Meet Our Team

Larry is a proven leader with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and the unique ability to combine a successful company culture with proven business results. As CEO, Larry is responsible for Avara’s global manufacturing facilities and is actively involved in system integrations as well as creating added value across our sites and continents. He has a strong focus on operational excellence within all facets of OSD manufacturing and packaging.

Larry has held various management positions in laboratories, quality assurance and information technologies in the pharmaceutical manufacturing space. He has led global initiatives for multiple pharmaceutical companies, including Avara, and is skilled at managing complex teams under the regulatory authority of Europe, Japan and the U.S.

Larry is a highly regarded member of the Avara executive committee. He has earned the respect and trust from his colleagues around the world through his professional approach, extensive knowledge and a genuine desire to meet client needs.

Larry holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Oklahoma State University.

Andy has over 20 years of financial leadership experience, with the last 14 years in the pharmaceutical industry. As a Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA) Qualified Manager, he has managed ERP systems, manufacturing planning, budgeting and costing, and reporting accounting in a U.S. / Swiss GAAP environment. Andy has specialized expertise in manufacturing accounting, cost control, production planning / forecasting, capacity planning, standard costing, financial modelling, inventory control and cash management.

As EVP and CFO, Andy maintains the financial strength of Avara, working closely with the commercial and business development teams to identify and finance projects that promote sustainability and growth. He is an integral member of the pricing committee that reviews and presents viable new project opportunities to the leadership team and board for approval and capital investment.

Prior to joining Avara, Andy held financial leadership roles with Covidien Pharmaceuticals in the U.S. and Legacy Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland. Earlier, he led a manufacturing network redesign project for Novartis Consumer Healthcare. He began his career with ICN and Valeant Pharmaceuticals as a finance leader and controller in global manufacturing.

Andy holds a B.Comm.Acc (Hons) in Economics, Law and Accountancy from the University of Birmingham.

Lindsay has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in roles spanning R&D, project and proposal management, pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, clinical services and supply management, and commercial processes.

Upon joining Avara’s corporate team in mid-2018, Lindsay was responsible for optimizing Avara's global processes and systems across customer service, project management and commercial functions. As Chief Commercial Officer, she now leads Avara’s commercial strategic and marketing plans and is in the process of executing these with her business development colleagues.

Lindsay has held global leadership positions at Catalent Pharma Solutions and Aptuit CDMOs, where she managed global projects and proposals to support business development for commercial and clinical supplies. Earlier, she served as Project Manager for Fisher Clinical Services, leading global clinical manufacturing and supply projects for clients. She began her pharmaceutical career with Dabur Oncology, a start-up cytotoxin manufacturing facility now owned by Fresenius Kabi. She has also managed outsourcing activities at GlaxoSmithKline for European and Asia-Pacific clinical supplies.

Lindsay has a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of St Andrews, UK, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology and Pharmacology from the University of Surrey, UK.

Flor has more than 22 years of experience in pharmaceutical plant management and operations, with a strong focus on quality and compliance.

Prior to becoming Vice President of Quality Assurance / Regulatory Affairs, Flor served as Director of Quality for Avara's Arecibo site. During that time, she successfully oversaw and implemented the site’s business continuity plan and quality actions.

Flor holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus and holds an MT certification from the Puerto Rico Department of Health and the American Association of Clinical Pathologists.

Mohan is a proven pharmaceutical and biotechnology leader with over 29 years of global leadership and technology experience. He has a successful record of developing and leading global organizations, achieving strategic objectives, developing talent and delivering tangible business results across the pharmaceutical, technology, automotive and engineering industries. Mohan has the demonstrated ability to help IT departments become value drivers for their organizations.

Mohan is both a proven turnaround architect and a growth-oriented leader who can develop entire IT organizations. Recently, he led the development of IT strategies for multiple supply chains of GSK and Medimmune (AstraZeneca). This included global ERP, supply chain, commercial, business and regulated environments coupled with a vendor partnership operating model.

Mohan holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Mysore, India.

Patrick has over 27 years of industry experience, including 20 years in management roles of increasing responsibility at CDMOs and specialty pharmaceutical companies. Through his experience, he has established a strong foundation of development, analytical, quality / regulatory, manufacturing and supply chain expertise, which allowed him to successfully lead new product launches in North America, South America and Europe as both a submission sponsor and partner.

As Vice President and Site Director of Avara’s Aiken, South Carolina, manufacturing facility, Patrick leverages his experience as both a contract provider and contract manager to deliver world-class customer service, consistently exceeding the needs of Avara’s global clients.

Prior to joining Avara, Patrick was Vice President of Manufacturing for UPM Pharmaceuticals. There, he built on the company’s foundation of strong early-phase development in Baltimore, Maryland, to a large-scale commercial supplier in Bristol, Tennessee, leveraging site legacy products, contract development products and direct site transfers to drive growth.

Earlier, Patrick led the contract manufacturing team and supply chain for Osmotica Pharmaceuticals. He began his career at Roxane Laboratories, ICN Pharmaceuticals and AAI Pharma Services with roles in product development, analytical development, quality control, validation, technical services and manufacturing.

Patrick holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Ohio Dominican University.

Andrea is a proven leader with over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. As Site Director for Avara’s sterile injectables site in Liscate, Italy, he led the transition of the site out of the Pfizer network, successfully integrating it into the Avara CMO network. Previously, he served as Site Integration Leader for Liscate as part of the Pfizer acquisition of Hospira Inc., and, earlier, as Director of Materials Management for Pfizer’s Ascoli site.

Earlier in his career, Andrea served as Finance Director for Pfizer’s Ascoli and Nerviano sites, and, in his prior role as Director of Finance, he led the integration of Pharmacia into Pfizer. Andrea began his career with Pfizer at the former Pharmacia & Upjohn headquarters in Milan as a Business Control Analyst.

Andrea is Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and is a Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP). He has a degree in Business Economics from the Politecnico delle Marche Institute and an MBA in Business Management from ISTAO - Istituto Adriano Olivetti, Ancona / Italy.

Debbie has been instrumental to the success of Avara’s OSD site in Norman, Oklahoma, where she has acquired more than 17 years of pharmaceutical industry experience through leadership roles of increasing responsibility in process engineering, project management, engineering and validation.

Debbie has extensive experience leading complex teams in OSD manufacturing technologies. In her previous role as Senior Director, Engineering and Technical Services, she oversaw Avara’s technical services and engineering departments, including the Norman site’s facilities. In addition, she directed all aspects of the client-facing portion of the business, including project management of new business, technical execution of product transfers and validation, and ongoing technical support for commercial products.

Debbie holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Rich has over 20 years’ experience within the pharmaceutical services industries focused on business development management positions. 

Since joining Avara’s Corporate Commercial Team in 2016 Rich has been instrumental in building and managing the North American business development team.  In this position, he has successfully identified and won new business opportunities for our global facilities.

Prior to Avara, Rich held business development management positions with contract service providers, including, AAI, MDS and Xcelience, enabling him to develop expertise across the drug development continuum while managing teams for the last 15 years.  Rich began his career conducting molecular biology research at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, IL. 

Rich holds a BA and an MBA from Purdue University.

Juan is a proven leader with over 21 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in the areas of manufacturing, packaging, logistics, supply chain, and warehouse management. He is a results-driven professional who brings decades of hands-on experience managing plants in a regulated environment to his leadership role at Avara’s Arecibo facility.

Prior to joining Avara, Juan worked in both internal- and external-facing roles of increasing responsibility at such companies as Proctor & Gamble, Warner Chillcott, Actavis, Allergan, Teva, and Baxter. Throughout his career, Juan’s focus has been on process improvement and goal alignment. His ability to engage employees, as well as leverage his organizational and communications skills has enabled him to be successful in achieving business goals in a wide variety of settings.

Juan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a major in Management from the University of Puerto Rico, as well as a Master of Business Administration with a special focus on Global Management from Phoenix University.

Leonard M. Levie is the Chairman and Founder of American Industrial Acquisition Corporation and the AIAC Foundation Inc. As such, he is also Chairman of AIAC’s subsidiaries or affiliates, including Arnprior Aerospace, Avara Pharmaceutical Services, BeLink Solutions, Bradford Space, Champlain Cable, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, Combi Wear Parts, Consolidated Industries, D2A, Epalia, Eurofoil, Forte Micro, Gecoe, Holophane, IP3 Plastics, Lenape Forged Products, Malaga Aerospace Defense Electronic Systems, Metallwarenfabrik Gemminger, Neotiss, Shriro Group, SuperAlloy Manufacturing Solutions, Titanium Fabrication Corporation, Umbilicals International, and Vermont Aerospace Industries. In addition, he previously served as Chairman of former AIAC units, including All Circuits, Amnitech, JST Transformateur, MCI, and Sodiamex.

Mr. Levie has been a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, the Association for Corporate Growth, and the Turnaround Management Association. In addition, he served as a panelist with the Hon. Fabius Laurent, former Prime Minister of France, on Investing in France, at the Consulate General of France in New York City, October 1, 2015. He is the Director Forest Products Association of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and Member of the Alexander Graham Bell Legacy Society of the National Geographic Society.

Mr. Levie is also a member of the Trilateral Commission, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Council on Foreign Relations Legacy Society, the Economic Club of New York, the Yale CEO Summit, the Chairman’s Legacy Society of the Atlantic Council, the COVID-19 Advisory Board for the Citizens Committee for New York City, the Explorers Club, the Army Navy Club of Washington D.C., the East India Club of London, the Rand Club of Johannesburg, and the Harvard Faculty Club.

In addition, Mr. Levie is a member of the Harvard Business School Clubs of New York, Silicon Valley, London, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, India, Singapore, and South Africa, the Copper Club, the Family Office Association, the Association for Corporate Growth, the Turnaround Management Association, the National Association of Corporate Directors, Chatham House – the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the Policy Exchange, the Japan Society, the Asia Society, Alliance Francaise, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, the Goethe Institute, the Canadian International Council, the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, the American Red Cross Legacy Society, the William Society of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Masterpiece Society of the Louvre Museum.

Mr. Levie was awarded the Turnaround Management Association’s 2017, 2018, and 2019 Turnaround of the Year Awards for the revival of Vermont Aerospace Industries, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, and Union Metal Industries.

Bertrand Talabart has over 25 years of operational and investment leadership experience, with the last 15 years in the investment industry. As an engineer, he successfully developed greenfield manufacturing activities in Singapore and China for a division of the Thales group. After his Master of Business Administration, he then joined IPE Paris, a mid-cap investment fund and was instrumental in the execution and successful growth an exit of several mid-cap LBOs (200 to 700m$). After that he joined SISU Capital, a London based event driven hedge fund where he supervised several pan European investments in the Telecom and Industrial segments.

In 2013, He joined AIAC, the Industrial holding company owned by Leonard M Levie, AVARA chairman, and since leads acquisition, turnaround, and divestment of several large worldwide AIAC projects, including management team coaching, growth plan deployment, digitalization, design and follow up of restructuring and growth programs. He is director of AVARA since 2016.

As Group Director, Mr. Talabart, alongside the Chairman defines the strategic objectives and work together with the company leadership team to ensure proper alignment and execution of this plan. He also works closely with EVP on specific projects.

Mr. Talabart holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the French Institute for Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from the Hautes Etudes Commerciales School Paris (HEC Paris). He also gave lecture at INSEAD Singapore and HEC about industrial methodologies and business restructuring. Besides his role at Avara, Mr. Talabart is also director of Neotiss, Bright Green Plastics and Epalia.

Kenneth J. Sylvester serves as Senior Advisor to the Avara Board of Directors and the Executive Team. He is a pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain executive with extensive, broad-range knowledge of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. Dr. Sylvester has demonstrated an outstanding record in managing diverse organizations and achieving tangible results in areas of OSD, medical device/drug combinations, and parenteral plant operations management. His industry experience includes technology transfer, validation, regulatory compliance, supply chain management, employee empowerment, continuous improvement, business development, due diligence, start-up strategy and execution.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Sylvester has held overall P&L responsibility for an operating budget to support $2 billion in product sales for the North American External Manufacturing operation of Sanofi, a global pharmaceutical company involved in the production of finished product at third-party pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. He served as Vice President of Operations at Schein/Watson Pharmaceuticals and as Senior Director Worldwide Supply Operations at GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Sylvester also established a consulting company that provided services in operations management, executive mentoring, continuous improvement, supply chain management, validation, and engineering to pharmaceutical and medical device clients. He also managed a project to deliver a formulation and fill vaccine production facility to support influenza and meningitis products at a major pharmaceutical site.

In addition, Dr. Sylvester managed the global commercial supply chain and developed the commercial product manufacturing launch plans for an integrated biopharmaceutical company; spearheaded a start-up pharmaceutical company’s product development, supply chain sourcing, procurement and distribution initiatives from multi-source global contract manufacturers for API and finished product; directed the overall operation of two major parenteral and OSD manufacturing sites and associated support facilities for a vertically integrated generic company that produced penicillin, cephalosporin and general pharmaceutical products; and managed the design, construction, validation and start-up of one of the first U.S. Regional Compounding Center (RCC) facilities supplying compounded products to major hospital networks which reduced hospital drug costs by 25% using a patented filling process and bulk containers.

He holds U.S. patents on method and apparatus for automatically transferring liquids between containers and automatically producing a plurality of sterile liquid filled delivery and is a registered Pharmacist in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Dr. Sylvester holds a BSc in Pharmacy from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science, an MBA from LaSalle University and a PhD in Pharmacy-Health Policy from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Seigo Kashii began his career with Astellas Pharma Inc. (formerly Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) where he held positions in Sales, Legal Affairs, Corporate Planning & Strategy, before becoming Corporate Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and President and CEO of Astellas US, Inc. covering North and South America.

After returning to Japan from the US in 2011, he became the Corporate Auditor and Chair of the Audit & Supervisory Board of Astellas. Retiring from Astellas in 2014, Mr. Kashii joined Novartis Pharma K.K. as Corporate Officer and Head of the Integrity & Compliance Division and Japan Country Head for Novartis Group. In that role he was in charge of reconstructing and reinforcing the integrity and compliance structure of Novartis in Japan.

In 2016, Mr. Kashii became an outside director of Healios K.K., a leading company in Japan in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of cell therapy and regenerative medicine products. He serves as Chairs of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee at Healios.

In 2021, he became a Senior Advisor to Lakewood Advisors, LLC, a boutique New York City financial advisory firm, and a member of the Advisory Board of Directors of Avara Pharmaceutical Services, Ltd.

Mr. Kashii received a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Kyoto College of Pharmacy and became a licensed registered pharmacist in Japan in 1978. In 1992, he earned a law degree from the University of Kobe.

Kenji Nishiwada focuses on investment opportunities in the Japanese media and technology industries and brings extensive experience in global market development to the Avara Board of Advisors.

He is the Executive Director of the ACA and Rebirth Technology Companies in Japan and previously served as General Manager of Sales at the Suga Test Instrument Company. His long tenure at Sony, Inc. and its subsidiaries includes multiple management and executive positions in Japan, Europe, and the U.S., and he made significant contributions to Sony’s overall growth in the areas of broadcasting and video communications over the past 25 years.

In the U.S., Mr. Nishiwada was the Senior General Manager of B2B Development at Sony’s Business and Professional Division, where he developed successful alliances with U.S. and European industry leaders and established Sony’s Business Solutions unit. Prior to this position, he was the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at the U.S. division of Sony Electronics, overseeing key joint ventures with Panavision and Accenture and increasing profits by $50 million.

In Europe, Mr. Nishiwada served as General Manager of Sony Communications, B.V., in the Netherlands, where he established the company’s B2B operations and tripled the unit’s sales over a five-year period. He has also served as Chairman of the Boards of Corporate Auditors at Felicia Networks, Sony Global Solutions, Sony Marketing and Sony EMCS.

Mr. Nishiwada holds a Master of Management Science and Business Administration degree from Waseda University.

Dr. Mark Stones is an accomplished and creative Managing Director & Operating Partner possessing multifaceted experience and proven ability to re-energize, restructure and turnaround organizations, develop strategic initiatives, control costs, and capture emerging business opportunities. He is a results-oriented, decisive leader adept at forging lucrative relationships with key partners, vendors, and clients. Dr. Stones has been recognized for turning around struggling company operations to achieve sustained growth.

In addition, Dr. Stones has over 20 years global operational leadership experience, including posts at multinationals such as Electrolux and Alps Electric; vast expertise across a variety of Manufacturing sectors; and international experience in executive team development, change management, contract negotiations, operational leadership, and turnaround.

Dr. Stones has a PhD in International Business, Electrical, Mechanical, and Industrial Engineering from Llandrillo, Bangor, North Wales, UK.

Edward Grebow is the Managing Director of Lakewood Advisors, LLC a boutique financial advisory and consulting firm providing services to financial institutions, media technology firms, financial technology companies and not for profit organizations.  Mr. Grebow formed Lakewood Advisors in 2018 after serving for 6 years as a Managing Director of TriArtisan Capital Advisors, a private equity firm based in New York. He is known in the financial services, media and technology industries as a trusted problem solver and advisor to troubled banks, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Some of his best known projects are the rescues and recapitalizations of union-owned Amalgamated Bank and Insurance Company ULLICO, the attempted privatization of student loan giant Sallie Mae, and the successful renovation of New York City’s landmark Ed Sullivan Theater. He has served on the Boards of Directors of numerous public companies and organizations.  Mr. Grebow began his career as an accountant at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company in 1972. In 1973, he was appointed Assistant Treasurer, becoming the youngest officer of the bank at that time.

In 1976, Mr. Grebow moved to Morgan’s Profitability Systems Development Group as an Assistant Vice President and developed an account profitability system that was recognized as a model for the banking industry. Mr. Grebow became Vice President and COO of Morgan Bank (Delaware) in 1980, and in 1981 was named Chairman of Morgan Data Services, Inc. In 1982, as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Subsidiary Operations for J.P. Morgan & Company, Inc., Mr. Grebow evaluated acquisitions, advised senior management on expansion and served as a liaison with the Federal Reserve Bank. In 1985, Mr. Grebow was named Executive Vice President and COO of the Bowery Savings Bank. In this role, he worked with investors including Richard Ravitch, Warren Buffet and Laurence Tisch to develop an acquisition plan for the troubled bank. He oversaw operations and implemented cost saving measures that returned the bank to profitability. In 1988, Bowery was sold to H.F. Ahmanson & Co. for $200 million, doubling initial investments in the bank.

Well-known as a versatile problem solver by 1988, Mr. Grebow was named Executive Vice President of CBS Inc., where he was responsible for all operational and administrative functions at the $4 billion broadcast network and reported directly to President and CEO Laurence Tisch. Mr. Grebow managed a work force of 3,400, many of whom were union members, and his work for CBS in the field of labor relations was seen as groundbreaking in the broadcast industry. He oversaw a 40% expansion of CBS’s studio facilities in a seven-year period, and was a pioneer in implementing digital technology in the industry, winning an Engineering Emmy Award for achievement in television technology in 1992.

As part of the team that brought David Letterman to CBS, Mr. Grebow negotiated the purchase and renovation of the historic Ed Sullivan Theater as a home for Late Show with David Letterman. Purchased for $4 million, initial work at the building revealed challenges that many industry insiders doubted he could overcome. The project was, however, completed in 12 weeks—record speed for a project of its kind—and hailed as “The Most Ingenious Deal of 1993” by the Real Estate Board of New York. Upon completion, the CBS-owned theater and adjacent building boasted state-of-the art production and office spaces that also became home to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting.

In 1995, Mr. Grebow was named President of Tele-TV systems, a joint venture between three regional telephone companies that were attempting to develop interactive television services. During his tenure at Tele-TV, Mr. Grebow testified before the Federal Communications Commission on issues surrounding advanced television systems and the allotment of spectrum for digital television broadcasting. Following this position, in 1997, Mr. Grebow became television production equipment maker Chyron Corporation’s President and CEO, seeing this entity through a period of prosperity.

Beginning in 1999, Mr. Grebow led Sony Broadcast and Professional Company through the broadcasting industry’s transition from traditional to digital technology. As President of the leading television equipment manufacturer in the U.S. market, Mr. Grebow oversaw Sony’s partnership with Panavision Inc. to supply filmmakers with high-quality cameras and lenses that significantly advanced digital technology and were embraced by leading filmmakers around the world. He also broadened the company’s client base beyond the broadcasting and filmmaking industries to corporations and internet companies that had begun using digital video technology to meet a variety of needs.

After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Mr. Grebow stepped down from his role at Sony when he was asked to head the Metropolitan Television Alliance, the organization of New York City broadcasters that was responsible for replacing the broadcast and emergency services transmission facilities that were destroyed in the attack on the World Trade Center. In this role, Mr. Grebow worked to organize alternative means of broadcasting, while a permanent site for a new tower was found and constructed. After consideration of locations in New Jersey and on Governors Island in New York Harbor, Mr. Grebow signed an agreement in 2003 to install 22 analog and digital antennas on the new Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site.

In 2003, Mr. Grebow joined Ullico, a Washington, DC-based labor union-affiliated financial services and insurance company, as President. Dealing with fallout from several years of financial abuses and criminal activity by former executives and directors, he organized an infusion of capital, sold the company’s headquarters, and led a management overhaul that restored the company’s financial strength and reputation in a short time. His work earned him a reputation as a “turnaround specialist for financial services and labor-focused companies.”¹

Following this success, Mr. Grebow joined the private equity firm J.C. Flowers as a Managing Director in 2007 and oversaw a transaction to privatize student loan giant Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae had lost its government subsidies and was under investigation for aggressive lending practices, and Mr. Grebow’s problem solving acumen and relationships in Washington were to be key parts of the lender’s transition to private ownership. The $25 billion deal would have been the largest ever of its kind in the financial services industry, but the transaction was aborted during the financial crisis of 2008. Union-owned Amalgamated Bank was suffering from deficits that resulted from failed real estate loans and was under threat of closure by the FDIC when Mr. Grebow was hired as President and CEO in 2011.

In just a few months, he raised $100 million in capital for the bank from billionaire investors Wilbur Ross and Ron Burkle. He also oversaw the implementation of a new residential mortgage operation and other innovative retail banking products. Following the reelection of President Barak Obama in 2012, Mr. Grebow developed and implemented strategies to take advantage of the bank’s labor union affiliations so that it would become the bank of the progressive movement in the United States. Amalgamated became the official bank of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and was the only bank to offer financial assistance to the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, when it was unable to pay its employees their salaries in 2012.

Under Mr. Grebow’s leadership, Amalgamated became the bank for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic National Convention of 2012 and President Obama’s second inauguration in 2013. On several occasions throughout Mr. Grebow’s tenure, Amalgamated brought derivative lawsuits against corporations on behalf of its many pension fund clients, securing its reputation as a bank that would stand against corporate wrongdoing. These initiatives brought significant business to the bank and were integral to its return to profitability.

With Amalgamated Bank’s stability restored in 2013, Mr. Grebow returned to investment banking as Managing Director of TriArtisan Capital Advisors, where he continues to use his extensive knowledge and expertise in mergers, acquisitions, and financing. He is frequently called upon to serve as interim CEO in troubled situations. In March 2016, he was elected Director of Alcentra Capital Corporation, where he also serves as Chairman and Chairman of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. He is Lead Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., and is a Director of College Avenue Student Loans Inc.

Mr. Grebow is a trustee of WNET, New York City’s public television station, and of the Laborers International Union Charitable Foundation. He is a former member of the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council, for which he was nominated by Governor Mario Cuomo and confirmed by the New York State Senate. From 1993 to 2002, he served as a Trustee of George Washington University, where he was also Chairman of the Committee on Academic Affairs. Mr. Grebow’s other former board memberships include the International Association of Fire Fighters Foundation, the American Film Institute, the Theatre Development Fund,  Xenith Bankshares Inc and Panavision Inc. He is a 2013 recipient of the Emerald Isle Society’s Briscoe Award for supporting collaboration between New York City’s Irish-American and Jewish communities.  Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, Mr. Grebow holds a BBA degree in finance and accounting from George Washington University. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

Mr. Leach is a seasoned executive with over thirty years of experience in both public and private global companies. He is Senior Managing Director of the Leach Family Office and National Trust, LLC, which manages the financial interests of one of Rhode Island’s oldest industrial families. The Leach Family business was originally established in 1905. 

National Trust LLC's extensive US real estate holdings serve prominent governmental and corporate tenants, including the US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Stop & Shop Supermarkets, Shaw's Supermarkets, and Cabela's. In the 1990's Mr. Leach pioneered the remediation and development of large, environmentally-challenged real estate with the cooperation of the US Environmental Protection Agency. This public/private process became a model for projects throughout the country. Mr. Leach is a member of the Board of Directors of Kenney Manufacturing Company, a Warwick, RI manufacturer of houseware products established in 1914. 

Mr. Leach is the Chairman of the Rhode Island Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Foundation, and a former Chairman of the Providence City Planning Commission, where he served for twenty years. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lifespan/Miriam Hospital, a 247-bed teaching hospital affiliated with Brown University Medical School and of the Providence Public Library. He has also served as the Vice Chairman of the Touro Synagogue Foundation in Newport, Rhode Island, which preserves this National Historic Site. For his civic and philanthropic contributions, in 2021 Mr. Leach was awarded as Inductee to the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. 

He is a member of the Board of Trustees and the Treasurer of the Rectory School in Pomfret, CT. Mr. Leach is a member of the Army Navy Club of Washington, D.C., the University Club of Providence, the University Club at Penn, the London Press Club, the Hyannis Yacht Club, and the Family Office Association. 

Mr. Leach is an alumnus of Nasson College and of postgraduate programs in Audit Committee Management and in Nonprofit Organization Management at Harvard Business School, and in Innovation Leadership at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mr. Leach has been awarded Six Sigma Black Belt certification. 

Dr. Michael Berman is the President of The Michael A. Berman Group, a healthcare consulting firm, and Chairman of US Invest Group, a US-based corporation with a unique license to develop hospitals and ambulatory centers throughout China.

As Executive Vice President and Hospital Director of New York-Presbyterian Hospital for seven years, Dr. Berman led the integration efforts that enabled the merger of Columbia-Presbyterian and New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center.

Prior, Dr. Berman served as Professor and Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland and established its Division of Pediatric Cardiology; he also created Maryland’s Hospital for Children. He was also President of the UM Faculty Practice Foundation and President of UM’s Self-Insurance Program for Hospital & Physicians.

In his early career, he was Director of the Pediatric Catheterization Laboratory at Yale University where he invented the Berman Balloon Angiographic Catheter, known as the standard catheter for infants and children’s heart catheterizations worldwide.

He is currently a Senior Advisor for Lucania Partners and has consulted for Berkeley Research Group (Vanderbilt University), McKinsey & Company (nationally and internationally), Huron, Johnson & Johnson, GE, Phillips Medical, Visicu, and others. Dr. Berman was a member of the Board of Directors of Cadence Pharmaceuticals, playing an instrumental role in bringing it public.

Dr. Berman was also a Personal Consultant for the Dean of the USC Keck School of Medicine and the Dean of the Yale School of Medicine; he was interim CEO of the Yale Medical Group (Faculty Practice Group of Yale School of Medicine), charged with transforming the 19 separate departments into one centralized faculty group practice.

Dr. Berman holds an M.D. from the State University of New York, Syracuse, and completed an internship in the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital followed by 2 years at the National Institute of Health’s Heart, Lung and Blood Institution as their Pediatric Cardiologist.

He has published and lectured extensively on Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, and Hospital & Physician Management, Efficiency & Strategy issues. Dr. Berman is recognized as an expert on formal and informal mentoring for executives, corporations, and students. Creative and strategic thinking; leadership; growing organizations; thriving during change and a demonstrated commitment to sound business practices have characterized Dr. Berman’s career.

Dr. Remko van Hoek joined the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in 2018 to teach and research procurement and supply chain and is its first ever full professor of practice. Gartner ranked the Walton College Supply Chain program the best in the US in 2020. He serves as executive director of the CSCMP (Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals) Supply Chain Hall of Fame that he was able to bring to the University of Arkansas as a service to the profession and to inspire future supply chain innovators and leaders. In addition to teaching regular graduate and undergraduate classes, he teaches customized executive education programs for JB Hunt, Walmart International, the State of Arkansas and others.

Dr. van Hoek previously taught at the Cranfield University School of Management in the UK, the largest SCM masters program in Europe, The Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and the Vlerick School of Management in Ghent, Belgium, simultaneously. He has lectured and delivered keynote addresses at conferences around the world, including in Singapore, Finland, Poland, Manchester, Copenhagen, London and Shanghai. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation, in the UK, and holds a fellowship at the Dole Institute at the University of Kansas, USA. Dr. Van Hoek served on CILT international committees and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of CSCMP. He has been on the CSMCP Board of Directors for over a decade and continues to serve on the Supply Chain Hall of Fame committee.

Dr. van Hoek is a co-author of three authoritative textbooks on supply chain management: Leading Procurement Strategy: Driving Value Through the Supply Chain (now in its 3rd edition); Integrating Blockchain into Supply Chain Management: A Toolkit for Practical Implementation; and Logistics Management and Strategy: Competing Through the Supply Chain (now in its 6th edition and translated into 7 languages and listed in the top 7 supply chain books of all times). He has authored 100+ articles that have been cited almost 9,000 times, winning him several best paper awards and placing him in the top 2% business scholars around the world in a Stanford/Elsevier study, October 2021. He has published an editor’s pick article about blockchain in the Spring 2021 issue of the Sloan Management Review and has published in the Harvard Business Review over a two-decade period, including his recent work on the COVID19 and blockchain. He is the only researcher to win the Plowman best paper award from CSCMP 3 times during his career, across a 3 decade period, and he was the first non-US CSCMP best doctoral dissertation award winner. In 2021 he won the IPSERA best paper award with managerial implications for his work on navigating the pandemic effect in the supply chain.

While a visiting professor at the Cranfield University School of Management, Dr. van Hoek served in senior supply chain and procurement leadership roles in Europe and the US with Walt Disney Corporation (global CPO reporting to the group CFO), Nike, Inc., and PwC (reporting to the vice-chairman of the firm in New York, serving major corporates including GSK and Pfizer). He also built and ran the procurement and supply chain practices of CEB (now Gartner, Inc.), serving CPO’s and CSCO’s of major corporates including GSK, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, and Astra Zeneca.

Dr. van Hoek is currently an executive and board advisor to several companies, including on procurement for the CFO of Webhelp a BPO based in Paris, France. Other organizations that he advises include Moet Hennessey (CFO and CPO) and Baker McKenzie. He has also been supporting American manufacturers of medium and small size navigate the pandemic supply chain environment with a focus on near and local sourcing, supply base diversification and collaboration with American contract manufacturers. In 2020 Dr. van Hoek was named Supply Chain Rainmaker by DC Quarterly. 

Sheila Chandonnet is an experienced life science-focused transactional, corporate and contracts attorney with a broad legal and business background. Her 25-year legal career, has encompassed in-house as well as large law firm experience, combined with her previous business experience focused on finance and treasury management. Her practice focuses on pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other life sciences companies and advising on their commercial contracts and business transactions, including a wide array of licensing, collaboration transactions, product acquisitions and divestitures, site divestitures, outsourcing agreements, and supply, distribution and manufacturing agreements.

Ms. Chandonnet’s 17 years of in-house counsel experience was primarily in the pharmaceutical / life sciences / healthcare industry, most recently as the Head of US Legal Operations at Sanofi & Aventis Pharmaceuticals. She has provided legal support for licensing, M&A, business development, procurement, manufacture and supply agreements, commercial contracts and corporate governance. She also worked with drafting policies, venture capital investments agreements, alliance management, securities, and real estate matters. She has experience with advising on commercialized product brand support.

At Morgan Lewis & Bockius and at K&L Gates, Ms. Chandonnet advised corporate clients in contracts, financing, securities transactions, and other strategic matters. Her clients included a variety of clients including large pharmaceutical companies as well as smaller, emerging biotech and life sciences companies.

Ms. Chandonnet also has an extensive finance background, having served as a treasury and operations executive in the telecommunications industry.

She holds a BS from Penn State University, an MBA from the University of Delaware, and a JD from Rutgers University School of Law. Ms. Chandonnet is admitted as a lawyer in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Roger Stone is a Partner at Potomac Ridge Consulting where he provides strategic growth and management consulting services to Fortune 100 clients seeking to expand market share in the federal, state, and local government sectors. Roger  provides specialized advice and valuable strategic insight to clients obtained through his decades of bi-partisan service and success in both the public and private sectors. Roger has repeatedly been selected to appointed positions in both Democrat and Republican Administrations.

A retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, Roger served for more than two decades in both command and staff positions, including multiple combat tours in Iraq. His career is distinguished by service in the White House Military Office during the George W. Bush administration, and by his later selection for a Marine Corps Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Roger’s decorations include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medals, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the NATO Medal among others.

Upon completion of his military service, Roger spent several years in the private sector where he served as an executive at CACI Inc., responsible for business development and strategic growth of a information technology portfolio. He consistently produced results, annually delivering on-contract and emerging opportunity growth in his market segment over a multi-year period. Additional private sector positions included Strategic Risk Management Consultant at AKIMA, and an Executive Management Consultant at the Patuxent Partnership, LLC where he provided specialized technical services to Department of Defense acquisitions officials for classified command and control systems.

Having achieved success in the private sector, Roger accepted an appointment as the Assistant Administrator for Continuity Operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during the Obama Administration. He was responsible for coordinating risk management, continuity, and disaster recovery operations for federal departments and agencies, and directed the National Response Coordination Center, where he coordinated the federal response to 78 federally declared disasters.

Roger later served in the National Security Council as the Senior Director for Resilience, where he advised the National Security and Homeland Security Advisors and developed White House policy in the areas of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, and homeland security.

Roger was appointed Deputy Assistant to the President, and Director of White House Information Technology and was responsible for oversight and direction of all aspects of the information technology enterprise supporting the President, the Vice President, and the White House staff.

Margaret I. Chustecki, is the Managing Director of the Aid for Orphans Relief Foundation (AORF); Chief Clinical Trial Investigator for Chase Medical Research of Greater New Haven; Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at New Haven Hospital, Managing Director of Internal Medicine of Greater New Haven; and an Attending Physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

In addition to practicing general internal medicine, Dr. Chustecki's work has included educational activities and broad clinical research on a wide range of topics. Dr. Chustecki founded Internal Medicine of Greater New Haven in 2003. As the Managing Director of this organization, she is responsible for medical management, quality control, cost initiatives and an operating budget for a medical group currently serving 24,000 members. She also completed Yale School of Management’s MBA program in 2009. This aided her in creating and leading a medical group and in organizing a medical management team to improve efficiency, performance and communication with patients and the public. She implemented a quality program that achieved NCQA accreditation in eligible markets, and also supported a quality infrastructure for additional programs, such as Meaningful Use and PQRS. In addition, she maintains a clinical practice within the group, resulting in a “hands on” experience with changes being made to the operations. She coordinates medical management to support medical education, using data to improve outcomes, manage costs and improve the quality of healthcare.

As founder and Managing Director of AORF, Dr. Chustecki leveraged her passion for advocating for the welfare of vulnerable children to create a rapidly growing 501(c)(3) that provides medial, personal, and nutritional supplies to orphans and other vulnerable children. Through working with reliable partner organizations in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the US, AORF helps prevent and treat childhood malnutrition, and make life saving-immunizations and treatments accessible to children.

In addition to the Avara Board of Advisors, Dr. Chustecki also serves on the advisory boards of Titanium Fabrication Holding Company, Consolidated Industries, and Integrated Medical Systems. She is a member of the American Medical Association, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Washington State Medical Association, the Beton-Franklin Medical Society, the New Haven County Medical Association, the Connecticut State Medical Society, and the National Association of Corporate Directors.

A board-certified internist, Dr. Chustecki, studied medicine in Poland and received her MD from the Medical School of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. She received her MBA from Yale School of Management.

Yolanda Cabrera-Sybesma is the Managing Partner of CINTL, a Project Management Consultancy firm based out of the Netherlands. Ms. Cabrera-Sybesma has a long-standing expertise in leading and developing the project management and operations function in a listed €11 billion global matrix model.

Prior to working at CINTL, Ms. Cabrera-Sybesma held leadership roles for Astellas Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme (currently Sanofi) Europe. Managing medical directors and supervising the global compassionate use portfolios. She serves on the Board of the Project Management Institute and has served as the chairman of Hera International Foundation. She has given talks on the topic of Diversity and Inclusion of Latinx Women in the pharmaceutical and biotech space.

She has won several scientific awards for her work and has been recognized in WHO’s Who In Medicine and Research. In addition, she has published in Scientific Journals and recently published a book on Access to Medicines. Moreover, she is currently working on a book series titled Access to Medicines in Latin America.

Ms. Cabrera-Sybesma has a Masters of Public Health from VU University and did her medical school education at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

Julie Magarian Blander is a Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) in New York City, New York, USA. Dr. Blander is an expert in innate immunity, inflammation, and the innate immune mechanisms that shape adaptive immunity. Dr. Blander received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh studying tumor immunology under the mentorship of Dr. Olivera Finn. She conducted her postdoctoral training at Yale University with Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov and the late Dr. Charles Janeway, pioneering the study of the impact of Toll-like receptors on macrophage and dendritic cell function.

Dr. Blander studies various aspects of innate immunity and inflammation and their application to human disease. Her laboratory has made important contributions to understanding the innate immune response to microorganisms and dying cells in the context of enteric infections, intestinal homeostasis, and vaccination. Dr. Blander’s achievements include mechanistic dissection of the regulation of the cell biology of antigen presentation and its application to designing vaccines for infectious disease and cancer, the immune consequences of cell death and its translation into new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease, the exploitation of innate immunity, particularly the inflammasome for cancer immunotherapy, and the discovery of vita-PAMPs, signatures of microbial viability and their exploitation for creating safe and effective vaccines.

Dr. Blander’s laboratory was established in 2006 with the appointment of Dr. Blander as Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Blander’s promotion to Associate Professor with tenure in 2011 was followed five years later by an appointment as full professor with tenure at Weill Cornell Medicine-Cornell University in 2016.

Dr. Blander is a member of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at WCM. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the Cornell Center for Immunology, member of the WCM Promotion and Appointment Review Committee, Associate Co-Director of US National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 training grant to the Department of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, member of the Senior Research Awards Committee for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Editorial Board member of the Elsevier Journal Current Research in Immunology. She has also served on multiple NIH Center for Scientific Review Study Sections, and the Nominations committee and Program committee for the American Association of Immunologists.

Dr. Blander has received numerous awards including the 2021 Jeanne and Herbert Siegal Award for Outstanding Medical Research, the 2021 inaugural 2021 X-Seed Award by Deerfield Healthcare Management, a 2019 Sanofi iAward, a 2017 Weill Cornell Medicine Daedalus Award for Innovation, a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award, American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, Searle Scholar Award, J. V. Satterfield Arthritis Investigator Award, Hirschl and Weill-Caulier Scholar Award, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Faculty Council Junior Faculty Award for Academic Excellence, and the 2009 G. Jeanette Thorbecke Society of Leukocyte Biology award.

Dr. Blander is inventor on six patents. Dr. Blander’s laboratory is funded by the US National Institutes of Health NIAID and NIDDK, Deerfield Healthcare Management, and the Smart Family Foundation.