Giorgio Ottaviani, Ph.D., DABT

is Operating Partner at Versant Ventures & SVP of Preclinical Development at Ridgeline Discovery.


Giorgio is a drug development expert with proven successful scientific and global leadership track records.

Giorgio joined Ridgeline in 2018 from Roche where he served as Global Head of DMPK-PD Project Leaders and as Site Head of Non-Clinical Safety in Shanghai. Prior to Roche Giorgio worked at Novartis, Merck-Serono, and in the biotech industry. Giorgio brings to Ridgeline broad development expertise across therapeutic areas and modalities as well as a proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary cross-cultural teams.

Giorgio earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and is a certified toxicologist from the American Board of Toxicology (DABT).