Management Team


Edward B. Smith

Executive Chairman
Ed Smith is our Executive Chairman and lead investor. He has 15+ years of experience in principal and public market investment. Ed is Managing Partner of Aristar Capital and previously co-founded top-quartile hedge fund Brightline Capital. He also served as CEO of Agritech Worldwide. Earlier in his career, he worked at Gracie Capital, GTCR Golder Rauner and Credit Suisse First Boston. He is currently a Director and Audit Chair of Nighthawk Biosciences. He obtained his A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.


Eli Hatchwell, MD PhD

Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Eli Hatchwell is a co-founder, member of our Board of Directors, and serves as our Chief Scientific Officer. He has 20+ years of experience in genetic research, including foundational insights underlying Population Bio’s technology and the importance of rare CNVs and extensive heterogeneity in common diseases. Eli is a certified Medical Geneticist in the UK and has a track record for innovating new genome technologies. His prior positions include Investigator at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Associate Professor and Genomics Core Facility Director at Stony Brook University. Eli received his medical degree from the University of Cambridge, his DPhil in Molecular Genetics from the University of Oxford, and was a Wellcome Training Fellow (Research and Advanced Clinical). He also holds a degree (BA) from the Open University (UK), with a strong emphasis on Mathematics.


Peggy S. Eis, PhD

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Peggy Eis is a co-founder, member of our Board of Directors, and serves as our Chief Technology Officer. She has 20+ years of experience in genomics and structural biology research, product development, business development, and marketing leading edge technologies. Peggy has a strong track record in creating and directing strategic alliances and collaborations in the academic and pharmaceutical sectors. Her prior positions include scientific and senior management positions at Third Wave Technologies and Roche NimbleGen. Peggy received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland and was an NCI-funded postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute.