Tom joined Pappas Capital in 2018 and has more than 30 years of executive management experience in the life science and medical device industries. He is located in Boston and focuses primarily on company formation. In 2019, Tom founded Allievex Corp., a Pappas Ventures V portfolio company, and served as its President and CEO, as well as a director, until 2024. Allievex is developing novel therapies for the treatment of rare pediatric neurodegenerative diseases. Allievex’s lead product candidate is tralesinidase alfa, an investigational enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of children with Sanfilippo syndrome type B or mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (MPS IIIB).

Prior to Pappas Capital and Allievex, Tom was the President and CEO of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCD), a Pappas Ventures III founded company, which focused on the development of lasmiditan for the acute treatment of migraine headaches. Eli Lilly & Company acquired CoLucid in 2017 in an all-cash transaction worth nearly $1 billion. Prior to CoLucid, Tom was President and CEO of Peptimmune, Inc.; President and CEO of Cell Based Delivery, Inc.; Vice President and General Manager of Cardion AG; and Vice President of Strategic Development at Genzyme Corporation.

Tom currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board for Aer Therapeutics, Inc.; as a member of the Emerging Companies Section and Health Section Governing Boards of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), where he is active in the policy areas of capital formation, bioethics, intellectual property, and regulatory policy. Tom also serves as a Member of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RACGWVI), and as a business advisor to the Progeria Research Foundation. Previously, he served as a director for LifeSci Acquisition Corporation II (NASDAQ: LSAQ) and board observer for 4D Molecular Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDMT), a Pappas Ventures V portfolio company. From 1988 to 1991, Tom served as a captain in the United States Army and was awarded several medals for his services as an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot in the Gulf War.

Education:

United States Military Academy at West Point (BS in Engineering)