Sir Michael Rake, Chairman
Sir Michael Rake is currently the Chairman of Great Ormond Street Hospital, the international centre of excellence in child healthcare, a position he has held since 2017.
Sir Michael has had a long and distinguished career in international business and as a Senior Executive and Board Leader over several decades. He is also the Chairman of Wireless logic Ltd, Newday Ltd, and Majid Al Futaim Holdings LLC in the UAE, Vice President of the UK charity The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Senior Advisor to Elliott Advisors, and Director of Trust Payments Ltd.
Sir Michael has also held a number of advisory roles during his career, including Senior Advisor to Citibank, Senior Advisor to the International Affairs Think Tank Chatham House, a member of the Oxford University Global Board for Business Reputation, and a William Pitt Fellow at Pembroke College Cambridge, to name a few. He has also held the role of Chairman at many international blue-chip companies in numerous industry sectors.
Sir Michael qualified as chartered accountant in the UK in 1972, becoming Partner with Peat Marwick (KPMG) continental firm in Brussels in 1979, Senior Partner of KPMG Middle East in 1986, before becoming Chair of the UK firm in 1998, the European firm in 1999, and the Global firm in 2002.
He was also knighted by the late HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 for his extensive service. Most recently in 2021, he was made a Grand Cordon of the Order of Rising Sun, by the Emperor of Japan, for services to UK/Japan relations.
Dr. Finian Tan, Deputy Chairman
Dr. Finian Tan founded Vickers Venture Partners of Singapore in 2005 with five other co-founders and is the Company Chairman.
Before starting Vickers, Finian was a Managing Director and Founding Partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) ePlanet Asia Ventures. During his time at DFJ he led the investment into Baidu and remained its largest backer until the IPO.
Prior to DFJ ePlanet, Finian was Deputy Secretary of Trade and Industry for the Singapore Government where he oversaw the creation of the billion-dollar TIF fund and was subsequently appointed as Chairman of the fund.
As part of his earlier career path, Finian ran J.Aron (Singapore), the trading arm of Goldman Sachs.
Finian received his Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy in Engineering from Cambridge University. He received his B.Sc. in Engineering from the University of Glasgow, where he won every prize available to be won in all examinations in his years there.
Professor Thomas Rademacher, Co-founder, Executive Director & CEO
Professor Rademacher, MD, PhD, co-founded Emergex and has served as CEO since the Company’s formation.
He is an Emeritus Professor of Molecular Medicine at University College London (UCL) and a serial entrepreneur. Professor Rademacher is considered one of the founders of biotech in the early 1980s (recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies, glycobiology) and as an academic scientist has over 200 publications and 50 patents in his name. He was co-Founder of the field of Glycobiology and subsequent Glycobiology Institute in Oxford. He co-founded Oxford GlycoSciences, the first of Oxford University’s biotech spinouts, which, in 1998, was listed on the London Stock Exchange and reached a market capitalisation of £1.7 billion. After moving to UCL, Professor Rademacher founded several biotech spin-out companies, including Rodaris Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
In 2000, he entered into a collaboration with the Spanish Research Council and co-founded the first nanomedicine company, Midatech Ltd. Midatech floated on the AIM and NASDAQ stock exchanges in December 2015.
Professor Rademacher has authored over 200 publications and 50 patents – 19 of which are in the nanomedicine field. In addition to being a world leader in nanomedicine, he is also an expert in foetal-maternal medicine, having produced 25 publications and filed 5 patents related to preeclampsia.
Storme Moore-Thornicroft, Co-founder, Executive Director & COO
Storme Moore-Thornicroft co-founded Emergex and has served as COO since the Company’s formation.
Storme is responsible for business strategy formulation, implementation and execution at Emergex. In addition, she manages corporate and business development, company structure and organization, risk management, local and international partner relations and Board and shareholder relations.
She has operated in the biotechnology sector for over two decades and is particularly experienced in company formation and development. Storme has managed incorporation processes relating to the creation of corporate subsidiaries and other strategic structures such as Joint Ventures in Europe and in the US. She has managed financing processes for a number of early stage companies from corporate strategy and investor introduction through to investment agreement and completion. She also has experienced establishing strategic relationships with governments in South America, the Far East and areas of Africa.
Prior to Emergex, she co-founded Midatech Ltd, taking the role of Vice President, Corporate Management where she was responsible for corporate and business planning, implementation and execution of strategy and operations, resulting in technology development and commercialisation.
In her early career she served at University College London (UCL Business) as IP Manager where she was responsible for the prosecution and maintenance of IP portfolios generated for UCL spin-off companies.
Dr. Frank Tufaro, Non-Executive Director
Dr. Tufaro is COO of Replay Holdings, Inc. (San Diego) and brings a wealth of expertise and a proven track record in the biotechnology industry, particularly in the gene and oncolytic virus arena.
He founded and led several virus-based therapeutics and biopharmaceutical companies in the oncology space.
Dr. Tufaro started his career as Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia (1987-2003) and has authored numerous notable peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of virology and cancer. Currently he serves on executive and advisory boards of several biotech companies, with a commitment to advancing innovative solutions in biotechnology.
David Jackson, Non-Executive Director
David Jackson, formerly a Non-Executive Director at Phoenix Global Resources PLC and a Managing Director at Standard Chartered, brings over 40 years of diverse Board appointments in UK public and private sector companies as well as senior investment banking and asset management experience. He started his career as a Senior Legal Advisor at 3i Group PLC before moving into international investment banking in London and Asia.
Sergio Pagani, Executive Director
Sergio Pagani was previously Global Head of Commodities at ANZ Banking Group in Singapore and has more than 20 years of experience in international banking, finance and capital markets.
He has an extensive track record of delivering in a variety of senior positions in Zurich, London and Singapore, including at UBS Private Banking, Bankers Trust, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, and Mitsubishi UFJ.
Sergio is also an active investor in biotech companies and serves as a Director on the Board of RWDC Industries, a Singapore-based company with leading technology in the field of biodegradable biopolymers.
Dr Xinhong Lim, Director
Dr Xinhong Lim joined Vickers in 2015 and is based in Silicon Valley.
He has led investments into companies in the life sciences, medical device, AI and advanced materials sectors, and advises on fund strategy in these areas. He serves on the Board of Emergex as well as RWDC Industries, an advanced sustainable biopolymers company.
Dr Lim received his Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from Stanford University and a Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is an Assistant Professor (Adjunct) at the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS) and NTU LKC School of Medicine. His work has been published and cited in the most prestigious scientific journals, including Nature and Science, as well as highlighted in the international press, including by CNN and BBC. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Singapore National Academy of Sciences Young Scientist Award and the Ten Outstanding Young Singaporeans Award (Medical Innovation).
