Board of Directors

Tom Anderson brings a unique skill set to ExpressCells: managing aggressive growth, IPO, financing, fundraising, and talent development. Mr. Anderson was recruited to Sage Therapeutics, Inc. in 2014 to be the company’s first Chief Commercial Strategy Officer. After the successful launch of ZULRESSO™ (brexanolone), he left Sage to found his own strategic advisory firm, TreD Avon Advisors, LLC. Between 2004 and 2014, Mr. Anderson was a senior operating (P&L) executive with Shire Pharmaceuticals Group in a number of strategic, CEO-advisory roles. During that time, Shire achieved a 5-fold increase in revenues and market cap valuation. Prior to that, Mr. Anderson was with J&J. Between 2000 and 2002, he served in C-suite and Board roles with market-leading consumer product companies as part of the Claneil Enterprises, Inc. family of companies: President & CEO for Ranir-DCP Corporation, and EVP / COO with Claneil’s Lander Company, Inc. Mr. Anderson earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business Administration. He received a BS in civil engineering from the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering at Lehigh University.

Having more than 21 years of diverse experience, Sajad Bilgrami is an Anesthesiology Specialist at West Jersey Anesthesia Associates. Dr. Bilgrami is an alumnus of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 1998 and completed his residency at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to Rowan, he earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. Currently he is affiliated with Virtua West Jersey Hospitals. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Dr. Bilgrami came to America with his parents when he was five years old. He has a passion for education, specifically in the areas of medicine, engineering, physics and technical training. An entrepreneur at heart, Dr. Bilgrami prides himself on converting complex subject matter into practical understanding and application. Dr. Bilgrami is associated with the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund, one of the co-lead investors for ExpressCells’ recently completed Series A funding round.

Wendy DiCicco is an experienced C-suite executive and corporate director with an array of corporate leadership accomplishments for both public and private companies. She currently is a Board Director of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals—also serving as Audit Committee Chair—and Carmell Therapeutics. She previously served on three public and private boards in the medical device, semiconductor and biotechnology sectors, chairing audit, compensation, and governance committees. Ms. DiCicco is a financial, executive and board advisory consultant for emerging growth companies, often as interim CFO. She previously was COO & CFO of Centinel Spine, President & COO of Camber Spine Technologies, and CFO for several medical device and biotechnology companies, including 12 years at Kensey Nash Corporation. Ms. DiCicco started her career with Deloitte & Touche in audit assurance. In the community, she is on the boards of the Chester County Library System and the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors, where she is also a Corporate Governance and Board Leadership Fellow. Ms. DiCicco graduated from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science with a B.S. degree in Accounting and is a CPA.

Mr. Handel has spent most of his career in biopharmaceutical product development, transitioning from the world of traditional pharmaceuticals to biotechnology, cell therapy, and regenerative medicine. He began his career at Merck & Co., where he launched Aggrastat®, a treatment for acute coronary syndromes, and marketed and developed the strategy for Singulair®, one of the most successful asthma and allergic rhinitis medicines. He then spent 11 years at Shire Pharmaceuticals in multiple roles, much of the time spent in Corporate Development where he was involved in multiple transactions and identified new therapeutic areas for Shire to enter. Mr. Handel then moved to G&W Laboratories, Inc., where he built the product selection process and identified licensing and acquisition opportunities. Mr. Handel previously founded Recensa Therapeutics and Skyran Biologics. He is a board director of PolyAurum, LLC, an oncology company. Mr. Handel is a graduate of Princeton University and received his MS in operations management and marketing from the MIT Sloan School of Management.