Wearing multiple hats to handle roles simultaneously at startups and emerging companies is often a necessity and rarely not a matter of choice. But Neal Fowler and the leadership at nanotechnology firm Liquidia are embracing the challenge.

The executives will be running Liquidia even as the company formally spins out Envisia as of Tuesday with $25 million in new funding. Fowler, who joined Liqudia as CEO in 2008 from Johnson & Johnson, discussed the challenges and opportunities in an exclusive WRALTechWire Insider interview.

  • Neal, you are going to wear two hats. What is the upside of this? Conversely, what is the downside/risks? Can you focus? Be stretched too far? The same questions apply to your management team – how do they handle dual hats? What are the risks? Benefits?

It’s important to understand that operationally nothing will really change.

The main changes will come through the corporate governance of both companies.

From an employee perspective, project specific teams will continue working on their individual projects. So those who are working on ophthalmology related projects will continue to do so under the Envisia umbrella vs. Liquidia.

Senior management will oversee both structures, which (minus the formalization of two distinct companies) they have been doing all along.

There will be specific and separate governance for each company, however, each with their own boards, standard operating procedures, etc. As the companies grow, we will continue to revisit what is the optimal structure.

  • The upside?

Upside of the structure is more continued focus on project work, but with efficiently managed shared services that will enable us to reduce a duplication of effort.

  • The downside/risks?

The strategy being taken with respect to Envisia is really intended to mitigate risks often associated with start-up. This approach will allow us to expand our management and staffing as needed while containing costs.

  • At some point might separate management be called for? Or additional management? Keeping two sets of books, for example, won’t be fun for your CFO. 

The short answer is yes, we will continue to assess our options as the companies grow. Because they are two distinct entities, finances, corporate governance, etc. will all remain completely separate. 

  • As CEO, does one of these ventures have priority over the other? What happens if something goes wrong (candidate failure) – or right (breakthrough) – and suddenly more attention is demanded by one over the other?

Absolutely not. Both companies are poised for success and will be led accordingly. In the event something did go wrong, the issue would be managed in the same way we would manage the issue as one company… resolve the issue, but keep other projects moving.

  • Is GSK [a big Liquidia partner] on board with this? What about other partners and clients?

All of our partners are aware and supportive of this transaction.

  • The investors obviously concur with your plan. [All are previous Liqudia investors.] How did you convince them this was the right strategy?

Different strategies and structures have been discussed with our investors for some time. Working together, we finalized the optimization of this final structure.

  • Employee focus as I understand it will be separated. What are driving factors for that?

Basically, employees will continue to work on the projects they always worked on, just under a different company name.