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Jim has 20 years experience in senior executive roles in the biopharmaceutical industry and investing in early-stage life science companies. He founded Seaflower Ventures in 1993 to invest his own personal capital and provide hands-on advice to biotech start-ups.
Jim is a founder, served for eight years on the Board, and is a past President of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC). He also served for three years as a Director of the Industrial Biotechnology Association (IBA), which is now the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).
Jim began his career at Bain & Company in Boston, London and Munich. From 1984 to 1989, Jim served at Genzyme as Senior Vice President Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. He was a key member of the senior management team that grew Genzyme from a small niche player into one of the largest public biotech firms (Nasdaq:GENZ) in the U.S. with over 1700 employees. While at Genzyme, Jim was responsible for venture capital financings, a mezzanine financing, Genzyme's Initial Public Offering (IPO), several debt financings, and an R&D Limited Partnership.
In 1989, Jim left Genzyme to join Transgenic Sciences, Inc. (TSI), a biotech startup in Worcester, Massachusetts, as its seventh employee and as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. Over the next four years, Jim grew TSI from a small biotech startup into a publicly traded firm (Nasdaq:TSIN) with 700 people. Jim successfully grew TSI from zero to $35 million in revenues and raised a total of $56 million in five financings including TSI’s IPO in 1991.
He received his B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Business School. In addition to his continuing role as an active investor, Jim is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. He serves as co-minister with Rev. Martha Niebanck of First Parish in brookline, MA. He holds a Masters of Divinity with honors from Andover Newton Theological School and was ordained in May 2004. He serves on the Investment Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Current Investments: RenaMed Biologics Inc.; and Veritas Medicine.
Past Investments: BioValve Technologies, Inc (sale), eMed (acquired); GelTex (IPO); Alpha Beta Technology Inc. (IPO); EPIX Medical (IPO), ViaCell (IPO).
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