GALLANT PET - Key Persons
Aaron Hirschhorn (In Loving Memory 1978-2021), founder of DogVacay, created Gallant after experiencing the power of regenerative medicine for himself. Traditional surgeries and injections proved unsuccessful, so Aaron underwent a single stem cell treatment to heal a debilitating back injury. The results were life-changing in more ways than one.
April brings over 15 years of experience in accounting and financial management in animal health and life sciences. She has focused on start-up and early phase companies to implement accounting systems, procedures and internal controls as well as create consistent and accurate financial reports. She manages and analyzes cash flow and the budgeting process, and also handles Human Resources compliance. Prior to Gallant, she served as Accounting Controller for VetStem Biopharma where she managed full cycle accounting and has consulted for several animal health start-ups to establish internal controls and procedures, restructure accounting teams, and converting to GAAP financials. April earned her undergraduate degree in Equine Science from[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Founding Team Member of Gallant Therapeutics
- General Manager of Stem Cell Banking
As a founding team member of Gallant Therapeutics, Beau brings over 10 years of operational experience in the pet space and has been a part of teams from seed rounds to public. Prior to the founding of Gallant, Beau lead consumer operations for Pod Trackers, a GPS tracker for dogs and cats with customers in more than 150 countries. While at Pod, Beau ran international logistics and specialized in optimizing the customer experience while working cross-functionally with the engineering team to develop a top trier tracking device. Before that, Beau was Sr. Customer Service Manager at DogVacay, a consumer marketplace app for dog sitting and dog walking where he managed a team of 30 customer service and ops representatives that helped set the st[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Chief Technical Officer
- Member of the Gallant Team
Dr. Wrightson is a proven Chief Operating/Technical Officer with over 25 years' successful leadership experience in scientific and technical operations, and research and development in the regenerative medicine, protein expression and genomic diagnostics industries for both human and veterinary markets. Excellent track record in partnering with top management and driving strategic value creation. Known for streamlining operations through reengineering and building highly skilled and motivated teams to deliver strong business results. Responsible for meeting growth requirements as well as assisting with strategic, regulatory, clinical, and scientific functions. Well versed in agency interactions from writing product characterization, manufac[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Darryl Rawlings has established himself as a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs. As founder and chief executive officer of Trupanion and founder and member of NAPHIA, Rawlings is setting high standards for a growing industry, expanding public awareness of medical insurance for cats and dogs, and expanding the market across North America. His passion for pet health runs deep. When he was 14, his family dog needed surgery that could have lengthened her life for another 12 years. The cost was beyond his parents' means and they left the veterinary hospital without her. He vowed that someday pets would have even better medical insurance than people do. And Trupanion has fulfilled that promise with medical insurance for cats and dogs t[...]Show more
David Haworth is former President of PetSmart Charities in the US and Canada. An independent non-profit, strategic grant-making organization, PetSmart Charities seeks to end pet homelessness by supporting partner organizations and programs that help find loving homes for all pets and celebrates the bond between people and animals. Dr. Haworth was formerly President & CEO at Morris Animal Foundation, Director of Global Alliances within the Business Development group at Pfizer Animal Health (now Zoetis, Inc.), and before that a Director in Pfizer Animal Health's Research & Development division. Prior to joining Pfizer Animal Health, he was an associate veterinarian at a small animal and emergency clinic in Washington State. Dr. Haworth recei[...]Show more
Dr. Borjesson has been Washington State University dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine since July 2020 after more than a decade at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she established herself as a respected pioneer and leader in the field of veterinary medicine. She served in various leadership roles at UC-Davis, including as chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology; director of the Clinical Regenerative Medicine Laboratory; and inaugural director of the Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cure. She specialized in adult-derived stem cell research and spent her last 12 years at UC-Davis examining how stem cells alter the immune system. A board-certified veterinary clinical[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Professor of Dentistry and Oral Surgery at the Department of Surgical
Dr. Boaz Arzi is a Professor of Dentistry and Oral surgery at the department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Arzi completed the residency-training program in dentistry and oral surgery at the School of Veterinary Medicine and two years fellowship in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis. He is a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC) and the European Veterinary Dental College(EVDC). Dr. Arzi is also a Founding Fellow of the AVDC in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Arzi's clinical and research focus is on oral maxillofacial disorders and regenerative solutions in dogs and cats. His lab also investigates TMJ disorders and treatments across species. Dr. Ar[...]Show more
Jim has spent his entire career working with entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, though he has had primary focus in life science and factory automation. He is currently the managing member of Hill Creek Partners, LLC, a family office that invests in entrepreneurial companies. Jim began his career with a major public accounting firm, where he managed a segment of the firms entrepreneurial practice group. He then became a partner in a large venture capital firm. Since then he has served as the CFO and COO of two early-stage companies that went public and were ultimately sold to industry leaders. He then became the CEO of an early-stage oncology drug development company that was acquired by a major pharmaceutical company. Jim has served[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Gallant Team
- Founding Team Member
Dr. Black is a founding team member starting with Gallant in 2019 and served as President and Chief Scientific Officer before moving to Chief Executive Officer in April 2021. She brings over 17 years of cross-functional experience leading strategic and operational initiatives in the biotechnology industry. She has led corporate development, finance, operations, and R&D along with a track record in regenerative medicine - with extensive experience in the development and commercialization of stem cell therapies for pets. From 2016 to 2019, she served as President and Chief Scientific Officer at Medicus Biosciences, a preclinical biotech firm focused on using polymer technologies for localized drug and stem cell delivery. Prior to Medicus, sh[...]Show more
Michael D. Lairmore, DVM, PhD is immediate past dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). At UC Davis, he oversaw all the school's teaching, research and service activities, personnel, facilities and funding resources. He presided over six academic departments, the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, Veterinary Medicine Extension, and numerous centers of excellence. As dean, he helped create new programs to expand clinical trials, global programs, and entrepreneurship. Upon his arrival at UCD in 2011, Dean Lairmore led the School on a strateg[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Richard Jennings is the former CEO of California Cryobank Life Sciences and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the biomedical and healthcare fields. He joined the company in 2008 and served as the President of the Stem Cell division before being named as CEO. Prior to joining California Cryobank, Richard served as CEO of Mediscan, Administrator of CFHS Holdings (Hospitals), and held leadership positions in R&D and Marketing at Kimberly Clark Corporation. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Richard is additionally a Board Member of Palisades Country Estates and Village School. He supports various fund raising efforts including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Principal of Advanced Cell
Scott R. Burger, MD, is the Principal of Advanced Cell and Gene Therapy, a consulting firm specializing in cell and gene therapy product development, manufacturing, and regulatory affairs. Dr. Burger has over 25 years of experience developing cell and gene therapy products and has consulted for over 100 industry and academic clients in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He has directed or consulted on process development, manufacturing, and regulatory aspects of a wide range of cell therapy and gene therapy products, including CAR T-cells, gene-edited cells, dendritic cell vaccines, natural killer (NK) cells, and other immunotherapies, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from bone marrow, blood, umbilical cord blood, and regenerative m[...]Show more
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Chairman of the Board
Mr. Boutros-Ghali has over the years established a successful track record as an investor and entrepreneur focused on the commercialization of disruptive technologies. His interests have ranged from the reshaping of the media landscape through technological innovation, to, currently, the convergence of the physical, digital, virtual, and biological world as it redefines healthcare and biotechnology. He is co-founder and Managing Partner of Bold Capital Partners a family of early-stage venture funds. Prior to BOLD he was co-founder of Monitor Ventures an investment advisory partnership. He has also been a founder/executive of several successful technology start-ups including All Business, a B2B web site targeted to small businesses (sold to[...]Show more
Dr. Williams is a highly experienced multidisciplinary veterinarian joining Gallant in 2023 as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory. She offers extensive knowledge in pharmaceutical and stem cell therapeutics with over 20 years of talent and leadership in animal health. She has served several large well-established animal health biopharmaceutical companies such as Fort Dodge Animal Health and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health as well as smaller privately held or venture-capital held companies that reached Top Five status or were successfully acquired by a Top Five company such as Ceva Animal Health and Kindred Biosciences, Inc. She brings diverse business experience to Gallant to help drive growth and value for both[...]Show more