Cadient Group’s Board of Directors helps provide guidance to the agency’s management team. We welcome you to review their professional experience.
John Martinson
Chairman of the Board, Cadient Group; Managing Partner, Edison Venture Fund
Mr. Martinson is the Managing Partner of the Edison Venture Fund, Cadient Group's sole investor. In 2006, he joined Cadient Group’s Board of Directors and has served as director and advisor to 12 companies focused primarily on the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, he is lead investor of Cambridgesoft, Health Market Science, Octagon Research Solutions, Sentrx, and Skila.
With 30 years of venture capital experience, Mr. Martinson has organized 150 equity financings. He led multiple investments in customer relationship management, education, human resources, finance, engineering, and other business software. Under his watch, high return investments include Axent, Best Software, Dendrite, Marcam, Mathsoft, and POMS.
In 1986 he established the Edison Venture Fund, which financed more companies in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia than any other private equity firm. In all, Edison has invested six partnerships totaling $650 million, and specializes in application software companies with $5 million to $20 million in revenue.
Mr. Martinson earned a BS from the USAF Academy, an MS from Purdue University, and an MBA from Southern Illinois University. Mr. Martinson is past Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association, the Mid-Atlantic Capital Alliance, and the New Jersey Technology Council.
Chris French
Senior Managing Director, Winterberry Group
Christopher French is a Senior Managing Director at Winterberry Group, a unique global strategic consulting firm that helps direct marketing, marketing services, and marketing technology firms build profits and propel shareholder value. Mr. French leads Winterberry Group’s mergers and acquisition strategy and private equity firm transaction support practice. A seasoned M&A professional with more than two decades of experience in the field, he also has significant expertise advising marketing technology and services firms that support the life science industry.
Prior to joining Winterberry Group, Mr. French served as chief executive officer of Cadient Group and, while at Dendrite International, a provider of software, information, and service solutions to the global life sciences industry, he served in a number of capacities, including Senior Vice President of Global Solutions Marketing and Corporate Development. Mr. French began his professional career as a merger and acquisition associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a leading global law firm with headquarters in New York.
Mr. French is a graduate of the Fordham University School of Law and received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Epiphany School Foundation in New York.
Charles T. Saldarini
Founder/CEO, The Charles T. Saldarini Group
Charles T. Saldarini is the Founder/CEO of The Charles T. Saldarini Group, which evaluates both emerging and commercial stage companies in life sciences. Since 2006, he has been frequently engaged to provide strategic assessments for private equity investment, commercial product development, and service company growth opportunities. He is an expert in biopharmaceutical services with substantial experience in product sales and marketing.
Prior to 2006, Saldarini spent 18 years with PDI (NASDAQ: PDII), where he was a major force in driving development of the contract sales industry. Saldarini led PDI from its earliest stage, built its reputation as a premier provider, and drove its service revenue growth from ~$1M to $365M. Throughout his tenure, he oversaw creation of all infrastructure, systems, and talent growth supporting an employee population of 3,000 and a world-class client base. Saldarini’s leadership enabled a successful public capitalization as well as multiple acquisitions and strategic partnerships. At his departure as Vice Chairman and CEO in 2005, PDI was debt-free, held over $100M in cash, and was well positioned as a complete commercial services provider.
His current Board service includes Informed Medical Communications (IMC), Octagon Clinical Research Solutions, and Cadient Group. His community service presently includes the Syracuse University, College of Arts & Sciences Board of Visitors, the Board of Advisors at the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College of New Jersey, the Mahwah Board of Education and the Mahwah Municipal Alliance. Previously, he has served on the boards of PDI, In 2Focus, and CharityNavigator.org.
Jim Walker
CEO, Octagon Research Solutions
Mr. Walker has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for 17 years. He is founder of Octagon Research Solutions, Inc. Prior to founding Octagon, he worked as the senior manager of worldwide regulatory affairs for the Schering-Plough Corporation ("Schering"). While at Schering, he was responsible for clinical and pre-clinical in the antihistamine, central nervous system, and critical care therapeutic areas.
Prior to joining Schering, Mr. Walker worked across multiple therapeutic areas in the Regulatory Affairs/Clinical and Clinical Quality Assurance department at the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute (PRI). Mr. Walker has extensive experience in and knowledge of all phases of clinical research and both FDA and European regulations. He is skilled at process improvement and providing insight across multiple disciplines within drug development.
Mr. Walker holds a BS in Biological Sciences from Villanova University, a Master's in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University, and an MBA from Duke University.
Steve Zarrilli
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.
Steve Zarrilli is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE), a growth capital provider headquartered in Wayne, PA. In addition to his role at Safeguard, Steve serves as the Chairman of the Penn Valley Group, a middle market advisory firm which he co-founded in October 2004. Previously, Steve served as the Chief Financial Officer of venture backed Fiberlink Communications Corporation, Chief Executive Officer of venture backed Concellera Software, Inc and Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Executive Officer of US Interactive, Inc., a former public company (NASDAQ: USIT). Steve spent the first 11 years of his career at Deloitte & Touche, where he was directly responsible for developing a business practice focused on the venture capital community.
Steve currently serves as a Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee of Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI), as a Director of Clarient, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLRT), as well as a director on several other private company boards. Steve was also served as a Director and Audit Committee member of Progress Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: PFNC) prior to its sale in 2004 to Fleet Bank.
Steve holds a BS in Accounting from LaSalle University (1983) and is a former Certified Public Accountant.