Also, Woodford called for an additional board member to be named and suggested a man named Elliott
Leary. Mr. Leary, a former FBI agent, is an employee of Freeh Group International Solutions which is run by Louis Freeh, former head of the FBI. Mr. Freeh is also a board member of BMY. The Board met with Mr. Leary and according to a PR released on Dec. 8 2015 which said the following:
"With respect to the Board, the Company agrees with the view Neil Woodford has expressed that an additional independent board member with financial expertise can help build and advance the Company at its current stage of development. The Company has expanded the financial personnel and clinical personnel on its management team this year, and expanding the Board as well makes sense.
The Company appreciates Mr. Woodford suggesting Elliott Leary as a potential board candidate. The Board greatly enjoyed getting acquainted with Mr. Leary personally, and thanks Mr. Leary for the time he spent meeting with NW Bio’s Board members. After such meetings and further deliberations, the Board came to the conclusion that it was not a fit for Mr. Leary to join NW Bio’s Board for a number of reasons.
These reasons include the Board’s understanding that Mr. Leary has never served on any board, has no biotech experience and no pharma experience other than certain government investigations, has no experience working with companies subjected to stock manipulation, has no experience interacting with investors or helping with corporate fundraising, has not worked with companies on developing business plans or strategies, has never been asked to go on the board of any other company where he has conducted investigations, and does not anticipate playing an ongoing role on NW Bio’s board after the investigation is completed and indicated he would probably resign at that time.
The Company emphasizes that it respects Mr. Leary’s professional experiences and expertise, and greatly appreciated Mr. Leary’s willingness to talk with NW Bio’s Board on several occasions."
IMHO this connection to BMY is interesting.