Diamedica Inc.

Board of Directors




Mr. Rick Pauls | President & CEO


Mr. Rick Pauls was appointed President and CEO of DiaMedica in July 2009 and has been Chairman of the board of directors since 2008.  Mr. Pauls was previously the Managing Director of CentreStone Ventures Inc., an early stage life sciences venture capital fund.  While with CentreStone, Mr. Pauls led the investment in Orasi Medical Inc., winner of the Red Herring Global 100 and Red Herring North America 100 awards; LED Medical Inc., winner of Red Herring Canada 50 award in the Health category; DiaMedica and Sanomune Inc., both named one of Canada's Top 10™ Life Science Companies. Prior to CentreStone, he was with Centara Corporation, another early stage venture capital fund. Before this, Mr. Pauls specialized in asset-backed securitization and structured finance with General Motors Acceptance Corporation in Minnesota. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Manitoba and his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of North Dakota.




 
  

  

    





Thomas Wellner
Mr. Wellner served in several leadership positions during his 20-year career at Eli Lilly and Company. Most recently at Eli Lilly, Mr. Wellner served as Global Brand Leader for Insulin and Devices.  Mr. Wellner’s track record within Eli Lilly has been exceptional, having worked all over the world in multifaceted positions.  He designed and set up Lilly’s re-entry into the Chinese market and was the first marketing manager for Lilly in China.  In 2000, he moved to London to become Executive Director, Eli Lilly European Operations Marketing, Sales and IT before being appointed to become President & General Manger, Eli Lilly Deutschland Gmbh. Mr. Wellner is currently President and CEO of Therapure Biopharma Inc., a Global Biologics CDMO and drug development company.   Mr. Wellner sits on the board of FreshBooks, a successful internet company and Atlantic Healthcare, a company focused on the acquisition and marketing of pharmaceutical products primarily serving the European and North American specialist-driven hospital markets.


 


 
  

  

    





David Allan
Mr. Allan is the chairman and CEO of YM Biosciences Inc., an oncology company that identifies, develops and commercializes differentiated products for patients worldwide.  He has held the position of CEO since April 1998 and has been chairman of the board of directors since 1994.  In 1992 he founded the Knowledge-Based Industries Group of a Canadian investment banking firm, organized as the first in Canada involved in financing, analyzing and creating strategic alliances for life sciences and information technology companies.  Mr. Allan served as Executive  Director from 1992 to 1998.  Mr. Allan was formerly a governor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, a member of the Awards Selection Committee for the Networks of Centres of Excellence in Canada, working group Chair of the Ontario Biotechnology Advisory Board and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ontario College of Art and Design.  In addition, Mr. Allan is a Director of Synthemed Inc., a US based medical device company and a current member of BIOTECanada’s Emerging Companies Advisory Board.


 


 
  

  

    





Richard Pilnik
Mr. Pilnik served in several leadership positions during his 25-year career at Eli Lilly and Company.  Most recently at Eli Lilly, Mr. Pilnik served as Group Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, where he was directly responsible for commercial strategy, market research and medical marketing.  Prior to that, Mr. Pilnik served as President of Eli Lilly Europe, Middle East and Africa and the Commonwealth of the independent States (CIS), a regional organization of former Soviet Republics, where he oversaw 50 countries and positioned Eli Lilly as the fastest growing pharmaceutical company in the region.  Mr. Pilnik also held several marketing and sales management positions in the United States, Europe and Latin America during his tenure at Eli Lilly. Mr. Pilnik serves as President of Innovex, the commercial group of Quintiles Transnational Corp.  Innovex is a global pioneer in pharmaceutical services and sits on the board of directors of Elan Corporation, a successful pharmaceutical company with research, development and commercial activities directed towards neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Mr. Pilnik holds a B.A. in economics from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.


 


 
  

  

    





Michael Giuffre, MD.
As a Clinical Professor of Cardiac Sciences and Pediatrics at the University of Calgary, Dr. Giuffre maintains a portfolio of clinical practice, cardiovascular research, and university teaching. He maintains on-going involvement in both health care administration, and in the biotechnology business sector. Dr Giuffre is Past President of the Calgary and Area Physicians Association (CAPA) and a past representative to the board of the Calgary Health Region. Dr Giuffre holds a BSc in cellular and microbial biology, a PhD candidacy in molecular virology, an MD and an MBA.  His Canadian Royal College board certified specialties include Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology and a subspecialty in Pediatric Electrophysiology.


As a biotechnology consultant, Dr. Giuffre has been involved with RedSky Inc. (acquired by Research in Motion), MDMI, and MedMira Inc.  He is currently on the boards of IC2E Inc and FoodChek Inc.  He serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the SADS Foundation and on the boards of Unicef Canada and the Alberta Medical Association. He is also an MD-MP contact for the Canadian Medical Association.


Dr. Giuffre has recently received a Certified and Registered Appointment by the American Academy of Cardiology, “Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Cardiology,” and in 2005 was awarded “Physician of the Year” by the Calgary Medical Society.