Leadership Team

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Brent Furse

CEO and President

Brent Furse has served as a Director and our Chief Executive Officer and President since June 2016. Prior to coming to VERO Biotech, Mr. Furse was a key member of The Medicines Company leadership team where he joined in 2000 pre-IPO and served as a section 16 Officer.

Brent has held various leadership positions including Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, Vice President and General Manager Interventional Medicine, Vice President Surgery and Perioperative Care, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He was responsible for the launch and success of their flagship product Angiomax, as well as countless successful partnerships and operational excellence. In addition to his success at The Medicines Company, Brent has held leadership positions with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Schering Plough Corporation, and serves on the board of Anthera Pharmaceuticals, The Special Olympics and Salus Tele-health.

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NATE PINKARD

Director of Human Strategies

Nate Pinkard has been a Human Resources leader for 23 years with Fortune 50, Middle Market and Small Business operations. His focus is on driving employee relations, performance management, training & development and risk mitigation.

Prior to coming to VERO Biotech, Nate has held positions as Director of Human Resources, Assurance America; EEO Compliance & HR Service Operations Manager, Insperity and Senior Manager, HR, The Home Depot Corporation. He holds Business degrees in Human Resources and Business Management from The University of TN and is a Military Veteran.

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JUDSON BOOTHE

Chief Operating Officer

Judson Boothe (BSME, MBA) is a proven change agent and senior executive currently serving as Chief Operating Officer of VERO Biotech. He recently joined VERO from President of the Health division of Strax and CEO of Sanatio BioScience. He also served as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and VP of Business Transformation for Avanos Medical.

Judsons career has spanned multiple roles including global supply chain, manufacturing/engineering, venture board seats, P&L management, marketing, field sales leadership, and most recently large scale business transformation. Judson has led large global teams of 8,000+ employees, P&L/COGS responsibility of $1.0 billion, and managed teams in US, Mexico, Asia, and Europe. Judson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama and an MBA from Columbus State University.

Eric S. Finkelman

Chief Technical Officer

Mr. Finkelman has been an Operational and Product Development leader for over 25 years. He has led global teams in Operations, R&D and Customer Service. He combines a Growth-Oriented mindset with lean leadership methodologies to build systems and cultures that enable the development of people, products and processes.

Prior to joining VERO, Mr. Finkelman served as the V.P. of Global Operations and R&D at EndoChoice (Acquired by Boston Scientific). During his tenure, Mr. Finkelman oversaw all activities related to the Endoscopic Imaging platform, including direct oversight of the facilities in Germany and Israel. Mr. Finkelman served as the Vice President of Operations and R&D at Sierra Scientific Instruments, an NIH funded startup that became the global GI diagnostic industry leader in high-resolution manometry and reflux monitoring. During Mr. Finkelman’s tenure, the organization commercialized their flagship ManoScan and DigiTrapper platforms. This business was acquired by Given Imaging before subsequently becoming part of Medtronic. In prior positions, Mr. Finkelman held both product development and operational leadership roles for both early stage private organizations and larger public companies. Mr. Finkelman holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Michelle Nickoli

Vice President of Customer Engagement

Michelle joined VERO Biotech sales team for the launch of the GENOSYL Delivery System. She is a healthcare and patient-centric business professional with over twenty-two years experience in building positions driven by quality and results.

Ms. Nickoli brings a track record of demonstrated consistent achievement of organizational goals, strong sales, performance, and quality objectives. Michelle is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and holds a Bachelors Degree in Sales and Marketing. She started her career as an RRT at Bellin Hospital and Aurora HealthCare before moving into the medical device industry at Possis Medical and pharmaceutical industry with The Medicines Company and Melinta Therapeutics. Michelle has built and lead several successful customer facing teams for 10 acute care product launches in various therapeutic areas such as infectious disease, surgical, emergency medicine, and cardiovascular. Her passion for presenting patient focused messages is invaluable, as well as in leading and bringing teams to action that result in completion of common goals.

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Namita Khanna

Vice President Strategic Development

Namita is a successful senior-level business leader driving more than two decades of exceptional results focused on sales, business development, and account management across diverse markets including healthcare, finance, and hospitality. She is strategic and multidisciplinary with an eye for innovation, positioning, and relevance. She has worked for a wide array of Fortune 500 firms such as American Express, Marriott International, and Eli Lilly and Company.

Namita began her career in the Northeast. She attended Widener University in Philadelphia obtaining an undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management. Following an international feasibility project in Asia, she was chosen for the Marriott Executive Sales Training Program working in New York and the Washington DC area. After moving to Northern Virginia, Namita then returned to school to continue her education in Finance and Investments receiving her Series 6,7, 63, 65, and all relevant financial licenses to begin working as a Financial Investment Advisor with American Express in DC and then Atlanta. In 1997, after working in a successful group practice in Atlanta, she transitioned to the Pharmaceutical Industry and worked in hospitals and institutions for 17 years from New Jersey, to Atlanta, to Orlando for Eli Lilly and Company. After a short three-year period with an acute care hospital-based company named The Medicines Company, Namita created her own consulting firm and continued working in Orlando, Florida. She is currently working with her third start up company, and is Vice President of Strategic Development for Vero Biotech, an early-stage biotech company located in Atlanta, Georgia. She was intimately involved in the first commercial launch for the company and specializes in Communications and Marketing at Vero. She is currently focused on the development of the company and its ground-breaking innovations. Namita has a special interest in how successful people and companies communicate, and is focusing on strategies involving how to bring innovation to medicine.

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Roberto Cohen

Chief Financial Officer

Roberto Cohen joined VERO Biotech in May of 2021. Roberto previously served as Head of M&A for a healthcare portfolio company of Patria Investments, Blackstone’s Private Equity arm in Latin America. During the 3-year project, he was based in Brazil to execute the company’s inorganic growth strategy, leading to the creation of one of the largest hospital distributors in the region.

Prior to relocating to Brazil, Roberto was Director of M&A at NY-based healthcare distributor Henry Schein. During his twelve years there, he contributed to dozens of international deals, primarily in Europe and Latin America. His involvement expanded beyond the transactional process and included active involvement in integrating the acquired entities.

Roberto holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton Business School and a Bachelor degree in Economics from PUC-Rio de Janeiro.

Shasha Zou

General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Shasha Zou joined VERO Biotech as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in November 2020 and oversees VERO’s legal activities and policies. Shasha has extensive experience handling complex disputes and counseling on risk on behalf of pharmaceutical and healthcare companies all across the nation.

Prior to joining VERO, Shasha was an attorney in private practice at King & Spalding and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law.