Tony Kalajian

Tony T. Kalajian, CPA, MBA, joined Calidi Biotherapeutics as Chief Accounting Officer in March 2021 and was appointed as interim Chief Financial Officer in June 2021. Prior to joining Calidi, Mr. Kalajian was the Chief Accounting Officer for Oncocyte Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary laboratory-developed tests for multiple cancer indications with a primary focus on lung cancer. At Oncocyte, Mr. Kalajian was directly in charge of the financial reporting, accounting and compliance before and after the spin-off of Oncocyte as a privately held subsidiary of a publicly held company traded on NASDAQ. After the spin-off, Mr. Kalajian continued to manage and oversee the financial reporting for Oncocyte as a public company, including internal controls for financial reporting implementation and compliance. From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Kalajian was the Chief Accounting Officer for Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly known as BioTime Inc., OncoCyte’s former parent company), a publicly traded, clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel cell therapies such as degenerative retinal diseases, neurological conditions associated with demyelination, and aiding the body in detecting and combating cancer. While at Lineage, Mr. Kalajian concurrently managed and oversaw the financial reporting, compliance and accounting for both Lineage and three other public companies spun off from Lineage, including OncoCyte, Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. and AgeX Therapeutics, Inc., which included the spin off and public registration of these entities on the NYSE American, including establishment and maintenance of internal controls under the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Prior to 2016, Mr. Kalajian was the Senior Director of Finance at STAAR Surgical Company, a publicly traded multi-national, multi-billion dollar medical-device developer and manufacturer. At STAAR Surgical, Mr. Kalajian served in various senior management accounting and financial reporting positions, including Global Controller from 2008 to 2010 and Senior Director of Finance from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Kalajian is a certified public accountant (CPA) with the state of California and brings over 20 years of finance and public accounting experience, including domestic and international financial reporting, initial public offerings, internal controls, management, mergers and acquisitions, business strategy consulting, transfer pricing and tax related services in various industries including biotech, medical devices, ophthalmic, diagnostics, start-ups, ecommerce, manufacturing and retail. Prior to entering the private sector, Mr. Kalajian held various positions at the public accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he held a title of Senior Manager in Audit and Advisory Services.

Mr. Kalajian holds a B.S. in accounting, theory and practice from California State University, Northridge and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.