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Board of Directors

 

 

 

James C. Czirr

Executive Chairman of the Board since February 2010, Chairman since February 2009 and Founder in 2000

Mr. Czirr co-founded and is manager and general partner of 10X Fund, L.P., holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. He was a co-founder of our company in 2000 and also was instrumental in the early-stage development of Safe Science Inc., a developer of anti-cancer drugs. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Czirr was Chief Executive Officer of Minerva Biotechnologies Corporation, a developer of nano particle bio chips to determine the cause of solid tumors. He has also been a consultant to Metalline Mining Company Inc. (NYSE Amex: MMG), now known as Silver Bull Resources, Inc., a mineral exploration company seeking to become a low-cost producer of zinc. Mr. Czirr received a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

 

 

Gilbert F. Amelio, Ph.D.

Director since February 2009

Dr. Amelio, who began his career at Bell Labs, has been Senior Partner of Sienna Ventures, a privately held venture capital firm, since 2001. Dr. Amelio was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jazz Technologies, Inc., a specialty wafer foundry, from 2005 until his retirement in 2008, when he was named Chairman Emeritus. From 1999 to 2005, Dr. Amelio was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Beneventure Capital, LLC, a venture capital firm. From 1997 to 2004 he was Principal of Aircraft Ventures, LLC, a consulting firm. Dr. Amelio was elected a Director of AT&T (NYSE: T) in 2001 and had previously served as an Advisory Director of AT&T from 1997 to 2001. In 1996 and 1997, Dr. Amelio was chief executive officer of Apple, Inc., and from 1991 to 1996 was Chief Executive Officer of National Semiconductor Corporation. He was also a director of Chiron, now a part of Novartis, from 1991 to 1996.

 

 

Kevin D. Freeman, CFA

Director since May 2011

Mr. Freeman brings 20 years of financial expertise. He is currently President of Cross Consulting Services, LLC and Chief Investment Officer of Capitalist Publishing Co., Inc. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Freeman has served as portfolio manager, entrepreneur, management executive and consultant. From 2000-2004, Mr. Freeman was chairman of Separate Account Solutions, Inc., a wealth management solutions company which he also co-founded. From 1991-2000, Mr. Freeman worked for Franklin Templeton Investment Services, Inc., where he served as Managing Director, Associate Portfolio Manager, Portfolio Consultant, Director of Portfolio Consulting and co-developer of the Portfolio Operations Group. Mr. Freeman holds a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 

 

Arthur R. Greenberg

Director since August 2009

Mr. Greenberg, with nearly 40 years in the semiconductor equipment and materials industry, is the President and founder of Prism Technologies, Inc., a provider of professional sales and marketing services and business development consulting services. Mr. Greenberg is a member of the board of UV Tech Systems, a designer and manufacturer of equipment used to fabricate semiconductor devices. Previously, he was the first President of SEMI, North America, a semiconductor equipment and materials industry trade association representing the interests, including public policy, of more than 2000 members doing business in North America. Mr. Greenberg received his B.S. in business administration from Henderson State University.

 

 

Rod D. Martin

Vice Chairman of the Board since February 2010 and Director since February 2009

Mr. Martin co-founded and is a manager and general partner of 10X Fund, L.P., the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Mr. Martin was senior advisor to Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, Inc., during its startup phase, initial public offering and later acquisition by eBay Inc. Subsequently, Mr. Martin served as a senior advisor at Clarium Capital, Thiel’s global macro hedge fund with more than $7.8 billion under management. Mr. Martin is founder and Chairman of Advanced Search Laboratories, Inc., and a director of Proxomo Software. He previously served as Director of Policy Planning & Research for former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee. He is an author and speaker and leads several non-profit organizations. Mr. Martin holds a J.D. from Baylor Law School, a B.A. from the University of Arkansas, and was a Sturgis Fellow at Cambridge University in Great Britain.

 

 

John Mauldin

Director since May 2011

Mr. Mauldin is a renowned financial expert and New York Times best-selling author. Mr. Mauldin is currently the President of Millenium Wave Advisors. Prior to that position, he was Chief Executive Officer of the American Bureau of Economic Research. Mr. Mauldin is a regular contributor to publications including The Financial Times and The Daily Reckoning, as well as a frequent guest on CNBC, Yahoo Tech Ticker, and Bloomberg TV. He is author of Thoughts from the Frontline, a free weekly e-newsletter, and several books, including: Bull’s Eye Investing: Targeting Real Returns in a Smoke and Mirrors Market, Just One Thing: Twelve of the World’s Best Investors Reveal the One Strategy You Can’t Overlook, and Endgame: The End of the Debt Supercycle and How it Changes Everything. He also edits Outside the Box, a free weekly e-letter. Mr. Mauldin holds a B.A. from Rice University and a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

 

 

Steven Prelack

Director since April 2003

Mr. Prelack became Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer of VetCor in July 2010, owner and operator of veterinary hospitals, and from 2001 was Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of VelQuest Corporation, a provider of automated compliance software solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Prelack is a director of Codeco Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of custom resisters and switches. From 2007 through 2009, Mr. Prelack served as Director and Audit Committee Chair for BioVex, a biotechnology company focused on cancer, and he currently serves on its Strategic Advisory Board. Mr. Prelack, a Certified Public Accountant, received a B.B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

 

 

Paul Pressler

Director since May 2011

Mr. Pressler has been a partner in the law firm of Woodfill & Pressler since 1995, has served as a director of Revelation, Inc., and was in private mediation practice. A retired justice of the Texas Court of Appeals, Judge Pressler was appointed Justice of the Texas Court of Appeals in 1978, serving until 1992. Judge Pressler also served as District Judge from 1970 to 1978. From 1958 to 1970, he was associated with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins. Judge Pressler has been a director of Salem Communications Corporation since March 2002, and is also a board member of the Free Market Foundation and KHCB Network, a non-profit corporation which owns Christian radio stations in Texas and Louisiana, and a board member of National Religious Broadcasters. He has been an active leader in the Southern Baptist Convention.

 

 

Jerald K. Rome

Director since March 2004

Mr. Rome, now retired, has been a private investor since 1996. In 1993, Mr. Rome founded Amberline Pharmaceutical Care Corp., a marketer of non-prescription pharmaceuticals, and served as its President from 1993 to 1996. From 1980 to 1990, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moore Medical Corp., a national distributor of branded pharmaceuticals and manufacturer and distributor of generic pharmaceuticals. Mr. Rome received a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Connecticut.

 

 

Marc Rubin, M.D.

Director since October 2011

Dr. Marc Rubin has served as President and Chief Executive of Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC: TTNP) since October 2007, and has been a Director since November 2007. Dr. Rubin previously served as Head of Global Research and Development for Bayer Schering Pharma, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Healthcare and the Board of Management of Bayer Schering Pharma. Prior to the merger of Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Schering AG in June 2006, Dr. Rubin was a member of the Executive Board of Schering AG, as well as Chairman of Schering Berlin Inc. and President of Berlex Pharmaceuticals, a division of Schering AG. From 1990 until August 2003, Dr. Rubin was employed by GlaxoSmithKline where he held positions of responsibility in global clinical and commercial development overseeing programs in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. From 2001 through 2003, he was Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Pharmacology & Discovery Medicine. Dr. Rubin holds an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, completed internship and residency in internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and fellowships in medical oncology and infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Rubin also served on the Board of Directors of Medarex, Inc. until its acquisition by Bristol-Meyers Squibb in 2009, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Curis Inc. (Nasdaq: CRIS), and The Rogosin Institute.

 

 

Peter G. Traber, M.D.

Director since February 2009

Dr. Traber is President Emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine, where he was Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2008. From 2000 to 2003 he was Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of GlaxoSmithKline plc. Dr. Traber served as Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and was Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Traber has also managed a molecular biology research laboratory and published over 100 articles of original research, reviews, and book chapters. Dr. Traber received his M.D. from Wayne State School of Medicine and his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.