ABGI

Failed

ABG Acquisition Corp. I

Underwriter: Jefferies
Raised
$120M
CIK
1833764
SPAC Ticker
ABGI
Focus
Healthcare, Biotech
External link: SEC Filings

SPAC Team

Leadership

Fan (Frank) Yu, 51, has been our Chief Executive Officer and a Director since November 2020. Mr. Yu is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Ally Bridge Group, a global healthcare-focused investment group. Prior to founding Ally Bridge Group in 2013, Mr. Yu served as a Managing Director and the Head of China Investments at Och-Ziff Capital Management Limited (“OZ”), a leading global hedge fund, from 2007 to 2009, where he made some of the largest and highly successful investments during his time at the firm. Prior to OZ, Mr. Yu joined Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong in 1999, served as Managing Director from 2005 to 2007 and headed several business units during his tenure. At Goldman Sachs, Mr. Yu advised leading Chinese companies on restructuring, financing and mergers and acquisitions, and leading global institutions on their China and Asia strategies and transactions. Before Goldman Sachs, Mr. Yu worked at Moody’s in New York, and then at Credit Suisse in London and Hong Kong. In addition, Mr. Yu was a director at Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVIR) from August 2016 to December 2019. Mr. Yu earned his bachelor’s degree from Queens College, City University of New York.

We believe Mr. Yu’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his substantial business and investment leadership, including in global life sciences, and his experience in envisioning and implementing strategic relations with emerging players and industry leaders across the U.S., China and Europe.

Daniel Johnson, CPA, 56, has been our Chief Financial Officer and a Director since November 2020. Mr. Johnson is also the Chief Financial Officer of Ally Bridge Group (NY) LLC, the New York branch of Ally Bridge Group. Mr. Johnson has over 30 years of experience in finance, operations and accounting and has held senior accounting, operational and compliance roles at various asset management organizations. Prior to joining Ally Bridge Group (NY) LLC in 2020, Mr. Johnson served as the Head of Finance & Administration and Chief Compliance Officer of Elenion Capital Management LP, a macro alpha capture manager, from March 2018 to May 2019, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Castle Ridge Investment Management LP, a real estate focused equities hedge fund manager, from February 2016 to July 2018, and the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Trend Capital Management, a manager running global macro portfolios, from May 2011 to December 2015, as well as its Chief Compliance Officer from May 2011 to October 2014. Mr. Johnson began his career in public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand and has worked in various other roles in the finance industry on both the buy-side and the sell-side in New York and London, including roles at a family office, Tiger Management and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Johnson earned his B.S. in accounting from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Mr. Johnson is a Certified Public Accountant.

We believe Mr. Johnson’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his substantial managerial experience in the alternative investment area of the financial services industry and his long-standing track record in growing and managing businesses and business operational infrastructure.

Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., 64, is a nominee for our board of directors . Dr. Sommadossi is the founder of Atea Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVIR), where he has served as the Chairman & CEO since 2012. He has over 30 years of scientific, operational, strategic and management experience in the biotech industry. Prior to founding Atea Pharmaceuticals in 2012, Dr. Sommadossi was the Principal Founder of Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDIX), which was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) for $3.85 billion in 2014, and a Co-Founder of Pharmasset, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRUS), which was acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) for $11 billion in 2012. Dr. Sommadossi held a number of significant executive positions at Idenix, including Chairman of the Board of Directors, Executive President and Chief Scientific Officer from 1998 to 2000, and then as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to 2010. Under his leadership, Idenix entered into multiple strategic collaborations, including those with Sumitomo and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), as well as a landmark biotech-pharma transaction with Novartis Pharma AG in 2003. During his tenure, Idenix discovered, co-developed and co-launched telbuvidine (Tyzeka/Sebivo) for the treatment of hepatitis B, and established a major clinical pipeline of antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Sommadossi is also a member of the Harvard Medical School Discovery Council, the Chairman of Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KZR) and Panchrest, Inc., and a member of the Board of The BioExec Institute. Dr. Sommadossi received his Ph.D. and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Marseilles in France.

We believe Dr. Sommadossi’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive scientific, operational, strategic and management experience in the biotech industry.

Stuart Chaffee, Ph.D., 47, is a nominee for our board of directors . Dr. Chaffee was the Chief Financial Officer of Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, from June 2020 to December 2020 and its Chief Business Officer from November 2017 to June 2020, responsible for the company’s business development, finance and operational activities. From November 2015 to November 2017, Dr. Chaffee was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Atlas Venture, where he was a co-founder and the Head of Business Operations at Kymera Therapeutics, Inc. from June 2016 to November 2017. Dr. Chaffee earned his B.S. in chemistry from The College of William and Mary, a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale University and an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

We believe Dr. Chaffee’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive background in drug discovery and development and his substantial experience in business development and operations.

Robert Castro, CPA, CGMA, 63, is a nominee for our board of directors . Mr. Castro is the owner of Savvy Fare LLC, an accounting and consulting firm that he founded in July 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Castro was a managing director at BDO Seidman LLP, where he began his career in December 1980, served as an auditor and advisor for many public companies, and led and participated in numerous IPOs. Mr. Castro earned his associate of applied science degree in accounting from CUNY Kingsborough Community College and B.S. in accounting from Long Island University Brooklyn. Mr. Castro is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant.

We believe Mr. Castro’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his substantial accounting and consulting experiences.