Key Leadership

Steven F. Schweighardt has been Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Company since inception. From 1993 to the present Mr. Schweighardt has been Executive Vice President and a Partner with Cole & Associates an international biotechnology and pharmaceutical business development consulting firm in Northbrook, Illinois. From 1991 to 1993 he was a partner in a two-man consulting firm. From 1988 to 1991 Mr. Schweighardt served as Director of Acquisitions and Marketing for Central Diagnostic Laboratories. From 1967 to 1987 he served in a number of sales and marketing management positions with Searle Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Schweighardt was awarded his MBA from Lake Forest School of Management in 1983 and his BA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1967. Mr. Schweighardt is a member of the Licensing Executive Society.


Michael F. Holick, M.D., Ph.D. has been the President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Company and a director since its inception. Dr. Holick is Professor of Medicine and Physiology at Boston University School of Medicine and Chief of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition; since 1987, he has also been the Program Director of the General Clinical Research Center.He has extensive experience on national review committees and study sections and in reviewing research applications.

After earning a PhD in biochemistry and a medical degree, and after completing a research postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison with Dr. Hector DeLuca, Dr. Holick completed his residency in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Holick has served on a number of national committees and editorial boards and has organized and/or co-chaired several international symposia. He has authored more than 230 peer-reviewed publications and written more than 200 review articles as well as numerous book chapters. He has acted as editor and/or co-editor on eight books, and has recently written a book entitled The UV Advantage. He is the recipient of the GCRC 2006 Excellence in Clinical Research Award. As described below, Dr. Holick is also the Chairman of BTL’s Scientific Advisory Board.


John Bruens has been Chief Commercial and Business Development Officer since August 2008. Mr. Bruens has over 28 years experience in the global biotechnology pharmaceutical Industry. In 2002, Mr. Bruens founded Solstice Neurosciences, Inc., a specialty neurology biopharmaceutical company. As CEO, he directed the acquisition of Myobloc® (botulinum toxin Type-B) from Elan. Prior to founding Solstice, he managed Elan Pharmaceutical’s Global Specialty Neurology Business Unit. Before joining Elan, he held the position of Global Business Unit head at Ares-Serono, responsible for all aspects of global commercial operations associated with the development and sales of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in the HIV/AIDS arena. This included strategic coordination of new clinical development plans designed to expand FDA approved labeling and therapeutic indications for Serono’s rhGH product line. Mr. Bruens has also held management and senior management positions in the areas of global business and product development, marketing, and sales at Boehringer Mannheim, Alpha Therapeutics/Green Cross, Lederle Laboratories, and Rorer/USV. He holds a BS in Biochemistry from Clemson University, and an Executive MBA Certificate from Babson College.


Thomas H. Keller, Jr. has been Chief Operating Officer and a director of the Company since inception. Mr. Keller is currently Senior Vice President of Cole & Associates, an international biotechnology and pharmaceutical business development consulting firm in Northbrook Illinois, where he has served from 1997 to present. From 1993 to the present, he has served as the Principal of Tom Keller & Associates, a marketing and marketing research consulting firm. From 1967 to 1993 he was employed by G. D. Searle & Co., a pharmaceutical company in Skokie, Illinois, serving in various positions including Director, Marketing Research and Senior Marketing Director. In the latter position, he was responsible for marketing management for all cardiovascular, women’s health care, and CNS products, products that accounted for 80% of Searle’s sales volume. In early 1993, he managed the launch of Ambien®. He was awarded his B.S. in pharmacy by the University of Maryland in 1963 and his M.B.A. degree by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1967. In 1988 he was voted “Pharmaceutical Marketer of the Year” in a poll of pharmaceutical marketing and advertising directors conducted by Medical Advertising News magazine.


Richard A. Kranitz has been Secretary and a director of Bridge to Life since inception. Mr. Kranitz has been an attorney in private practice since 1970, emphasizing securities, banking and business law. From 1990 to the present he has been an attorney in Kranitz & Philipp in Grafton, Wisconsin. Previously, following the death of a partner in 1976, he formed the Law Offices of Richard A. Kranitz. From 1982 to 1983, he was also a member of Fretty & Kranitz and from 1977 to 1978 he was also a member of Habush, Gillick, Habush, Davis, Murphy, Kraemer & Kranitz. He was a member of McKay, Martin & Kranitz from 1973 to 1976, and was employed by Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, Norris & Reiselbach, s.c. from 1970 to 1973. Mr. Kranitz served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Myron L. Gordon in the U.S. District Court (E.D. Wisconsin) from 1969 to 1970. Mr. Kranitz has served as a director of the Grafton State Bank from 1990 to present. Mr. Kranitz has been an attorney in private practice since 1970 emphasizing securities, banking and business law. From 1990 to the present he has been an attorney in Kranitz & Philipp in Grafton, Wisconsin.


Howard W. Bremer has been a director of the Company since inception. From 1960 to 1997, Mr. Bremer served as Patent Counsel to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF); since 1998, he has been a Consultant to WARF. Mr. Bremer was Patent Counsel to Procter & Gamble, from 1949 to 1960. He served as President of the Association of University Technology Managers, Inc. (AUTM) from 1978 to 1980.

He has been active with the American Bar Association (ABA), where he was Chairman of the Committee on Cooperation with Foreign Patent Office from 1997 to 1998; Chairman of the Committee on Government Relations to Patents from 1995 to 1996; and Chairman of the Committee on University Intellectual Property Law from 1993 to 1995. Mr. Bremer was awarded his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering by the University of Wisconsin in 1944; and his LL.B. degree in law by the University of Wisconsin in 1949.


Richard L. Birch has been a director of the Company since inception. Since 2005 Mr. Birch has been Founder and President of Richard Birch Media & Communications, a producer of electronic media and technical publications for industry. From 1996 to 2005 he was Founder and President of Argosy Interactive (sold 2005), which developed online training, presentation pieces, and technical manuals for the manufacturing and insurance industries.