DEM BioPharma and served as its first CEO, founding CEO of ImmuneID (established by Longwood) and Alcyone Life Sciences as its founding executive.

Amy Hart Clyne is the Executive Director of FOX Knowledge Center team, where she provides market-centric solutions to Family and Advisor Members of FOX. With 25 years of experience in ultra high net worth markets, as a consultant to some of America’s top private wealth management firms for over a decade, Amy brings extensive knowledge to bear on strategy development, marketing initiatives and communications programs tailored towards both families and wealth management advisor clients alike.