Safeguard Scientifics, a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, has appointed Dr Keith B Jarrett to its board of directors.
Jarrett has more than 25 years of experience in venture capital, private equity and finance technology, driving value for customers, shareholders, investors and employees. His appointment increases Safeguard’s board of directors to nine members.
"We are pleased to welcome Keith to our board of directors," says Peter J Boni, President and Chief Executive Officer of Safeguard. "Safeguard, our partner companies and our shareholders will benefit from Keith’s proven expertise in financial technology, venture capital and private equity. His extensive experiences with multi-stage technology firms, capital management processes and strategic M&A are invaluable assets for Safeguard’s growth strategy going forward. I look forward to working with Keith to execute against our game plan and pursue our platform expansion initiatives."
Since 2002, Dr Jarrett has served as a private investor and active board representative to venture stage and other private growth equity organisations, as well as a corporate advisor providing strategic, organisational development and capital market advisory for selected organisations and private equity firms, with a focus in the financial and medical information technology sectors. Dr. Jarrett is a principal of Rockport Funding, LLC, a specialty finance start-up company incubator and private equity investment boutique which he co-founded in 2003, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Raymond James Financial Eagle Funds.
From 1986-2001, Keith was a founding executive of Thomson Financial, a leading vendor of information and technology solutions to the global financial community. During this time, Keith served as the CEO of Thomson Financial International for seven years, founded and directed Thomson Financial’s Corporate Venture Capital Group, and founded and developed many of the products and services for Thomson Financial’s Straight Through Processing ("STP") initiatives, including the Thomson Electronic Settlement Group (now "Omgeo") and AutEx TradeRoute. Keith joined Thomson Financial in 1986, with the acquisition of First Call/Technical Data Corporation, where he was a Principal and Chief Economist.
Keith has an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a PhD in Financial Economics from Harvard Business School. He worked as a Research Associate at the Harvard Business School and as a Professor at Simmons College Graduate Management Program. Previously, Keith served as a Captain in the US Army after graduating with honours from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
