PRESIDENT

Codrut Birsan serves as the Artistic Director of Chicago Summer Opera. Born in Brasov, Romania, he began piano lessons at age 6. By age 17, he was one of the accompanists for Opera Brasov. While a voice student at the Academy of Music in Bucharest, Birsan was also a piano accompanist for the Academy’s opera class. Birsan moved to the United States in 2005. He obtained a Master of Music degree in Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, while also collaborating as a vocal accompanist in that setting.

SECRETARY

Alex Soare

Alex Soare is an entrepreneur, arts administrator, and professional opera singer with more than 15 years of experience spanning business development, technology, and the arts. He previously served as CEO of Artrise, an online platform connecting artists with businesses, before shifting his focus toward opera and arts leadership. As a professional singer, Alex has performed leading operatic roles throughout the United States and internationally. He is the co-founder and General Director of Chicago Summer Opera, where he combines his background in business and the performing arts to create professional opportunities for emerging artists.

TREASURER

Shelley Shepherd has 32 years of Marketing & Innovation experience with leading CPG companies in both Canada and the U.S. Shelley specializes in Market Innovation and is the Treasurer on the board since 2011.

BOARD MEMBER

Lucy Su is a business executive with extensive leadership experience of large global corporations across multiple industries and functional areas throughout her career. She is also an avid classic music fan and passionate about supporting young artists. She is the Chief Commercial Officer at Siemens-Healthineers Diagnostics.

BOARD MEMBER

Dr. Charlotte Tsou is a General Partner at Edward Jones, where she leads enterprise marketing technology, analytics, research, and behavioral science. She brings more than 25 years of global financial services experience, including leadership roles at Prudential Financial and HSBC. Her expertise spans business strategy, investor psychology, and data-driven innovation. She holds a doctorate from SBS Swiss Business School, a master’s degree from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree from New York University.

BOARD MEMBER

Dr. Vitoc is our Chairman of Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President. Dr. Vitoc has a broad array of experience across commercial strategic analysis and planning and medical affairs, in which he has 20 years of experience. During that time, Dr. Vitoc has managed and supported over 20 early, launch, and mature stage compounds, which have included targeted therapies and immune therapies across more than 25 tumor types, including colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. Vlad received an M.D. from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and his M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.

BOARD MEMBER

Cristian Lupuț is the founder and CEO of Optimus Realty, a full-service real estate company based in Chicago. After having successfully completed multiple real estate partnerships, consolidations, mergers and acquisitions, Cristian became actively involved in several charitable organizations.

BOARD MEMBER

Susan Murphy has 28 years of experience in advancement assessing the needs of her clients and guiding them to build their unique development programs. She is a development consultant with extensive experience helping clients achieve their nonprofit missions through strategic and diversified fundraising and organizational development.