A trusted advisor in clinical trials

Jagath Wanninayake founded Suvoda in 2013 and has led its evolution from a six-person startup into a global clinical trial technology company with offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. Under his leadership, Suvoda has evolved from a single product offering into a comprehensive platform with a suite of modular solutions—from IRT and eCOA to Greenphire Patient Payments and Greenphire Travel—powering over 1,800 clinical trials worldwide.

Before Suvoda, Jagath was co‑founder, chairman, and CEO of Clarix LLC, where he pioneered the first fully web-integrated randomization and trial supply management system. He guided the company as it expanded its reach, ultimately becoming a multinational provider for top pharmaceutical firms until its acquisition by Phase Forward (now Oracle). He also served as a corporate officer and operating committee member at Phase Forward.

In addition to his work in clinical trial technology, Jagath co-founded Jamity Records, an independent record label, and Mixette, a digital gifting startup. He was named a finalist for the 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Greater Philadelphia and received the 2019 Philadelphia Business Journal Minority Business Leader Award.

He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and advises early-stage technology startups. Jagath holds a B.A. in economics with a concentration in public policy from Swarthmore College.

As Chief Operating Officer, Rob Hummel is leading Suvoda Professional Services and Customer Support globally. His leadership is fundamental to the delivery of high-quality solutions, outstanding client services, and overall company growth. As a Suvoda co-founder, he has guided the business through significant growth while exceeding customer satisfaction targets year over year. Previously, Rob held leadership positions with NextDoc Corporation and Clarix/Phase Forward, where he was instrumental in delivering life sciences solutions for clients ranging from small biotechnology firms to large, global pharmaceutical companies and CROs. Rob holds a B.S. in biology from Lafayette College. 

Mela has nearly two decades of experience applying the science of human behavior to organizational strategy across technology companies, Fortune 500 firms, and mission-driven organizations. Mela is focused on shaping a people-first culture, building the strategies and systems that define how the company hires, supports, and grows its talent. Earlier in her career, Mela co-founded Context Partners, a design thinking consultancy, and led the consulting team working with clients like Nike, Eli Lilly, IKEA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to foster organizational innovation and transformation. Mela also served as People Executive at NoRedInk, a mission-driven SaaS company in K-12 education technology. 

Mela is passionate about building workplaces where people can thrive. Outside of work, Mela holds a degree in Biological Foundations of Behavior with a specialization in Neuroscience from Franklin & Marshall College. In her free time, she enjoys connecting with loved ones, creating art, and exploring new interests. 

Elena Filimonova leads the global marketing organization. She is responsible for all activities related to conceptualizing and implementing go-to-market strategy and achieving marketing targets. This includes market research and planning, integrated marketing campaigns, lead generation, sales enablement, corporate brand positioning and strategy, and directing the global marketing team. 

Elena has an extensive background in strategic marketing, brand management and analytics working for global technology firms, both established and start-ups. Previously, she was Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Strategy for CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing solutions. She joined CGS from Elsevier where she drove the adoption of innovative digital products in Engineering and Technology for the world’s largest Scientific and Technical publisher. Her prior roles include Head of Global Marketing for Knovel, a provider of a cloud-based engineering application, running Strategic and Product Marketing for Financial Services at FAST, a subsidiary of Microsoft focusing on enterprise search and business intelligence solutions, leading Strategic Marketing at BT for Global Financial Services and several key roles at Radianz, a Reuters-owned company. Elena holds an M.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta business school and a B.A. from Moscow University of Linguistics. 

Yuko has overall responsibility for leading and expanding Asia-Pacific operations. Previously, Yuko served as Head of Information Technology Consumer Healthcare Japan at Sanofi and Head of Commercial IT at Novartis, where she led global organizational transformation initiatives and the implementation of operational standards and processes. She has also held positions at IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and SAP, responsible for leading teams in Japan and China. Yuko studied Software Engineering in the UK and holds an MBA from London School of Economics and Political Science, NYU Stern School of Business, and HEC Paris. She enjoys yoga, travelling, interior design, and holds a qualification in Kimono dressing. 

As Chief Product Officer, E.K. is responsible for the overall product strategy and roadmap, as well as global product engineering and delivery. E.K. is an experienced product executive with a track record of scaling product organizations. He has an extensive background in product management and development ranging from startups to public companies across several heavily regulated industries. Previously, E.K. was Senior Vice President of Product Management at Experian Identity and Fraud, where he developed and launched the company’s first cloud-based identity and fraud orchestration platform. At LiveRamp, E.K. served as Chief Product Officer where he built market-leading identity resolution and data platform, which culminated in a successful IPO. E.K. served as Executive Vice President of Optymyze where he established the Optymyze product suite as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant. E.K. holds both a B.S. and M.S. from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Computer Science. He splits his time working from his home offices in Silicon Valley and Arizona. E.K. enjoys gardening, taking hikes on Arizona trails, and taking his boat out on the weekends. 

Owen serves as Chief Financial Officer, leading the company’s finance and accounting function. With more than 25 years of financial management experience, Owen brings an extensive background in operations management, risk management, strategic planning, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, process improvement, financial reporting, and regulatory compliance. Owen has also held CFO roles with Greenphire, Simeio Solutions, ACI Worldwide, Paycommerce Inc., and International SOS Inc., a global medical and security service company. He served as the senior finance leader for WorldPay Inc., a global financial technology company.

Owen earned his Bachelor of Science degree and master's in accountancy from Nova Southeastern University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant.

As Chief of Staff, Kelly is responsible for driving strategic growth initiatives across the organization. Prior to this, Kelly spent 4 years as Suvoda’s VP of Product Management and Marketing, where she led the strategic direction of the product suite and external communications. She has spent her career in professional services and product development teams, working with Top 10 Pharma companies in e-clinical focused organizations including Phase Forward and Oracle, as well as B2C technology companies. Kelly was a founder and CEO of Mixette, a B2C digital gifting company and worked at ScrollMotion, where she was a strategic product management lead for Fortune 500 companies including General Electric and Estée Lauder. Kelly holds a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies in Bioethics focusing on Neuroscience and Philosophy, a certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine, and a minor in Italian Literature and Language from the University of Pittsburgh. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and traveling with her family.