Top Priorities for Life Sciences CFOs in 2024: A Life Sciences CFO Roundtable

Amit Bhalla
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Sampled

Mr. Bhalla has more than 25 years of Wall Street and healthcare industry experience. His background in finance, strategy and business development includes experience in equity investing as well as sourcing, negotiating and integrating transformational and tuck-in M&A. Most recently, Mr. Bhalla served as Senior Healthcare Analyst at Lord, Abbett & Co. with responsibility for investments across all healthcare verticals in seven Lord Abbett funds.

Mike Madden
Chief Financial Officer, Lumanity

Mr. Madden is responsible for the Lumanity’s financial operations and functions. This includes financial strategy, financial performance management, capital allocation, financial services, controllership, tax, treasury and corporate strategy. Mr. Madden joined Lumanity in 2023 as an experienced finance leader, with over 20 years of global finance and transformation experience. He possesses a proven track record of success with Fortune 250 financial institutions, large multinational, public, and private equity backed companies.

Harry Palmin
Experienced CFO

Mr. Palmin has a successful track record of building, financing and operating public/private life sciences companies for 25 years, having taken 3 companies public. He served as CFO at Acer Therapeutics from 2016 until the sale to Zevra Therapeutics in November 2023. Mr. Palmin took Acer public in 2017 achieving a $330 million peak market capitalization and raised $172 million in pursuit of Acer’s drug development and commercial objectives culminating in OLPRUVA® approval in December 2022.

Sarah Romano
CPA, Chief Financial Officer, First Wave BioPharma

Before joining First Wave BioPharma in March 2022, Ms. Romano held the position of Chief Financial Officer at Kiora Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on ophthalmic disease treatments, from February 2017 to February 2022. Earlier, she served as Corporate Controller at Kiora Pharmaceuticals from August 2016 to January 2017. Prior to that, Ms. Romano worked as an Assistant Controller at TechTarget and as Corporate Controller at Bowdoin Group, a healthcare-oriented executive recruitment firm.

Moderator

Douglas E. Gustin, CPA
Assurance Principal, BDO

Mr. Gustin has over 20 years of combined experience in public and private accounting working primarily with middle-market companies in technology, manufacturing and life sciences industries. His client service experience includes working on SEC engagements, including accelerated and large accelerated issuers as well as private equity, venture backed and family-owned businesses. Mr. Gustin has extensive experience working with other BDO International member firms.