Vivaldi Biosciences Board Appoints William Wick as Chief Executive Officer and John Costantino as Chairman
Fort Collins, CO – May 22, 2017 - Vivaldi Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetically attenuated live influenza vaccines for seasonal and pandemic influenza, today announced the appointment of William O. Wick, Jr. to the position of Chief Executive Officer. John R. Costantino, Managing General Partner of NGN Capital LLC, was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors.
William (Bill) Wick joined Vivaldi in 2007 as its first Chief Financial Officer. In 2013 he was appointed additionally to the position of Chief Operating Officer and also was named a Managing Director of the company’s European affiliate, Vivaldi Biosciences AG (Vienna, Austria). Mr. Wick has extensive leadership experience in venture-backed medical and high-tech companies, serving as CFO of Lumendi LLC, a medical device company; founding CFO of ZoZa.com, an internet retailer; and founding CFO of QuickPower, Inc., an alternative energy company. Mr. Wick’s international finance and operating experience includes a sixteen-year career with Vision Capital LLC, a trans-Atlantic venture capital firm investing in high-tech start-ups, where he was Managing Director and CFO. Mr. Wick earned an AB in Economics from Stanford University, and an MBA from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
“Bill Wick has made innumerable important contributions to the financial and operational success of Vivaldi Biosciences. I am very pleased that he has taken on the position of CEO, and I have every confidence in his leadership as he moves the company into new areas of growth and product development. Vivaldi’s DeltaFLU influenza vaccine candidates show exciting promise, and Bill has the ability to drive development of the DeltaFLU platform to its full commercial potential,” said Mr. Costantino.
“We thank Douglass Given, MD, PhD, for his vision and service as Vivaldi’s Chairman and CEO. We look forward to his continued service on our board of directors, where his deep industry expertise and relationships provide ongoing value to the company,” Mr. Costantino added.
John Costantino has served on Vivaldi’s board of directors since 2013. He also is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vivaldi Biosciences AG. Mr. Costantino has over 30 years of private equity and venture experience with NGN Capital LLC, Vivaldi’s lead investor, and previously as a Partner of Walden Partners, a merchant / investment banking firm. He also was Senior Executive Vice President & COO and a Director of Conair, a leading personal care company with over $1 billion of revenues, and was President and a Managing Director of Integrated Resources Acquisition, a leveraged buyout firm. Mr. Costantino began his career at the accounting firm Touche Ross & Co., where he became the firm’s managing tax partner in New York. Mr. Costantino has served and continues to serve as a member of the boards of directors of a number of international and domestic companies in health care and other industries. He recently served as a board member of Valtech Inc., which was sold to Edwards Life Sciences Corporation. Mr. Costantino holds BS and JD degrees from Fordham University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.