Leadership
Dr. Jimmie H. Lenz
Dr. Jimmie H. Lenz is a former corporate executive and an academic with nearly 30 years of experience in financial services. He is currently an Executive in Residence in the Engineering Graduate and Professional Programs at Duke University and teach courses in technology, banking, and capital markets. Starting as an equities and derivatives trader in 1985, Dr. Lenz embraced technology in the financial markets early in his career, adopting electronic and later algorithmic solutions. Jimmie would later become the co-head of a large institutional trading firm where he climbed to the positions of Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer when the firm was acquired by Reuters PLC. During the financial crisis, he served as a Director in the Banking and Capital Markets practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, working with buy and sell side clients to integrate mergers, consulting on foreign and domestic regulatory matters, and assisting outside counsel with litigation support. Later, Jimmie held the role of Chief Risk Officer and Chief Credit Officer, head of technology risk, and the head of predictive analytics at Wells Fargo Advisors, the third largest brokerage firm in the US. Dr. Lenz’s professional career spans critical roles at major financial institutions, where he developed expertise in governance, regulatory compliance, and financial innovation. Jimmie did his undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina, earned a Master of Science in Finance at Washington University in Saint Louis, and received my Doctor of Business Administration-Finance at Washington University’s Olin School of Business.
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Dr. Lenz’s experience with business and economic due diligence is extensive. Throughout his career in financial services, he has often been engaged with public offering selling groups. As Chief Risk Officer, his responsibilities included evaluating offerings of equities, fixed income, structured products and funds to assess their suitability for the firm’s client base. In addition to this role, he was also often engaged in reviews of due diligence processes related to matters involving compensation schemes, the analysis of held assets, etc. This position was charged with the development and management of risk measures for regulatory capital requirements. Jimmie also conducted regular scenario analysis to analyze the effect of macro-economic shocks on different portfolios and leverage effects.
Dr. Lenz transitioned from corporate executive leadership roles into full-time academia beginning in July of 2019. He developed, and currently serves as the Lafitte Director of, the Master of Engineering in Financial Technology at Duke University. Jimmie is also the Irene and Frank Salerno Visiting Professor of Financial Economics, where he leads curriculum development and industry partnerships and lectures on the intersection of finance and technology. The curriculum that he has designed and teaches includes multiple graduate level courses focused primarily on the analysis of publicly traded investments. Dr. Lenz’s research has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Economic Modeling, Economics Letters, the Journal of Financial Innovation, and the Journal of Medical Regulation. As a recognized expert in financial innovation, Jimmie has presented the results of his research, findings, and opinions to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and testified before Congress on innovation in financial services. Dr. Lenz also holds multiple patents related to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Brendan M. Griffin
Brendan M. Griffin is a Wall Street professional, corporate executive, and academic. He has spent his career building, funding, and selling innovative companies and technologies. He has a current appointment at Duke University where he teaches finance and valuation and has a research focus on capital markets, due diligence, and mergers & acquisitions. In addition to his academic work, Brendan has been providing advisory services to global companies as they develop strategic plans and pursue corporate restructuring, cross-border transactions, fundraising, and financial infrastructure improvements. Prior to this, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Propella Therapeutics, an Astellas company, where he helped complete post-merger integration activities after Propella was acquired by Astellas Pharmaceuticals. Before the acquisition, Brendan helped lead the sale of Propella to Astellas after running a dual-track process, during which Propella also secured an oversubscribed venture capital financing round. Brendan also led a cross-border out-licensing transaction of a non-core asset to a publicly-listed Chinese company. As CFO at Propella, Brendan focused on strategic and operational activities, including research & development strategy, business and corporate development, financing strategy, clinical operations, and administration. He is also well-versed in issues around compensation, equity issuance, and contract negotiations.
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Prior to his time as a corporate executive, Brendan had an extensive tenure on Wall Street as an investment banker. In this capacity, he provided capital markets and advisory services to clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. He was a senior member of the biotechnology investment banking team at Leerink Partners (formerly SVB Leerink), where he completed over 100 transactions, including more than 20 IPOs. Brendan has closed over $15 billion in aggregate capital markets transactions, including both public and private financings. As an investment banker, Brendan was responsible for client origination and due diligence; financial analysis, valuation, and modeling; financial projections and long-range plan development; transaction execution; strategy, capital structure, and takeover defense advice; and termsheet evaluation, structuring, and negotiation. He was also a leader in the investment bank’s entry into mainland China, including company / technology evaluation, executing cross-border deals for China-based companies, and strategic activities such as market entry analyses, brand awareness activities, and regulatory / operational framework analysis. Brendan was also an active participant in the firm’s co-investment fund, helping research and evaluate opportunities, then draft and present investment memos for approval to deploy capital.
Brendan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, a Master of Public Policy Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy, and a B.S. from Elon University.