Management & Advisory Team
V1.6_5 Dec 2019-webversion
Grant Weyer – Chairman
Grant has extensive experience in early stage and high growth ventures; after co-founding two start-ups during the early 1990’s he managed the rapid growth phases and successful exits from both. Grant then worked at Corporate Equity Holdings Limited where he ran the Corporate & Structured finance operations for over a decade. During this time he sat on the investment committee of the corporate venturing fund specialising in early stage companies, and was a Board member of multiple investees. Grant has been actively involved in early stage ventures on both the investment and management sides for over 20 years. He hails from a 4th generation cattle farming family and has a long history of direct cattle industry involvement, including breeding seed-stock Charolais and running a substantial commercial cattle operation. Grant studied law at the undergraduate and post graduate level, holds an MBA from the University of London and continues his post graduate work in Livestock Health and Production and Epidemiology and Veterinary Public Health at Royal Veterinary College.
Glen Richards – Board Member
Glen is the co-founder and ex- CEO of Greencross Limited (GXL), the first publicly listed veterinary company in Australia. Glen oversaw the merger with Petbarn which made GXL the largest consumer facing pet-care group in Australasia with a market capitalization in excess of $1BN and over 2200 employees. It remains one of the largest pet-care groups outside of the United States. Glen was also a co-founder, shareholder and director of Petbarn Pty Ltd. GXL now has over 120 veterinary hospitals and allied businesses and over 190 pet stores across Australia and New Zealand and continues to expand its network of locations in Australasia. Glen established Shanghai PAW veterinary surgery in China in 2001, the first western veterinary practice in China. Glen graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from University of Queensland in 1988, and completed a Post Graduate Research Masters 1990-1992 at James Cook University, researching production and reproduction parameters in Bos Indicus Cattle. He has been a member of the Australian Veterinary Association since 1988, and an Industry Fellow with University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science since 2011.
Grant Pickering – Board Member
Grant is the founder and CEO of SutroVax, a biotech firm developing novel vaccines based on a disruptive cell-free protein synthesis platform. Prior to that he was an executive-in-residence at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, one of the world’s premier venture capital firms. Grant has also been the CEO at Juvaris BioTherapeutics, whose immunotherapeutic & vaccine adjuvant platform has been licensed for multiple animal health products by its licensee, Bayer. Prior to Juvaris, Grant was at Dendreon Corporation leading clinical development, manufacturing and business development culminating in the launch of the therapeutic cancer vaccine, Provenge®. He also led marketing and business development for the pain platform company, Algos Pharmaceutical Corporation, which was acquired by ENDO. Grant began his career at Glaxo and Johnson & Johnson in sales, marketing and clinical research roles culminating in the launches of Flonase® and Floxin®. Grant earned his B.S. degree in marketing from The Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from Georgetown University with high honors.
Tim Rose – Chief Operating Officer and Board Member
After leaving the military with the rank of Captain, Tim’s early commercial background was as a successful property developer and entrepreneur. He still holds substantial investment interests in the commercial, industrial and residential property sectors. Tim has 12 years of experience as an early stage investor and value investor; his most recent venture was a manufacturing turnaround and successful exit within 24 months. Tim was one of the first investors in SmartVet; he currently manages SmartVet’s operational and manufacturing functions. He has been instrumental in helping to raise ~$8m in equity investments and ~ $3.5m in grants and non-dilutive government funding. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Military Science from the Royal Military College, Duntroon and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from FINSIA.
Lesley Leech – Board Member
Lesley has built a successful career in the marketing execution industry, most recently at Williams Lea Tag - A Deutsche Post/DHL company where she was the Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region. She has led global teams leveraging technology to critically assess and challenge existing business processes, including re-engineering supply chains and delivering transformational change for clients in the Life Sciences sector. Lesley is currently the Senior Vice President, Enterprise Growth at NASDAQ listed Innerworkings. Lesley is based in McLean, VA. from where she will provide oversight over SmartVet’s US business operations and contribute her valuable experience and expertise with our development of InsightAg.
Robert Rew –VP Drug Evaluation & Development
Robert is an internationally respected veterinary parasitologist and a leading expert on endectocides (the class of drugs of high strategic importance to SmartVet). His books on the subject remain the principal reference works used today. During his years at Pfizer, Rob was instrumental in the development of the market leading endectocide product, Dectomax; he also discovered Eprinomectin while working at Merck. Rob’s work has included in-depth research on the competing products in this class, analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses. Rob was employed as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Notre Dame University from 1972 to 1976; the USDA from 1976 to 1982; Merck Institute from 1982 to 1986; CSIRO 1983; SmithKline from 1986 to 1990; Pfizer from 1990-2001. Rob holds a B.S. from Whitman College, an M.S. from Washington State University and a Sc.D. from Johns Hopkins Medical Institute. From 1999-2000 he served as the President of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists; he is also the editor of 4 scientific books, and a prolific author and speaker, with over 75 scientific publications and over 200 scientific presentations. Robert has been honored with awards from the Marquis’ Who’s Who in Science & Technology 2000, in Business & Economics 2002, and in Health & Medicine 2003. Robert remains directly involved in the cattle industry, as Board President of Rew Ranches Inc.
John Lawlor – VP Finance & Investor Relations
John has over 18 years’ experience in financial markets primarily as a sell-side research analyst specializing in small capitalization industrial companies. During his time in financial markets John’s roles have also included corporate finance, equity capital markets, managing a retail stockbroking firm and heading up an investor relations practice. John is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon and spent 6 years as a helicopter pilot in the Australian Army before completing an MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Jack Zupan – Consulting Specialist, R&D
Jack is an experienced manager who directed a talented and highly successful team as Senior Group Leader - Formulations, Pfizer Inc. (now Zoetis). Prior to this he was Senior Group Leader, Formulations Research Wyeth/Fort Dodge for 16 years. Jack has extensive experience in a wide range of formulation development, pilot batch manufacture, technology transfer, international and U.S. regulatory submissions, clinical supply management and stability studies. Jack’s expertise extends to virtually all types of pharmaceutical formulations for dogs, cats, sheep, cattle and horses. He has worked on injectables, solids, pour-ons, SR dose forms, microemulsions, implants, spot-ons and insecticidal ear tags. His substantial experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, technology transfer and troubleshooting, combined with strong knowledge of regulatory requirements in both the U.S. and Europe, makes him a valuable member of the SmartVet advisory team. Jack obtained his B.S. in Chemistry from University of Missouri- Kansas City and Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas.
Hanns Bergs – VP Marketing
With 30 years’ experience spanning 3 continents, Hanns has worked both sides of the marketing & advertising fence. His strengths lie in marketing and advertising communications strategy; project management and professional development & training. Tenures include multinational ad agency Ogilvy & Mather (Johannesburg); Standard Bank MasterCard (Southern Africa); independent ad agency KWP Advertising (Australia); and The Communications Council Australia before starting co-operative marketing agency BrandSquad. He brings his extensive multi-industry experience to SmartVet’s marketing efforts, ensuring they remain innovative; relevant and fresh.
Eugene Jordan – Compliance and General Counsel
Eugene was an early investor in SmartVet, since retiring from legal practice has taken on the role of managing the legal, compliance and secretarial functions of SmartVet. Eugene has previously worked for HSBC in London, and from 1985 to 2001 was senior partner in a leading UK Commercial Law Firm, specializing in banking and Corporate Finance. Eugene has a Master’s degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and has been a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales since 1978.
Thomas P. Monath
Tom is a physician and Adjunct Professor (Emeritus), Harvard School of Public Health. He has substantial bioscience investment experience workings as a partner in the Pandemic and Biodefense Fund, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Tom’s industry experience includes 14 years as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Director of Acambis, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company which was acquired by Sanofi-Aventis in 2008. He served in the uniformed services of the U.S. Army and U.S. Public Health Service for 24 years prior to retiring in 1992 as a Colonel. Between 1973-1988, Tom was Director, Division of Vector-Borne Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado and from 1989-92 was Chief of the Virology Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). He is on the editorial board of ten scientific journals and has published approximately 385 papers and edited six books on the epidemiology, immunology and pathogenesis of viruses and on vaccine development. Tom received the Nathanial A. Young Award (1984), the Richard M. Taylor Award (1996), and the Walter Reed Medal (2002) from the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) and was President of American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from 2004-2005. He has served on numerous government and international committees on infectious diseases, biosecurity, World Health Organization (WHO) expert committees and the National Vaccines Advisory Committee (USA). Between 1998 and 2000, he was Senior Science Advisor to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency. A leader in the “One Health” movement, Tom served on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) “One Health” Task Force and subsequently the One Health Commission (USA). Tom received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He trained in internal medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, MA.
Louise Mawhinney
Louise was until May 2015 the Chief Financial Officer and remains an investor in SmartVet, she has over 16 years’ experience as a CFO, the last 10 of which have been in life sciences. Prior to joining SmartVet, she was the CFO of Aratana therapeutics, a pet therapeutics company, where she was instrumental in its IPO – the “Most Successful IPO of 2013” according to Bloomberg. Prior to that, Louise was CFO of Ikonisys, a cell-based diagnostics company and Helicos BioSciences, a genetic analysis technology company where she led the 2007 IPO. Louise was also CFO for ArQule, an oncology therapeutics company, eSpendwise, a provider of global eBusiness systems, and The Butcher Company, a chemical manufacturing company. Prior to that, she was Group Controller at Lifetime Corporation; and a Senior Tax Specialist at KPMG in Boston. Louise holds a Master’s Degree from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and has been a CPA in Massachusetts since 1989.
Ken Odde
Currently Ken is a Professor and Head, Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State University. After officer training at Fort Lee, VA, he was assigned to the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, KS where he served as a platoon leader. Ken served as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor at Colorado State University from 1983 to 1994. He taught and conducted research in beef cattle reproduction and health. In 1994, Ken returned to his native South Dakota and joined the technical services team at SmithKline Beecham Animal Health. He was a member of the technical services team at Pfizer Animal Health following their acquisition of SmithKline Beecham Animal Health. In 2000 Ken left Pfizer to become Vice President of Veterinary Operations at AgSpan and then had his own consulting business. Ken joined North Dakota State University as Professor and Head, Department of Animal & Range Sciences in January of 2003. Starting in June, 2005, he served as Professor and Director, Beef Systems-Center of Excellence, a public-private partnership designed to grow cattle feeding and processing in ND, and the research and education support to the beef industry. Ken remains active in the cattle ranching industry as a cow-calf producer. Ken has a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science from South Dakota State University, a Master’s Degree in Reproductive Physiology, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Doctorate in Physiology from Kansas State University.