BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Marty Calihan
Mr. Marty Calihan is a Partner of Bradford Capital Partners and the President and CEO of Bradford Schools, Inc. Prior to joining Bradford in 1999, Marty spent over a decade as an investment portfolio manager and analyst with Investment Advisers, Inc., Morgan Stanley, State Street Research & Management, and Aetna Life & Casualty. He received an MBA from Dartmouth College and a BA from Amherst College. He also is a member of the Young President’s Organization.
Patrick Daly (President and CEO)
Patrick Daly has over 20 years of experience in medical device sales, marketing, international marketing and leadership positions throughout the Johnson & Johnson organization including Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Ethicon Products, J&J Medical Australia/New Zealand, J&J Medical Asia Pacific and Cohera Medical, Inc.® Within Johnson & Johnson, he held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing, international marketing and sales. Upon discovering the opportunity in a non-J&J company, he spearheaded the Ethicon Endo-Surgery acquisition and worldwide development of the hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) business that developed into a $48M per year franchise with over $100M in sales over three years. He successfully launched a surgical technology business in Australia and created and implemented the first-ever regulatory review of safety and efficacy of that new technology by the Australian Government. He continued his Johnson & Johnson entrepreneurial-like career track as a marketing leader in J&J Medical Asia Pacific by creating and implementing training and development programs in China, India, Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines. Mr. Daly started Cohera Medical, Inc.® in January 2006 and lead two successful funding rounds of over $23.5M in capital from private investors to facilitate Cohera’s lead product TissuGlu® through the FDA approval process for medical devices. Prior to joining the Cohera Medical, Inc.® and Johnson and Johnson, Mr. Daly spent over four years on active duty in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer serving around the world. A native of New York, he is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he received a B.S. in Engineering with a concentration in Latin American Studies. He played varsity lacrosse during his four years at West Point and was an All-American.
Al Dombrowski
Mr. Al Dombrowski completed a successful 34-year career with Sears in 1994, serving in a variety of executive positions including National Business Manager for the Chicago Headquarters, Vice President for the U.S. Merchandise Group and Northeast U.S. Operations Manager. He has also been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures including Dawar, where he has been a board member since 1998 and Chairman since 2002. Mr. Dombrowski was Chief Operating Officer at Winner Steel Inc., as well as a board member at Pyramid Composites Inc., Vice Chairman at Guardian Personal Security Products and a Vice Chairman at Western Auto. He holds a B.S. in economics from Villanova University.
Jay Kern, JD, MBA
Mr. Jay Kern is a founder and General Partner of Kern Whelan Capital. Prior to founding Kern Whelan, Jay spent over a decade building a successful track record in private equity investing as Managing Director of Reynolds, DeWitt & Co. in Cincinnati, where from 2001 he led all acquisitions and venture financings. Prior to joining Reynolds, DeWitt in 1997, he was with McKinsey & Company as a management consultant to manufacturing and financial services firms. Mr. Kern is on the board of directors of many companies, including Pallet Logistics of America, Dixon Midland Co., and ProService Hawaii, and serves as a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Finance Industries, which is administered jointly by the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative. He received a JD and MBA from the University of Chicago and his BA from Princeton University. Among other charitable involvements, Mr. Kern is a Trustee of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center and the Cincinnati Symphony and is a former Trustee of The Taft Museum. He is also a member of the Young President’s Organization.
Jim Liken
Mr. Jim Liken was president and chief executive officer of Respironics, Inc. from August 1999 through December of 2003, at which time he became Vice Chairman of the Company. From 1971 to 1989, he served as president, Health Services Group of Liken Services, Inc. He led the founding of two divisions, Nursing Services in 1974 and Home Medical in 1977, and was responsible for complete management of the two entities. Mr. Liken spun off Liken Home Medical, forming his own corporation on January 1, 1990. Under his leadership, Liken Home Medical grew to eight locations and became the leading provider of home oxygen, respiratory and medical equipment, and respiratory medications in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia. He subsequently sold the company to Lincare Inc., in July of 1998. Mr. Liken has been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Medical Equipment Services (NAMES) since 1984, serving as chairman of the association from 1987-1989 and again from 1997-1998. He also currently serves on the boards of The Boy Scouts of America, Pittsburgh Council and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He was also recently appointed Chairman of the Board of DynaVox Systems, LLC.
Doros Platika, MD (Chairman)
Dr. Doros Platika is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Super-centenarian Research Foundation, and Former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. He joined the PLSG from Boston-based MPM Capital, a leading national venture capital firm focused on the life sciences. Before that, he was Chairman, President and CEO of Cambridge-based Centagenetix, Inc., which was acquired by Elixir Pharmaceuticals in February 2003. Other experience includes service as: Chairman, President, CEO and founder of Cambridge-based Curis, Inc.; President and CEO of Cambridge-based Ontogeny, Inc.; and Executive Vice President of research and development with Columbus, Ohio-based Progenitor Inc. Dr. Platika earned his B.A. at Reed College, majoring in Biology and Psychology. He received his M.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, School of Medicine. Dr. Platika completed residencies in both medicine and neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he served as a chief resident. He completed his post-doctoral study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Whitehead Institute in gene therapy, and at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in developmental biology. He has also served on the faculty of both Harvard Medical School and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.