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About Us
Our Team
Our experience and networks make Finistere Partners an obvious choice to invest and work with in the development of agbio and medical devices. Our people understand the opportunities and the challenges facing emerging businesses in these competitive but highly rewarding fields.
> Our Team
> Advisory Board
Dr Jerry Caulder
Executive Chairman
Often referred to as the "father of agricultural biotechnology," Dr. Jerry Caulder is the executive chairman of Finistere Partners, LLC. Dr. Caulder has an unparalleled record of success in the life science industry. His career began at Monsanto, where for 15 years he held a number of management positions including responsibility for Monsanto’s early venture investment activity and worldwide responsibility for commercial development and introduction of all new agricultural products.
In 1983 Dr. Caulder came to San Diego and became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mycogen, Inc., then a start-up plant biotech company.
Under Dr. Caulder’s direction, Mycogen became a highly successful agbio company until acquired by Dow Agro Sciences (www.dowagro.com) in 1998. At the time of its acquisition, Mycogen’s market capitalization exceeded US$1.2B. Since then, Dr. Caulder has held similar positions in a number of high profile biotech business—Myelos Pharmaceutical, a therapeutic drug discovery company and Akkadix, a plant discovery and gene regulation company. Dr. Caulder is currently Executive Chairman of Chlorogen, Inc., a venture backed therapeutic plant company based in St Louis; Athenix Corporation, a venture backed plant sciences company based in Research Triangle, North Carolina; and PhytaGro, Inc., a plant sciences company based in California and New Zealand. Dr. Caulder is also director of Catharos, Inc., an early stage Bay Area medical devices company.
Until June 2005, Dr. Caulder was Executive Chairman of Advanced Stent Technologies, Inc., a cardiac intervention medical devices company based in Northridge, California. He also serves on the board of advisors to both of Burrill & Co’s agbio venture funds and was involved in the founding of many local, state and national biotech industry groups and initiatives. Dr. Caulder is internationally well recognized and is a frequent speaker at industry forums.
Rob Ayling
Managing Partner
Rob Ayling co-founded Finistere Partners, LLC, with Dr. Caulder in January 2004, originally as an agbio focused consulting business. Finistere’s launch client was a major off-shore agricultural research organization seeking access to the U.S. market for its technologies and also seeking access to technologies from the U.S. which could be developed and exploited offshore. Finistere Partners, LLC, continues to operate this portal and manages a small strategic investment fund on behalf of the same client.
Prior to founding Finistere Partners, LLC, Mr. Ayling had a successful 20 year career with the major Silicon Valley based technology law firm Gray Cary Ware Friedenrich, now DLA Piper Rudnick. A capital partner for over 12 years, Mr. Ayling represented a diverse client base (many international) in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions. He has been involved in a number of start-up and emerging technology companies, many from Australia and New Zealand, migrating to the U.S. to seek venture funding and strategic partnerships. Mr. Ayling assisted a number of those seeking funding from the U.S. venture community.
From 1997 through 2003, Mr. Ayling was an investor, officer and investment committee member of GCWF Investment Partners, LP, a US$25M venture investment fund that has invested with other U.S. mainstream venture investors in more than 100 U.S. technology based businesses.
Mr. Ayling has worked with a wide range of government entities seeking support for businesses entering the U.S. including: Austrade, the Government of Queensland, and the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise organization. Through those opportunities, he has built extensive networks with investors and service providers in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. Mr. Ayling serves as the Honorary Consul of New Zealand in San Diego.
Mr. Ayling is a director of Kineticom, Inc., an INC 100 recognized San Diego based human capital company. From 1998-2003, he was a director of AgResearch Ltd., New Zealand’s largest government funded agricultural research entity. Mr. Ayling is also the president and director of PhytaGro, Inc., a recently formed plant sciences company owned jointly by Finistere and AgResearch Ltd., which is focused on developing and delivering novel crops to major international agricultural markets and SENZR, Inc., a second Finistere-AgResearch start-up entity focused on commercializing food safety technologies into North America.
Jay Brumfield
Managing Director
With 13 years of management experience in both established and start-up
companies and seven years practising law as an associate and partner
at a large, mid-South law firm (Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent,
Carrère and Denègre) Jay has a unique and diverse background
for the assessment and operation of emerging technologies and startups
in the life sciences sector..
Jay was most recently President and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Stent Technologies ("AST"), a medical device startup focused on developing a proprietary stent system for the treatment of coronary artery bifurcation disease. Under his leadership, AST was sold to Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) in March 2005. Jay remained at AST until July 2005 to assist BSC in the integration of AST.
Prior to AST, Jay held several positions with Mississippi Chemical Corporation (MCC). His last position was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives where he spent most of his time identifying emerging technology investment and partnering opportunities for MCC in the agbio and agritech fields.
Arama Kukutai
Managing Director
Arama Kukutai joined Finistere Partners LLC in 2005 having had a successful
career in international business, diplomacy and investing. As Regional
Director - North America, he led the New Zealand government’s
trade development agency in North America from 2001, establishing multiple
pathways for New Zealand businesses to access this key market. New
Zealand trade with the US topped $5 billion in 2004, making it the
second most valuable market globally for the country. Responsible for
the US, Canadian and Central American markets, Arama advised companies
in the information technology and manufacturing industries, also establishing
the "beach head" model for technology transfer and commercialization
in Silicon Valley to enable foreign companies to establish a presence
in the USA. Prior to taking his appointment in the US, he led both
the IT and Finance teams for Trade New Zealand as head of Corporate
Services and was a finalist in 2000 Management magazine Young Executive
of the year.
Arama has also had an active career in investment, both in commercial banking at Westpac Banking Corporation, and as Chair of the investment arm of PKW Incorporation, a very successful $250 million agribusiness and diversified investment entity involved in agriculture, aquaculture and international business development in Asia and Australia. PKW is also a cornerstone investor in a Finistere fund. Arama has lived and worked internationally for much of his career and brings a strong Asia-Pacific focus to Finistere’s activities. He is frequent speaker at international conferences and has specific interest in the development of indigenous economic partnerships.
Han Chen
Consultant
Han Chen joined Finistere in 2005 bringing a strong business discipline focused on the commercialization
and funding of technology driven business throughout Asia Pacific, in particular China. Mr. Chen’s
previous experience included working at a Beijing based boutique consulting firm whose core business
revolved around migrating foreign businesses into China and assisting Chinese startups to adapt
to an ever evolving domestic market economy. Mr. Chen worked at Merrill Lynch San Diego- Global
Private Client Group, where he assisted with research across asset classes, portfolio construction,
and client management, where the majority of the client base was from the Pacific Rim.
Mr. Chen currently handles a wide range of activities for the two Finistere joint venture companies (PhytaGro, Inc., SENZR, Inc.), developing business strategies, partnering opportunities, customer validation, and market intelligence research for these companies focused on the plant sciences, livestock genomics and food processing industries.
Mr. Chen graduated Magna Cum Laude from Amherst College and received a master’s degree in international business management in 2005 from the University of California’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.
Guy Bracher
Venture Partner - Australia
Guy has over 25 years experience in accounting, corporate advisory and
commercialisation advice to early stage technology companies in Australia.
He has been involved in all aspects of capital raising and technology transfer for companies involved in technology as varied as enterprise software to equine hyperbaric treatment.
As an advisor and service provider within the Australian government’s COMET network (Commercialising Emerging Technology), Guy assists Australian companies to commercialize their technologies globally, including Pro Ride Racing (Synthetic Equine Racing Surfaces) and Equiiox (Equine Hyperbaric Therapy)
Guy has been an integral part of the development of key programs to help Australian companies develop capital and business development networks around the world, including:
- Establishing the first "Business Angel" network in Australia as well as the follow-on "Tech Angel" networks
- The development and delivery of the first Investment Ready programs in Australia
- Introducing Australian companies to the Global Access and Venture
Capital training programs at UCLA and UC Berkeley
Guy’s professional background is a Chartered Accountant (CPA) commencing with Touche Ross (KPMG) and he works with Finistere to identify and develop investment-grade opportunities in Australia. Guy is based in Melbourne, Victoria.
Kenneth A. Selzer, MD
Venture Partner - San Diego, CA
Dr. Selzer is a graduate of both UCLA School of Medicine and Harvard Business School.
He has done advanced training and research, in the neurosciences, at both Vanderbilt
Medical Center in Nashville, and the UCSD School of Medicine in San Diego. He is board
certified in both Pain Management and Neurology. He currently sits on the board of INC
Research and is an emeritus board member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association.
In addition he is a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards at the Institute for Aging,
and Photothera, as well as an active member of WPO. He has extensive expertise in the
areas of developing CNS/Pain drugs and devices.
Dr. Selzer has twenty five years experience with healthcare service, biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. His business experience has included senior management positions in both an entrepreneurial environment as well as in large companies such as Pharmacia-Pfizer. He was the founder, CEO of INC Research, where he successfully raised over $30 million dollars in Venture Capital money from four blue chip Venture funds. INC Research, now a global CRO, is focused on CNS/Pain clinical trials, in phase I to IV. INC currently manages clinical trials in 25 different countries. INC Research was the third company which he founded.
The first was IHS (Integrated Healthcare Services), a healthcare service corporation which owned and managed outpatient primary care centers. IHS was ultimately sold to a major Healthcare Company. The second company was NEUROPRACTICE, which sold monthly newsletters, written for physicians in the areas of neurology, neurosurgery and pain management fields. This company was sold to Wolters-Klower, a global publishing company. Dr. Selzer has had hands on experience with in-licensing drugs, development of marketing strategies and new product launches.
Anne Blackburn
Finistere New Zealand Managing Director
Anne Blackburn joined as Finistere New Zealand Managing Director in late 2007, having first worked with its founders in 1998 on the Board of AgResearch, New Zealand?s largest life sciences research enterprise.
Her professional background is as a banker with twenty five years transaction and advisory experience in the New York, London and New Zealand markets. Brief earlier careers were spent in journalism, diplomacy and as a policy advisor in the New Zealand Treasury.
Since returning to New Zealand in the late 1990?s Anne has built a portfolio of governance positions in both public and private sectors. Currently she is a director of the state-owned businesses Meridian Energy, Television New Zealand, Venture Investment Fund and Export Credit Office. As well she is a director of the major domestic sharebroker, Forsyth Barr, Chair of the Centre for Clinical Research and effective practice whose principal activity is the conduct of contract drug and device trials within New Zealand?s largest hospital board system, and a council member of UNITEC, a tertiary institution. Pro bono she chairs one of the country?s major cultural institutions, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and is a trustee of an educational charity (The Chinese Language Foundation) and of a medical charity (The Diabetes Endowment Trust).