John Griffin

Partner

Connect with John Griffin

Download vCard

I first worked with John for nearly 15 years at my previous company, SCYNEXIS. In fact, John was the first full time finance employee, grew to become the Director of Finance, and helped take the company public in 2014 on the NASDAQ. Needless to say, it was a great experience for us all, and John was on the team that made it happen.

When I started a new company, Ribogenics, of course it made perfect sense for me to go back to John for Finance. He came the first day, and we were in business!

John is not only a great numbers guy; he also understands the Biotech ecosystem: investors both public and private, shareholders, partners, principal investigators, administrative support and scientists. He communicates easily with Board members and very quickly gained their trust. John also communicates well with scientists that may not have all the financial and operational knowledge required to build and grow a Biotech company. He is also very responsive in the demands of the stakeholders and good at prioritizing his job.

In a matter of 6 months, we put in place a complete team with the facility and raised $7M as seed money. I left the company at the end of 2021, but John stayed on to ensure that the evolution of Ribogenics was well managed.

Overall, when I have my next biotech project, I’m calling John!

Yves Ribeill, Former CEO

Ribogenics

John Griffin possesses a strong business acumen and a calm demeanor. Beginning with my initial interaction with John, he possessed an impressive resume and exuded confidence quickly leading us to hire him. He was instrumental in building our accounting function from the ground up while the company was in full operations. He became an integral member of our executive leadership team during a high growth period and provided exceptional support through our recent sale of the company. During the 5+ years he has supported our company, he has proven to be exceptionally valuable and exceeded our expectations.

Tom Fritsch, Senior Managing Director

CBRE

I have worked with John in different companies over the last 20 years and would eagerly do so again. I have worked with other Chief Financial Officers, but John is the cream of the crop when it comes to being a true partner to the functions of human resources and employee engagement. He understands the power of leveraging employee engagement to advance the business and improve the bottom line. For more than two decades, John has been my trusted partner with whom I could analyze issues, deliberate options and then create solutions while maintaining our commitments to stakeholders, including our employees.

In addition to being an exceptional partner, John has been a outstanding mentor to me. John not only provides the answer but will also provide the explanation that has allowed me to grow in my understanding of financial and accounting principles. While this has been personally rewarding, it has also allowed me to bring better ideas forward to benefit the company. John makes the people around him better.

Amanda Mancuso, Chief of Staff

Ribogenics

John Griffin is a dedicated, strategic-minded professional with over 25 years of experience providing both financial and operational leadership in support of company objectives. John is a strategic leader with demonstrated ability to improve the finance, accounting, operations, human resources, and business development functions of the organization.

Mr. Griffin has spent the his career focusing on start-up, mid-size and larger companies in a variety of industries, including professional services, life sciences and commercial real estate. He has considerable experience in accounting, finance, cash management, financial modeling, operations support, risk management, M&A (sell-side) negotiations and due diligence, business transitions, and corporate strategy. He manages audit, tax, legal, insurance, commercial leasing, and banking relationships. Recently, he led a client through a significant multi-year revenue and earnings growth period, maximizing company valuation and culminating in a successful sale to a global Fortune 500 company. Prior to that, he was a key contributor to the successful IPO of an emerging biotechnology company. He has built and directed financial operations for multiple companies leading to significant valuation increases and successful strategic exits.

He currently serves as part-time CFO for:

CBRE|Raleigh, a leading, local commercial real estate services provider
Simple Certified Mail, shipping and mailing service that simplifies and speeds up the process of sending Certified Mail for all industries

Read the praises his clients speak of him here: Client Testimonials.

Prior to joining Rankin McKenzie, Mr. Griffin spent 15 years with Scynexis, Inc., a publicly-traded drug development and pharmaceutical services company. As Director of Finance, he led the successful marketing of the company’s major division for acquisition, producing financial forecasts and performing critical business analysis, and was the key team member during both the due diligence and transaction closing process. As Controller, he established and implemented financial and accounting procedures and controls, built a first-class accounting team, and designed and led the FP&A function.

A native of North Carolina, Mr. Griffin attended UNC-Chapel Hill, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business and Masters in Accounting. He holds his CPA certificate in North Carolina.

Career Timeline

In 2018, joined Rankin McKenzie as Partner
From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Griffin served as Controller for a local Clinical Research Organization with global operations and worked closely with project managers to optimize project performance, financial accuracy, and profitability.
From 2000 to 2015, Mr. Griffin worked at Scynexis, Inc., beginning during its startup phase as Accounting Manager and was subsequently promoted several times. He created all accounting policies and procedures, hired and developed accounting staff, oversaw back-office functions, developed financial and analytical reports, and maintained banking, audit, tax, risk management, benefits, and supply chain relationships. At the time of his departure in 2015, he had attained the position of Director of Finance.
From 1999 to 2000, Mr. Griffin worked as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche, providing auditing and review services for both public and private clients in a wide variety of industries.
From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Griffin owned and operated a residential real estate appraisal business servicing Raleigh and surrounding area.

Finding CFOs and Controllers has never been so easy.
Schedule a brief call and we’ll match you with the best financial partner for your business.