Board of Directors
Cliff Giese - Chairman
Clifford Giese became a stockbroker with Midland Doherty (now Merrill Lynch) in 1969, six years later, he founded Mr. Lube Ltd. As President, he developed Mr. Lube into the largest quick oil change chain in Canada, and expanded the company internationally into the United States and France. From 1988 to 1999, Mr. Giese was a director of NQL Drilling Tools Inc., an oilfield equipment company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Recently, Mr. Giese was named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People.
Kevin Giese - President and CEO
Kevin Giese is the founding President and CEO of BioMS Medical, a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative therapies, with an emphasis on the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. Kevin has a B.A. in economics, a law degree, and an M.B.A.
Kevin practiced law in Vancouver , has been the past president of Mr. Lube U.S. and was a director and the chief financial officer for NQL Drilling Tools (a TSX listed oilfield equipment company). Kevin has in the past served on the board of a number of private and public companies and is currently on the Executive Committee of the Edmonton Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and is a member of the Board of Directors of BioAlberta.
Dr. Kjell Stenberg - COO
Dr. Stenberg holds a Ph.D. from the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and has published extensively in the field of oncology and cell toxicology. From 1975 to 2000, Dr. Stenberg held senior research and management positions at Astra and AstraZeneca (which as a merged entity is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world), where his responsibilities included the directing of research in multiple sclerosis. Most recently, Dr. Stenberg was the director of external alliances for the development of products related to the Central Nervous System, with wide responsibilities for the identification, negotiation and management of in-licensing projects in that area (which included multiple sclerosis).
Laine Wollard - Director
Mr. Wollard received his degrees in Pharmacy and Law from the University of Alberta. He spent four years in private practice then four years as in-house counsel and subsequently a member of the Board of Directors of a drug research subsidiary company of Tahiho Pharmaceutical Company of Japan. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Metabolic Modulators Research Limited. Mr. Wollard joined the University of Alberta Industry Liaison Office in 1994, where he has provided legal counsel to the University of Alberta research community on matters dealing with technology transfer, intellectual property, management of patent prosecution and litigation, licensing research contracts and corporate/commercial issues. Mr. Wollard recently received his Queens Council (QC) from the Alberta Provincial Government.
Dr. John Wetherell - Director
Dr. Wetherell has over 20 years experience in intellectual property law. His counseling experience includes intellectual property acquisition, transactional due diligence, patent infringement and validity analyses, freedom-to-operate opinions, as well as licensing and strategic counseling. Dr. Wetherell’s patent prosecution experience includes obtaining U.S. and foreign protection in biotechnology areas such as molecular biology, immunology, nanotechnology, medical diagnostics, microbiology and pharmacology. He also evaluates intellectual property portfolios for both companies and investors.
At Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Dr. Wetherell is Head of Intellectual Property in the San Diego Office, Head of Intellectual Property for the National Life Science Practice Group, Chair of the Stem Cell Outlook and Planning Effort (SCOPE) and co-chair of the National Nanotechnology Practice Group.
Dr. Wetherell received a B.S. degree in Chemistry, and a Ph.D. degree in Microbiology/ Immunology, both from the University of Florida, and a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law. He conducted post-doctoral research, including studies on the humoral and cellular immune responses in periodontal disease, at Forsyth Dental Center in Boston, where he concurrently held an NIH post-doctoral fellowship and a Young Principal Investigator’s award. Before becoming an attorney, he gained extensive experience as a research scientist and manager during his five-year tenure in the biotechnology industry.
Dr. Wetherell has written and lectured extensively for organizations and institutions around the world on patent law, biotechnology patent law, IP strategy, and related IP transactional issues.
William D. Grace - Director
Mr. Grace brings strong financial, accounting and governance experience to the Board and Audit Committee. Mr. Grace is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (F.C.A.). He was previously a senior executive with several public companies in Alberta, a Managing Partner with Price Waterhouse and President of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He currently holds corporate directorships with The Forzani Group, Lockerbie & Hole, Melcor Developments, and a number of private companies. He is also on the board of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada. Mr. Grace is the recipient of several major awards, including the Alberta Achievement Award, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta Lifetime Achievement Award, and the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence. He has been active over the past 30 years in numerous community and professional organizations.
Gordon Politeski - Director
Mr. Politeski brings extensive international biotech development experience to BioMS Medical. He was the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Biomira, Inc., a cancer diagnostics and therapy company, and one of Canada’s first publicly traded biotechnology companies. He also served as Director of the Pharmaceutical Group at Pharmacia Canada, Canadian President and General Manager for US-based Allergan Pharmaceuticals, a world leader in ophthalmology and the developer of Botox®, and was seven years on the board of AMEX listed Genetronics (now Inovio). Mr. Politeski is a board member of Novation Pharmaceuticals Inc., a private biotech company developing novel drugs to modulate messenger RNA in the treatment of various diseases.