N. Arantes Oliveira

Personal

Full name: Nuno Manuel de Castro Santos Arantes e Oliveira
Born: Lisbon, Portugal, February 14th 1974
Address: Taguspark, núcleo central 267, 2740-122 Porto Salvo, Portugal
Contact: nao@alfama.com.pt, +351 21 4240001, +351 21 4240033(fax).
Family: Married, two daughters.

Current position

Alfama Inc, Cambridge, MA, USA and Porto Salvo (Lisbon), Portugal
President and Chief Executive Officer. www.alfama.com.pt.

Education

Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, USA
Executive course on Leadership and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech, June 2006.

Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
Post-doctorate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology, 2002-05.

University of Lisbon, Portugal
Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Genetics, with highest honors, 2002.

University of California San Francisco (UCSF), USA
Visiting Doctoral Student, 1998-2002 (continuously).

Gulbenkian Institute of Science (IGC), Oeiras, Portugal
Gulbenkian Doctoral Program in Biology and Medicine, 1997-98 class.

University of Lisbon, Portugal
Undergraduate degree (Licenciatura) in Biology, 1997.

Main Achievements

- From June 2005 until now I have led Alfama to become one of the most promising start-ups in European biotechnology by, among other achievements, establishing a basis in the U.S. and a presence in several countries; attracting top scientific, industrial and business talent from around the World; maintaining a clear research and development course; raising the necessary funds from qualified investors; and keeping a tight, entrepreneurial team spirit.

- December 2005. Representing Alfama, I was the winner of the European Commission’s Venture Contest, Europe’s largest competition for high-growth start-up companies, with over 300 participants. Individually I also won the special award from the public for the best presentation.

- June 2005. As CEO of Alfama Inc I led the company to raise the largest ever round of venture capital funding for any start-up based in Portugal.

- November 2002. By co-founding Alfama Lda in Portugal, I helped create the first modern drug development start-up to ever emerge in the country.

- 2002-05. I was the first managing director of ATGC Portugal, which under my leadership became profitable and the top technology-transfer company in the biomedical field in Portugal.

- 2003. As a scientist I was the leading author of research results showing the largest expansion of lifespan ever produced artificially in any living organism (a six-fold increase) – a major scientific breakthrough.

- 1998-2002. The research work I developed in the laboratory of Prof. Cynthia Kenyon at UCSF shed light on the genetic mechanisms of aging and lifespan, and led to the publication of three original papers in the journal Science.

- 1998-2002. I was awarded several fellowships and prizes by, among others, the Academia Europaea (Burgen Scholar, 2002), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (Winner of the 20th International Essay Contest, 1998), and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Portugal (several fellowships).

- 2000-01. While residing in California, I launched and headed the first program for the scientific cooperation between Portuguese-speaking countries in the life sciences, based in Maputo, Mozambique.

- 1997. I was admitted into the Gulbenkian Doctoral Program in Biology and Medicine, at the time one of Europe’s most prestigious PhD programs, admitting ~16 students per year and providing them with support to study abroad in some of the best labs in the World.

Other Activities and Skills

- Currently I sit on the 5-member Board of APBio, the Portuguese Association of Bio-Industries.

- Since 2002 I have been an invited speaker in well over 30 conferences and seminars on biotech, innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe, the United States, China and Latin America.

- During 2005-06 I designed and coordinated ViaBio, a one-year project aimed at fostering the application of biotechnological solutions to “traditional” sectors of the Portuguese industry (textiles, energy, forestry and agro-food). The initiative was the first of its kind and was sponsored by COTEC Portuguesa and by eight of the largest private companies in Portugal.

- During the last few years I have gained in-depth experience in the strategic management of biotechnology start-ups, fundraising, business development, technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property.

- I speak English and Portuguese fluently, I have a good command of French and Spanish and I have studied Japanese language and culture for two years.

- I have taken entrepreneurship and executive courses at the Harvard Business School, at the Haas School of Business of the University of California at Berkeley, and with the Eurobiobiz program.

- I have worked as an expert consultant or advisor for the Portuguese Government, the European Commission, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), among others.

- My work either as a scientist or as an entrepreneur has been featured in all the major newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Portugal, as well as in some major international media (Business Week, Wall Street Journal, BBC, and many others).

- Since 2004 I have accompanied two Presidents of the Republic of Portugal in several presidential visits to foreign countries.

- Since graduating from college, I have participated in numerous initiatives to promote the education of biological sciences and entrepreneurship among children and teenagers in the Lisbon area, and I have offered many lectures to young student audiences on these subjects.