George Dunbar

Cell Therapy Executive

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Mr. Dunbar has extensive healthcare and life sciences operating experience and has served as a Director or CEO with private and public companies in Diagnostics, Specialty Pharma, Cell Therapy, and Biologics, two where he led initial public offerings (IPOs).

George is Managing Partner of The Dunbar Group, LLC, and provides advisory services to life science investors and companies who recognize they need interim industry and operating expertise as they grow in order to be capital efficient.

Mr. Dunbar is currently an independent Director with Capricor Therapeutics, (CAPR), a public cell and exosome clinical development company, Progenitor Life Sciences, an immune-oncology molecular design tools company, and  Akadeum Life Sciences, a commercial-stage next-gen bioseparation and flotation based “tools” company currently focused on cell & gene therapy.

Mr. Dunbar served as a Venture Partner with Arboretum Ventures, a leading healthcare venture capital team, and served as a Director of four portfolio companies, two as Executive Chairman.  Earlier in his career George served as a Director or CEO with several innovative life science companies including Stem Cells, Inc (STEM), a merger with CytoTherapeutics,  Aastrom (now Vericel); and earlier with DepoTech, Epic Therapeutics (Baxter), LJL Biosystems (Molecular Devices), Metra Biosystems (Quidel), Metrika (Bayer), Molecular Probes (Invitrogen), Quantum Dot (Invitrogen), Sonus Pharmaceuticals, and Quidel. He held senior leadership positions with Ares-Serono, now Merck-Serono, and Amersham International (Danaher). He began his operating career with Motorola commercializing a new mobile communications system initially for police and law enforcement, and an industry standard today.

He has degrees in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Auburn University and served on the Harbert College of Business MBA Advisory Board for several years.  He is currently a member of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Council with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, and periodically does mentor work with Life Science Tennessee.

George and his spouse Betsy reside in Franklin, Tennessee, and have two daughters; Gretchen, an attorney with NASA and recently retired Commander, US Navy JAG., and Susan, an Honors graduate from San Jose State University, working as a public school educator in Santa Cruz, CA. She is a Phi Kappa Phi honor society member and a former professional pastry chef. Betsy and George have three grandchildren.