Conference Co-Host

BIO Double Helix Sponsors



BIO Helix Sponsors



Conference Sponsors



Media Partner

Creating a Winning Start-Up Leadership Team: The CEO-Board Dynamic

Tuesday, March 31st
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm
Constitutional Ballroom B (Opening Plenary Session)

It’s not enough to have revolutionary technology, market need, an experienced management team and a well-heeled board.   For a start-up, a truly effective board - capable of operating in synchrony with an entrepreneur’s vision - can be the company’s leading asset.  The role of the corporate board and its relationship to the management team is changing in today’s capital-constrained markets.  

Investors are actively evaluating whether management’s vision and strategy align with operations, financial experience and industry knowledge.   At the same time, there are no rewards for top-heavy management teams, and companies need to engineer the right “leadership” balance between management and its Directors.  What insights and contributions should a board be able to bring to the game?  Is management prepared for board participation and differences of opinion?    

Moderator

Panelists

Who's Who

Jeffrey A. Baumel; Mr. Baumel is chair of Sonnenschein’s Corporate Life Sciences Practice.  He represents business organizations from initial formation and capitalization through public financing and beyond. Mr. Baumel advises issuers and underwriters on public offerings of securities and has provided corporate representation to a broad range of companies, primarily in the life sciences, biotechnology and technology industries.  He has worked with clients in connection with public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities involving hundreds of millions of dollars.  In addition, Mr. Baumel has worked extensively with venture capital firms and underwriters specializing in growth-stage ventures.  He also represents both public and private companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions and corporate, commercial and capital transactions. Mr. Baumel’s clientele reflects a cross-section of industries, including information technology, telecommunications, and life sciences.

Joseph Amprey, MD, PhD; Dr. Amprey joined MedImmune in 2006 as a principal within MedImmune Ventures to assist in deal sourcing and portfolio management and became a Managing Director in 2007. He came to MedImmune Ventures from Carrot Capital (CCHV) where he was responsible for deal sourcing and had operational roles within CCHV’s portfolio companies. Previously, Dr. Amprey completed an internship in internal medicine at both New York–Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. During medical school, Dr. Amprey was an independent consultant to Arch Venture Partners. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and received both a doctorate in immunology and a medical degree from Cornell University’s Weill Medical College. Dr. Amprey sits on the board of Synovex, Inc and is an observer on the boards of Ambit Biosciences, Inc, Elusys Therapeutics, Inc, and VLST, Inc.

Tuan Ha-Ngoc; Mr. Ha-Ngoc is a leader with more than 30 years’ experience in senior management positions in pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Since the start of the Company more than five years ago, Mr. Ha-Ngoc has served as President and CEO of AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company leveraging breakthrough discoveries in cancer biology to discover, develop and commercialize targeted oncology therapies. Before starting AVEO in 2002, Mr. Ha-Ngoc co-founded deNovis, Inc., an enterprise-scale software development company focused on automating administrative functions in healthcare. Mr. Ha-Ngoc led deNovis as President and CEO from 1999 until 2002.  From 1998 to 1999, Mr. Ha-Ngoc was Wyeth’s Corporate Vice President of Strategic Development. His tenure there followed Wyeth’s acquisition of Genetics Institute, where Mr. Ha-Ngoc was Executive Vice President with responsibility for Corporate Development, Commercial Operations, as well as European and Japanese Operations and in addition at various times Legal Affairs, Regulatory, a major R&D program and Program Management. Prior to joining Genetics Institute in 1984, he held various marketing and business positions at Baxter Healthcare, Inc.  Mr. Ha-Ngoc earned an MBA from INSEAD and a Master's in Pharmacy from the University of Paris, France.  He serves on the Board of Directors of Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and on the boards of a number of academic and nonprofit organizations, including the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, the Tufts School of Medicine, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Institute of Boston, Harvard Medical School’s Biomedical Science Careers Program and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.  Mr. Ha-Ngoc is the recipient of the 2007 Ernst & Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year.

David Mott; Mr. Mott joined NEA in September 2008 as a General Partner focused on biopharmaceutical investments. Prior to joining NEA, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of MedImmune, subsidiary of AstraZeneca Plc, and Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca. Mr. Mott joined MedImmune in 1992 and served in roles of increasing responsibility including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President and Chief Executive Officer as the company grew from a venture-backed startup (founded in 1988) into one of the top five biotechnology companies in the world. Ultimately, he initiated and executed the sale of MedImmune to AstraZeneca in June 2007 for $15.6 billion, the largest biotech acquisition to date. In 2002, Mr. Mott founded MedImmune Ventures and chaired its investment committee through his departure from MedImmune. At the time of his departure in July 2008, MedImmune had annual revenues in excess of $1.5 billion, annual R&D in excess of $650 million and more than 3,000 employees.  Prior to joining MedImmune, Mr. Mott was a Vice President in the Health Care Investment Banking Group at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. Inc. At Smith Barney, his activities included public and private equity and debt financings as well as merger and acquisition work for biotechnology, healthcare services, and medical product and device companies.  Mr. Mott is currently a director of specialty pharmaceuticals company Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY) and of next-generation antibiotic company Rib-x Pharmaceuticals.  He is also a member of the St. Albans School Governing Board. Mr. Mott is a former board member of Ambit Biosciences, Conceptis Technologies, and MedImmune, Inc. and has served on numerous industry trade group and not-for-profit boards, including the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the High Tech Council of Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College.

Bruce Robertson, PhD; As a Managing Director at H.I.G. Ventures, Dr. Robertson focuses on investment opportunities in the life sciences sector, including biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. Dr. Robertson currently serves on the boards of Apollo Endosurgery, Inc., CardioFocus and Clarus Therapeutics.  Dr. Robertson has been active in the life sciences sector for 20 years.  Prior to joining H.I.G., he served most recently as Managing Director at Toucan Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund focusing on life science investments. While at Toucan, he invested in leading drug and device companies throughout the U.S.  Prior to Toucan, he was a General Partner at GIV Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early stage investments in the US, India, and China. Prior to his venture capital career, he was Director of Business Development at IGEN International, where he was responsible for formulating and implementing IGEN’s partnering and M&A strategies.  He started his career as a Research Manager at W.R. Grace & Co., focusing on medical devices.  He is on the boards of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, the Georgia Biomedical Partnership, Shady Grove Hospital, the BioLife Fund of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology, and the University of Delaware Research Foundation.  Dr. Robertson holds a BSE in Chemical Engineering and BA in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD in Chemical/Biomedical Engineering from the University of Delaware, and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Scott Rocklage, PhD; Dr. Rocklage joined 5AM Ventures in 2003 as a Venture Partner and became a Managing Partner in 2004. Dr. Rocklage has over 20 years of healthcare management experience with strategic leadership responsibilities that have led to the successful approval of three U.S. New Drug Applications by the FDA (Omniscan™, Teslascan® and Cubicin®), and entered six drug candidates into clinical trials. Dr. Rocklage has served as Chairman and CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, President and CEO of Nycomed Salutar, President, CEO and Chairman of Nycomed Interventional and has also held various R&D positions at Salutar and Catalytica. Dr. Rocklage currently serves as Board Chairman of Achaogen, Relypsa and Semprus as well as on the Boards of WaveRx, Pulmatrix and Variation and the Board of Associates at the Whitehead Institute. Dr. Rocklage was formerly Executive Chairman of Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen) and Miikana (acquired by EntreMed). Dr. Rocklage received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Rocklage is based in the Waltham, MA office.