Vincent LoPriore
Executive Chairman and Director
Vincent LoPriore is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Hepion Pharmaceuticals and became a Board member in March 2026. From April 2025 to July 2026, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Canton Strategic Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNTN). Mr. LoPriore is a financial professional with over 30 years of experience in the investment banking industry. He began his career at Oppenheimer & Co. in 1989 and subsequently held senior positions at Legg Mason, Inc. and was a partner at C.E. Unterberg, Towbin, where he led the special equities group and completed more than $150 million in private placement transactions. Mr. LoPriore has served in leadership roles at various boutique and mid-sized investment firms, focusing on capital raising, regulatory navigation. Mr. LoPriore is currently a Partner and registered representative of President Street Global, LLC, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer. He also serves as the investment manager of the Gravitas Capital LP Fund, with a track record of strong investment performance. Mr. LoPriore has longstanding relationships within the biomedical industry and supports philanthropic initiatives including Race to Erase MS and Cure Addiction Now.
Chief Financial Officer and Director
Gary Stetz is the Chief Financial Officer of Hepion Pharmaceuticals and became a Board member in March 2026. From April 2025 to July 2026, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Canton Strategic Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNTN). Mr. Stetz is a Certified Public Accountant with over 35 years of experience across accounting, finance, business valuation and corporate governance. He serves as Managing Partner of Stetz, Belgiovine, Manwarren and Wallis P.C., an accounting, auditing, tax compliance and advisory services firm with more than 1,000 corporate clients. Mr. Stetz’s leadership experience includes founding Allegiance Community Bank and serving on the Board of BCB Bancorp. He is co-author of the book Project Management Accounting: Budgeting, Tracking, and Reporting Costs and Profitability. He has earned multiple professional credentials, including Certified Mediator, Certified Fraud Examiner and Chartered Global Management Accountant.
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Sireesh Appajosyula became a member of the board of directors in March 2026 and is the Chief Executive Officer of Hepion Pharmaceuticals since August 2026. From its inception, he served as a board member and became the Chief Operating Officer in July 2023 and Chief Executive Officer in June 2025 of Tharimmune, Inc (Nasdaq: CNTN). He has also served as the interim Chief Financial Officer of Tharimmune from November to December 2026. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Gravitas Life Sciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canton Strategic Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CNTN) until its acquisition by Hepion in October 2026. Previously, he served as SVP, Corporate Development and Operations of 9 Meters Biopharma, Inc., a biotechnology company. Prior to 9 Meters, he was at Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in increasing roles of responsibility in medical affairs, product commercialization and business development, until the Company’s acquisition by Bausch Health (Nasdaq: BHC) in 2015. Prior to Salix, he was involved in various roles at Amgen Inc., Critical Therapeutics, Inc. and Sanofi (formerly Aventis). Dr. Appajosyula received his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy from Rutgers University.
VP, Corporate Development & Director
Chase LoPriore became a member of the Board of Directors of Hepion Pharmaceuticals in March 2026. Until November 2025, he served as Chief of Staff of Tharimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNTN) and currently serves as Director of Operations and Chief of Staff of Gravitas Life Sciences, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hepion. While at Tharimmune, Mr. LoPriore played a central role in the implementation of multiple transactions and supported the coordination of cross-functional execution across legal, finance, compliance and technology teams. Working with the CEO of Tharimmune, inc., Mr. LoPriore aligned operations through a multi-phase deal involving strategic repositioning of corporate assets including a digital framework that ultimately helped drive the transaction to a successful close on an accelerated timeline.
Independent Director & Audit Chair
Michael Purcell has served as a director of Hepion Pharmaceuticals since March 2024. He is a certified public accountant who spent more than 36 years with Deloitte & Touche LLP, serving as an audit partner from 1979 until 2015 and as the Philadelphia office leader of Deloitte's middle-market and growth enterprise services practice. Over that career he provided assurance and advisory services to public and private enterprise clients of every size. Following his retirement from Deloitte in 2015 he became an independent business consultant, continuing with the firm in a consulting capacity from 2015 to 2017, and he currently advises several emerging growth companies on financial matters. He has served on the board of International Money Express, Inc. since 2018, where he is lead independent director. He has been a director and audit committee member of CFG Bank since 2016 and of Hyperion Bank since 2018. He formerly served as a director, audit committee chair, and chairman of the board of publicly traded Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc., joining in 2018 and serving until the company's 2023 acquisition by Nautic Partners. He also sits on the boards of several other for-profit, academic, and community organizations. Mr. Purcell holds a Bachelor of Science from Lehigh University and a Master of Business Administration from Drexel University, and he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, having previously served as President of its Philadelphia Chapter.
Independent Director
Danina Fisher serves on the Board of Directors of Hepion Pharmaceuticals and brings extensive experience in business leadership, organizational development, and operational management. Throughout her career, she has successfully led initiatives focused on improving organizational performance, strengthening operations, and fostering collaborative leadership. Ms. Fisher is recognized for her thoughtful approach to governance and strategic decision-making, providing valuable insight as Hepion continues to advance its corporate objectives. She is also an active supporter of community and charitable organizations, reflecting her commitment to service and leadership beyond the business community. Her experience and balanced perspective contribute meaningfully to the Board's oversight of the Company's long-term growth strategy.
Independent Director
Gary S. Stetz II serves as a Director of Hepion Pharmaceuticals, bringing a finance and accounting foundation together with hands-on operating and business development experience. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business with a dual degree in Finance and Accounting. At SBMW he executed accounting protocols and financial reporting across client engagements. At Wells Fargo Advisors he managed ultra-high-net-worth portfolios with a focus on asset allocation and long-term capital preservation. At Prudential Financial he produced the capital plan for the Group Insurance business, handled forecasting for Prudential Real Estate Investors, and served as controller of the International Insurance joint ventures. He currently works in the oil and lubricants distribution business for Prime Lube, Inc., specializing in sales and business development, and holds the Certified Lubrication Specialist designation from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. Prior to Prime Lube, he helped restructure, grow, and market Metro Lube, which earned Exxon Mobil's Circle of Excellence flagship distributorship designation, and he assisted in the sale and integration of that distributorship into a publicly traded entity. As an independent investor he manages a real estate portfolio spanning the commercial, retail, and residential sectors, giving him an owner-operator perspective on balance sheet management and debt financing. He served on the board of directors of Community Health Action Staten Island from 2018 through 2025. His combination of sales and distribution expertise, financial discipline, and execution-focused leadership strengthens the Board's ability to evaluate strategic opportunities and build a durable foundation across the Company's business segments.
Independent Director
James Gordon Liddy (CDR US Navy SEAL (Ret)) has served on our Board since August 2026 and is an internationally recognized expert on counterterrorism and critical infrastructure protection. Mr. Liddy brings a distinguished career and unparalleled expertise in national security and preparedness. As the Senior Advisor to the Director for Strategy, Policy and Initiatives for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, and previously the Chief of Plans and Policy for the United States Special Operations Command's Washington Office, he played a pivotal role in designing and coordinating policy, operational plans, and strategic initiatives for the Global War on Terrorism. His experience as a member of a highly classified national security program further underscores his deep understanding of the threats facing the nation. Notably, CDR Liddy's tenure as the Combating Terrorism and Special Operations Officer for the Chief of Naval Operations saw him as the principal architect for the Navy's Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Plan and the leader of the Navy's elite Antiterrorism Assessment Team (Red Cell). He also spearheaded the creation of DoD's Anti-terrorism and Force Protection Plan DoD Directive 20012.H, demonstrating his capability to develop and implement critical protective measures at the highest levels of government.
