Executive
Dr. R. Douglas Armstrong - Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Armstrong has over twenty years' experience in the assessment and development of biotechnologies, as well as in-depth corporate management experience at public and private biotechnology, medical device and developmental research companies. Prior to his appointment at TyraTech, Dr. Armstrong was CEO and Chairman of Aastrom Biosciences Inc., which he led from start-up, through development, and a public offering on NASDAQ. He has also served on the boards of VisualSonics Inc., Nephros Therapeutics Inc., Cytomedix Inc., Zellera AG (Germany), and the Burnham Institute, where he also served as the Executive Vice President. In addition, Dr. Armstrong has served as a member of the advisory board of Wolverine Venture Fund, and an advisor to Auxol Capital. Dr. Armstrong is a graduate in Chemistry from the University of Richmond, Virginia and he also holds a PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia, at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Rick Brenner - Executive Director
Mr. Brenner is the founding CEO of TyraTech and VP of Business Development for XL TechGroup. He has over 25 years experience in brand building, general management, and entrepreneurial enterprises. Prior to TyraTech, Mr. Brenner's was COO of Teen Mania and President of Calyx & Corolla. His general management roles were preceded by three years at PNV, a telecommunications start-up company, eight years in marketing at Procter & Gamble serving in multiple roles, including marketing Director and six years at Leo Burnett Advertising, in account management. Mr. Brenner received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Maryland and a Master of Management degree from Northwestern University.
Keith Bigsby - Chief Financial Officer
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant Mr. Bigsby has had over 30 years of senior financial management and board room experience in the technology sector. Mr. Bigsby has held senior finance positions across Europe, the USA and the Far East, a significant proportion of which has been as Chief Financial Officer (including for publicly listed companies) most recently at Geotrupes Energy Plc and Tadpole Technology Plc. Prior to this he was for six years the European Regional CFO for Wang and held Regional Finance Director roles in the UK and France for Sun Microsystems. He has a significant background in complex business environments, strategic planning and process re-engineering.
Dr. Essam Enan - Chief Scientific Officer
Essam Enan, Ph.D. is a renowned biochemist and toxicologist, and is the inventor of TyraTech's proprietary screening and product. Most recently, Dr Enan has been a research professor at Vanderbilt, and while there he developed the intellectual property that forms the technical foundation for the Company. Dr. Enan manages all technology at TyraTech, including overseeing the Company's laboratories at TyraTech and Vanderbilt University.
Prior to Vanderbilt, Dr. Enan was a faculty member at the University of California, Davis, Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Dr. Enan has devoted the last 32 years to teaching and innovative research, with hundreds of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and many patents to his credit. He has become renown in the field of insect repellency, and has a deep knowledge of G-protein coupled receptors, as well as the chemistry and utility of plant essential oils as they apply to the development of molecularly targeted insecticides.
Stephen Briggs - Vice President, Global Markets
Mr Briggs brings to TyraTech 26 years’ experience working in agricultural crop protection and speciality pesticide market products. He has a proven track record of increasing company sales and profitability in his previous positions at American Cyanamid Co., Micro Flo Company and most recently, BASF Corp. Prior to joining the Company he was Director of the Specialty Products Department, which markets products and services into the Pest Control market, the Vegetation Control market and the Turf and Ornamental marketplaceat BASF Corp, one of the world’s leading chemical pesticide companies, leading the restructuring of the North American business and substantially increasing its revenue. As the past Chairman of the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment Board (“RISE”), Mr Briggs is widely recognised within the pesticide industry sector. RISE is a US not-for-profit trade association representing producers and suppliers of specialty pesticides and fertilizers, which serves as a resource and advocate for member companies, providing current and accurate information on issues and research affecting the industry. The association also monitors legislative and regulatory issues in the United States.
Joseph T. Boylan - Vice President Supply and Manufacturing
Mr. Boylan is an accomplished program and operational management executive, with significant experience in leading large-scale projects from definition and design through deployment and end-user acceptance. Prior to joining TyraTech, Mr. Boylan had been the Chief Executive Officer of Sky Ranches Inc., following over twelve years' experience of leading small & large teams in high-growth, start-up organisations. Mr. Boylan has held senior positions at Emulex Corp., Disney and Assurance Technology Corp., and rose to level of Lt. Colonel in the US Army, with expertise in command, operation logistics, and engineering project management. Mr. Boylan has a MS in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a BS in civil engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Stephen L. Conkling - Vice President and General Manager Sustainable Solutions
Steve has over 20 years of experience growing new businesses as CFO and COO with success with four companies the last of which he helped grow the company to a $35 million company that had a successful IPO in 1999. Prior to becoming a serial entrepreneur, Steve worked for Xerox Corporation in computer hardware and software divisions in financial and marketing roles. He also worked for General Motors as a system analyst. Steve graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Industrial Management and from the University of Southern California with a Master of Business Administration degree.