Management

Tolera has an experienced management team in place. A disciplined team which will generate value through aggressive new product commercialization, build-out of a valuable product pipeline, development of a solid intellectual property portfolio, and by collaborating with world-class strategic partners.

John J. Puisis, President and Chief Executive Officer
John is a senior executive adept at transforming technology-based companies into value creating organizations. He combines a unique set of strategic, financial, talent management, and operating skills to identify growth and value opportunities, while optimizing an organization’s technology and talent.  He was President and CEO of Third Wave Technologies (NASDAQ: TWTI), a Madison, WI-based biotechnology company, where he led the transition from a non-sustainable research tools business to a robust growth driven molecular diagnostics company.  John also served as a strategic consultant to DEKALB Genetics Corporation which was ultimately sold for $2.8 billion. John was with the Spencer Stuart life sciences practice group where he consulted with biotech and pharmaceutical firms on strategy and implementation. John received his BS - Accounting from Northern Illinois University and his MBA at Northwestern University.

Maria Siemionow, MD, PhD, DSc, Chief Medical Officer
A leader in the fields of microsurgery and transplantation, Dr. Siemionow serves as Director of Plastic Surgery Research and Head of Microsurgery Training at the Cleveland Clinic. For the past twelve years, she has been devoted to studies on transplantation tolerance and immune modulation. During her career as a mentor, she has trained over 75 surgeons from all over the world. Her leadership skills were confirmed by her election to the post of President of American Society for Peripheral Nerve in 2005. Working on different transplantation models and immunosuppressive protocols, she has published over 180 peer reviewed articles on transplantation, tolerance, and tissue regeneration. For her work on transplantation and tolerance she has been awarded the prestigious Folkert Belzer Award in Transplantation in Nagoya, Japan. Maria has established unique transplantation protocols and has vigorously pursued transplant solutions that improve survival while reducing the risks of immunosuppression. Maria developed the unique patented protocols utilizing the therapeutic antibody which Tolera plans to commercialize.

Dr. Siemionow’s work has been featured in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dermatology Times, Newsweek, People Magazine, and Cleveland Magazine, in which she was chosen one of the most interesting people of 2006. Dr. Siemionow has also appeared on local and national radio and television broadcasts including NPR’s All Things Considered, The Today Show, CNN, NBC Nightly News, ABC, and CBS.

James J. Herrmann, Chief Operating Officer
James (Jim) is a senior financial and operations executive with experience in product development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. Jim served as vice president of finance and operations for Third Wave Technologies (NASDAQ: TWTI), where his responsibilities included long-range and annual planning, company-wide systems and infrastructure development, financial and operational management as well as quality system oversight. Jim is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (BBA: Accounting and English) and the University of Chicago (MBA). He is a certified public accountant.