Media Kit

Charles Cherington

Chairman

Charles Cherington co-founded Ara in 2017, co-heads the firm alongside Troy Thacker, and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. He has more than 25 years of private equity experience in the industrial, energy and chemical industries in which he has executed over 50 transactions. Charles’ ten most recent investments have all targeted carbon reduction in the industrial and chemical industries. Prior to co-founding Ara, Charles founded Intervale Capital in 2006 after successfully managing two smaller private equity firms focused on industrial buyouts. Charles previously worked for Lochridge & Company, a strategy consulting firm. Prior to that, Charles worked for the Vietnam Fund in Hanoi and Saigon. After graduating from business school, Charles’ first job was with Credit Suisse, in municipal finance. Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Chicago. Charles has long been active in the land conservation movement. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Conservation Fund, a national land conservation organization. Charles and his wife Ashley have donated more conservation easements in the State of Vermont than any other individual or private entity.

Matt Angel, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Matt Angel, PhD, is currently the CEO, bringing a wealth of biotechnology executive experience to Eterna. He led Factor Bioscience Inc. as CEO since its founding in 2011 and was co-founder of Novellus Therapeutics and Exacis Biotherapeutics. Dr. Angel possesses deep experience in cell therapy product development, intellectual property protection and licensing, and contract negotiations, including collaboration and licensing agreements. He has raised more than $150 million through grants, equity financings, and mergers and acquisitions. A pioneer in mRNA technology, Dr. Angel is a prolific inventor with more than 100 patents covering mRNA, nucleic acid delivery, gene editing, and cell reprogramming technologies. Dr. Angel received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied immunology and synthetic RNA.

Gregory Fiore, MD

Director

Dr. Gregory Fiore, MD, is a co-founder and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Exacis Biotherapeutics. He is a pharmaceutical/biotechnology executive and entrepreneur and is a co-founder and former CEO of Sollis Therapeutics, where during his tenure as CEO he raised ~$50M in funding from state grants as well as strategic venture investors. He oversaw the regulatory strategy development and initiation of pivotal clinical trials for the company’s lead compound. Before this he provided C-level medical support as consultant and acting Chief Medical Officer for several early-stage biotechnology companies through two consultancies he founded. Dr. Fiore was the first CMO of The Medicines Company, held a variety of leadership roles at Merck and Abbott Laboratories, and spent time as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company. Dr. Fiore completed an Internal Medicine internship and residency as well as received clinical Pulmonary / Critical Care training at Harvard Medical School and received his MD degree from New York Medical College.

Nicholas Singer

Director

Nicholas J. Singer has over 20 years of experience in finance and investments and is the Founder and Managing Member of Purchase Capital. He is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of United Parks, Chairman of IntegriCo Composites, the Chairman of OWYN (Only What You Need), a Board Member of Eterna Therapeutics, a Board Member of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, a Trustee of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and a member of the James Madison Council at the Library of Congress.

From 2007 to 2013, Mr. Singer was the Co-Founder and Co-Managing Member of Standard General, an SEC registered investment advisor which managed over $1 billion of assets during his tenure. Prior to that, he was a Founding Partner of Cyrus Capital Partners, a Principal at Och-Ziff Capital Management, and an Analyst in High Yield Trading and in the Principal Investment Area at Goldman Sachs & Co. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A.S. in Electrical Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bill Wexler

Director

Bill Wexler has worked on over 150 individual projects, serving in various capacities including: Chairman; Chief Executive Officer; Chief Restructuring Officer and other designated roles of senior responsibility. Since 2017, he has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive officer of Homer City Holdings, LLC which owns and operates a multiple unit merchant power plant which is located in western Pennsylvania. From July 2012 to December 2019, he served in various roles, including as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and sole Director and shareholder representative of Upstate New York Power Products, Inc. which owned and operated merchant power plants throughout upstate New York. From January 2012 to April 2013, Mr. Wexler served as Chief Restructuring Officer of VMR Electronics, LLC, a manufacturer of cable assembly products for the electronics interconnect industry. Between 2006 and 2011, he served as a managing director and national finance practice lead at BBK, Ltd., a turn-around advisory firm. From 2002 to 2005, he served as Group Managing Director of Corporate Restructuring at Huron Consulting Group, LLC. From 2000 to 2002, he was a Managing Director at Berenson Minella & Co., a boutique investment-banking firm. Between 1986 and 2000 he served as a Senior Director at BNP Paribas, where he established and led Paribas Properties, Inc., a real estate investment arm of the bank. In addition, he was a Senior Officer in the bank’s North American asset workout group. Mr. Wexler began his career in 1981 in commercial lease brokerage, asset management and investment sales at Jones Lang Wootton. He earned a BA in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University.