David Abramson
Executive Chairman of the Board
Our leaders
Tom Feeley
President & Chief Executive Officer
Raymond Playford, M.D., PhD
Chief Science Advisor
Amy Gibbs
VP of Finance
Brian Budeselich
Senior Vice President, Global Sales
Brian Aller
Senior Director of Operations
Whitney Callahan
Director of Marketing
Tom Feeley
President & Chief Executive Officer
With over 30 years of experience, Tom brings a long track record of successful business leadership to PanTheryx. Tom has an extensive background in the nutrition industry, guiding companies through periods of significant change, integration, and hyper-growth. Before joining PanTheryx, Tom was the VP, Nutritional Lipids Category at DSM where he led a diverse team in delivering market-leading business growth for DSM’s global omega-3 business. During his tenure at DSM, Tom also led the acquisition and integration of the world’s largest marine oil business, drove new product and technology innovations, and led programs to streamline operations, improve margins, and reduce waste. Prior to DSM, Tom held numerous leadership roles at Martek Biosciences Corporation, overseeing Financial and Treasury functions, creating Martek’s strategic plans, and driving the development of organizational improvements as Martek grew from a fledgling technology company to a leading player in the infant nutrition ingredient space. Tom has served on several boards, including Chairman of the Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED).
Tom is a licensed CPA and received his BBA in Finance and Accounting from Loyola University.
Raymond Playford, M.D., PhD
Chief Science Advisor
Dr. Playford is considered one of the leading global experts in colostrum science. His research focus includes mechanisms of mucosal integrity and repair, and the clinical use of growth factor agonists and antagonists. Dr. Playford has published over 150 peer reviewed research articles, and is a past President of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was previously Chairman of the International Committee and the Education Committee of the British Society of Gastroenterology and was also an associate editor of Gut. Dr. Playford continues to serve as a Professor of Molecular Medicine at University of West London. He holds a medical degree from St. Bartholomew’s Medical School, London.
Amy Gibbs
VP of Finance
Amy has over 30 years of finance and accounting experience. She has led the accounting and finance team at PanTheryx for over 10 years, helping to grow the business from a start-up company with one product to a viable business enterprise with hundreds of products. She built an accounting function from the ground up, instilling strong processes and controls, and implementing SAP. In addition to overseeing a team of up to 10 people, she assisted with multiple acquisitions and divestitures during her tenure. Prior to PanTheryx, Amy worked at DigitalGlobe, a commercial vendor of space imagery and geospatial content. While at DigitalGlobe, she managed the accounting team and was an integral part of the team that took the company public in 2009. Amy started her career at KPMG where she worked in the San Francisco and Denver offices for 10 years, focusing on manufacturing, technology, and governmental clients. She has served on several non-profit boards, has been a Girl Scout leader, and enjoys traveling, cooking, and reading.
Amy is a licensed CPA and received her BS in Accounting from St. Mary’s College of California.
Brian Budeselich
Senior Vice President, Global Sales
Brian Budeselich brings over 25 years of consumer packaged goods sales experience in all classes of trade. Prior to joining PanTheryx, he served as Senior Director of Sales at I-Health managing multiple business units. Brian played a key role in building the Culturelle, Azo and Estroven brands, all three of which have grown to become the #1 selling brands in their respective categories. Brian also previously worked for over 8 years at Novartis Consumer Health. He received his BBA from Western Michigan University.
Brian Aller
Senior Director of Operations
Brian Aller has over 25 years of experience in operations, technology, and supply chain disciplines. He brings an extensive background with senior management roles in companies in the automotive, B2B Nutrition, and CPG sectors. In these roles, he has used his broad experiences to lead departments for operations, customer service, IT, and all aspects of supply chain management. Brian led multiple large-scale projects and managed the performance of many functional areas. He has led acquisition and operations for startup projects and been responsible for the ongoing management of processes and technologies to support successful launch and continued operations performance.
Whitney Callahan
Director of Marketing
Whitney Callahan is a seasoned marketing and advertising professional with a 17-year career dedicated to digital marketing, e-commerce, and marketing director roles within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sectors. With a wealth of experience, Whitney has successfully navigated the dynamic landscape of marketing, showcasing her expertise in developing strategic marketing campaigns for national nutrition brands, while successfully managing budgets and expenses. Her extensive background includes strategic roles in digital marketing, where she has effectively overseen e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and TMall, as well as digital media buying on Google, Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com, and Instacart, ensuring their success and growth. Whitney’s proficiency extends to product development and operations, where she has consistently demonstrated a keen understanding of the intricacies involved in these areas. Throughout her career, she has built a proven track record of achieving results, making her a valuable asset in driving the success of CPG and DTC brands. Whitney has previously worked for brands including NaturVet, Healthy Solutions for Pets, and Lotus Internet Corp. Her wealth of experience positions her as a seasoned professional capable of navigating the complexities of marketing and advertising in the digital era, as well as in the brick-and-mortar space.
David Abramson
Executive Chairman of the Board
David Cogut
Director
Peter Erickson
Director
Holger Liepmann
Director
Wes Parris
Director
Stuart Harris, MD
Director
David Abramson
Executive Chairman of the Board
Mr. Abramson has a demonstrated track record of advising and building emerging growth, middle-market companies, and large multi-national companies primarily in health and wellness, food, and nutrition business sectors. Formerly, Mr. Abramson was President of Martek Biosciences Corporation where he played a key role in transitioning Martek’s business from a research and development company to a fully integrated, highly profitable commercial organization. He personally developed and implemented the branding strategy for life’sDHA™, one of the most successful branded food ingredients, while leading efforts to include life’sDHA™ in over 500 commercial products.
Before Martek Biosciences, Mr. Abramson was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for U.S. Foodservice as well as the Executive Vice President for Legal Affairs at Ahold, U.S.A. Mr. Abramson managed the sale of U.S. Foodservice to Royal Ahold, N.V. Prior to joining U.S. Foodservice, Mr. Abramson was the President of Levan, Schimel, Belman & Abramson, P.A., a law firm specializing in corporate matters and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to serving on numerous for-profit boards of directors, Mr. Abramson also previously served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Howard County General Hospital: Johns Hopkins Medicine, as well as serving on the Wellness Board of the Cleveland Clinic.
Mr. Abramson is a graduate of The George Washington University, B.B.A. and the University of Maryland School of Law, J.D. with honors. Mr. Abramson is a member of the Maryland bar.
David Cogut
Director
David Cogut is a Principal at Pegasus Capital Advisors. Prior to joining Pegasus, Mr. Cogut was an investment banker at Moelis & Company, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and financing transactions across the gaming and lodging, industrial, media, real estate, and technology sectors. He was significantly involved in Pegasus’ investments in Halo, HTS, PanTheryx, Renaissance Downtown, Six Senses, and T&M Protection Resources. He currently serves on the boards of the following Pegasus portfolio companies: PanTheryx, Six Senses and Halo. He also serves on the board of ZeroBase Energy, and the Advisory Council for the Institute at Brown for Environment & Society. Mr. Cogut graduated from Brown University with a major in Economics.
Peter Erickson
Director
Mr. Erickson brings more than 30 years of food science expertise to the PanTheryx Board. Most recently he served as Executive Vice President for Innovation, Technology and Quality at General Mills Inc. Mr. Erickson has held a variety of technical leadership positions since joining General Mills in 1988. He is credited with building a culture of industry-leading innovation, technical excellence, product quality, and food safety, resulting in invention and commercialization of advanced food and technologies that benefit the lives of consumers globally. Mr. Erickson remains committed to driving innovation and delivering safer, more effective products to consumers through his active board service with Noblegen Inc. and Wenger Corporation.
Mr. Erickson received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in food science from University of Massachusetts, with a focus in dairy microbiology.
Holger Liepmann
Director
Mr. Liepmann has been consistently recognized for his leadership and business results throughout a 35+ years career in the global healthcare industry, including pharmaceutical, nutritional and hospital products. Mr. Liepmann retired after an extensive career with Abbott Laboratories, including his last position as Executive Vice President, Nutritional Products. In this capacity, he was responsible for all aspects of the global nutritional business and reported to Abbott’s CEO. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President, Pharmaceutical Products Group; Senior Vice President, Abbott International, the commercial operations for Abbott’s international pharmaceutical business; and Vice President Japan Operations. Prior to joining Abbott, Mr. Liepmann worked for Bayer AG in a variety of capacities, both in the US and in Germany. Mr. Liepmann has advised boards since 2012 and remains active on the boards of Altan Pharma and the Desert Research Institute.
Mr. Liepmann earned his Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a Master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University.
Wes Parris
Director
Wes Parris is a nutrition industry leader with over 30 years of experience growing brands in the consumer goods and health and wellness space. Prior to joining PanTheryx, he was the President & CEO of i-Health (a subsidiary of DSM) where he led all operations including sales, marketing, research and development, and business development. During his almost 13 years with the company he established and grew a category-leading consumer brand portfolio. These brands include Culturelle (the #1 global probiotic brand), AZO (the #1 global OTC urinary health brand), Estroven (the #1 global menopause symptom relief brand) and Ovega-3 (a leading brand in the vegetarian omega 3 category). Wes has worked in a variety of executive level positions in marketing, sales, and commercial strategy for Fortune 500 companies including, Procter & Gamble, Gatorade, and Energizer. Wes is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Harvard Business School (General Management Program).
Stuart Harris, MD
Director
As the founder and Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Division of Wilderness Medicine, Dr. Harris brings more than twenty years of experience in emergency medicine, clinical research, and the interplay between environment and human health. Dr. Harris is a full-time attending physician in the MGH Emergency Department, an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an affiliated faculty member at the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Dr. Harris graduated from the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency in 2003. His research focuses on investigating the pathogenesis and treatment of high-altitude illness and on the interplay between climate change and human health. His research teams are active on/in the Himalayas, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Andes, Alaska, and far Eastern Siberia and have been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. DOD, MGH, and HMS.
Dr. Harris has been nominated for the MGH McGovern Award for Clinical Excellence, was awarded the 2010 NOLS Alumni Service Award, the Symbols of Hope Award, and the John E. Thayer III Award by the Japan Society of Boston and he is a National Fellow of The Explorers’ Club.
Michael Roizen, M.D.
Harry Oken, M.D.
Raymond Playford, M.D., PhD
Chief Science Advisor
Jaime Seeman, M.D.
Lauren Crosby, M.D.
Mia Syn, MS, RDN
Michael Roizen, M.D.
Dr. Michael Roizen has more than 40 years of experience as a medical doctor – certified in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology. He is the Chief Wellness Officer, Emeritus, of the Wellness Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, and initiated and developed the RealAge concept to motivate behavior change. Dr. Roizen has also written four medical books and is the author or co-author of 19 books – four of which made the New York Times #1 Bestsellers list and nine overall New York Times bestsellers, including the RealAge, YOU, and WhenWay series. He is the Chief Medical Consultant to the Dr. Oz Show, and he regularly provides expert commentary on Good Morning America and CBN700 Club, as well as many other television networks and publications.
Dr. Roizen received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Harvard’s Beth Israel Hospital.
Harry Oken, M.D.
A practicing physician since 1987, Dr. Harry Oken has a private practice in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Oken specializes in internal medicine with a special emphasis on difficult diagnoses and nutrition as well as Crohn’s disease. Dr. Oken also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University Maryland Medical School, is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and is the Medical Director of the Columbia Association, one of the nation’s largest homeowners’ associations.
Dr. Oken received his M.S. and M.D. from the University of Maryland.
Raymond Playford, M.D., PhD
Chief Science Advisor
Dr. Playford is considered one of the leading global experts in colostrum science. His research focus includes mechanisms of mucosal integrity and repair, and the clinical use of growth factor agonists and antagonists. Dr. Playford has published over 150 peer reviewed research articles, and is a past President of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was previously Chairman of the International Committee and the Education Committee of the British Society of Gastroenterology and was also an associate editor of Gut. Dr. Playford continues to serve as a Professor of Molecular Medicine at University of West London. He holds a medical degree from St. Bartholomew’s Medical School, London.
Jaime Seeman, M.D.
Dr. Seeman was born and raised in Nebraska, growing up on the outskirts of Lincoln, NE. She did her undergraduate training at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she was a collegiate athlete for the Cornhuskers receiving many awards and honors. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences and has a special interest in this area. She then attended the University of Nebraska School of Medicine where she received her Doctor of Medicine degree. She then went on to complete her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Nebraska Medical College serving as a Chief Resident. She is a current fellow in Integrative Medicine at the Center for Integrative Medicine at The University of Arizona.
Lauren Crosby, M.D.
Dr. Lauren Crosby is a nationally recognized parenting expert and board-certified pediatrician. She is a member of and the official spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Crosby is a pediatric consultant and medical correspondent for television news, is on the Advisory Board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and a founding member of Hope in A Suitcase. Currently, she is a medical reviewer for What To Expect. Dr. Crosby is in private practice at La Peer Pediatrics in Beverly Hills, CA, and is an attending physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Crosby received her M.D. from the UCLA School of Medicine and completed her residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center during which time she served as Chief Resident.
Mia Syn, MS, RDN
Mia Syn is a nationally recognized nutrition expert and host of Good Food Friday on ABC 4. She holds a master of science in human nutrition from Columbia University and has been featured by dozens of major media outlets including Women’s Health Magazine, Cosmopolitan and BuzzFeed. As one of the most recognized and trusted young dietitians in the country, she has helped hundreds of clients and millions of readers and viewers improve their health and adopt healthier eating habits.