Executive Officers

Chris Ehrlich, 54
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Chris Ehrlich has been our Chief Executive Officer since inception and has agreed to serve as a member of our board of directors following the completion of this offering. He is currently the Vice-chairman of CERo Therapeutics Holdings (NASD: CERO) which merged with Phoenix Biotech Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: PBAX) in February of 2024. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Board member of PBAX from 2021 to 2024. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. (“LWAC”) from 2020 to 2022 when it merged with eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EFTR). Mr. Ehrlich currently serves on the Board of Directors of EFTR since 2022 and Prostate Management Diagnostics since 2012. He was a Senior Managing Director at Locust Walk, a Life Sciences transaction firm, where he worked from 2013 to 2021. In that capacity, he served as the Global Head of Biotechnology and Head of Strategic Transactions. Mr. Ehrlich has been involved with sourcing and leading multiple transactions for emerging biopharmaceutical companies, including the sale of Xyphos Biosciences, Inc. to Astellas in 2019 and the sale of Thar Pharmaceuticals to Grunenthal in 2018. Prior to Locust Walk, he was a Managing Director at InterWest Partners, a venture capital firm. As a General Partner, he served on the boards of KAI Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company (acquired by Amgen in 2012), Biomimetic Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company (acquired by Wright Medical Technologies in 2013), Invuity, Inc., a medical technology company acquired by Stryker in 2018) and Xenon Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company (Nasdaq: XENE). He is currently the Principal of Ehrlich Bioventures, LLC, a consultancy working with emerging biopharma companies. He is also a registered representative with FINRA, holding his Series 79, 63 and 24 licenses. Mr. Ehrlich has a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College and a M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is well-qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive industry, business and operational experience.

Jurgen van de Vyver, 35
Chief Financial Officer

Jurgen van de Vyver has served as our Chief Financial Officer since inception. He has been with Launchpad Capital since May 2021, where he, as a Partner, co-leads early-stage fintech investments and manages the firm’s finance and business operations. He served as the Chief Financial Officer of Newcourt Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: NCAC) from June 2023 until January 2024, overseeing NCAC’s merger with Psyence Biomedical (Nasdaq: PBM). Mr. van de Vyver was the head of finance and operations at Propel Venture Partners, a venture capital fund backed by BBVA Group, from 2017 to 2021. Mr. van de Vyver also served as a consultant from 2015 to 2017 for CrossCountry Consulting, where his clients included Lending Club (NYSE: LC), Danaher (NYSE: DHR) and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE: VAC). Mr. van de Vyver is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and obtained his bachelor’s in accounting from Stellenbosch University, South Africa in 2010 and his Honors degree in Accounting in 2011 from Stellenbosch University.

Board of Directors

Ryan Gilbert, 51
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Ryan Gilbert, currently serves as our Director, and will serve as our Chairman of the Board upon the commencement of trading of our units on Nasdaq. He is currently the General Partner of Launchpad Capital, a financial services focused venture capital firm which he founded in 2020, and a senior advisor to Castle Creek Capital. Mr. Gilbert has over 25 years of global financial services and technology expertise as an entrepreneur, investor and advisor. His public company exits include Eventbrite and Square. Mr. Gilbert has extensive SPAC experience as a Board member, executive and Sponsor investor. He was previously President, Chief Executive and Director of FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. which merged with Payoneer Inc. (Nasdaq: PAYO). He was an advisor to the Sponsor of Phoenix Biotech Acquisition Corp. which successfully merged with CERo Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CERO), Newcourt Acquisition Corp. which merged with Psyence Biomedical (Nasdaq: PBM) and Locust Walk Acquisition Corp which merged with eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EFTR). From 2016 to 2021, Mr. Gilbert was a founding General Partner of Propel Venture Partners Fund 1, a venture capital fund backed by BBVA Group, and currently serves on the board of directors of Guideline, Inc. As entrepreneur-in-residence at venture capital firm Venrock, Mr. Gilbert co-founded BillFloat Inc. (dba SmartBiz Loans), a small business lending marketplace, and served as the chief executive officer from 2009 to 2016, and executive chairman from 2016 to 2022. Since 2008, Mr. Gilbert has been an independent director of River City Bank, a community bank based in Sacramento, CA. He co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of real estate payments company PropertyBridge from 2003 to 2007 when it was acquired by MoneyGram International. Mr. Gilbert graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is an inactive member of the State Bar of California. He is well-qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive investment, industry and operational experience.

Brian G. Atwood, 71
Director Nominee

Brian G. Atwood will be one of our directors upon the commencement of trading of our units on Nasdaq. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of CERo Therapeutics Holdings (Nasdaq: CERO) and the former Chairman of Phoenix Biotech Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: PBAX), which merged with Cero in February 2024. Mr. Atwood serves as a Managing Director for Versant Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm that he co-founded in 1999, but ceased actively participating as an investor principal in 2014. In 2015, Mr. Atwood co-founded Cell Design Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing human cell engineering technology for the treatment of multiple diseases, including cancer, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer until 2018, when it was acquired by Gilead Sciences. Mr. Atwood serves on the board of directors of Atreca, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCEL), where he is Chairman. He also served on the board of directors of Immune Design Corp. from 2008 until 2016, Veracyte, Inc., as its Chairman from its founding in 2008 until 2016, OpGen Inc., from 2007 until 2017, Five Prime Therapeutics, as its Chairman from 2002 until 2016, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2006 until its acquisition in 2014, Helicos Biosciences from 2003 until 2011, Pharmion Corporation from 2000 until its acquisition in 2008, Trius Therapeutics, Inc. from 2007 until its acquisition in 2013 and Locust Walk Acquisition Corporation as its Chairman from January 2021 until the consummation of its business combination in August 2021, in addition to several other public and private companies during his career in the biotechnology industry. Mr. Atwood holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, a M.S. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his experience in the biotechnology industry, his years of business and leadership experience and his financial sophistication and expertise.

Rodney A. Ferguson, 67
Director Nominee

Rodney A. Ferguson, Ph.D., will be one of our directors upon the commencement of trading of our units on Nasdaq. Dr. Ferguson is currently a Managing Director at Panorama Capital, a technology and life sciences investment firm, which he co-founded in 2006. Prior to co-founding Panorama Capital, Dr. Ferguson served as a Managing Director at JPMorgan Partners, a private equity firm, from 2001 to 2006. From 1999 to 2001, he was a Partner at InterWest Partners, a venture capital firm. Prior to InterWest Partners, he held a variety of positions at Genentech, Inc., a then publicly traded biotechnology company, from 1988 to 1999, including Senior Director of Business and Corporate Development. Prior to Genentech, Inc., Dr. Ferguson was an Associate at the law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen LLP. Dr. Ferguson received a B.S. with honors in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University. He is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his experience in investment banking and in financing pharmaceutical companies.

Risa Stack, 56
Director Nominee

Risa Stack, Ph.D., will be one of our directors upon the commencement of trading of our units on Nasdaq. Since May 2022 Dr. Stack has been a Partner at The Production Board, a company investing in technology businesses across life sciences, agriculture, and software. Previously, Dr. Stack was a Venture Partner at RA Capital, a private equity company focused on healthcare and biotechnologies, from September 2020 to March 2022. Dr. Stack was a founder and served as Chairperson of Menlo Microsystems, Inc., and was a General Manager at General Electric from January 2013 to September 2018. Dr. Stack was a Partner at Kleiner Perkins from June 2003 to December 2012. Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, she was a Principal at JP Morgan Partners from September 1996 to May 2003. Dr. Stack Dr. Stack served on the boards of Trius Pharmaceuticals, (NASDAQ:TRUS) from March 2008 to June 2013, Metagenomi (NASDAQ MGX) from April 2022 to February 2024, and Corthera, Inc., a biotechnology company (acquired by Novartis AG in 2009) from 2007 to 2009, in addition to many other private biotechnology companies. Dr. Stack received her B.S. in genetics and development from the University of Illinois and her Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Stack was a member of the second class of Kauffman Fellows. She is well-qualified to serve as a director because of her extensive investment experience, knowledge of financial markets and expertise in personalized medicine, therapeutics and platform technology companies.