HPG Partner Joins SEBIO Board

RALEIGH, NC, January 06, 2011 (Press-News.org) Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP (www.hpg.com), the largest CPA firm headquartered and staffed in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, announces today that firm partner and executive committee member Tim Gupton has joined the board of directors of Southeast BIO ( http://www.sebio.org). SEBIO fosters the growth of the life sciences industry across the Southeastern United States.

Gupton will help drive venture capital investment and industry awareness during his three-year term with SEBIO. As part of his role on the board, he will join Larry Robbins from Wyrick Robbins Yates and Ponton, LLC and Rosina Pavia from Pappas Ventures as joint chairs of the SEBIO investor's conference. The event will be held November 2-3, 2011 at the Washington-Duke Inn.

"I am looking forward to working with leaders who are dedicated to growing the life science industry in the Southeast," says Gupton. "The SEBIO conference is a unique opportunity to showcase university, emerging and late stage companies and promote economic development of the Southeast economy."

In addition to his work with HPG, Gupton is founder and general partner of Research Triangle Ventures, CFO of Colucid Pharmaceuticals Inc. and a NCBIO board member. With more than 35 years of public accounting experience, he has served as the start-up CFO for seven biopharmaceutical companies. Gupton is a retired partner with KPMG, former chairman of CED and co-author of FastTrac Tech, a business plan process sponsored by The Kaufman Foundation. 
"Tim and HPG have had a long standing commitment to entrepreneurs and the financial health of the companies they lead," says Ken Tindall, SEBIO board chair and senior vice president for science and business development at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. "SEBIO is fortunate to have the experience and insights of such a committed professional join its board."

HPG has a long history of supporting companies in the bio, pharma and life science industries through its Knowledge Based Industries practice area. In addition to supporting SEBIO, the firm and its members are active with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, NCBIO and CED.

About Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP (HPG): HPG is the largest CPA firm headquartered and staffed in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, as ranked by the Triangle Business Journal. More than just an accounting firm, HPG assists clients in looking beyond the bottom linesm by being the right people, right value and right firm to achieve each client's definition of success. HPG is a member of CPAmerica International and affiliated with the Crowe Horwath International alliances of firms, with offices worldwide. The firm leverages this to provide national and global accounting resources to its clients. HPG offers a wide array of business accounting, auditing, corporate tax and management advisory services. Specialties include serving owner-managed, investor-backed technology and life science organizations, healthcare services, real estate development, manufacturing and distribution businesses, as well as providing ERISA audits, family wealthcare services and Sarbanes-Oxley internal audit services.

HPG has remained committed to advancing a thriving Triangle community since its founding in 1983. In recognition, the firm is the recipient of two Pinnacle Business Awards by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce; the 2009 Large Entrepreneurial Business Award and the 2010 Integrity in Business Award. Additionally, HPG has been certified Green Plus by the Institute for Sustainable Development for integrating environmental sustainability efforts into company culture, and has been named one of the top 100 Best Accounting Firms to Work For in the country by Accounting Today. Visit http://www.hpg.com or follow HPG on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HPGcpas.

About SEBIO: Southeast BIO (SEBIO) is a regional nonprofit organization that fosters the growth of the life sciences industry in the Southeastern United States through efforts that promote entrepreneurship and bring together companies, investors, universities, and support organizations active in the development of the industry. A public/private partnership formed in 1999, SEBIO is committed to conducting activities that create regional leverage and facilitate the common interests and goals of constituents in the life sciences industry. SEBIO's geographic footprint presently includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Visit http://www.sebio.org for more information.