Ventures Team

Dr. Ballantyne has over 23 years of experience in the development and manufacture of DNA, RNA and proteins across the research, diagnostic and licensed drug product spectrum. He co-founded Aldevron (now a Danaher operating company) directly out of graduate school in 1998 and has served as its Chief Scientific Officer since inception. Much of his focus outside of industrialization of biologicals manufacturing has been dedicated to working with military researchers to produce countermeasures to high threat/weaponizable viruses and in the development of systems for “n of 1” therapies in the oncology space. Dr. Ballantyne also has an interest in the anti-cancer and molecular-adjuvanting properties of a novel class of superantigens and has supported the technical and clinical maturation of these moieties through his research and development group for over a decade. His areas of expertise include large-scale biologicals production, purification systems and novel ligand/matrix designs, pharmacokinetics, and clinical path forward design and support. Dr. Ballantyne received his undergraduate degrees in Pharmacy at the Central Institute of Technology and the University of Otago in New Zealand and his doctorate from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at North Dakota State University.

Mark Bamforth is the Founder and CEO of Arranta Bio, a best-in-class microbiome contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). Previously, Mr. Bamforth founded Brammer Bio in 2015, a best-in-class viral vector CDMO supporting cell and gene therapies, which was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific in April 2019. Mark serves on the boards of Avid Bioservices, MassBio, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Entrepreneurial Scotland. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Strathclyde University and an MBA from Henley Management College.

Steve Buckanavage has over 30 years of commercial experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, having successfully launched products in the US, Europe, and Japan. Prior to consulting, Steve held senior commercial positions at Celyad, assisting the Belgium-based cell & gene therapy company through a successful U.S. IPO, establishing U.S. operations in Boston, staffing key roles and running operations.

Prior to joining Celyad, he was VP of Commercial Strategy at GSK’s Cancer Immunotherapy Business Unit, where he was responsible for commercial strategy for the antigen specific cancer immunotherapy portfolio.

Prior to that, Steve spent over 25 years at AstraZeneca in various roles. He was the U.S. Commercial Head for franchises including cardiovascular, anesthesia, and infectious disease, and launched brands in all three. His time at AstraZeneca also included serving as the Global VP of Emerging Oncology responsible for a portfolio of small molecule and biologic assets.

Steve‘s Expertise:

• Oncology
• Commercial Strategy
• Portfolio Planning
• Corporate Development

Keith Capecci is Kineticos Ventures Director of Investor Relations managing the firm’s Investor Communications and Fundraising activities.

Keith has been in Private Markets for nearly a decade. Most recently he was a Vice President at Gabriel Horn Capital, a boutique fund placement advisory firm. Prior to Gabriel Horn Capital, he was a Vice President at IFC Investment Management, a farmland and agribusiness investment manager. At IFC Keith worked across the fundraising, investor relations, and product functions. He started his career in private markets at Hamilton Lane on the Product Management and Business Development teams.

Keith earned his MBA from Saint Joseph’s University and BA from Villanova University.

Mr. Chambers co-founded Aldevron in 1998, holding the positions of President and Chief Executive Officer until 2020. Mr. Chambers is now Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aldevron. Using a technology platform that Mr. Chambers co-invented, Aldevron started producing plasmid DNA for biotech researchers in a small lab on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU). Aldevron specializes in the contract production of nucleic acids (e.g., plasmids, mRNA), recombinant proteins, and antibodies generated via genetic immunization and provides novel proteins like Cas9 variants and enhanced enzymes for in vitro mRNA transcript production. In recognition of his significant contributions, Mr. Chambers was named as one of the “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” by Goldman Sachs in 2018. Mr. Chambers also serves on the Board of Directors of Calviri, a fully integrated healthcare company. He received Bachelor of Science degrees in biotechnology, chemistry, and microbiology from NDSU.

Steve Favaloro is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Arranta Bio, a best in class microbiome CDMO. Steve also currently advises several early stage biotech companies, helping them to architect their financial and fundraising strategy. He was formerly the Chief Financial Officer at Brammer Bio, with responsibility for overseeing the financial health and information systems during a period of rapid growth and the execution of a $200M capacity expansion program. Steve received his BA in Economics from Boston College, and an MS in Finance and an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

Nathan Finger is responsible for Kineticos‘ business development, marketing, conferences, thought leadership and content creation. He has served many roles at Kineticos, including lead generation, marketing, and operations, gaining deep experience within life sciences while executing on client projects.

Nathan brings years of experience in marketing, business development, primary research, strategy, and commercial operations to Kineticos. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from NC State University.

Nathan‘s Expertise:

• Project Management
• Primary & Secondary Research
• Business Development
• Marketing
• Corporate Strategy

George Fotiades is a recognized chief executive who has led global, complex companies through significant change — the kind that accompanies development and marketing of major new products and services, creating organizational capabilities on a global scale, securing a broad range of strategic acquisitions, and integrating businesses to create unified operating companies. Beginning in early 2019, Fotiades served as CEO of Cantel Medical, a leader in infection prevention solutions serving the medical and dental markets. During his tenure, Fotiades implemented several organic growth initiatives to expand global leadership of the endoscopy reprocessing market, successfully navigated the impact of the Covid pandemic to emerge with a stronger market presence, completed a $775 mil transformational acquisition to become the clear market leader in dental office infection prevention, and led a significant strategic sale to Steris Corporation in June 2021 for $4.6B, a ~17x EBITDA multiple.

George Fotiades serves as chairman of the board of AptarGroup (NYSE: ATR), the leading global supplier of dispensing systems for a broad range of consumer and healthcare products, and as a director of ProLogis (NYSE: PLD), the leading global provider of distribution facilities and services. Fotiades holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Amherst College and a master’s degree from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.

Mark Gilbert, M.D. is the founding Chief Medical Officer at Juno Therapeutics. Prior to joining Juno, Dr. Gilbert served as an interim Chief Medical Officer and consultant in strategic drug development and portfolio management in medical oncology for several U.S. biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to these positions, Dr. Gilbert was a faculty member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington in Seattle and trained in the laboratory of Dr. Phil Greenberg, one of Juno’s scientific co-founders. Dr. Gilbert earned a BS degree in biochemistry from the University of Iowa and an MD from the University of Iowa Medical School in Iowa City, Iowa.

Derek was the Founder and CEO of Xcelience, a Florida-based contract development and manufacturing company that specialized in developing clinical Phase I-III drug product. He started the company in 2006 and sold it to a large multinational in 2016. He is currently a Board Member for The Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance. Derek received his BSC from the University of Alberta and his MBA from RSM Erasmus University.

Michael Kopp has 30 years of experience in the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare sectors. His experience spans the pharmaceutical continuum – from API synthesis through patient point of dispensing – and includes nearly all commercial channels and dosage forms.

He previously built and ran commercial operations for Mylan’s US hospital business, and subsequently led business development for its North American branded and generics businesses, had P&L responsibility for the ex-US EpiPen^® franchise, and was accountable for all product selection, portfolio management, and alliance management activities.

Michael has also held senior leadership roles with Xellia Pharmaceuticals (Novo A/S) Cardinal Health, McKesson, Teva and Sandoz, and previously served on the Board of Directors for DCAT. He is a life member of Mensa.

Michael‘s Expertise:

• Portfolio Management
• Alliance Management
• Manufacturing

Dr. Jason Kralic is a neuropharmacologist and business development executive with broad experience in technology innovation, CNS R&D, licensing, fundraising and company creation. He is co-founder and CEO of Tellus Therapeutics, which focuses on development of treatments for neonatal brain injury, and Director of Business Development for Bioscience Pharma Partners, which focuses on development of a treatment of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative disorders

Jason also serves on the scientific advisory board for the Alzheimer’s disease company, T3D Therapeutics. He previously held other roles with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and GlaxoSmithKline. He has helped launch several start-up companies, including Convergence Pharmaceuticals, PainQx and Care Directions. He has also served in business development roles at Opexa Therapeutics, UCB Pharma and Schwarz Biosciences.

Jason holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from UNC Chapel Hill, where he studied novel roles of ion channels in CNS drug response. His post-doctoral training at the University of Zurich focused on the biochemical, pharmacologic and behavioral responses to experimental CNS therapeutics as well as the role of neurogenesis in neurologic disorders.

Jason‘s Expertise

• Business Development Strategy and Licensing
• Technical and Commercial Due Diligence
• Drug Development Strategy
• Neuroscience

Monica Lannom, Ph.D./MBA, is an associate consultant at Kineticos with expertise in biotech/pharma R&D, cell and gene therapy, primary research, and strategy. She is passionate about helping companies bring life-saving treatments to patients. Dr. Lannom has 10+ years’ experience in scientific research and trained as a molecular neuroscientist and genetic engineer at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.  

 Dr. Lannom’s Expertise: 

• Primary and secondary research 
• R&D Strategy 
• Data Analysis 
• Cell and Gene Therapy 
• Neuroscience 
• Thought Leadership  
• Business Development 

Mr. Lis serves as the President, the Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Managers of Kineticos Ventures and, along with Mr. Maingi, controls the General Partner. In addition to serving on the Investment Committee, Mr. Lis expects to be active in sourcing new investment opportunities and overseeing active portfolio companies for the Fund.

Mr. Lis has over 30 years of experience as a senior executive in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology areas and has an extensive background in drug development, manufacturing, supply chain, quality systems, and commercial operations. Prior to joining Kineticos Ventures, Mr. Lis served as a senior executive at leading pharmaceutical services firms. Mr. Lis also serves as a board member and advisor to a number of start-up biotechnology companies.

Most recently, Mr. Lis was President of Sharp Clinical Services with responsibility for the global drug development business unit of UDG Healthcare plc. Prior to that, Mr. Lis was Vice President and General Manager at Catalent Pharma Solutions, responsible for managing the clinical supply services business with sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. In addition to his operational responsibilities, Mr. Lis has led the diligence, investment, and integration of numerous acquisitions during his career.

Mr. Lis earned a Bachelor of Science in General Science from Villanova University.

Mr. Maingi founded and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Kineticos Ventures and, along with Mr. Lis, controls the General Partner. In addition to serving on the Investment Committee and leading the strategic direction of the General Partner and the Management Company, Mr. Maingi expects to be active in sourcing new investment opportunities and overseeing active portfolio companies for the Fund.

Mr. Maingi is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Kineticos Life Sciences LLC, a Raleigh-based life sciences strategy consulting firm with a dual focus on providing advisory services and capital to emerging life sciences firms, and the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Inceptor Bio, LLC. Mr. Maingi also serves on the Board of Directors of Arranta Bio Holdings, LLC and has served on the Board of Directors of a number of biotechnology companies including Locus Biosciences, Inc. and Gallus Biopharmaceuticals, LLC. Additionally, Mr. Maingi serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In 2018, Mr. Maingi co-founded the InVincible Cancer Research Fund, a non-profit funding breakthrough science. Prior to founding Kineticos Life Sciences LLC, Mr. Maingi was a senior executive at Cardinal Health and Sigma-Aldrich. He started his career as a research and development scientist with Roche Diagnostics.

Mr. Maingi earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master in Business Administration from Golden Gate University.

Abe Maingi is Vice President of Business Operations at Inceptor Bio. Prior to his current role, he spent seven years at Kineticos Life Sciences, an award-winning life sciences advisory firm, serving in roles of increasing responsibility. He is a partner in the Kineticos Disruptor Fund and serves as a board observer for Promaxo, a medical technology company that develops and commercializes customer-centric MRI systems and MRI-based technologies. He serves as Adjunct Faculty at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Abe received his BA in Business Administration from Campbell University.

Dan McCormick brings over 25 years of experience in biopharma, devices, and diagnostics. He has built highly collaborative cross-organizational teams to drive incremental revenues in multiple U.S. and ex-U.S. markets. Dan leverages analytics, efficient channels, and technologies to develop strategic solutions that focus investments for highest impact. His broad perspective is a culmination of experience that spans numerous sales, marketing, and strategy roles.

Mr. McCormick is a Vice President for a leading consulting firm focused on commercialization and market access. He serves as a board member for Promaxo, a medical technology company that develops and commercializes MRI systems. He also serves as an advisory board member for Kickstart Venture Services, a UNC Chapel Hill organization that helps facilitate and accelerate start-up companies spinning out of the University.

Mr. McCormick holds an M.B.A from Campbell University, and a B.S. in business administration from the UNC Chapel Hill. A frequently solicited industry conference speaker, Dan’s topics have included “Creating Sustainable Change,” “Channel Optimization in Pharma,” “Selling Value Through Technology,” and “Strategies for a Customer-Centric Approach to Business Growth.” Accolades include: PHARMAfield UK Magazine’s “Movers & Shakers” and PM360 Magazine’s “2018 Innovators” award.

Mike Nicholson is Chief Scientific Officer at Inceptor Bio. Prior to Inceptor Bio, Dr. Nicholson spent nearly 13 years at Precision BioSciences, where he held several leadership roles, including Executive Director of Scientific Operations, Vice President of R&D, and Senior Vice President of Research. Dr. Nicholson played a key role in developing Precision’s novel gene-editing platform and led research teams focused on allogeneic CAR T therapies and gene-editing-based gene therapies. Dr. Nicholson earned his BS in chemistry from SUNY Brockport, his Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Dave Ousterout, Ph.D., is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer for Locus Biosciences. Dr. Ousterout’s expertise is in protein engineering and early-stage applications of new technologies to treat human diseases. He completed his doctoral studies at Duke University in the lab of Dr. Charles Gersbach, where he developed novel gene-editing approaches for correcting mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dr. Ousterout earned a B.S. in Biological & Environmental Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University.

Dr. Thomas Pitler joined Kineticos in April 2022 as President & Chief Operating Officer for Life Sciences.  Dr. Pitler has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive in biotechnology companies and in consulting roles for biotech and pharmaceutical companies.  He has extensive experience in early drug development, clinical research, business development, due diligence, and company financing. Prior to joining Kineticos, Dr. PItler was an independent biotech consultant, Head of Business Development for VetMed Therapeutics, CEO of Capture Pharmaceuticals, VP of Business Development for Heron Therapeutics, VP of Business Development for Chimerix, Chief Business & Financial Officer of Neurogen Corp, and a faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Pitler earned his Ph.D. at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and his B.A. degree at Wake Forest University.

Dr. Pitler’s Expertise:

• Corporate Strategy
• Research & Clinical Development
• Market Assessment
• Business Development

Dilán Rivera first started working at Kineticos as a business development intern. After a year, he joined as an analyst focused on scientific due diligence, commercial strategy, and primary research. In his role, he supports both the operations side of the company as well as business development and thought leadership activities.

He earned his Master’s in Microbial Biotechnology from NC State University where he worked with several biotech companies in the RTP area on consulting projects. Now he hopes to use the skills he gained in graduate school to help improve patients’ lives by supporting the development of cell and gene therapy businesses.

Dilán’s Expertise:

• Data Analysis
• Primary and secondary research
• Diligence
• Cell & Gene Therapy
• Business Development

Afshin Safavi, Ph.D., is a veteran biochemist who has extensive experience in establishing and leading bioanalytical teams in support of the development of biological products in preclinical and clinical-trial laboratories in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, manufacturing companies and Contract Research Organizations (CROs). Prior to founding BioAgilytix Labs, he was the Director of Ligand Binding and Immunoassay, operating under Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) at AAIPharma.

At Talecris BioTherapeutics, he led the Preclinical and Clinical Assay Development team, building on his experience as a senior scientist at Nobex Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline and IGEN International. He is considered an expert in the area of immunoassay with a wide working knowledge of various platforms. Dr. Safavi gives lectures at local universities, has numerous peer reviewed journal publications, poster and podium presentations at national and internal conferences and a book chapter. He obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA, his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Kentucky Medical School, Department of Biochemistry and completed a two-year postdoctoral assignment at the Emory University, Department of Pathology.

Richard Snyder, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Science and Technology, Pharma Services, and Viral Vector Services at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to his role at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Dr. Synder was Chief Scientific Officer at Brammer Bio, an Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and Director of Biotherapeutic Programs at the University of Florida. Dr. Snyder was a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, received his doctoral degree in Microbiology from The State University of New York at Stony Brook, and obtained his BA in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Mr. Standwill adds more than 20 years of experience in the diagnostic industry to the team.

Mr. Standwill is a Danaher trained, tech savvy senior executive with rapid growth/expansion success including leading startup diagnostic biotechs from zero to profitability and/or successful exits. Experienced in global markets, channels and access levers for geographic expansion and shortened timelines. Many of Bill’s companies have been acquired by companies like Danaher, Qiagen, LabCorp, Astra Zeneca and Novartis, and staying on to assist with integration.  Bill specialty is adding immediate value to large IVD multinationals and small biotech’s commercial strategy, global sales, marketing and BD functions towards commercial milestones and corporate growth.

Mr. Standwill earned his degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and currently sits on the Advisory Board for RIT FRAM Applied Critical Thinking.

Mr. Standwill’s Areas of Expertise:

• Diagnostics, Medical Device, Precision Medicine
• Market Assessments and Strategy
• Demand Generation and Brand Awareness
• Commercial Diagnostic Development

Nigel Walker is the Founder and Life Sciences Investor at the marketing firm “That’s Nice,” a full-service agency providing a breadth of capabilities including research, business strategy, messaging development, and consulting. With 35 years of experience in entrepreneurial business management, sales, and brand marketing, and 25 years in the pharma market, Nigel harnesses the capabilities of That’s Nice to help companies research future trends, communicate their marketing vision, and achieve business growth goals. He earned a BA with honors from London College.

Marc Wolff brings more than 23 years of experience in the life sciences industry in various global general management and finance leadership roles. Prior to joining Calviri, Marc Wolff served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Aldevron, where he played a key role in scaling the company through exponential growth, enabling Aldevron’s clients to access essential GMP materials for their novel applications in gene and cell therapy. During his tenure, employees grew from 150 to 560 in little over two years, and the company built the world’s largest GMP plasmid DNA and GMP mRNA facility. Prior to Aldevron, Mr. Wolff was instrumental in supporting the growth of a clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company and oversaw the successful completion of two private equity backed life science company mergers. Additionally, he spent fifteen years with Cardinal Health and Catalent in global general management and finance executive roles.