Board of Directors

Robert B. Linke

Executive Chairman, Director

Mr. Linke has 30 years of diversified healthcare experience in pharma/biopharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic, and healthcare informatics markets. His healthcare experience includes leadership roles developing and commercializing products at both public companies, Baxter International and Caremark International, and as an entrepreneur leading private equity-backed companies, including Embera, Periodontix, a biotech company, Rapid Micro Biosystems, a diagnostic company, and Embera raising over $70 million in private equity and non-dilutive financing to fund these companies.

In his previous role as CEO of Embera Mr. Linke established strategic direction for the development stage specialty pharma company, assembled the company’s product development team and leading development partners, and successfully secured financing of the EMB-001 development program, that has successfully completed a Phase 1 safety and PK study and has two Phase 2 clinical studies that are underway, through both private equity and NIH grants.

Ross P. Barrett

Director

Mr. Barrett is the managing General Partner for BVM Capital and founder of the Company. He is a co-founder of VC Experts, Inc., a New York based publishing company. Mr. Barrett also serves on the Boards of Esperance Pharmaceuticals, Calosyn Pharma, MicroBiome Therapeutics, NuPotential, VC Experts, Inc., and K-94 Discoveries. Previously, Mr. Barrett worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to senior U.S. Senator, J. Bennett Johnston, where he specialized in budget and appropriations, risk assessment and regulatory reform. He has been an adviser to, or investor in, more than twenty early-stage privately held companies. Mr. Barrett holds an LLM. Degree in Taxation from the New York University School of Law, a J.D. from Louisiana State University School of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science from Southern Methodist University.

John B. Beaird

Director

Mr. Beaird manages diverse investments in real estate, private equity and other alternative assets for his family and their private foundation. Beaird Properties, one of the companies managed by his office and majority owned by the foundation, has an active mission related investment program targeted toward local minority firms. Mr. Beaird began his career in media and advertising (Dresher Advertising, JbCableAds) and has previously owned an Internet Services Provider (Softdisk).

His civic and philanthropic activity is centered on his membership on the Strategic Action Council of Northwest Louisiana (SAC), serving as its President for 2015/2016 and as a Board member of the Carolyn W. and Charles T. Beaird Family Foundation. In addition to Embera, he sits on the Board of other portfolio companies including Thornhill Securities, Inc. headquartered in Austin, TX, JWBP Broadcasting, LLC of Alexandria, LA and CyberReef Solutions, Inc. in Shreveport, LA.

Joseph F. Lovett

Director

Mr. Lovett is a Managing Director of Louisiana Funds (LF I & II), two early stage venture capital funds based in Louisiana with offices in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. LF’s focus is on forming early stage companies primarily based on research at the major Louisiana research universities Mr. Lovett has over 34 years of venture capital and operations experience in the healthcare areas of biotechnology, medical devices and equipment, diagnostics, imaging and services. Operations experience included increasingly responsible positions in marketing and general management at CR Bard, Mallinckrodt and Damon Biotech. Venture capital experience includes three venture capital funds (1988-2003) as general partner in affiliation with Harvard University managing $70,000,000 which resulted in 13 IPOs, 6 sales of private companies, 3 private companies. Mr. Lovett has a BA in economics from the University of Vermont and an MBA from California State Polytechnic University (Pomona).