Operating Affiliates
DFW maintains close working relationships with several highly experienced operating executives across industry segments in which the firm has investment interest. These adjunct team members work closely with DFW’s investment professionals in sourcing, evaluating and, in many instances, serving as executives and/or board members in DFW portfolio companies.
Current core members of DFW’s Operating Affiliate team include:
Virinder Nohria
Virinder Nohria is an experienced physician, biotechnology entrepreneur and a drug developer. Dr. Nohria has worked with DFW since 2006, when the firm became affiliated with Alaven Pharmaceutical, where Virinder was a member of the founding team and Chief Medical Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Vice President.
Previously, Dr. Nohria has worked for Eli Lilly and UCB, where he was critical in the launch of two blockbuster products. Dr. Nohria was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Xcel Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company in neuroscience that was acquired by Valeant International in 2005. Dr. Nohria is a board-certified neurologist with special qualifications in child neurology. He did his medical training at the University of Cambridge in England. His postgraduate training was completed in the UK and USA at Duke University. He also holds a Ph.D. degree in Neuropharmacology.
Dr. Nohria is a co-founder and President of Vidara Therapeutics LLC, a specialty pharmaceutical licensing and acquisition platform with backing from DFW.
Michael J. O’Donnell
Mike O’Donnell is a talented operating and turnaround executive, with over 30 years of broad experience including business services, outsourcing, manufacturing and technology based companies. Mr. O’Donnell has worked with DFW in several portfolio companies as a due diligence partner, board member and CEO, including VersaTech Consulting (IT staffing) and Nurses 24/7 (Medical staffing). Mr. O’Donnell began his career in the audit practice of Deloitte, with subsequent financial, operating and executive leadership positions with The Ultimate Corp., Wechsler Coffee, Sara Lee Corporation, Eastek Corporation and the Food & Beverage Information Exchange. Mr. O’Donnell helped DFW evaluate and tackle operating issues in several prospective new investment platforms before becoming a portfolio company CEO. Mr. O’Donnell has a B.S. in Business Administration from St.Francis University (PA) and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. O’Donnell currently serves as CEO of Keane, a DFW portfolio company involved in the unclaimed property industry. DFW utilized Mr. O’Donnell in in evaluating, and subsequently, managing the acquisition of Keane’s predecessor companies (Jaisan, SMS, SMS-Vanacore and The Keane Organization). Mr. O’Donnell has successfully consolidated four separate operating businesses, re-engineered the company’s operating model, and built the nation’s leading provider of unclaimed property services.
Louis H. Ray
Lou Ray has an extensive operating background in the technology and government contracting arena, and works with DFW in sourcing, evaluating and managing companies in the outsourced services field. Mr. Ray previously served as CEO of MATCOM International, a former DFW portfolio providing IT and engineering services to agencies of the Federal Government. Mr. Ray grew MATCOM from $14 million to $80 million in revenue, through organic and acquisition efforts, ultimately leading to a successful sale to SI International for a significant gain to DFW’s investors. Previously, Mr. Ray was a senior operating executive with ManTech International, a global Federal IT services provider, responsible for managing that company’s information technology design and deployment services to the Intelligence community. Mr. Ray studied physics at Yale University.
Mr. Ray is currently working with DFW to identify niche service providers to federal government agencies, taking advantage of a continued trend in outsourcing of high-cost functions to third-party contractors.
Bala Venkataraman
Bala Venkataraman is a highly experienced operating executive in the specialty pharmaceutical industry, and works closely with DFW in sourcing and evaluating opportunities across a broad spectrum of pharma and related healthcare investments. DFW has had an affiliation with Mr. Venkataraman since 2005, when he and DFW teamed up to acquire and in-license specialty pharmaceutical brands under the Alaven Pharmaceutical platform. Under Bala’s leadership as CEO and DFW’s sponsorship, Alaven grew EBITDA from $4.5 million to over $40 million, and realized a 7.4x return on investment when Alaven was sold to a strategic buyer, Meda Pharmaceuticals, in 2010. Mr. Venkataraman began his career with Schering Plough, and has held business development, corporate and financial positions with EJ Pharma, Scios, Curative Technologies and Sciele (formerly First Horizon Pharma). Mr. Venkataraman received his undergraduate degree in organic chemistry from Case Western Reserve and his MBA from Wharton.
Mr. Venkataraman is currently engaged with DFW in seeking investment opportunities in healthcare services, as well serving as a Director of Vidara Therapeutics, a specialty pharmaceutical acquisition and in-licensing platform backed by DFW.
Bruce Tomason
Bruce Tomason is a seasoned operating executive, with extensive experience in healthcare and pharmaceutical services. Mr. Tomason has worked closely over the years with DFW in sourcing and evaluating opportunities across a broad spectrum of service related industries. Mr. Tomason previously was a serial operator with experience in both small entrepreneurial companies and large international organizations. Over his 30 year career, he has invested in and led several specialty pharmaceutical companies, including Alterna, Richwood Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Shire) and Anthrogenesis (acquired by Celgene), and served as the Chairman of the Board at Pozen, a public late stage drug development company. Mr. Tomason has also served as CEO of the medical management company One-Call Medical. Previously, Mr. Tomason led a management buyout of Evans Healthcare (a subsidiary of Glaxo); Evans was one of Europe’s largest human and animal vaccine companies. Mr. Tomason began his career with Organon, the US pharmaceutical subsidiary of Azko. Mr. Tomason holds an MBA from Columbia University, and an undergraduate degree from Seton Hall, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees and Board of Regents.
Mr. Tomason most recently teamed with DFW in 2008 in the evaluation of the firm’s investment in Copernicus. Concurrent with the firm’s investment, Mr. Tomason was named as CEO, and has since led the organization through a significant growth phase, including the deployment of industry-leading technology, establishment of a robust business development function and establishment of a quality and metric-driven operating culture.