SCIUS Capital Group brings its clients a unique combination of investment banking expertise and business leadership. SCIUS people contribute not just financial capital, but the human capital and business experience required to build successful companies.

Partners

Scott Hartz, CPA – Partner, New York

Scott Hartz is the Managing and Founding Director of SCIUS Capital. Mr. Hartz is recognized as a pioneer in leading transformational business solutions for Fortune 500 global enterprises. He has been extensively quoted in the press and has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Asia Wall Street Journal and the Singapore Business Times and has spoken at the Business Week CEO Forums.

Prior to joining SCIUS Capital, Mr. Hartz was CEO of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) and led the firm’s successful integration with Coopers & Lybrand and later with IBM. From 1995 to 2002, while Global CEO of PwC Consulting, Hartz led the company's growth to a $6.0 billion enterprise with a global leadership position serving multi-national companies in corporate transformation, e-business and e-markets, supply chain services, CRM, and enterprise resource planning. In 1999 and 2000, he was named one of Consulting Magazine's top-10 most influential consultants.

Mr. Hartz holds a B.S. degree in Economics from Lehigh University and an MBA degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Hartz serves on the Board of Directors of Alien Technologies, Siebel Systems and Erie Indemnity Company. He also serves on The Wharton School Graduate Board and Lehigh University Business School Advisory Board.

Mike Venerable – Partner, New York

Mike Venerable manages the firm’s investments and initiatives related to IT and Technology services sector and is an experienced executive, consultant, entrepreneur and author of a leading book on data warehouse designs - Data Warehouse Design Solutions.

Prior to joining SCIUS Capital in 2004, Mr. Venerable was CEO and founder of Talus, Inc. a leading data warehousing consulting firm which was later acquired by Sagent Technology (SGNT) in 1998. He then led Sagent’s Professional Services Division with worldwide responsibility for Global 1000 customers. In his first year in this role Venerable grew sales by 110% and improved contribution margins from 10% to 45%. He also led the division through Sagent’s successful initial public offering in April 1999.

Laurence Hayward – Partner, Chicago

Laurence Hayward manages SCIUS’ Chicago office where he provides advisory and placement services for early-stage companies in the industrial, clean and information technology sectors.
Prior to joining SCIUS Capital in 2003, Hayward was President of Vcapital, a venture-backed startup and private equity exchange that connected entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Vcapital was acquired by Jesup & Lamont, a NY-based investment bank. Hayward led the firm’s Chicago office and was responsible for early-stage private equity services. From 1992 to 2000, Hayward worked at Arthur Andersen. He was Global Marketing Director of the Enterprise Group, a $500 million global practice serving start-up and venture-backed companies.

Mr. Hayward holds a joint BS/MBA degree from University of Illinois and guest lectures at University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, DePaul University MBA School and his alma mater. He also has been frequently quoted in the press and has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, New York Times and numerous entrepreneurial publications.

Michael Gruber – Partner, Chicago

Michael Gruber is a Director at SCIUS Capital's Chicago office and focuses on investments in the information technology, communications, and industrial technology sectors. He has extensive experience in advising and managing high growth technology focused organizations, and executing private equity transactions.

Prior to joining SCIUS Capital in 2005, Mr. Gruber provided corporate and executive advisory services related to investment strategies, M&A and market development. Previously he was Director of Investments at Taproot Ventures a seed stage venture capital firm and affiliate of $800 Million buyout fund of Harbour Group. At Taproot Ventures, Gruber focused on Software, Wireless, Advanced Materials and Technology Manufacturing. Previously, Gruber was a VP at InsWeb (NASDAQ: INSW), where he was part of the senior management team that brought the company public and prior to that, Gruber was Product Marketing Manager at Intuit Corp (NASDAQ: INTU) where he led the Quicken product line’s online financial services, and an Investments and Strategic Alliances Manager at Motorola (NYSE: MOT). Mr. Gruber also has significant experience working with Japanese companies, including Koei Corporation, a leading gaming software and media company, and jcl bioassay, a leader in bioanalytical laboratory services.

Mr. Gruber holds a B.A degree from University of Pennsylvania, a Certificate in Japanese studies from Nanzan University in Japan, and an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He founded and launched the Chicago chapter of the Keiretsu Forum, a national investment organization focused on the private equity investments for high net worth individuals.

Advisors

Jay Plourde - Founder and Ex-CEO, New York

Jay Plourde was the Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of SCIUS Capital. Mr. Plourde has more than twenty years of experience advising clients and has executed numerous transactions across a wide range of industries, helping commercialize several life science, industrial - including Cleantech - and information technologies.

Prior to founding SCIUS Capital in 2000, Mr. Plourde held several executive positions with Credit Suisse First Boston, Credit Lyonnais and CBS Publishing Group. In 1987, he helped establish and develop a research and publishing start-up, 13D Research Inc., and co-founded the 21st Century Digital Industries Fund, L.P. in 1992.

Mr. Plourde holds a B.S degree from University of Missouri. He currently serves on board of EAI Corporation. Previously he served on the boards of Atlantic Stem Cell Technologies, HydroFuel systems Inc., Cold Spring Harbor Research Laboratory and Filter Control Technologies.

Dr. Safi Bahcall

Dr. Bahcall is Founder and CEO of Synta Pharmaceuticals, a drug discovery and development company with three drugs entering clinical trials for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Former McKinsey & Co. consultant with more than 15 years experience.

David Clark

David Clark has completed over $3.0 Billion in financial transactions and turnarounds in natural resources, oil and gas, real estate, asset recovery, fine art, digital instrumentation, network telecom, transportation, and specialty finance. He is Managing Director of M-R Capital, a private equity firm operating in the US and South America, where he has completed nine acquisitions in excess of $150 million, three turnarounds in excess of $50 million, and strategic planning for companies in excess of $200 million in value. Previously, David has held senior positions at U.S. Equities Realty, Tischman Speyer Properties, La Salle Partners Ltd., Equity Group Investments, and Cadillac Fairfew Corporation. David also worked as an attorney at Baker, Brown, Sharman & Parker in the area of real estate, bank formations, M&A, and campaign finance. David graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, where he also pursued graduate studies in Urban Planning. He went on to acquire his J.D. from the University of Houston, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Fraternity. David sits on the committee of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, the Chicago Development Council, the Urban Land Indistute, and the Alliance of the Chicagoland Chamber, CAC, CDC & MPC.

Dr. Clayton Besch

Clayton has more than 15 years of investment experience in the U.S. and Asia. He was the former Director of International Business Development for Softbank Inc. and its affiliated venture funds.

Laurence K. Hayward

Corporate Vice President and General Manager of AMETEK Inc., a $1.2 billion diversified, global manufacturer. During the past 10 years, Laurence has led the turnaround of or improved the financial performance of businesses in three separate divisions including specialty metals, power switches and battery chargers, and chemical products. His experience includes international operations management in both the U.K. and Mexico as well as six different plants in the United States. With more than 30 years of business experience, Laurence previously worked for Pfizer Inc. in sales management. He graduated with Honors from Northeastern University in Industrial Engineering and received his MBA from Bryant College.

Alfred G. Jackson

Mr. Jackson is the retired Chairman of Securities Research of Credit Suisse First Boston.  During the period 1994 to 2003, he had global responsibility for equities research, during which time the operation expanded from a staff of 200 to 1,200 in a five year period.  From 1996 to 2003 he was a member of the eight person board charged with decision making responsibility for the entire global equity business, which was then generating revenues in excess of $3 billion.  During 2002 and 2003, he was a member of the Executive Board of CSFB responsible for setting policy and strategic direction for the entire organization.  Mr. Jackson is an experienced and accomplished senior Wall Street executive with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, global management and equity analysis and research.  He is currently a Member of the International Advisory Board at Stern Stewart.

Alan Mc Glade

Mr. McGlade is President and CEO of MusicNet, overseeing all facets of the business from development of the technology platform to operations, content acquisition and distribution. Previously served as CEO of The Box Music Network, an MTV Networks Company and the world's first interactive music television network.

William Miller OBE

Mr. Miller is the retired Vice Chairman of the Board of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. During the period 1980 to 1989, he had worldwide responsibility for the pharmaceutical and nutritional businesses of the company. He currently is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and a member of the Board of Managing Directors of the Metropolitan Opera Association. He is also a director of EluSys Therapeutics, Inc., ImClone Systems, Inc., Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc., and Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Dr. Frank Leon Parker

Dr. Parker is a Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University as well as an Eminent Environmental Scientist at Clemson University. Dr. Parker served on the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Management Advisory Board chairing the Board's science committee. In 2003, Dr. Parker received the Wendell D. Weart Lifetime Achievement Award in Nuclear Waste Management - only the third individual to be bestowed with this international honor. In March 2004, he was named one of the "top 10 scientists" in the State of Tennessee "working to change the world" by the Tennessee Business Journal.

Sue Monico

Former CEO of Stevens Technologies, Inc. (STI), the for-profit technology commercialization subsidiary of Stevens Institute in NJ. At STI, Sue helped commercialize intellectual property developed by scientists and engineers at Stevens Institute. She raised capital for start-up companies, recruited and hired CEOs and assisted in the selection of board members and the development of corporate governance policies. Sue previously headed Investor Relations and Strategy for Engelhard Corporation. A CPA, she is currently CFO for two start-ups, Land Mine Detection Systems, Inc. and HydroGlobe, Inc.

Rory J. Radding

Rory is partner in charge of the IP/Patent Group in the New York office of Morrison & Foerster. He has extensively litigated diverse patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret cases involving a range of industries from manufacturing to pharmaceuticals to data compression. He has acted as lead trial counsel before several of the federal trial and appellate courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. Besides litigation, Rory is an accomplished negotiator in cross-border transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, the establishment of joint ventures, international and domestic technology transfer, including licensing, as well as collaborative research agreements and equity financing. He most recently negotiated a multimillion dollar alliance between a large pharmaceutical company and a small start-up biotechnology discovery company. Rory is well known for developing global intellectual property strategies, including prosecution, licensing, and enforcement strategies involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. He developed a complete global strategy for several telecommunications and Internet-related companies, and a consortium of worldwide banks concerning security for e-commerce. Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Rory was a senior partner at Pennie & Edmonds LLP, where he practiced for 30 years. Prior to practicing law he was a pharmaceutical chemist with Wellcome Research Laboratory and a catalysis chemist with Union Carbide Corporation. Rory is listed in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers.

Eric A. Rose, M.D

Dr. Rose is an international authority in the surgical management of heart failure. He led the Columbia Presbyterian heart transplantation program, one of the most active in the United States. He pioneered heart transplantation in children, performing the first successful pediatric heart transplant in 1984. Dr. Rose has led investigations of cross species transplantation and man-made heart pumps and has authored or co- authored more than 250 scientific publications. Dr. Rose is Chairman of the department of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and Director of Surgical Services and Surgeon-in-Chief at Columbia Medical Center of New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Alan S. Rudolph

Dr. Alan Rudolph, PhD has led research and development programs in biological self-assembly for over twenty years. He is currently spearheading an effort to develop novel technologies in the private sector as an active CEO of a small biotechnology start-up, and nurture emerging technologies through his consulting practice and board positions on foundations. Prior to this assignment, Dr. Rudolph was Chief of Biological Sciences for the Defense Sciences Office at DARPA where he managed a $40M life sciences portfolio in academia and industry, focusing on early risk reduction toward prototype development and technology transfer. Dr. Rudolph is the author of 100 technical publications including seminal work in Nature and National Academy of Sciences and holds 15 patents, with 2 licensed for commercial development in drug deliver and medical imaging.

Dr. Charles Schmuttenmaer

Dr. Charles Schmuttenmaer has been a Professor of Chemistry at Yale University for over ten years. His research expertise includes laser spectroscopy; liquid dynamics; sub-picosecond time-resolved photoconductivity; electron transfer, proton transfer, solvation, energy relaxation in liquids; intermolecular forces; reaction dynamics; and nonlinear dynamics. Dr. Schmuttenmaer is currently focusing on materials and nanoscale science. Throughout his professional career, he has authored or co-authored 58 publications and delivered more than 70 invited talks. Dr. Schmuttenmaer received his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating Magna Cum Laude with Highest Distinction and University Honors. He went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and has received numerous awards including the Dreyfus New Faculty Award, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and a Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship

Philip N. Sussman

Philip serves in senior management for several biotechnology companies, including Perlegen Sciences, Inc., Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp., and Cadus Pharmaceutical Corp., where he established research collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Solvay. He was previously Director of Business Development & Strategy at Ciba-Geigy Corp.'s Pharmaceuticals Division (now Novartis). Author of articles in Current Drug Discovery, The Journal of Commercial Biotechnology (special issue on the financing of biotechnology companies), Scrip Magazine, The Journal of BioLaw and Business, The Journal of Business Strategy, Computerworld, and Datamation. Frequest guest speaker including BIO 2004, Drug Discovery Technology 2003 Conference, Association of Biotechnology Financial Officers, Licensing Executives Society, Association of University Technology Managers, New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting, and The MIT Enterprise Forum of New York, among others.