Kneeland Youngblood, M.D., Chairman of the Board
Kneeland has extensive investment experience, having served from 1993 to 1999 on the board of the $100 billion Teacher Retirement system of Texas (TRS). In his capacity as a trustee, he was actively involved in hiring investment advisors, determining asset allocations and formulating investment/benefit policies. He served as chairman of the Fund's Real Estate Committee, where he directed a major restructuring of the $1.4 billion portfolio. He also served on the Board of Directors and developed direct private equity experience with the Texas Growth Fund, a $500 million private equity fund providing growth and expansion capital. Mr. Youngblood is also a Chairman of the board of the American Beacon Funds, a $20 billion investment affiliate of American Airlines. Mr. Youngblood's other board memberships include: Burger King, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and the City of Dallas Employee Retirement System. He is also a Director Emeritus of iStar Financial, a NYSE publicly traded REIT, and a Director Emeritus of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation. Mr. Youngblood is a founder of Pharos Capital Group. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Michael V. Mullen, President
Mike is an experienced operations, accounting, and finance executive who brings a background of accounting and laboratory sciences. Prior to Atherotech, Mike was CFO for Child Development Schools, Inc., a retail provider of preschools and early care centers in the Southeast, achieving double-digit annual revenue leading to a private equity acquisition. Previously, he served as the controller at Atherotech, where he managed the accounting, reimbursement, and accounts payable departments. Mike also was an audit manager with Ernst & Young, LLP. Mike holds dual degrees in accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and in laboratory science from Auburn University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Robert Shufflebarger, Chief Operating Officer
Bob has more than 20 years of experience with life science and technology companies in areas of operations, finance, and marketing. He joined Atherotech in 2000 as one of the first 15 employees and led the scale-up of operations including increasing capacity more than 100 fold. Prior to Atherotech, Bob managed marketing and business development activities for Southern Research Institute, a contract research organization based in Birmingham, AL. He also worked at Southern Biotechnology Associates and at Avanti Polar Lipids, both privately held specialty chemical manufacturers in Birmingham. Bob holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Birmingham-Southern College and an MBA from Duke University.
Scott Rezek, Vice President of Commercial Operations
Scott has lead sales and marketing initiatives for several industries including health care and technology. Prior to Atherotech, Scott managed a $300M global sales channel at Invitrogen, now Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE), a global biotechnology tools company. Before Invitrogen, Scott worked at San Francisco-based retailer Williams-Sonoma and at Course Technology, a Boston-based publishing subsidiary of the Thomson Corporation. Scott started his professional career as an Account Executive providing account management and overall client support for clients like Sony and Digital/Compaq. He holds a bachelor's from the University of West Florida and a master's from Auburn University.
James Ehrlich, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
Ehrlich brings over 30 years of clinical healthcare experience as a veteran in the development of advanced coronary risk assessment services and technology. His recent experience consists of serving as the Medical Director of several coronary risk assessment and prevention facilities, as well as the head of the medical advisory board of U.S. Preventive Medicine. Ehrlich also serves on the clinical faculty of two medical schools, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (endocrine division) and the George Washington University Medical Center (department of medicine). His research and publications have focused primarily on the early identification and monitoring of sub-clinical atherosclerosis in insulin-resistant states. Ehrlich also directs physician seminars on preventive medicine worldwide. Ehrlich is on the cardiovascular advisory panels for Pfizer and Genzyme and speaks on behalf of numerous diagnostic and pharmaceutical corporations. Ehrlich received his degree in Medicine from Boston University in 1976 (magna cum laude).
