Biotech Acquisition Company *
LIQUIDATION – 2/2/23 – LINK
- The SPAC announced it will not implement the nine-month extension and consequently liquidate.
- All outstanding ordinary shares will be redeemed at a per-share redemption price of $10.15.
- The sponsor agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to its outstanding Class B ordinary shares issued prior to the Company’s initial public offering.
EXTENSION – 1/25/23 – LINK
- The extension vote was approved from January 27, 2023 to October 27, 2023.
- 15,467,68 shares were redeemed for approximately $10.14/share
- $0.055/share will be contributed into the trust account each month
The below-announced combination was terminated on 6/13/22. It will remain on the page for reference purposes only. Once a new combination is announced it will be added to the top of the page. – LINK
PROPOSED BUSINESS COMBINATION: Blade Therapeutics, Inc.
ENTERPRISE VALUE: $352.8 million
ANTICIPATED SYMBOL: BBTX
Biotech Acquisition Company proposes to combine with Blade Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in South San Francisco, Calif.
Blade Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cutting-edge treatments for debilitating, incurable fibrotic and neurodegenerative diseases that impact millions of people worldwide. The company has deep expertise in novel biological pathways – including autotaxin / LPA and calpain biology – that are foundational to cell- and tissue-damage responses resulting from protein deposition or aggregation associated with fibrotic and neurodegenerative diseases. Blade expects to advance a differentiated pipeline of oral, small-molecule therapies that include a non-competitive autotaxin inhibitor and inhibitors of dimeric calpains designed for potential treatment of lung, liver and cardiac fibrosis or neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s focused approach offers the potential to produce disease-modifying, life-saving therapies.
Blade’s lead investigational medicine is cudetaxestat, a non-competitive, reversible inhibitor of autotaxin that is planned to enter a phase 2 clinical study in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the first half of 2022. Cudetaxestat has demonstrated direct anti-fibrotic activity and differentiating preclinical and biochemical characteristics which support the potential for a treatment profile in lung and liver fibrosis. Available data from completed phase 1 studies have shown that cudetaxestat was well tolerated with a demonstrated pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic correlation and biomarker activity, and a supportive clinical safety profile.
SUBSEQUENT EVENT – 12-23-22 – LINK
- Biotech Acquisition Company announced in an 8-K that it has agreed to sell most of its sponsor economics and undergo a management change.
- The Sponsor agreed to transfer to the Investor 5,455,000 Class B ordinary shares, 6,000,000 private placement warrants of the Company and a promissory note issued by the Company to the Sponsor in the aggregate principal amount of $470,000
- Each of the Company’s directors and officers shall resign from his/her position,
- Laxmi Prasad Palaypu and Jon Paul shall be appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively
- Laxmi Prasad Palaypu, Karl Adam Schoene, Mark Zorko, Elizabeth Ann Levy-Navarro and Gerald P. O’Connor shall be appointed as directors of the Company
SUBSEQUENT EVENT – 6-2-22 – LINK
- Biotech Acquisition Company and Blade Therapeutics, Inc. announced the postponement of BAC’s extraordinary general meeting of shareholders originally scheduled to be held on June 3, 2022.
- The Extraordinary Meeting has been postponed until a to-be-determined later date.
SUBSEQUENT EVENT – 5-31-22 – LINK
- Biotech Acquisition Company and Blade Therapeutics, Inc. announced the postponement of BAC’s extraordinary general meeting of shareholders originally scheduled to be held on June 1, 2022.
- The Extraordinary Meeting has been postponed until June 3, 2022.
SUBSEQUENT EVENT – 5-9-22 – 8-K LINK
- On May 3, 2022, Biotech Acquisition Company entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with CF Principal Investments LLC (“CFPI”), an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald, related to a committed equity facility (the “Facility”).
- Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, after the closing Blade Biotherapeutics Inc. will have the right to sell to CFPI from time to time at its option up to $75,000,000 of Blade Biotherapeutics’ common stock.
- Sales of the shares of Blade Biotherapeutics’ common stock to CFPI, and the timing of any such sales, will be determined by Blade Biotherapeutics from time to time in its sole discretion and will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions, the trading price of the common stock, as well as determinations by Blade Biotherapeutics about the use of proceeds of such common stock sales.
- The net proceeds from any such sales under the Purchase Agreement will depend on the frequency with, and the price at, which the shares of common stock are sold to CFPI.
TRANSACTION
- The combined company is expected to have a post-transaction enterprise value of approximately $352.8 million based on an assumed 58 million shares of common stock outstanding, an illustrative price per share of $10.00, and assuming no redemptions by BAC’s existing shareholders.
- The transaction is expected to provide a pro forma cash balance of approximately $254.3 million to the combined company, before deducting estimated transaction expenses of $25.0 million and including an approximately $24.3 million private investment in public equity priced at $10.00 per share and $230.0 million of net cash held in BAC’s trust, assuming no redemptions by BAC’s existing shareholders.
- PIPE financing is anchored by leading institutional investors, including Deerfield Management, Pfizer Ventures, Bristol Myers Squibb, MPM Capital and Osage University Partners.
- As part of the transaction, the outstanding equity of Blade will be converted into equity of the combined company.
PIPE
- 2,430,000 shares of BAC common stock in a private equity investment for a purchase price equal to $10.00 per share and aggregate gross proceeds to BAC equal to $24,300,000.
- PIPE financing is anchored by leading institutional investors, including Deerfield Management, Pfizer Ventures, Bristol Myers Squibb, MPM Capital and Osage University Partners.
EARNOUT
“Earnout Participants” means (a) all Pre-Closing Holders as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, (b) all Persons who hold Blade Options as of immediately prior to the Effective Time and who continue to hold the Assumed Blade Options related to such Blade Options as of immediately prior to the Price Milestone Issuance Date or Transaction Milestone Issuance Date, as applicable, and (c) all Persons who hold Blade Options as of immediately prior to the Effective Time and who exercised the Assumed Blade Options related to such Blade Options prior to the Price Milestone Issuance Date or Transaction Milestone Issuance Date, as applicable.
- The Earnout Participants will also have a contingent right to receive up to an additional 3,500,000 shares of BAC common stock after the Closing based on the stock price performance of BAC common stock.
- The Earnout Shares will become issuable if, during the Earnout Period, the closing price of BAC’s common stock is equal to or greater than $15.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period or, prior to the occurrence of a Price Earnout Milestone
- (A) BAC consummates a sale, merger, consolidation, liquidation, exchange offer or other similar transaction that results in the stockholders of BAC immediately prior to such transaction having beneficial ownership of less than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding voting securities of BAC or the surviving entity in such transaction, directly or indirectly, immediately following such transaction
- (B) BAC consummates a “going private transaction” or otherwise ceases to be subject to the reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
- (C) the BAC Common Stock ceases to be listed on a national securities exchange.
- Unlike the Merger Consideration, the Earnout Shares will be allocated among Blade’s security holders on a fully-diluted basis as of the Closing, without treating assumed Blade options on a net exercise basis, and with holders of unvested Blade options receiving restricted stock units for a number of shares of common stock of BAC equal to such portion of the Earnout Shares otherwise issuable to such Earnout Participant in respect of such unvested Blade options.
LOCK-UP
- Certain stockholders of Blade each entered into a Lock-Up Agreement with BAC (collectively, the “Lock-Up Agreements”). Pursuant to the Lock-Up Agreements, each Blade stockholder party thereto agreed not to, during the period commencing on the Closing and ending on the earliest of
- (a) the date that is six (6) months after the Closing Date
- (b) subsequent to the Closing,
- (X) the first date on which the last sale price of BAC’s common stock has equaled or exceeded $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Closing
- (Y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property:
- (i) lend, offer, pledge, hypothecate, encumber, donate, assign, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any BAC restricted securities
- (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of such BAC restricted securities
- (iii) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, whether any such transaction described in clauses (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of the BAC restricted securities or other securities, in cash or otherwise
SUPPORT AGREEMENT
- Simultaneously with the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, BAC and the Sponsor entered into a letter agreement pursuant to which the Sponsor agreed to place 1,150,000 of BAC’s Class B ordinary shares into escrow and subject such shares to vesting and forfeiture unless the milestones applicable to the Earnout Shares are achieved during the Earnout Period.
- All of the Earnout Shares shall vest and no longer be subject to forfeiture or the transfer restrictions in this Agreement upon the first of any of the following to occur during the Earnout Period (each, a “Release Event”):
- (a) the VWAP of Acquiror Common Stock shall have been equal to or in excess of $15.00 per share of Acquiror Common Stock (as equitably adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, combinations, recapitalizations and the like after the Closing) for any twenty (20) Trading Days (which need not be consecutive) within any thirty (30) Trading Day period beginning after the Closing;
- (b) the consummation by the Acquiror of a sale, merger, consolidation, liquidation, exchange offer or other similar transaction that results in the stockholders of the Acquiror immediately prior to such transaction having beneficial ownership of less than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding voting securities of the Acquiror or the surviving entity in such transaction, directly or indirectly, immediately following such transaction;
- (c) the consummation by Acquiror a “going private” transaction or Acquiror otherwise ceasing to be subject to the reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; or
- (d) the Acquiror Common Stock ceasing to be listed on a national securities exchange.
NOTABLE CONDITIONS TO CLOSING
- BAC having, at the Closing, at least $75,000,000 in cash and cash equivalents, including funds remaining in the trust account (after giving effect to the completion and payment of any redemptions) and the proceeds of any PIPE Investment, prior to paying any of BAC’s expenses and liabilities due at the Closing (the “Minimum Cash Condition”)
- The Lock-Up Agreements being in full force and effect as of the Closing
NOTABLE CONDITIONS TO TERMINATION
- By either BAC or Blade if any of the conditions to Closing have not been satisfied or waived by April 15, 2022 (with such date being subject to an extension of sixty days in the event that there is any delay to the applicable waiting or review period or extension thereof by any governmental authority or Nasdaq)
ADVISORS
- Barclays Capital Inc. (“Barclays”) is acting as lead PIPE placement agent and financial and capital markets advisor to Blade
- Lazard is acting as lead financial advisor to Blade.
- Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) is acting as co-placement agent, exclusive financial advisor and capital markets advisor to BAC.
- Latham& Watkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to Blade
- Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP is serving as legal advisor to BAC
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to Barclays and Cantor in their role as placement agents for institutional investors for the PIPE.
MANAGEMENT & BOARD
Executive Officers
Dr. Michael Shleifer, 47 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
For more than 20 years, Michael has been a leading driver in healthcare innovation. Michael spent four years at L’Oréal (OTCMKTS: LRLCY) before co-founding SPRIM in 2001, of which he is a Managing Partner and which now employs over 500 people in 17 countries, providing consulting and CRO services and stewarding life science clients through the development and delivery of commercially successful health solutions. In 2015, leveraging SPRIM’s novel vantage point in the life sciences industry and the significant deal flow opportunity such positioning affords SPRIM, Michael founded SPRIM Ventures to invest in biotech and digital health solutions with the potential to create new solutions or products in their categories. SPRIM Ventures partnered with Tikehau Capital (EPA: TKO) in 2017 to launch two healthcare and biotechnology focused venture capital funds: TKS1, which launched in 2018 and TKS2, which launched in 2020. To date, the portfolio companies of these funds have grown to a valuation of more than $200 million. Michael received a Masters in Biochemistry from Université Paris Descartes, Paris V, a Masters in Political Science and Economics from Institut D’Etudes Politiques Sciences Po Paris, and a PhD from Pharmacology from Pharmacology from Université Paris Descartes, Paris V.
Ivan Jarry, 43 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Chief Operating Officer
Ivan is the co-founder and a Managing Partner of SPRIM since June 2001. Additionally, since March 2020 he has served as the Chief Executive Officer of ObvioHealth, Over the course of his career, Ivan has created and grown over 40 companies in the health innovation space ranging from consulting practices to CROs, digital health and biotech ventures. A global entrepreneur having lived and worked in 8 countries, Ivan is fluent in 4 languages. Whether for CROs or advisory SPRIM clients or for SPRIM Ventures, Ivan has a proven track in the healthcare field for identifying market gaps and then leading organizations through the different stages of their development to bring relevant products and services to scale quickly and with operational excellence. Ivan’s expertise lies in seeding and then structuring businesses for rapid growth through platform and process scalability, data integration and effective leadership. He has a proven ability to spearhead complex projects and inject capital investment where needed to amplify competitive advantage, while maximizing operating efficiencies. His passion for curating, developing and motivating collaborative teams to create a high performing and enduring culture has translated to significant growth in both revenue (up to 7 times year-over-year) and valuation (more than $200 million over the past 2 years) for the ventures under his leadership. Ivan received his Masters from EDHEC Business School in France.
Albert F. Hummel, 75 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Chief Investment Officer and Director
With over 40 years of diverse business and capital markets experience, Al has a history of recognizing valuable business opportunities early on and capitalizing on their intrinsic value, especially in the healthcare market. He has extensive experience in managing research and development projects, as well as managing complex litigation regarding patent rights, contracts and shareholder disputes. Al is currently a Senior Partner of SPRIM, where he has been since 2014. From 2010 to 2013, he was the Chief Executive Officer and President of the formally publicly traded Obagi Medical Products, when the company’s market capitalization was approximately $180 million. As Chief Executive Officer and Director of Cobrek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1998 to December 2012, a private, venture-backed company, Al led the company out of near bankruptcy by instituting a system to locate and exploit special market situations within specific drug sectors. The result was a shorter drug discovery process and a reduction in drug development time. Cobrek was acquired by Perrigo Company PLC in 2012. As Chief Financial Officer of Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. from October 1991 to December 1994, which became Allergan PLC through multiple acquisitions, Al oversaw the firm’s initial public offering and also developed its operations’ funding strategy and was a member of its board for 28 years. He was CEO, President, co-Founder and Board member of Bradley-Hummel & Company, a firm that provided investment banking services in the healthcare, energy, and financial service industries. Al began his career at Merrill Lynch in New York where he served as a Vice President and provided investment banking services to private, corporate and government (US and foreign) clients. Al received a B.S. from St. Joseph’s University and an MBA from Indiana University.
Thomas Fratacci, 43 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Thomas has 20 years of experience in corporate finance and business management in B2B environments. He is responsible for all finance functions within SPRIM and SPRIM Ventures. Thomas began his career at Arthur Andersen and KPMG, and participated in the early years of SPRIM’s development, both in Asia and the US. After his accounting firm experience, Thomas spent 8 years within the WPP Group, successfully leading Kantar AV’s consulting activities in France, Italy and Russia, managing a team of 30 plus and improving all performance key performance indicators while scaling up reporting processes and compliance metrics. Since May 2018, Thomas has been the Group Chief Financial Officer at SPRIM Ventures, developing robust business models for all of the key ventures within SPRIM’s portfolio companies, to support the several financing rounds and exits. Prior to SPRIM, from 2015 to 2017 he was a finance and operations independent consultant at Karner Blue. Thomas received his Masters from EDHEC Business School in France.
Laxmi Prasad Palaypu, 57 [Appointed 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer
He currently serves as the Head of Global Practice and Chairman of the Board of Interups, Inc., a New York City based investment firm, positions which he has held since 2016 and 2019, respectively. He further works with Cow Capital Acquisition Corporation in Atherton, California as Chief Growth Officer and Chairman of the Board since September of 2022. Prior to his time at Interups, Mr. Prasad worked in venture capital at various private equity companies, as well as in tax as an accounting professional. He earned his BCOM in accounting from Osmania University in 1985, his Indian accounting license in 1989, and his US CPA in 1999. Mr. Prasad has significant experience in initial public offerings and financing through private investors, knowledge he brings with him to Biotech Acquisition Company. Further, his wealth of knowledge as a tax and accounting professional provides a unique perspective on financial services and investments.
Jon Paul, 69 [Appointed 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Paul has been the CFO of Australis Capital, Inc., an investment firm, in Las Vegas, Nevada since 2021, during which time he focused on restructuring, acquisitions, and hypergrowth associated with the cannabis industry. He was previously the CFO of Plus Products, a consumer products company, out of San Mateo, California from 2018 to 2020, as well as serving as CFO at various companies throughout the Lake Forest, Illinois area from 2000 to 2018. He currently serves on the board of TMC International as treasurer. Mr. Paul earned his BS in Accounting in 1975 from the University of Illinois Champaign, as well as his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1980. Mr. Paul has significant experience in initial public offerings and financing, as well as restructuring, acquisitions, startups, and hypergrowth of small companies. He has focused on a variety of industries during his career but specializes in cannabis and executive growth within the cannabis industry.
Board of Directors
Bruno Montanari, 46 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Director
Bruno brings to our company a wealth of international experience and network in emerging biotech and life sciences. Currently, Bruno is a partner at Seroba Life Sciences, a leading European venture capital fund based in Dublin, where he has been since 2017. Bruno represents Seroba as a member of the board of directors of Storm Therapeutics Ltd., an RNA epigenetics-focused company in Cambridge, England. He has a background in venture capital and in investment banking, with a focus on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Prior to joining Seroba in 2017, Bruno was a Partner at Omnes Capital (Paris), in charge of life sciences investments for the venture capital team, where he held board positions in companies such as Argenx (NASDAQ: ARGX), Poxel (EURONEXT: POXEL), and Themis (acquired by Merck & Co.). His previous venture capital experiences were at Atlas Venture (Paris/London), where he sat on the Board of companies such as Cellzome (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline), Newron (SWX: NWRN), Novexel (acquired by AstraZeneca), and at CDP Capital (Paris/Montreal). Bruno also served as an independent board member of iTeos (NASDAQ: ITOS). He started his career in 1999 in London, in the healthcare team of the investment banking divisions of Deutsche Bank and later Merrill Lynch.
Paul Bernard, 52 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Director
Paul is a retired Goldman Sachs partner, private investor and non-executive board director. He has lived and worked in Asia for 26 years. During his 19-year career at Goldman from 1990 to 1993 and 1995 to 2011, Paul built Goldman’s market-leading Asia energy and chemicals research franchise and then as Co-Director of Investment Research, built one of the leading investment research teams in Asia. Given his breadth of pan-Asian experience and as a long-serving member of Goldman’s Asia Management Committee, Paul was involved with many of the firm’s strategic growth efforts in Asia. Since retiring from Goldman, Paul has become a successful private investor and valued board member. Paul is a non-executive director of Conrad Petroleum Ltd., Castle European Ltd. and Sandbox Edutainment Holdings Limited. Paul earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from Stanford University. He is a CFA charter holder.
Aaron Kim, 51 [Resigned 12/21/22]
Director
Mr. Kim is co-founder and Managing Partner of Valparaiso Capital Partners, an Asia-focused private equity firm regionally based in Singapore. He has been with Valparaiso since 2008. Valparaiso invests in Asian businesses and assets that provide institutional investors with specific participation on a direct investment and non-discretionary basis. Valparaiso co-invests, acts as the sponsor of and represents principal investors for each of its projects. With Board level representation, larger investors have included sovereign wealth funds, public and private university endowments, insurance companies, private equity funds, and multi-family offices. Mr. Kim has been involved in private equity principal investing since 1995 in Asia, leveraging his experience in technology, investment banking, and real estate development, including BSL-2 biology and chemistry laboratory facilities. He has directly managed businesses, mergers and acquisitions, construction developments, information technology infrastructure developments, and exits for over $2 billion in transactions. Prior to Valparaiso, he was Executive Director and head of operations at AXA Japan when it acquired Nippon Group Life in 2000 for $2 billion, where he was responsible for IT and operations, as well as business restructuring activities. From 1997 to 1999, he advised the Brunei Investment & Commercial Bank, which is wholly-owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund. From 1990 to 1997, he was Vice President at Citibank in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore in corporate finance, advisory and strategic planning roles. Mr. Kim has a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration and Masters in Economics from Boston University. He has working fluency in Japanese and Korean, and he is an American national, originally from Menlo Park, California.
Karl Adam Schoene, PhD, 61 [Appointed 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer
He has served as the Senior Vice President of Development and Operations at Codexis Inc., a protein engineering company that develops enzymes for pharmaceutical, food and medical applications, since April 2020, as well as Chairman of Ionic Solutions LLC in Chicago since 2013. Mr. Schoene previously spent three years as CEO and corporate director at Elevance Renewable Services, Inc., a producer of specialty chemicals derived from plant oils, located in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and in 1989 with a PhD in Chemistry. Mr. Schoene brings significant experience in fundraising and investor relations, having participated in multiple rounds of debt and equity securities financing throughout his career. With his decades-long experience in renewable energy technology and manufacturing processes, Mr. Schoene brings with him a wealth of knowledge in engineering and manufacturing.
Mark Zorko, CPA, MBA, 70 [Appointed 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer
He is currently a director on the boards of Westell Technologies and Military Outreach USA, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Modern Mining Technology Corp. Mr. Zorko previously chaired the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and from 2009 to 2019 served on both the Audit and Compensation Committees of Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc., a firm in the piping solutions industry. He was the interim Chief Financial Officer at a radiation science and services firm Landauer Inc. from June 2014 until April 2015. Mr. Zorko served as the CFO of Steel Excel, Inc., a public energy industry firm, from August 2011 until May 2013. He also served as the President and CEO of SXCL’s subsidiary Wells Services Ltd., a Steel Excel business, in 2012 and CFO of DGT Holdings, a medical imaging firm, from 2006 through 2012, all of which are affiliated with Steel Partners Holding, L.P., a publicly traded diversified global holding company. Mr. Zorko was on the Audit Committee for Opportunity International, a microfinance bank, and the Finance Committee for the Alexian Brothers Health System. He received an MBA in IT from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from The Ohio State University. After completing his MBA, Mr. Zorko began his career as a CPA at Arthur Andersen, and worked his way up via the controllership ranks at Honeywell and Zenith Data Systems in the United States and Europe. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a NACD Board Leadership Fellow and earned the NACD’s CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight. Mr. Zorko brings with him a wealth of financial, accounting, and financial services knowledge from over three decades of experience as a CPA and CFO, His experience has provided him knowledge relating to debt restructuring, initial public offerings, IT management and implementation, and compliance.
Elizabeth Ann Levy-Navarro, MBA, 59 [Appointed 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Levy-Navarro has been the corporate advisor of Summit Strategy Advisors, a growth consulting company, since 2018, where she oversees financial management and oversight. She previously spent fifteen years as CEO of Orrington Strategies, providing strategic business services to Fortune 500 companies. She currently serves on three boards: Munich Re for the Americas, Wilshire Mutual Funds, Inc., and Eastside Distilling Company, of which she is the Chairwoman. Ms. Levy-Navarro earned her BBA in marketing from the University of Michigan in 1985, and her MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. Specializing in management consulting and marketing, Ms. Levy-Navarro brings significant experience in finance and strategy consulting. With over two decades of consulting experience, Ms. Levy-Navarro is uniquely qualified to provide strategic support, management consulting, and growth strategies.
Gerald P. O’Connor, 71 [Appointed 12/21/22]
Chief Financial Officer
Since 2013, Mr. O’Connor has been a principal at Brentwood Advisory, a business and executive consulting company, supporting companies with interim CFO and project leadership services. Prior to Brentwood, Mr. O’Connor spent seven years as Senior Vice President of Finance and Strategic Planning at Nicor, Inc., a water metering endpoint optimization company. Mr. O’Connor has extensive experience in finance, operations, auditing, and risk management. His significant experience includes leading finance teams for up to $500 million deals and creating end-to-end business process conversion plans for multiple start-ups. Mr. O’Connor is an active angel investor with a wealth of knowledge and experience in investor relations.