Board of Directors

Jason Wild first joined the board as Chairman of TerrAscend after leading a private placement into the company in 2017. Having built a deep knowledge base and network in the cannabis industry over the years, Mr. Wild brings strategic value as an investor and partner. He works collaboratively with the board and management team to help guide the company’s strategy and source M&A opportunities with his extensive network.

In addition to his role with TerrAscend, Mr. Wild is the President Chief Investment Officer of JW Asset Management, an SEC registered investment adviser with more than $500 million in assets under management. Starting his first fund in 1998 with under $100,000 in assets, Mr. Wild achieved early success by leveraging his background as a pharmacist finding undervalued, specialty pharmaceutical companies, and focusing on long term price appreciation. He also serves on the board of Vitruvias Therapeutics, a US based generic drug company.

Ira Duarte joined Heron as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in June 2023. Ms. Duarte brings significant experience and expertise in financial leadership to Heron. Prior to joining Heron, Ms. Duarte served in financial leadership roles from 2016 to 2023, most recently as Chief Financial Officer, at Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Ms. Duarte served as the Corporate Controller at BioDelivery Sciences, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, and from 2009 to 2014, she was Senior Director of Corporate Finance for Chiesi USA, Inc. and Director of Accounting and Financial Planning for Cornerstone Therapeutics, Inc., where she was a core member of the team that guided the sale of Cornerstone Therapeutics, Inc. to Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. Ms. Duarte previously held various roles from Staff to Senior Manager at Ernst & Young Global Limited.

Ms. Duarte is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University.

A Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, record executive, music publisher, Broadway actress, and former American Idol judge, Ms. DioGuardi’s credits include 320 songs released by major labels, 11 of which have earned Grammy nominations, 23 BMI Awards, and more than 50 charting singles, cumulatively surpassing one billion streams. Ms. DioGuardi co-founded Arthouse Entertainment (“Arthouse”), a music publishing company that holds past and present copyrights of many of the industry’s most popular Grammy-winning artists. In addition to her extensive music industry career, Ms. DioGuardi co-founded Inspired Nation in 2016, a non-profit that aims to provide young aspiring artists with a platform to tell their stories. All proceeds from Inspired Nation’s singing competitions benefit youth-focused charities. Prior to founding Arthouse and Inspired Nation, Ms. DioGuardi held several roles in the music industry throughout her career, including music producer and label executive for Billboard Magazine.

Ms. DioGuardi presently serves on five boards, including the MLC and NMPA S.O.N.G.S. boards. She graduated from Duke University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Political Science and Government.

Ed Schutter is a seasoned executive with over thirty years of pharmaceutical industry experience. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Arbor Pharmaceuticals, an Atlanta, Georgia-based specialty pharmaceutical company that markets prescription products for the cardiovascular, neuroscience, and orphan/hospital markets. Arbor also has several branded prescription products in late-stage development. Prior to joining Arbor, Mr. Schutter served as President of Sciele (Shionogi) Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Sciele, he served as VP of Global Business Development at Solvay Pharmaceuticals based in Basel, Switzerland. He has also held several senior management roles at the U.S. subsidiary of Solvay during his twenty years with the organization. He began his pharmaceutical career with Reid-Provident Labs, a small entrepreneurial pharmaceutical company based in Atlanta, GA.

Mr. Schutter is currently a board member of Arbor, Vitruvias Therapeutics, and Establishment Labs (ESTA) and has been a previous board member of other public, private and nonprofit organizations. He is a registered pharmacist with a BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Mercer University and an MBA from Kennesaw State University.

Craig Collard is the Chief Executive Officer of Heron Therapeutics, a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on improving the lives of patients by developing and commercializing therapeutic innovations that improve medical care. Prior to joining Heron Therapeutics in April of 2023, Mr. Collard served as CEO of Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage specialty pharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of transplant patients. Prior to Veloxis, he was the Founder and CEO of Cornerstone Therapeutics, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Carolina Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company he founded in 2003.

Mr. Collard previously served as a member of the board of directors of Sierra Oncology, Inc., a San Mateo, California-based late-stage biopharmaceutical company acquired by GlaxoSmithKline plc, from May 2020 to July 2022. He also served as Chairman of Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing therapies to treat substance use disorders and drug overdose since October 2018 until it was acquired by Indivior on March 1, 2023. Mr. Collard holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Southern College of Technology (now Southern Polytechnic State University).