Board of Directors
Decisions regarding strategic deployment of Opexa Therapeutics' assets are made by our Board of Directors, and are based upon information and advice presented by Management, and key consultants and advisors to the Board.
David E. Jorden has served as a Director since August 2008. Mr. Jorden has served as executive board member for Cytomedix, Inc. since October 2008. Mr. Jorden previously served as vice president with Morgan Stanley in its Wealth Management group where he was responsible for equity portfolio management for high net worth individuals since 2003. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Mr. Jorden served as vice president and chief financial officer of Genometrix, Inc., a private genomics/life sciences company focused on high-throughput microarray applications from March 2000 to September 2002. Mr. Jorden was a principal with Fayez Sarofim & Co. prior to joining Genometrix. Mr. Jorden earned a MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1989 and a BBA from the University of Texas/Austin in 1984. He currently serves as a director of Cytomedix, Inc. and PLx Pharma, Inc. Mr. Jorden is a Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Public Accountant. He has extensive experience in various aspects of corporate finance and accounting for public companies including capital formation and deployment.
Michael S. Richman has served as a Director since June 2006. Mr. Richman has served as president and chief executive officer of Amplimmune, Inc. since July 2008. Mr. Richman served as president and chief operating officer of Amplimmune, Inc. from May 2007 to July 2008. From April 2002 to May 2007, Mr. Richman served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of MacroGenics, Inc. Mr. Richman joined MacroGenics, Inc in 2002 with approximately 20 years experience in corporate business development within the biotechnology industry. Mr. Richman served as a director of Cougar Biotechnology from June 2006 to July 2009. Mr. Richman obtained his B.S. in Genetics/Molecular Biology at the University of California at Davis and his MSBA in International Business at San Francisco State University. He has extensive experience in business development and strategic planning for life science companies, as well as his executive leadership and management experience.
Scott B. Seaman has served as a Director of since April 2006. Mr. Seaman has served for over five years as the executive director and treasurer of the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation of Houston, Texas, a private foundation primarily supporting institutions in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Since January 1996 to present, Mr. Seaman has served as the chief financial officer of Chaswil Ltd., an investment management company. Since September 1986, Mr. Seaman has served as secretary and treasurer of M & A Properties Inc., a ranching and real estate concern. In April 2009, Mr. Seaman became the Managing Member of ICT Development LLC which is the Managing Member of ICT Holdings LLC, an energy services supplier. From January 2003 to April 2009, Mr. Seaman served as chairman and from July 2004 to April 2009, as president of ICT Management Inc., the general partner of Impact Composite Technology Ltd., a composite industry supplier. Since October 2007, Mr. Seaman has served on the board of GeneExcel, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company. Since May 2004, Mr. Seaman has served as a Member of the Investment Committee of Global Hedged Equity Fund LP, a hedge fund. Mr. Seaman received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University and is a certified public accountant. Mr. Seaman has extensive experience in overall financial management and corporate development combined with operational and corporate governance experience.
Neil K. Warma was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. in June 2008. He has more than 18 years of executive level experience in the life sciences industry in the U.S., Europe and Canada. Prior to joining Opexa, Mr. Warma served as President & CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Viron Therapeutics Inc., a privately-held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of protein therapeutics. While at Viron, Mr. Warma positioned the company as a leader in the treatment of serious inflammatory disorders.
Prior to joining Viron, Mr. Warma was co-founder and President of MedExact USA, Inc., an Internet company providing clinical information and services to physicians and pharmaceutical companies, which was ultimately sold to a large public European firm. Prior to MedExact, Mr. Warma held several senior management positions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals at its corporate headquarters in Basel, Switzerland in international policy and advocacy and in global marketing.
Mr. Warma obtained an honors degree specializing in neuroscience from the University of Toronto and an International M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Management at York University in Toronto. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of BioHouston, Inc.
Gail Maderis currently serves as President and CEO of BayBio, an independent, non-profit trade association serving the life sciences industry in Northern California. She was previously President and CEO of FivePrime Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative protein and antibody drugs, and prior to that, held general management positions at Genzyme Corporation, including founder and president of Genzyme Molecular Oncology, a publicly traded division of Genzyme, and corporate vice president of Genzyme Corporation. She has served as a director of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since October 2010. She has been a member of several private company boards, and currently serves on The Mayor's Biotech Advisory Council of San Francisco, as well as the HBS Healthcare Initiative board.
Along with comprehensive experience in corporate development, Ms. Maderis brings to the board of directors an extensive involvement in strategic management, a successful track records of working with investors and partners to finance clinical development, a deep insight into regulatory and business policy trends impacting the biopharma industry, and a demonstrated understanding of governance issues facing emerging companies.
Ms. Maderis received a B.S. degree in business from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.