Why PHILTER?

Serial entrepreneur, avid athlete and wake surfer who lives to defy the norm, Christos Nicolaidis knows just how to bring game-changing technology to the market. Over the course of his 20-year career, Nicolaidis has co-founded numerous, successful technology and internet ventures and led them to and through liquidity events. As a business leader in the creation of third-party entertainment gift card programs and the founder of Spend Smart Payments Company, Inc., a publicly traded company that reached a market cap of $120 million during his tenure, Nicolaidis is no stranger to breakthrough ideas that turn into groundbreaking ventures. In fact, you’ll recognize Nicolaidis as the one who rolled out the first patent-pending multimedia gift card, and ultimately operated the American Idol gift card program in North America.

“Philter is solving a major problem that has a global impact, and advocating for new laws that protect our citizens, the children of the future, and planet Earth.”

(22+ years inventing and designing medical devices, holds 60 patents, http://www.johngrimmdesign.com/contact-us.html)

Detail-oriented and inspired by good design, John Grimm has upended the vaping industry through his innovative medical device expertise. His contribution? Sophisticated personal filtration products that reduce secondhand emissions. Grimm applied the same level of rigorous accuracy that goes into creating a medical device into inventing new technology that captures and dissolves pollutants, particulates and VOCS from secondhand vape and smoke emissions. Grimm’s consumer-centric solutions serve as a catalyst for necessary and impactful social and environmental change.

“Philter Labs is an innovative company that has pioneered technology capable of dramatically reducing secondhand emissions which, personally, I’m very proud of.”

With an instinctive ability to craft precise brand narratives and architect strategic roadmaps for both legacy brands and technology startups, Amanda Byrd is known for building and nurturing recognizable brands. Media companies, technology startups and consumer electronics innovators have excelled through her leadership in smart sales strategies, IP licensing and creative brand messaging. Earlier in her career, Byrd was the brand manager and merchandising director responsible for the successful global rollout of the Hustler Hollywood retail chain as well as building a profitable licensing program for PENTHOUSE Magazine following its bankruptcy. Byrd is known for her expertise in developing a company’s core strengths, identifying areas of growth and tailoring brand messages that significantly impact consumer behavior.

“What excited me about Philter is that by reducing the tell-tale vapor cloud, we can finally start to balance the social scales when it comes to acceptance of those who choose to vape while still respecting those who choose not to.”

35+ years in institutional investment management
and consulting with start-ups

He founded Equity Analytics after 20 years as an institutional investment manager to apply the parameters of corporate success in advising start-ups on strategic business planning, financial management, valuation analysis, and investor communications. He has guided several companies in strategy formulation, document preparation and investor communications, resulting in over $120 million in capital raises for start-ups. Previously he managed $350 million in investment funds at Noroian Capital Management and Millennium Asset Management, achieving top decile performance in all cap, hedge fund and micro/small cap funds. Previously, he consulted with equity analysts and M&A personnel at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Paine Weber, Solomon Brothers, EF Hutton, Aetna, and consulted with competitive analysis and corporate planning personnel at Xerox, Union Carbide, General Electric, and Eaton. He has a BS in Microbiology from Michigan State University, an MBA from Oakland University, and is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, CFA

(25+ years in politics and advocacy,
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-mulanix-9925812/ )

After 25 years of working inside politics in both the public and private sectors, Mitch Mulanix has the experience and track record to influence a movement. He has advised top officials at the federal, state and local levels, and got his political start on Capitol Hill as Chief of Staff to a member of Congress in 1988. After leaving public service, he partnered with legendary political consultant George Gorton, a member of the American Political Hall of Fame. Together, they established Gorton & Mulanix, a California-based government relations firm that as provided winning political strategies for Fortune 500 clients such as Sprint Wireless, Koch Industries and Lucent Technologies. He has also headed significantly successful political campaigns for several initiatives including the San Diego Padres and California Workers Comp Reform. He worked exclusively for Arnold Schwarzenegger for five years guiding his transition from actor to political activist prior to running Arnold’s first campaign for Governor.

“Philter is a driving force behind a social movement to create more socially acceptable vaping practices – potentially leading to new legislation and laws around vaping.”

Rachel is a UC San Diego graduate with 10 years of digital marketing and social media management experience. She kick-started her social media career in the automotive industry after being recruited by brands like BMW, Toyota, and Michelin to help them appropriately and effectively market to their female audience via Instagram. From there she went on to build steady, organic social media growth for global nonprofits and managed the most expensive digital campaign (at the time) in the history of California politics. She believes the formula for successful social media presence is: quality content, clear messaging, creativity, and inclusivity. When it comes to social media marketing, Rachel has worked with a wide range of companies in many different industries, but she is most excited to be working for PHILTER and looks forward to what the future holds.

Stephanie is a San Diego State University graduate with 20+ years of business and management experience.  She started her career in the construction trucking industry where she evolved from performing daily accounting functions to managing the logistics to then overseeing and managing the multi-million dollar a year company that she spent 22 years with.  She then moved into another facet of business and took on the Corporate Tax and Accounting industry where she creates and implements tax planning and accounting practices for all types of corporate businesses.  Stephanie works with shareholders and employees of these companies directly to assure all plans are implemented and maximum results are attained.  She credits her success to learning businesses from the bottom up to fully understand the needs and intricacies of each industry she works with.

A 30-year veteran of industrial design and mechanical engineering, Mr. Shenkal is the founder and president of ID+M Inc., an internationally recognized, multifaceted product development firm with offices in USA, Hong-Kong and Israel, where his company has provided uniquely innovative design and application solutions for industry leaders and start-ups in area of consumer products, medical devices industrial, electronic, wireless and personal care products. Additionally, Mr. Shenkal is the active CEO of three companies and serves on the board of directors of seven other companies, respectively. Mr. Shenkal is a widely respected innovator who holds dozens of utility and design patents in various fields.

Mr. Shenkal holds a degree in Design Engineering from San Diego State University and an advanced degree in Industrial Design from ACCD in Pasadena. He is married, resides in north San Diego County and is very active in variety of local and international organizations.

Steve Davis has practiced in the areas of corporate and business law since 1992. During this time, Davis has lead several multi-million dollar securities transactions for a range of industries including software and technology, biotech, consumer products, finance and real estate. He also served on the Board of Directors and Audit, Compensation and Nominating Committees of Telanetix, Inc., a publicly traded telecommunications company, for eight years before its sale to Intermedia (an Oak Hill Capital portfolio company) where he was the Chairman of the Special Committee in the sale transaction. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Theragene Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Mr. Davis is licensed to practice law in California, the District of Columbia, and Minnesota and his Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, from the University of San Diego, School of Law in 1992. He received his B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude, from Arizona State University in 1988.