Management
John Lai
CEO, President & Director
Mr. Lai has been a director and senior executive officer since March 2014, serving in various capacities that include Principal Financial Officer, President and CEO; and serving as our Chief Executive Officer from March 2014 to May 2017 and June 2019 to present. From March 2012 to April 2016, Mr. Lai also was Chief Executive Officer and a director of Blue Earth Resources, Inc., a small public company which acquired and managed working interests in producing oil and gas leases in Louisiana. Mr. Lai has over thirty years of senior executive and operational management and financial experience while holding key executive positions with several public companies in various industries.
In 1992 Mr. Lai founded and until December 2012 was the principal owner and President of Genesis Capital Group, Inc., which provided significant consulting services to many public and private companies in the powersports, technology and other industries, while advising its clients in corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, and private and public capital-raising through equity offerings. Mr. Lai’s role as a co-founder of the company and his many years of experience as a chief executive officer of many public or private companies are material factors regarding his qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors.
Garry Lowenthal
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Lowenthal has over 25 years of extensive experience in senior operations and key finance management positions, both with private and public companies. He has developed a substantial background with equity capital raising transactions while managing both private placements and public offerings for various corporations. Mr. Lowenthal has vast financial and corporate management experience, including performing the functions as the Managing Partner of Security First International, Inc., a CFO advisory and management consulting firm, assuming the role of an advisor, acting chief financial officer and director of Elate Group, Inc. (Elate Moving LLC), a global moving and storage company based in New York City, through his CFO consulting company Security First International, Inc., and taking on the responsibilities of a director, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Fision Corporation (OTCQB: FSSN). Furthermore, Mr. Lowenthal has served on the national board of Financial Executives International (FEI), a premier professional association for CFOs and other senior financial executives. He has also served as President of the Twin Cities Chapter of FEI and, in the past, as chairman of FEI's national technology committee. Mr. Lowenthal has been on the Alumni Advisory Board of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota where he graduated with a master's degree in Taxation and Finance and a Bachelor's of Science in Business degree in Accounting and an Associates in Liberal Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. He has also served as a District Chairman for the Boy Scouts of America and serves on the President’s Cabinet for the local Council. Mr. Lowenthal is also a past President and Director for Kiwanis International in his local community club. As an operational CFO, along with his financial reporting and regulatory expertise, Mr. Lowenthal further understands the world of corporate governance, through his experiences as serving as a fiduciary director. Finally, Mr. Lowenthal’s experiences working for two of the largest CPA/Consulting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte, with various client engagements in diverse industries, allows him to bring a unique perspective as an advisor to Boards of Directors of public companies.
Randall Meyer
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Meyer has over 25 years of leadership experience in medical device development and commercialization, including expertise in successfully growing medical device companies from concept to profitability. He has served as CEO at Tactile Medical (TCMD) and as COO at Gel-Del Technologies.
John Dolan
Chief Business Development Officer & General Counsel
Mr. Dolan has been working with the Company as a director and/or an officer since March 2014. He has served as our Chief Financial Officer from March 2014 to November 2017, General Counsel since October 2019 and Chief Business Development Officer since August 2021. Mr. Dolan also has served as a director for a number of early stage companies, such as TERRACOH, Inc. and Traust Structured, LLC. Mr. Dolan was also a shareholder in the intellectual property group of the Minneapolis law firm of Fredrikson & Byron, where he specialized in securing and protecting domestic and foreign patent and other IP rights, as well as providing counsel to various clients involving mergers and acquisitions, private equity and other related corporate matters.
During the past five years, Mr. Dolan has also provided consulting services to several early stage companies on all aspects of IP asset protection as well as new technology and corporate development. His extensive career in intellectual property development and corporate counsel includes serving as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Bryan Monninger
Vice President of Sales
Mr. Monninger has over 20+ years within the animal industry, focused in the areas of Sales and Marketing with growing levels of responsibility. Experiences include Hill’s Pet Nutrition Science Diet and Prescription Diet brands, Novus International for large animal feed additives, and Lintbells/YuMOVE in the companion animal joint supplement category. This range of roles has allowed for managing large existing businesses, bringing significant scientific innovation to the profession, as well as building a veterinary business from zero. Bryan has successfully built and developed both veterinary sales and marketing teams delivering market share, revenue, and profit growth to multiple businesses. Bryan has a strong passion for the veterinary profession and the animal industry in its special mission to further the human/animal bond.
April Boyce
Vice President of Marketing
Ms. Boyce has over 25 years of leadership experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG), international marketing, sales, strategic partnerships, and licensing. Before transitioning to the mid-market and start-up sectors, she held significant positions at Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Clorox. In the mid-market, Ms. Boyce led global marketing for the global housewares company Interdesign, Inc., where she served as Vice President of Global Marketing and Branding. Most recently, she served as Chief Commercial Officer for the animal health pet-tech company, Link. Ms. Boyce holds a BS in Advertising from the University of Florida.
Josh Wilhelm
Vice President of R&D and Clinical Trials
Mr. Wilhelm was the Director of Islet Manufacturing and R&D at the Schulze Diabetes Institute (“SDI”), coordinating the islet isolation and research activities of the "Isolation Core". As the Director of Manufacturing at SDI, Mr. Wilhelm supervised all cGMP manufacturing, process engineering, and quality systems. He further assumed the role at SDI of lead supervisor for human clinical islet manufacturing, managed both clinical and pre-clinical activities of the team and pursued research related to understanding and improving islet isolation yields and islet graft function. Mr. Wilhelm obtained his M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and entered industry to explore the real-world application of biomaterials and cell, tissue, and gene therapies for Medtronic, Inc and several local medical device and biotechnology start-ups.
Dr. Tom Yarbrough, DVM
Senior Research Veterinarian
Dr. Yarbrough is a board-certified Equine surgeon with 30 years of experience working on high level performance horses within all disciplines. He began his career developing a referral base while working in research under the esteemed Dr. Hari Reddi at the Center for Tissue Regeneration and repair at the UC Medical center. His research with Hari centered around an understanding of the changing genetic expression in chondrocytes as they reformed their new nanostructure when suspended in materials for later use in joint resurfacing. Throughout his career he has stayed peripherally involved in research both from the bench-top to the clinic. This research has involved projects from the use and development of robotics in surgical applications and advanced imaging to testing and optimization of novel medications and devices for the management of osteoarthritis. Although varied in scope his primary research interests and passion has always involved the arena of management of osteoarthritis. Colleagues that know him know he is an open skeptic very slow to follow the new trends that frequent the veterinary space. He comes on board with PetVivo with excitement to take his knowledge of joint physiology and biology and put it to use as the Company continues to understand the mechanisms of action of Spryng in patients with joint pain.
Dr. Marie Bartling DVM, cVMA, IVCA, CCRT, CVPP
Clinical Consultant
Dr. Bartling graduated as a veterinarian from Colorado State University 2005. She pursued her passion for working with horses through an equine internship and in small animals through general practice work with an evolving focus for physical health and a goal to help animals maintain active quality of life.
Since very early in her career she has been frustrated with limited pain management options for humans and animals with chronic pain. She has studied several aspects of integrative medicine in attempt to find a balance between pain relief and fostering physical health. She is certified in acupuncture, chiropractic care and stem cell therapy.
In 2016, she became Certified in Canine Rehabilitation and a Certified Pain Practitioner with IVAPM in 2019. Through this education she learned to think more critically about which drugs, supplements and physical interventions to use at a given stage of physical disease. Her patients began to reduce their needs for long-term medications and live a better quality of life.
Her biggest passion is to teach veterinarians and their staff to think progressively about how to recognize, diagnose and treat physical causes of pain in pets which she does as a professional speaker and clinical consultant for education and research related to arthritis.
Dr. Kirsty Husby, DVM, MS, DACVS (LA)
Senior Technical Services Veterinarian
Dr. Husby received her BS in Animal Science and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from Iowa State University. She completed an internship and Clinical Fellowship (equine surgery) at the University of Missouri, followed by a large animal surgical residency and Master of Veterinary Science degree at Oregon State University.
She achieved Diplomate status, becoming board certified in large animal surgery (DACVS) in 2019. She served as Clinical Instructor and as a large animal emergency clinician at the Oregon State University School of Veterinary Medicine for several years, followed by time as an in-house equine surgeon with a private equine clinic.
Dr. Kirsty is currently a locum surgeon in Corvallis, Oregon, following her time as a small animal veterinarian and Medical Director at Cascade Animal Hospital.
Dr. Ann Zieser, DVM
Senior Technical Services Veterinarian
Dr. Zieser began her career as a companion animal practitioner at Middleton Veterinary Hospital (“MVH”) located outside Madison, Wisconsin. Thirty-one years later she continues to work at MVH treating companion dogs and cats performing diagnostics, internal medicine, radiology, surgery and dentistry to name just a few disciplines.
Dr. Zieser has further contributed to the veterinary community as the secretary of the local Dane County Veterinary Medical Association. Following several different volunteer positions within the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Zieser elevated her participation by accepting the role as President-Elect of the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Zieser has further climbed from local and state-organized veterinary medicine into the national arena as the American Veterinary Medical Association alternate delegate and then delegate for the state of Wisconsin. Dr. Zieser has a degree in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from UW-Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Maureen Dower, DVM
Veterinary Medical Affairs Specialist
Dr. Dower has more than 20 years of veterinary experience in the Animal Health Industry holding various roles as a practicing veterinarian, as well as a key contributor in customer service of therapeutic veterinary products and the implementation and customization of pharmacovigilance systems in companies developing and commercializing veterinary products. Dr. Dower has served in various capacities, contributing to product development, regulatory guidance, technical sales training and customer service with companies such as Pfizer Animal Health and Zoetis Animal Health. Dr. Dower’s involvement with some of the leading brands for veterinary products brings a wealth of experience to PetVivo. Dr. Dower has a degree in animal sciences from Penn State University and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Board of Directors
Rob Costantino
Director
Mr. Costantino is a retired CPA and former senior executive who has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of large corporations. He is currently a part time financial consultant, investor and a current member of the Board of Directors of 4 Yamaha Motor Finance subsidiaries. His most recent executive position was a dual role of Senior Executive Vice President– Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of NASDAQ listed WFS Financial, Inc., an automotive and commercial finance company and concurrently as Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of NYSE listed Westcorp Inc, an OTS regulated bank. He was responsible for operations and all financial areas including SEC filings, analyst interaction, earnings calls, and treasury of both companies. Mr. Costantino played a key role in the negotiation and ultimate sale of both companies to Wachovia (Wells Fargo) for $3.9 billion.
Prior to that, he was President & CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America, Inc - an automotive finance company with over $10 billion in assets, where he guided the company to profitability and ultimately negotiated the sale of the company’s assets to Merrill Lynch. Prior to that, he served for 17 years at various escalating management positions of Volvo Cars of North America and Volvo North America including being SVP & CFO of both the automotive parent company and the captive finance company. He was integral to the successful relocation of the company from the East Coast to California, as part of the creation of the Premier Auto Group after Ford Motor Company acquired Volvo.
Spencer brings over 30 years of management and leadership experience in the animal health industry, most recently with MWI Animal Health, Amerisource Bergen where he held numerous positions on the executive leadership team. He did account segmentation allowing MWI to expand from a regional player to the largest US nationwide animal health distributor along with developing the corporate account team and shaping the telesales team. Spencer spent his career working for Fortune 500 animal health companies - Bristol Myers, Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth where he held various sales and marketing roles. At Wyeth/Fort Dodge Animal Health, he developed a distributor strategy and implemented the first MAP pricing model into the animal health industry. Growing up in the veterinarian industry as the son of a prominent veterinarian, gave him great insight when launching his career into animal health. Spencer has seen the transformation of the animal-human bond, and it continues to make him passionate about improving our pet's lives.
Spencer Breithaupt
Director
Robert Rudelius
Director
Mr. Rudelius is the CEO and Managing Director of Noble Ventures, LLC, a company he founded in 2001 that provides advisory and consulting services to early and mid-stage companies in the information technology, communications, medical technology and social e-commerce industries. From April 1999 through May 2001, when it was acquired by StarNet L.P., Mr. Rudelius was the founder, Chairman and CEO of Media DVX, Inc., a start-up business that provided a satellite-based, IP-multi casting alternative to transmitting television commercials via analog videotapes to television stations, networks and cable television operators throughout North America.
From April 1998 to April 1999, Mr. Rudelius was the President and COO of Control Data Systems, Inc., during which time Mr. Rudelius reorganized and re-positioned the software company as a professional technology services company, resulting in the successful sale of the company to British Telecom. From October 1995 through April 1998, Mr. Rudelius was the founding Managing Partner of AT&T; Solution’s Media, Entertainment &; Communications industry group.
From January 1990 through September 1995, Mr. Rudelius was a partner in McKinsey &; Company’s Information, Technology and Systems practice, during which time he headed the practice in Japan and the United Kingdom. Mr. Rudelius began his career at Arthur Andersen &; Co. where he was a leader in the firm’s financial accounting systems consulting practice. Mr. Rudelius has served as a member of the Axogen, Inc. (AXGN) Board of Directors since September 2010, where he is chairman of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee.
Diane Levitan, DVM
Director
Dr. Levitan's wide-ranging career in veterinary medicine has spanned over three decades since receiving her Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She practiced internal medicine, emergency medicine, and critical care at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and later founded Peace Love Pets Veterinary Care, PLLC in Commack, New York, a small animal veterinary care general practice that also specializes in internal medicine, diagnostic ultrasound endoscopy, and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Levitan has served on the board of many veterinary medicine organizations, such as the New York Board of Regent's Board for Veterinary Medicine, the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation, and the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management. Dr. Levitan has also served as a subject matter expert, consultant, and advisor to multiple businesses in the veterinary medicine industry. Dr. Levitan's career has also extended into education, including her current position as Associate Professor of Veterinary Skills at Long Island University College of Veterinary Medicine and serving as a lecturer for Merial and Pfizer Animal Pharmaceutical companies on leptospirosis, other diseases, and vaccinations. Dr. Levitan has also been a prolific author and media contributor in the world of veterinary medicine. She has published many articles in professional journals and texts on subjects such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy and endoscopy, as well as in consumer publications such as the New York Times. She has also made many radio and television appearances, including being a Merck Animal Health Media Spokesperson and appearing on CNN as a veterinary expert. Additionally, Dr. Levitan is the founder and president of Helping Promote Animal Welfare, Inc. (Helping PAW), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity focused on ending pet overpopulation through education to the public and offering general veterinary health care services. Dr. Levitan's extensive experience as a veterinarian is a material factor that demonstrates her qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors.
Joseph Jasper
Director
Mr. Jasper is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) who since 2005 has been Chief Executive Officer of Vermillion Research, an institutional investment firm, while being responsible for its day-to-day operational management. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Jasper was Managing Director and Director of Fixed Income and Marketing for Piper Jaffray Company. Prior to 2002, he spent 20 years managing, structuring and selling fixed income and equity securities at several leading investment banking firms, including U.S. Bancorp Libra and UBS PaineWebber.
Mr. Jasper also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of MicroNet, Inc. and as a director of Windigo Logistics, both privately-held companies. He has previously served as a director or principal advisor to many operating and venture-stage companies across a broad range of industries. Mr. Jasper received a MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas, where he also has served as its Adjunct Professor of Finance.
John Lai
CEO, President and Director
Mr. Lai has been a director and senior executive officer since March 2014, serving in various capacities that include Principal Financial Officer, President and CEO; and serving as our Chief Executive Officer from March 2014 to May 2017 and June 2019 to present. From March 2012 to April 2016, Mr. Lai also was Chief Executive Officer and a director of Blue Earth Resources, Inc., a small public company which acquired and managed working interests in producing oil and gas leases in Louisiana. Mr. Lai has over thirty years of senior executive and operational management and financial experience while holding key executive positions with several public companies in various industries.
In 1992 Mr. Lai founded and until December 2012 was the principal owner and President of Genesis Capital Group, Inc., which provided significant consulting services to many public and private companies in the powersports, technology and other industries, while advising its clients in corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, and private and public capital-raising through equity offerings. Mr. Lai’s role as a co-founder of the company and his many years of experience as a chief executive officer of many public or private companies are material factors regarding his qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors.
Mike Eldred
Director
Mr. Eldred previously served as President and CEO of North American Operations at Dechra Pharmaceutical. He joined Dechra in 2004 and was responsible for Dechra Veterinary Products’ North American business until departing in June, 2024.
He was Dechra’s first employee in the U.S., where he built the U.S., Mexican and Canadian teams to more than 250 people and helped grow sales to 191.6 million. He was also involved in more than 15 commercial agreements and acquisitions for Dechra, including Pharmaderm, DermaPet, Phycox Animal Health and Putney. Prior to Dechra, he served as director of Business Development and Corporate Business Unit at Virbac Corporation, an animal health pharmaceutical company.
At Virbac, he directed and coordinated all acquisition, divestiture, licensing agreements, and business alliances strategic to the company. He was involved with such acquisitions as King Pharmaceutical’s animal health products and Delmarva Laboratories. He also spearheaded in-licenses with Genesis Topical Spray and CHX chews.
Mr. Eldred previously served as Virbac’s director of Supply Chain and Customer Service, where he reduced order turnaround time from five days to one day as well as improved customer fill rate form 70% to 98%. Earlier in his career, Mr. Eldred served as director of Asia Pacific Poultry & North America Planning and Distribution at Fort Dodge Animal Health, a leading global manufacturer of animal health products for the livestock, companion animal, equine, swine, and poultry industries. He also previously held senior positions at Garmin International and Sanofi Animal Health.
Since his departure from Dechra to present, Mr. Eldred has assisted companies as a strategic advisor and consultant. Mr. Eldred holds a BA in business from the University of Northern Iowa, and an MBA from University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Advisory Board
Tracy Turner
DVM
Tracy Turner began his professional career as a farrier and used those skills to help finance his education. He received his DVM degree from Colorado State University in 1978. He completed an internship at the University of Georgia and a surgical residency, as well as a Master of Science degree at Purdue University in 1981. His Master’s thesis was “Thermography of the Lower Limb of the Horse.” He served on the faculty of the Universities of Illinois, Florida and Minnesota. At Minnesota, he was Head of Large Animal Surgery and attained the rank of full Professor before leaving academics to join Anoka Equine Clinic in 2004.
Turner's primary research efforts have focused on equine lameness with particular interest in equine podiatry, back issues in horses, rehabilitation and thermography. His podiatry research has evaluated the radiographic and morphologic characteristics of hoof imbalance, as well as the differential diagnosis of palmar foot pain (PFP) and the development of PFP treatment strategies. Turner has researched the use of diagnostic imaging techniques for evaluation of equine back problems (including saddle fit) and developed epidemiological data on overriding spinous processes in horses. He pioneered the use of thermography as a diagnostic aid in lameness evaluation, as well as its use in horse welfare regulation. Turner has extensively published on these topics and been invited to lecture nationally and internationally.
Turner is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, a Diplomate of the American College of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Thermology. He is an active member of the AVMA, AAEP and the American Horse Council. Turner has served as chairman of the AAEP's Farrier Liaison Committee, served on the AAEP Foundation Advisory Council and the AAEP Educational Programs Committee. Presently, he is on the AAEP Board of Directors. He is a past president of the Minnesota Association of Equine Practitioners and a member of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association. He is a member of the board of directors of the Minnesota Horse Council and is currently the Minnesota Horse Council vice-president and chair for the Legislative and Horse Welfare committees. He is currently president of the American Academy of Thermology. He has consulted for United States Equestrian Federation, The USDA Horse Protection and Federation Equestrienne International (FEI). He has participated as an instructor at Equitarian Workshops in Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. He has participated in the Equitarian projects in Honduras and Costa Rica. He is married to veterinarian Julia Wilson and has two sons.
Sherman Canapp
DVM, MS, CCRT, DACVS, DACVSMR
Dr. Sherman Canapp, originally from Maryland, was the first to complete a combined DVM/MS at Kansas State University. Dr. Canapp then completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri followed by a three-year residency in small animal surgery at the University of Florida.
Dr. Canapp is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and Charter Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, where he is Past President of the college.
He is currently the National Director of Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine for Thrive Pet Healthcare.
Dr. Canapp is the co-founder of the Veterinary Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group (VOSM, where he treats sports related injuries, performs arthroscopic procedures and regenerative medicine treatments. His primary caseload is performance, sporting and working dogs.
Dr. Canapp is the President and CEO of Orthobiologic Innovations, LLC (OBI), a translational medicine company focused on product design, development, and testing of orthopedic and arthroscopic devices, instrumentations, medical systems, biologics, and regenerative medicine technologies. OBI also designs and performs clinical trials.
He created the VOSM Academy, LLC - educational training programs for veterinarians worldwide interested in bringing high level sports & regenerative medicine, diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound, and arthroscopic procedures to their practices. Certified practitioners/locations include Seattle, Philadelphia, Nashville, Jacksonville, Finland, Japan, and Australia.
Dr. Canapp established Project GO (Global Orthopedics For Animals), 501(c)(3), a non-profit foundation that funds orthopedic procedures for government working dogs, rescue and wildlife with musculoskeletal injuries. He is also the co-founder of Canapp Sports Medicine, LLC (CSM), which provides teleconsultations, telemedicine, and tele-training to veterinarians and performance dog owners around the world. CSM offers educational content and remote procedural assistance for the diagnosis and treatment of canine sports-related injuries.
He is a member of the Governing Board of Directors for the non-profit organization, Hart For Animals, Maryland, and a member of the Board of Trustees for Johns Hopkins Medicine, Howard County General Hospital, Maryland..