Our Founders

  • Martin D. Sass

    The Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer of MD Sass has had a distinguished career in investment management. Beginning his investment career in 1963, he has since partnered in the start-up of 34 investment management businesses and strategies, executing sales of businesses with approximately $35 billion in assets under management (AUM). He has held notable positions such as the President and Chief Investment Officer of Neuwirth Management and Research Corporation and founder and director of Argus Research Corporation’s Special Situations Division. Besides, he has served as Director of Taurus Funds Management Pty Limited and New Holland Capital Pty Limited. Complementing his professional accomplishments, he is deeply involved in philanthropy as the Chairman of The SASS Foundation for Medical Research, Vice Chairman of the Brooklyn College Foundation, and Chairman of its Investment Committee, also founding the M.D. Sass Investment Institute. He holds a B.S. from Brooklyn College.

  • Barbara Sass

    Co-Founder

  • Dr. Francis Arena, MD

    Dr. Arena has been for the last three decades at the forefront of cancer research with a resolute focus on patient survivorship, survival, and quality of life. As the Director at NYU Langone Arena Oncology, Clinical Professor at NYU Health Medical College, and President and Director of Research at the SASS-ARENA Foundation for Medical Research in Lake Success, NY, he has made significant contributions to the field. Dr. Arena has consistently taken his expertise beyond the lab and clinical setting, hosting community educational seminars throughout the New York City/Long Island region. These seminars have attracted not only hundreds of patients and their families but also panels of national experts in various subspecialties of cancer care. They share their invaluable knowledge, offering hope and clarity. Dr. Arena's combination of grace, compassion, intelligence, and determination has shifted the trajectory of many cancers from fatal to treatable. Beyond treatments, he has empowered patients with essential education, addressing their overall well-being, especially following breast cancer treatment. His work is a testament to his dedication to transforming lives and combating the menace of cancer.

CHAIRMAN, SCIENTIFIC & MED. BOARDS DIRECTOR, SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT

Sudhir Gupta, MD, Ph.D., MACP, University of California, Irvine

INTL SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

Bruce Beutler, MD, UT Southwestern Med. Ctr., Dallas, TX

J. Michael Bishop, MD, G.W. Hooper Fdn., San Francisco, CA

Robert C. Gallo, MD, Inst. of Human Virology, Baltimore, MD

George Stark, PH.D, Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic, OH

EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION

Brittany R. Arena, Director of Communications

MEDICAL BOARD OF ADVISORS

Jay L. Bosworth MD, LIJ Hospital, NY

Daniel Catovsky, MD, Royal Marsden Hosp., England

Nicholas Chiorazzi, MD, Northwell/LIJ Hosp, NY

Morton Coleman, MD, NY Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Med Ctr, NY

Dwight Carlton De Risi, MD, St. Francis Hospital, NY

Brian G. M. Durie, MD, Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles, CA

Francis J. Giles, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Ctr., Houston, TX

Richard J. Gralla, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY

Jennifer Grandis, MD, UCSF, CA

V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D., RH Lurie Cancer Ctr., Chicago, IL

Sanford J. Kempin, MD

Malcolm A.S. Moore, DPhil, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Ctr, NY

Jean-Marc Nabholtz, MD, Hartman Oncology Inst., Neuilly, France

David M. Nanus, MD, NY Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Med Ctr, NY

Lawrence D. Piro, MD, Angeles Clinic & Research Ctr, CA

Aaron Polliack, MD, Hadassah University Hosp., Israel

Harry Raftopoulos, MD, Northwell/LIJ Hosp, NY

Kanti Rai, MD, Northwell/LIJ Hosp, NY

Andrew I. Schafer, MD , NY-Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Med Ctr, NY

Lawrence H. Schwartz, MD, Columbia Univ Med Ctr, NY

Richard T. Silver, MD, NY Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Med Ctr, NY

Sotirios G. Stergiopoulos, MD, MBEE

Maria Theodoulou, MD

Mark Weiss, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Ctr, NY

John Eu-Li Wong, MD, Nat’l. Univ. Health Syst., Singapore

EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Francis P. Arena, Co-Founder & President, The SASS-Arena Foundation for Medical Research, Inc.

Barbara Sass, Co-Founder, The SASS-Arena Foundation for Medical Research, Inc.

Martin D. Sass, Co-Founder & Chairman, The SASS-Arena Foundation for Medical Research, Inc.

EXECUTIVE BOARD OF ADVISORS

Joseph V. Amella, President & CEO, Diligent Credit Solutions, LLC

Thomas Constance, Partner, Chairman

Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel, LLP

Ari Sass, President, MD Sass Investors Services, Inc.

Lara M. Sass, Esq., Trusts and Estates, Lara M. Sass, PLLC