Recursion announces CEO transition, Najat Khan to take helm in 2026

SALT LAKE CITY - Recursion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RXRX) announced Wednesday a leadership transition plan that will see Co-Founder Chris Gibson move to Chairman of the Board while Najat Khan will become Chief Executive Officer and President, effective January 1, 2026. The announcement comes as the company’s stock has taken a significant hit, dropping nearly 15% over the past week according to InvestingPro data.

Khan, who currently serves as Chief R&D and Commercial Officer and Board Member, will maintain her position on the company’s Board of Directors. Gibson will transition to Chairman while continuing as an interim Executive Advisor. Current Chairman Rob Hershberg will move to Vice-Chairman and Lead Independent Director.

"The Board’s unanimous decision to appoint Najat Khan as Recursion’s next CEO is a clear reflection of our confidence in her strategic acumen and proven track record," said Hershberg.

Khan joined Recursion in 2024 and has since helped advance multiple clinical programs and led the company’s combination with Exscientia. Before joining Recursion, she served as Chief Data Science Officer and Senior Vice President at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.

"I’m deeply honored that I will be stepping into the role of CEO and President and build on the remarkable foundation established by Chris Gibson and the visionary founders of Recursion," said Khan.

Gibson, who has led the clinical-stage TechBio company for twelve years, expressed confidence in Khan’s leadership: "After partnering with Najat Khan for the past 18 months, I have absolute faith that she is the right leader for Recursion’s next phase."

Recursion, headquartered in Salt Lake City, focuses on using its Recursion OS platform to decode biology through technology, biology, and chemistry integration for drug discovery and development.

The leadership transition announcement was made in a company press release.

In other recent news, Recursion Pharmaceuticals reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings with revenue significantly exceeding expectations. The company achieved revenue of $19.22 million, surpassing the projected $15.37 million, which marked a 25.05% surprise. However, Recursion’s earnings per share (EPS) fell short, posting an actual EPS of -$0.41 against the forecasted -$0.35, resulting in a 17.14% negative surprise. Additionally, Recursion Pharmaceuticals announced that Roche has exercised its option for the Microglia Map, a comprehensive genome map of brain immune cells developed by Recursion. This decision will result in a $30 million payment from Roche to Recursion under their existing collaboration agreement. These developments highlight significant financial movements and strategic collaborations for the company. While the revenue beat indicates strong performance, the EPS miss suggests areas for potential improvement.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.