Management

Kevin Rakin has been actively involved in the biotechnology industry since 1990. He was previously a founder and President & Chief Executive Officer of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading pharmacogenomics company, until its merger with Clinical Data, Inc. in October, 2005. Kevin serves on the boards of Omrix Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is also an advisor to Canaan Partners and serves on the CEO's Council of Red Abbey Venture Partners. Kevin also serves on the executive committee of Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), Connecticut's Bioscience Cluster, and is a member of the state of Connecticut's Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee. Kevin received a BS in Business and an MS in Finance from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from Columbia University.

Jennifer Barretta has been with Advanced BioHealing since March of 2006, first as a consultant and now as the Director of Human Resources. She was previously the Associate Director, Human Resources of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading pharmacogenomics company, until its merger with Clinical Data, Inc. in October, 2005. Jennifer has gained extensive experience in all aspects of HR after serving for many years in human resource positions in the biotechnology, transportation and entertainment industries. Jennifer received a BS in Business Management from Syracuse University with concentrations in Human Resources and Law & Public Policy.

Therésa K. Dixon has worked in the biotechnology industry since 1995. Prior to joining Advanced BioHealing, Therésa held a Senior Associate position at Covance Health Economics and Outcomes Services (previously Corning Inc.) supporting novel medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biologics placement into the U.S. healthcare payer system and marketplace. Most recently, Therésa was the National Director of Health Economics for Smith & Nephew, a leading developer of advanced medical devices in wound management, endoscopy and orthopedics. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, an M.S. in Health Care Management from Marymount University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Larry Jones has served as Controller since May 2006. Prior to joining the Advanced BioHealing team, Larry was Controller for Smith & Nephew tissue engineering operation. Larry brings 20 years of experience in senior finance management positions in high-tech and biotech manufacturing companies including Kyocera Wireless, ST Microelectronics, and International Rectifier. Larry holds a BS degree in Finance from San Diego State University and an MS in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Lessem holds an M.D. and a Ph.D from the University of Lund in Sweden. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Lessem is board certified in Cardiology in Sweden. After 10 years in Academia in Sweden, he left as an Associate Professor of Cardiology and Geriatrics, and joined Merck as Director of Clinical Cardiovascular Research. He has held several positions within the pharmaceutical industry, of increasing responsibility. In 1995 he joined Takeda America Research and Development Center as Medical Director responsible for the clinical development of Pioglitazone in Diabetes. He also helped build the organization from 3 to around 40. Dr. Lessem joined Orapharma in 1998 as Chief Medical Officer and Exec. V.P, responsible for the clinical development and approval of the lead compound Arrestin. After the acquisition of Orapharma by J&J, Dr. Lessem joined CombinatoRx as Chief Medical Officer and Exec. V.P. and introduced 7 programs into the clinic. In both these positions Dr. Lessem helped in taking these companies public. He retired from CombinatoRx in February of 2008 and joined ABH in November of 2008. Dr. Lessem has published close to 200 papers.

Keith O'Briant was named Vice President of Sales in October 2006 and brings over 17 years of healthcare sales experience to his new position. Prior to joining Advanced BioHealing, Keith held a variety of sales-related leadership roles with Pfizer, Inc. Most recently Keith served as a Regional Sales Director leading a group of 10 district managers and more than 100 sales representatives. Keith is a natural leader with a proven record of sales success and is known throughout the industry for his ability to develop exceptional sales organizations and generate momentum for new product launches. Keith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Louisiana State University.

Shawn Schaffer has served as Executive Director of Quality and Regulatory since June 2006. Shawn has served in various quality management roles in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries for over 10 years, seven of which have been in biotechnology. Prior to joining ABH, Shawn held positions at the Environmental Sterilization Laboratory at the University of Minnesota, 3M Health Care, Alliance Pharmaceutical, B.Braun Medical, Smith & Nephew Wound Management and Genentech. Shawn earned a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota, where he specialized in the microbiology and sterilization of foods, drugs and medical devices. Shawn is a registered Specialist Microbiologist in Consumer and Industrial Microbiology through the National Registry of Microbiologists of the American Society for Microbiology, and a registered ISO 13485 Lead Auditor.

Kathy McGee has served as Executive Director of Operations at Advanced Biohealing since 2006. Kathy has been involved in the biotechnology industry, with a strong focus on tissue engineered medical devices, since 1992. She began her career at Advanced Tissue Sciences, and held positions in Manufacturing and Quality Control in the diagnostic test kits business. In 1995 she transitioned to the therapeutic Manufacturing area of the business, where she ultimately held the position as Director of Manufacturing. In 2002, Kathy joined Smith and Nephew Wound Management LLC as Director of Manufacturing Operations, where she remained until 2006. Kathy holds a B.Sc. and Higher Diploma in Education from University College, Galway (Ireland) and an MA in Management from Webster University.

Dean Tozer has served as Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Development for Advanced BioHealing (ABH) since March 2006. In this role he oversees marketing, pricing & reimbursement strategies, government affairs as well as merger & acquisition activities for ABH. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Tozer was a consultant to the biopharmaceutical industry assisting start-up organizations in developing commercial strategies for both pharmaceutical products and biomedical devices. Preceding his consulting career, he spent 13 years in the global pharmaceutical industry, primarily with G.D. Searle (a division of Monsanto) where he had a wide variety of roles in Global Marketing, Sales, Business Redesign, and Accounting & Finance. One of the highlights of his career was being a commercial team lead for the highly successful global launch of Searle's blockbuster drug Celebrex. His last position with Searle was as Director of Marketing for Searle Japan, based in Tokyo. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Canada.

Dr. Vovis has served as Corporate Vice President since January 2008. Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager since June 2006. In December 2005, he became a consultant to the Company. From April 1999 through October 2005, Dr. Vovis was affiliated with Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmacogenomics company, most recently as Executive Vice President. As a member of its executive management team, he helped guide Genaissance through its key development stages to achieve a leadership position in pharmacogenomics. Previously, Dr. Vovis was affiliated with Genome Therapeutics Corporation, most recently as Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs. He has more than 28 years of experience in the genomics industry, including the marketing, structuring and managing of collaborative research alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as managing the manufacturing of prourokinase from a human transformed cell line under Good Manufacturing Conditions for use as a thrombolytic agent in clinical trails. Previous to his business career, Dr. Vovis was affiliated with Rockefeller University in New York City. He graduated magna cum laude from Knox College with a BA in chemistry and College Honors in biology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a PhD in biology from Case Western Reserve University.