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Medidata names Pascal Daloz CEO, Michael Pray COO in leadership change

Medidata, a branch of Dassault Systèmes, made two big changes in its senior leadership ranks. The company named a new chief executive and a new chief operating officer to lead the trial tech firm.

Pascal Daloz, who played a big role in Dassault’s acquisition of Medidata in 2019, was named CEO for the New York-based company, and Michael Pray has become chief operating officer. Previously, Pray was Medidata’s chief commercial officer, helping the company more than double its total revenues to more than $1 billion in the past six years, the company said in a Feb. 21 press release.

Daloz takes the reins from co-CEOs Rama Kondru and Sastry Chilukuri, who assumed the dual executive positions in late September 2021.

Pray’s new duties include running day-to-day operations and working closely with Daloz to grow the business, the company said.

“Customers are asking to do more with Medidata, and we are evolving to meet their digital transformation needs,” Daloz said in the release. “Building on the strong foundation that has been set over the last twenty years, we will continue to pioneer unmatched solutions across the life sciences lifecycle.”

Kondru and Chilukuri took on the co-CEO roles just weeks before Medidata co-founder Glen de Vries died in a plane crash in New Jersey. The tragedy occurred less than a month after de Vries flew to space with actor William Shatner aboard a Blue Origin rocket.