Dr. Hare co-founded Longeveron in 2014 and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Chief Science Officer. Dr. Hare is a double board-certified cardiologist (Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation) and is the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. He has obtained in excess of $25 Million in funding from the National Institutes of Health over the past 15 years to support basic research of cell therapy strategies. He is also a recipient of the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar in Aging Research Award, and is an elected member of the American Association of Physicians, The American Society for Clinical Investigation, and is an elected Fellow of the American Heart Association. Dr. Hare has also served in numerous leadership roles at the American Heart Association and at the Center for Scientific Review of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hare is also a co-founder of Vestion, Inc., and Heart Genomics, LLC, companies that hold cardio-related intellectual property. He received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and completed fellowships at Johns Hopkins and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Don Soffer is a co-founder, Board of Directors, and investor in Longeveron. For the last 40+ years, Mr. Soffer has been one of the leading real estate developers in the country. In 1967, Mr. Soffer purchased 785 acres of swampland adjacent to the intra-coastal waterway in North Miami Beach, Florida (now Aventura, Florida) and began developing it. Mr. Soffer founded Turnberry Associates Inc. in 1977 and developed Turnberry Resort and Club and the Aventura Mall. Mr. Soffer has built major shopping centers in Florida and the Midwest, including the Greater Pittsburgh Merchandise Mart & Expo Center, the largest convention center between New York and Chicago. He holds a degree in Economics from Brandeis University.
Than Powell joined Longeveron in July 2025, as our Vice President and Chief Business Officer, leading Longeveron’s overall business strategy, Alzheimer’s disease program partnering efforts, and international strategy for the hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) program. He brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech leadership experience across multiple industry leading organizations, including GSK and Eli Lilly. Prior to Longeveron, Mr. Powell led Corporate Development & Strategy for Surescripts, ultimately resulting in the company’s acquisition by TPG. Before that role, Mr. Powell was founder and CEO of Epulate, a venture-backed health technology company focused on Transplant Immunology.
Mr. Powell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from DePauw University and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
Wa’el Hashad has served as Chief Executive Officer of Longeveron since February, 2023. Prior to that time, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Avanir Pharmaceuticals from 2017 until 2023. Prior to 2017, he served as the chairman of the strategic advisory board for Morningside Biopharma, a private incubator of several pharmaceutical/bio-tech companies, for three years. In addition, he has held vice president roles at Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Boehringer Ingelheim, and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY). Mr. Hashad earned an executive degree from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, an MBA degree from the University of Akron, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cairo.
Khoso Baluch has over 36 years of experience across global geographies in the biopharmaceutical industry. Since 2012, he has served as an independent director of Poxel S.A., a French publicly traded biotech company, chairs its compensation committee and as of March 2023 became Chairman. He also currently serves as an independent director of Processa Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: PCSA), and serves on its audit and compensation committees. He served as the Chairman of the Board for Da Volterra, a French privately held company, from December 2021 until November 2022. From 2016 to 2021, Mr. Baluch served as the Chief Executive Officer and Board member of CorMedix, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in the US. Mr. Baluch also held various senior positions at UCB, S.A. between January 2008 to April 2016, including Senior Vice President and President Europe, Middle East & Africa. Prior to joining UCB, Mr. Baluch worked for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) for 24 years, holding international positions spanning Europe, the Middle East and the United States in general management, business development, market access and product leadership. Mr. Baluch holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from City University London and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.
Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University where he has taught since 1979. He is the author or co-author of 16 books. Dr. Pfeffer received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Ph.D. from Stanford. Dr. Pfeffer currently serves on the advisory boards for Collective Health and Quorso, and on the boards of the nonprofit Quantum Leap Healthcare and the San Francisco Playhouse. In the past he has served on the boards of Resumix, Unicru, and Workstream (WSTM), all human capital software companies, Audible Magic, an internet company, SonoSite (SONO), a NASDAQ company designing and manufacturing portable ultrasound machines, Berlin Packaging, a Chicago-based supplier of packaging services, Portola Packaging, a private company making plastic bottle caps and bottles, and Actify, a software company.
Richard N. Kender, MBA, had a 35 year career in the pharmaceutical industry at Merck and Co., Inc. most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Merck’s Business Development and Corporate Licensing functions from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. During his career at Merck, Rich was greatly influential across Business Development, Licensing and in finance roles that supported the domestic and international research, commercial and manufacturing divisions of the company.
Rich currently serves on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee Chair of Seres Therapeutics, Board of Directors and Audit Committee Chair of Bicycle Therapeutics plc and on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Poxel SA.
Rich earned his B.S. degree in accounting from Villanova University and his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Neil E. Hare joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in September of 2015. Mr. Hare is the president and CEO of GVC Strategies (GVC), a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications, public affairs and government relations firm. He is also a licensed attorney and is Of Counsel to the law firm of McCarthy Wilson LLP. Mr. Hare represents Fortune 500 companies, major trade associations, and Federal government agencies. He is an expert in small business policy, focusing on access to capital, and is a regular contributor to Forbes magazine. Previously, he served as vice president of Corporate Communications at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he managed public policy awareness campaigns aimed at the Chamber’s three million members on issues such as tax and regulatory reform, market driven health care, energy, free trade, and expanded transportation and infrastructure. Mr. Hare received a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law and a B.A. in international relations from Tufts University.
Rock Soffer joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in March 2020. Mr. Soffer is President, Special Project Division at Turnberry Associates, where he oversees leasing, asset acquisitions, zoning and site approvals, as well as the development of other specialty projects. He has experience in managing and securing financing for complex projects, as well as overseeing a number of developments in Florida, such as the redevelopment of an almost 200,000 square-foot open-air lifestyle shopping center in Aventura. In addition, Mr. Rock Soffer was tasked with overseeing the referendum for the new 800-key Miami Beach Convention Center luxury hotel. Upon completion, the privately-funded property will be the cornerstone of the Convention Center District in Miami Beach. Mr. Rock Soffer is an advocate for responsible, environmentally sustainable development. He is actively involved in his local community and sits on the boards of AYITI Community Trust, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami.
Douglas Losordo joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in 2021 as part of Longeveron’s Corporate Conversion. Dr. Losordo has worked in the biotech industry developing cell-based therapies for over twenty years, most recently serving as Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of KBP Biosciences Inc. Dr. Losordo was previously the Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research and Development, Chief Medical Officer of Caladrius Biosciences (Nasdaq: CLBS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of cellular therapies designed to reverse chronic disease, from August 2013 until November 2020. Dr. Losordo has extensive knowledge of clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, supply chain and commercial factors unique to cellular therapy technologies as a result of his prior industry experience. Dr. Losordo’s also previously served as a Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He received his MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and his B.A. in Zoology from the University of Vermont.
Erin Borger joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in 2021 and has been involved with Longeveron research for many years. Mr. Borger and Dr. Hare came up with and helped kick off the companies Alzheimer’s study. Erin is Managing Director and Market Head at UBS Financial Services Inc. which is the largest Swiss bank as well as the top global wealth management firm. Erin has been the recipient of the UBS 2019 Market Head of the Year Award, Aspire Award, Global Volunteer Award, and multiple Leadership Council Awards. He is also the Executive Sponsor of the Young Professional’s Network. Erin’s core business has over 450 employees and focuses on private equity, venture capital, small and large companies, c-suite executives, company founders, high net worth individuals, and investment banking. Personally, Erin has sat on multiple medical non-profit boards and is an avid biotech investor. He lives in California with his wife Courtney and two sons, Lennox and Pierce.
Cathy Ross was elected to Longeveron’s Board of Directors in February, 2021 as part of Longeveron’s Corporate Conversion. Ms. Ross is a senior finance executive with over 30 years of experience. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Fraud.Net, Inc., a privately held company that operates a real-time fraud detection and analytics platform. From 2006 to 2012, she was the Chief Financial Officer, President, and a member of the Board of Directors of MotherNature.com, a privately held online retailer and information source for vitamins, supplements, minerals and healthy products. In her role as Chief Financial Officer of MotherNature.com, she managed all aspects of accounting, budgeting and financial reporting. Prior to that, she served as Managing Director, Private Equity of Oasis Capital Partners, Vice President, Investment Banking and Public Offerings of Commonwealth Associates, Product Development and Marketing Manager of Ocwen Financial Corporation, and a Senior Credit Analyst for Chase Manhattan Bank. Ms. Ross earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Economics from Brown University in 1989.
Ursula Ungaro joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in June 2021. Ms. Ungaro served 29 years as a federal judge. Ms. Ungaro was appointed to serve on the federal U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1992 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush and being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In her time on the federal bench, she presided over and ruled in numerous major civil and criminal cases in legal domains ranging from constitutional principles, equal rights, securities issues, and the use of non-embryonic stem cell therapies, amongst many others. Following her graduation with honors from the University of Florida School of Law in 1975 (one of just 17 women in a class of about 250), Ms. Ungaro practiced law in Miami, Florida where in 1981 she became a partner in Tew, Critchlow, Sonberg, Traum & Friedbauer, P.A. (later merged into Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey, a national law firm). She subsequently joined Sparber, Shevin, Shapo & Heilbronner, a prestigious local law firm. She practiced law mainly in the area of complex commercial litigation, including in the areas of securities, corporate and tax law. From 1987 to 1992, Ms. Ungaro served as a trial judge on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida. She has authored published articles in the areas of administrative law, legal ethics, and civil procedure. She is the recipient of the ORT Jurisprudence Award and has been recognized on several occasions by other organizations for her achievements in the law and service to the community.
Neha Motwani has over 25 years of experience in financial services, covering the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. From 2021 to 2023, she served as a Managing Director in the Health Care Investment Banking group at William Blair & Co. From 2017 to 2021, Ms. Motwani served as a Managing Director at Truist Securities. Prior to her position at Truist, Ms. Motwani held similar positions at Oppenheimer and Co, Stifel Financial and Cowen and Company. Over her career, she has advised a wide variety of biopharmaceutical companies in raising capital through initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, private placements, and convertible offerings. She has also advised several companies on M&A transactions. Ms. Motwani serves on the Board of Directors of the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a not-for-profit institution that helps vulnerable and underprivileged residents of New York. Ms. Motwani holds a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, New York.
Roger Hajjar is the director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Institute at Mass General Brigham.
He received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in and his MD from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. He completed his training in internal medicine, cardiology, heart failure/cardiac transplantation, and research fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he then directed the Cardiology Laboratory of Integrative Physiology and Imaging. From 2007 to 2018, Dr. Hajjar was the Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center, and the Arthur & Janet C. Ross Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. From 2019 to 2022, Dr. Hajjar was involved in the creation of a number of gene therapy companies at Flagship Pioneering, Cambridge, MA, and he was the head of R&D at Ring Therapeutics.
Dr. Hajjar is an internationally renowned scientific leader in the field of cardiac gene therapy. His laboratory had validated a number of cardiac targets that led to the initiation and completion under his guidance of First-in-Human gene therapy trials in patients with heart failure. He has initiated multiple clinical trials in gene therapy for a variety of cardiovascular diseases.
He has authored over 500 publications and has received numerous awards for his achievements in the field cardiac gene therapy including the Young Investigator Award of the American Heart Association, the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist award, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins University, the American Heart Association Distinguished Achievement Award and the Thomas W. Smith Award of the American Heart Association.
He is the founder of multiple gene therapy companies some of which have had successful exits.
Dr. Paletta holds multiple patents, in both orthopedic and cardiovascular arenas. He led the founding and development of Preston Worldwide, a medical device company built around the sling and pillow technology. He has been a frequent early phase investor in multiple start-up ventures across a wide range of industries and technologies, serving in both formal and informal advisory roles.
Dr. Paletta received his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the College of Holy Cross and his Doctor of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His orthopedic residency was completed at the world-renowned Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. His training included 3 post-graduate fellowships at Hospital for Special Surgery, The Cleveland Clinic and Children’s Hospital of Michigan. His professional career has included both academic and private practice at Hospital for Special Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine Department of Orthopedic Surgery and, most recently, The Orthopedic Center of St. Louis. He completed his MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis.
Todd Girolamo was appointed to Longeveron’s Board of Directors in February 2022. Mr. Girolamo is currently Chief Legal Officer, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Corporate Secretary for Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLBS), a regenerative medicine development company. Mr. Girolamo is a seasoned attorney specializing in therapeutic products and businesses. His experience includes SEC, Nasdaq, and clinical compliance; corporate finance; M&A; licensing; intellectual property; litigation; and drug development.
Mr. Girolamo began his legal career as a corporate law associate at Cahill Gordon & Reindel and concluded his tenure in private practice at Reid & Priest where he gained expertise as a general commercial litigator practicing in the areas of intellectual property, securities law, employment law and bankruptcy. In addition to almost two decades of experience as both corporate counsel and private practitioner, Mr. Girolamo spent 12 years on Wall Street where he specialized in therapeutic healthcare equity securities at Oppenheimer & Co., CIBC World Markets, Leerink & Company and Summer Street Research Partners as a Series 24, 7 and 63 licensed principal. Subsequently he served as an analyst and portfolio manager at Lion’s Path Capital, managing a long-short portfolio of biopharma and med-tech equities.
Mr. Girolamo received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College, Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.
Click here to replay our KOL event, which was held on August 16, 2023, featuring Sunjay Kaushal, MD, PhD and Ram Kumar Subramanyan, MD, PhD, discussing the potential for Medicinal Signaling Cells (MSCs), such as those making up Longeveron’s Lomecel-B™ injection, to improve the outcome for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) patients.
Click Here to Watch the Replay