ALAMEDA CAPITAL - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Managing Director

Job Titles:

• President of the Foresight Institute
• President, Foresight Institute / Director, Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology

Christine Peterson is President of the Foresight Institute and is a noted consultant in the area of nanotechnology. She was the founding organizer of the Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology series, the oldest and largest meeting on this topic. She directs the annual Foresight Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, given to the researchers whose work (experimental and theoretical) has most advanced the field of nanotechnology. Her lectures and media briefings are designed to introduce the fundamentals of nanotechnology to those who are new to the field. Her work at Foresight has built wide networks of nanotechnologists and potential investors in the field. Christine obtained a B.S. in chemistry from MIT.

Job Titles:

• Senior Scientist, Genomic Health

Michael C. Kiefer, Ph.D., is currently a senior scientist at Genomic Health Inc., a genomics company based in Redwood City, California, where he is developing gene expression-based tests that will help determine the molecular profile of an individual's disease condition and enable physicians to use targeted therapy. Dr. Kiefer, with 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry, has specialized in molecular biology, immunology, virology, oncology, apoptosis, pathogenesis, bone growth and cloning. He has been described by his peers as "one of the three best geneticists in the world". His expertise in molecular biology has led to the discovery of various novel, therapeutically-relevant gene products. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and is a named inventor on 13 issued U.S. patents (with nine more pending). He was a former senior scientist at Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, California and director of molecular biology at LXR Biotechnology, Richmond, California and has been a consultant for several San Francisco Bay Area-based biotechnology companies. He has been a scientist at Dupont (gene research in immunology) and Basel Institute for Immunology (leading work on T cell lymphocytes). Dr .Kiefer earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of California at Davis and did post-graduate work at the University of Friburg's Institut fur Biology.

Job Titles:

• President & COO, Arriva Pharma

Philip J. Barr, Ph.D., is currently the President and Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an Alameda, California-based biotechnology company. Dr. Barr has also been an Adjunct Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco since 1985. Arriva focuses on biopharmaceuticals via pulmonary administration for the treatment of emphysema, asthma and cystic fibrosis. Other current scientific and commercial interests of Dr. Barr include: production and manufacture of recombinant proteins in yeast; the treatment of respiratory diseases using protease inhibitors; and recombinant proteins for oncology applications. From his experience and involvement in commercial biotechnology since the early 1980s, Dr. Barr has a unique and valuable perspective on current platform technologies within the biotechnology field, and is highly proficient in evaluating emerging technologies in the biomedical area. Having been the former Director of Molecular Biology of Chiron Corporation, he has particular expertise in the production of biopharmaceutical products for the treatment and diagnosis of human disease. Dr. Barr is a citizen of the U.K., and has permanent residence status in the US. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) and Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Birmingham, U.K. (1975, 1978), and won a Post-Doctoral Scholarship in Chemistry, University of Alberta, Canada, a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles in the scientific literature, and is named as an inventor on 27 issued U.S. patents.

Job Titles:

• Scientist

Job Titles:

• Managing Director

Before co-founding Alameda Capital, Norm was a founding Director of LambdaFlex, a next generation optical modules company that was acquired in November 2001. Prior to LambdaFlex, Norm was Chief Strategy Officer, as well as Senior Vice President and General Manager of two of the three divisions of ZiLOG, a semiconductor turnaround and LBO. He also established and led an in-house incubator at ZiLOG where he started three new semiconductor businesses. Prior to ZiLOG, Norm was Founder, President and CEO of Avantos Performance Systems, a venture-backed pioneer in management software (now part of Performance Solutions Technology LLC, an integrated software and management consulting firm). Norm also spent ten years with Bain & Company. As a Vice President of Bain, he had responsibility for approximately half of the high technology management consulting practice, where he helped leading semiconductor, materials, systems and software companies develop and implement growth strategies. He also worked as a project engineer and program manager for a leading defense electronics company. He has been an active corporate and angel investor. Norm holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an M.S. and B.S. in EE from Stanford University. "We had a great technology and vision but very little business experience. Norm recognized our potential and became an early, active investor. Drawing upon his extensive strategy and personal entrepreneurial experience, he helped us develop a winning business plan and coached us on all aspects of starting and growing our company. His network of top VC's, entrepreneurs and lawyers greatly assisted in our fundraising efforts and ultimately the very successful sale of our company to Avanex."

Job Titles:

• Assoc. Vice Chancellor Research

Prof. Chih-Ming Ho, Ph.D., currently serves as UCLA Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and holds the Ben Rich-Lockheed Martin Chair as Professor in School of Engineering (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering). He joined UCLA in 1991 to lead the research in micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) and served as the founding Director of the Center for Micro Systems. MEMS research at UCLA today is acknowledged among the best in the world. Prof. Ho is recognized as an internationally renowned scientist in fluidics, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the California NanoSystem Institute (CNSI). Dr. Ho's research has had seminal impact in micro/nano fluidics, bio-technology and turbulence. He has published 190 papers and holds seven patents, and has presented over 60 keynote talks in international conferences. In 1997, Dr. Ho was elected to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. In the next year, he was elected as an Academician of Academia Sinica, which honors scholars of Chinese origin with exceptional achievements in liberal arts and the sciences. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his contributions in a wide spectrum of technical areas. He graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the National Taiwan University. After receiving his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Ho started his academic career at the University of Southern California, where he rose to the rank of Professor.

Job Titles:

• Co - Dir., Calif. Nanosystems Institute / Dir., NSF QUEST

Job Titles:

• Professor of Chemistry at the University of California - Berkeley

Prof. Jean M. J. Fréchet, Ph.D., is Professor of Chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley. Prof. Fréchet has over 400 publications and 60 patents issued, of which several are being exploited industrially. A number of patent applications are currently pending. His research interests focus on the design, synthesis, and applications of functional polymers and engineered organic macromolecules. His research covers a broad spectrum of organic, polymer, and materials chemistry, from fundamental and mechanistic concepts to very practical applications. Major themes include: the control of molecular architecture at the nanometer scale, dendrimers, hyperbranched and other dendritic materials; polymer photochemistry and microlithography; engineered polymers in molecular devices and molecular machines, polymers in energy harvesting and artificial photosynthesis, self-assembly and supramolecular chemistry; dendrimers and "engineered" macromolecules in targeted drug and gene delivery; novel approaches to separations systems, the design and use of polymers in separation, molecular recognition, catalysis and targeted drug delivery; new approaches to solid-phase chemistry and combinatorial synthesis systems; and development of fast assay techniques for the combinatorial development of engineered or "smart" materials.

Job Titles:

• Dean College of Science & Math
• Dean of the College

Prof. Kin-Ping Wong, Ph.D, is the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at California State University, Fresno. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Wong is also currently the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Angiogen, Inc., based in San Diego, California. His current research focuses on the discovery and development of novel anti-angiogenic therapeutics targeting the vascular network for the treatment of neovascular-based diseases such as cancer and arthritis. In addition to having been the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of RiboGene Inc., in Dublin, California, Dr. Wong has held positions as Program Director in Biophysics at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., as well as Managing Director and CEO of the Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology in Hong Kong. Dr. Wong has served on a number of boards for research institutes and has consulted for a number of biotechnology companies and venture capital firms. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in the scientific literature, and is a named inventor on a number of pending U.S. patents.

Job Titles:

• Dir. Center for Analytical Biotech Prof. Chemistry, UC Berkeley / Chemistry
• Professor of Chemistry at the University of California - Berkeley

Prof. Richard Mathies, Ph.D., is Professor of Chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley. In collaboration with Prof. Evan Williams, he co-founded the Center for Analytical Biotechnology. Prof. Mathies' recent work in the area of biotechnology and the Human Genome Project has led to the development of new high-speed, high-throughput DNA analysis technologies such as capillary array electrophoresis and energy transfer fluorescent dye labels for DNA sequencing and analysis. He also pioneered the development of microfabricated capillary electrophoresis devices, capillary array electrophoresis microplates, and microfabricated integrated sample preparation and detection methods. His early work at Berkeley focused on the use of resonance Raman and time resolved optical spectroscopy to elucidate the structure and reaction dynamics of energy and information transducing photoactive proteins. Professor Mathies received his B. S. Degree in Chemistry in 1968 at the University of Washington, an M. S. Degree in 1970 and a Ph. D. in 1973 in Physical Chemistry at Cornell University. After two years at Yale (1974-76) as a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow, he joined the Chemistry Department at the University of California at Berkeley in 1976, where he was an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1979-81). He is a Member of the Biophysical Society, American Optical Society, American Society for Photobiology, and AAAS. He has received the Harold Lamport Award from the New York Academy of Sciences (1983); American Society for Photobiology Research Award (1989); Frederick Conference on Capillary Electrophoresis Award (1998); A.D. Little Lecturer, M.I.T. (1998); and Association for Laboratory Automation 2001 Research Award. He is author of over 250 publications and 20 patents on photochemistry, photobiology, bioanalytical chemistry and genome analysis technology.

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor
• Chairman Nanotechnology Centre, Assoc. Prof. Chemical & Materials Engineering, Univ. of Auckland / Materials and Chemical

Prof. Wei Gao, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering the University of Auckland, New Zealand and Chairman of the University's Nanotechnology Centre. He is also Coordinator of the Materials Research Cluster. In addition to teaching, he conducts research in the areas of nano-materials and nano-technology, advanced coating and surface technologies, high temperature corrosion and oxidation, superconductors, electronic ceramics, photo-luminescence materials, intermetallics, rapid solidification, amorphous alloys, electron microscopy and microanalysis, computer modeling and applications in materials processing and performance. Dr. Gao received his B.E. and M.E. in Metallic Materials from Northeastern University and Beijing Central Research Institute China, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Oxford University, UK. He spent five years as a Researcher, Principal Investigator and Technical Director of the Rapid Solidification Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently on the editorial board of a number of journals, is often invited to give keynote and invited lectures, and is a member of many professional associations including IPENZ, ACA, MRS, AMS, TMS. He is an Honorary Professor of several overseas universities. He has published more than 250 research papers, a textbook, several chapters in books and an encyclopaedia. He holds 5 US/international patents and 3 MIT Disclosures.

Job Titles:

• Managing Director

Rich was a founder of three semiconductor companies including Vitesse. He has held senior sales, marketing and strategy positions at AMD, California Micro Devices, Northrop and Hughes. Consulting clients have included Sun Microsystems, Corning and Philips Semiconductors. Prior to co-founding Alameda Capital, Rich spent three years with First Global Venture Capital AG of Germany, conducting due diligence and managing investments in the SF Bay Area. Rich has taught business and marketing classes at the University of California extension. Rich holds an M.S.E.E. from CSULA and an A.B. in Physics from Occidental College, California. He also has a full pre-medical education in biology and biochemistry from CSULA. "Rich provided expert guidance, connections and boundless energy both as active investor and board member. Rich's background has been a particular asset since he can articulate complex technical issues to other investors and provide instant feedback on high-level schedules, manufacturing contracts and project management. He provided direction in targeting customers, setting patent strategy and interfacing with other investors, customers and law firms. Rich was able to quickly bring outside resources connecting our startup with potential investors, management, and suppliers."

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Founding Associate

Star is a founding Associate of Alameda Capital. She has extensive experience working with angel investor groups as a senior research associate and as a business development associate. Her work with high technology start-up and early stage companies has included due diligence of business and marketing plans, coaching executive teams for presentations to funding sources and managing deal flow and strategic relationships. Star's particular focus is on biotechnology and nanotechnology start-up and early stage ventures. She is a founder of the nanoSIG, an industry association dedicated to commercializing nanotechnology. She was an Investment Analyst with Angel Capital Network, an early stage focused investment bank, a business development associate for the Keiretsu Forum, a 125 member angel investor group, and a business development and senior research associate for the Strategic Synergy Group, a consulting group focused on the nanotechnology domain. Star holds a BS in Integrative Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.