executive leadership

R. Brian McKernan

CEO, Director

Brian is the CEO and co-founder of Courtagen Life Sciences Inc. Previously, Brian was a co-founder and CEO of Agencourt Bioscience. As the CEO of Agencourt, Brian helped create one of the most successful commercial DNA sequencing companies in the world prior to selling the company to Beckman Coulter in 2005. In 2005, Brian co-founded Agencourt Personal Genomics (APG), a technology startup focused on developing SOLiD, a cutting edge next generation sequencing technology, which he and his team sold APG to Applied Biosystems in 2006. Prior to his time at Agencourt, Brian co-founded Structured Markets, Inc., an online financial exchange, where he served as executive vice president of business development.

Previous to his work in the Life Sciences industry, Brian worked at General Re, where he designed and implemented the business plan for the Enterprise Risk and Capital Management Consulting practice of its wholly owned subsidiary New England Asset Management. While at General Re, Brian worked closely with the CFO and CEO on corporate finance, M&A and Board related matters and marketed complex derivative instruments to financial services companies. Prior to this, Brian was a manager at Deloitte Consulting Group, where he managed strategic and reengineering projects for clients in the life sciences, food distribution, petro-chemical, and insurance and healthcare industries.

Brian holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School and a B.A. from Bucknell University with a concentration in Computer Science and Business Management. Brian was a member and Chairman of the Board of ALSSA, a prominent Life Sciences Organization. Brian is also an active member of the Advisory Board for the Happy Hearts Fund, a non-profit organization that rebuilds schools and restores hope and opportunity in the lives of children after natural disasters.

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Brendan L. McKernan

President, Director

Brendan is President and co-founder of Courtagen Life Sciences Inc. Previously Brendan was a co-founder of Agencourt Bioscience Corporation and Agencourt Personal Genomics. Until both firms were acquired, he was a board member and the Vice President of Operations. In this capacity, he oversaw the implementation and execution of the company's operational strategy.

Massachusetts-based Agencourt Biosciences Corporation was a leading provider of nucleic acid purification products and genomic services for life science research. Agencourt employed 140 people and delivered 30% EBITDA margins and a 13X ROI to its shareholders. Agencourt Bioscience was acquired by Beckman Coulter in 2005. Massachusetts-based Agencourt Personal Genomics developed the SOLiD sequencing platform that was acquired by Life Technology in 2006.

Brendan holds a BS in Management Science from Muhlenberg College and an MBA from Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology. While at Rensselaer, McKernan received the Delmar W. Karger Award in Management for outstanding academic and leadership achievements. In 2006 Brendan was named the William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year.

Brendan is also a board member of the Avon Old Farms School where he servers as chairman of the finance, audit and benefits committes. He is also a member of the advisory council for Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and a judge for the Lemelson Program, which celebrates and supports inventors and entrepreneurs in order to strengthen social and economic life. In addition, Brendan is a member of Boston Harbor Angels where he serves on the Lifescience screening committe.

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Kevin McKernan

Chief Scientific Officer

Kevin is the CSO of Courtagen Life Sciences, Inc. Prior to joining Courtagen, Kevin was the founder and CEO of Medicinal Genomics Corporation. Medicinal Genomics has pioneered the genomics of cannabis and hemp to build a stronger scientific environment for the study of cannabis based therapeutics and hemp based fiber, food and fuels. In December of 2011 Medicinal Genomics Corporation was acquired by Courtagen Life Sciences, Inc.

Previously Kevin held the position of Vice President and Director of R&D of Life Technologies where he managed the development of Life Technologies next generation SOLiD sequencing technology. Integral to the SOLiD R&D process, Kevin oversaw over 100 research collaborations exploring the new biological frontiers with next generation sequencing and saw particular excitement and traction in human tumor sequencing. Kevin initiated an R&D project to investigate chemFET semiconductor based DNA sequencing and spearheaded a process to acquire the DNA sequencing company Ion Torrent for $350M. These collaborations resulted in hundreds of publications and 7 Journal covers from Science Translational Medicine to Nature.

Kevin was the President and CSO of Agencourt Personal Genomics, a startup company he co-founded in 2005 to invent revolutionary sequencing technologies that dropped the cost of sequencing a human genome from $300M to $3,000; a 100,000-fold improvement in sequencing speed and cost in a few years. Kevin oversaw the growth and research of APG where he sold it to ABI for $120M. In 2000, Kevin Co-Founded Agencourt Biosciences Corporation and acted as the CSO until 2005 where it was acquired by Beckman Coulter for $140M with an expressed interest in nucleic acid testing and blood diagnostics. From 1996 to 2000 Kevin managed the Research and Development for the Human Genome Project at Whitehead Institute/MIT resulting in several patents for nucleic acid purification. Kevin holds a B.S. in Biology from Emory University with a focus on cloning and expressing Norepinephrine Transporters.

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John Linnan

Vice President, Business Development

John has over 25 years sales and marketing experience and a proven talent for building and leading organizations responsible for global sales and marketing activities in both life science and diagnostic industries.

Most recently, he served as Director of North American Sales for GenVault Corporation. Genvault was the global leader providing bio-sample transport and banking solutions for genomic medicine. Prior to GenVault, John served as Vice president Sales and Marketing at Agencourt Biosystems / Beckman Coulter and a member of the senior management team. John oversaw the launch of numerous products and expansion into international markets. During this time, he achieved records sales growth. In addition to his management responsibility, he was also served as a member of the strategic planning team.

Prior to 2004, John held various sales management and business development roles at Abbott Diagnostics and later Applied Biosystems. John is proficient in Clinical Chemistry, Hematology, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Infectious Disease and Cancer Diagnostics for both sales & marketing.

John received his BS Degree in Business Administration from James Madison University, Harrisburg Virginia.

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Craig C. Camp, MBA

Vice President, Genomic Profiling

Craig has over 25 years financial and operating experience in a variety of industries including health care and real estate. He is experienced on Wall Street, having raised capital through J.P. Morgan and other equity groups. He has raised over $150 million in total debt financing and raised over $35 million in private equity. He has grown organizations from start-ups as wells as streamlined older firms back into profitability.

Prior to joining Courtagen, Craig served as Chief Operating and Financial Officer for MEDomics where he raised $2 million in working capital for the firm and also brought in a purchase offer in excess of $14 million. Craig developed the firm’s infrastructure and guided it through its growth from zero revenue to over $1 million.

Craig is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where he earned both a bachelor’s and a MBA degree with a finance emphasis. In addition, he holds a master’s degree in taxation from Widener University. He is listed in Who’s Who and has served as a director and officer of numerous non-profit organizations.

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Elizabeth Holland

VP Human Resources & Business Operations

Elizabeth is a co-founder of Courtagen Life Sciences Inc. Elizabeth has over 20 years of experience in the role of Human Resource Business Partner. Elizabeth has been the human resource lead in several mergers, acquisitions and divestures. She has worked in the biotechnology industry since 1996 with drug discovery companies, genomic services and nucleic acid purification products, and companies developing automation platforms. In addition Elizabeth has experience managing the areas of finance, marketing, corporate communications and web development.

Elizabeth graduated from Northeastern University and holds her Senior Professional Human Resources Certification (SPHR). She is a member of Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA) and the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Elizabeth was a Chair at the Mass Biotechnology Company for ten years and is one of the founders of HRBiotech Connect, a group formed in 2006 to provide a forum for senior level human resource business partners to debate and discuss current issues, to provide support and guidance to members, and to share information on critical HR needs in this growing industry.

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