David Johnston CFO

Former CFO David Johnston owns dbj Consulting LLC, a company that advises companies in the life sciences and offers fractional CFO services. he was the CFO of several biotech and life sciences companies in Massachusetts.

 

Current Position

​

In 2019, he started the company dbj Consulting LLC. After working as a CFO for over 30 years, he decided to start a company to share his financial knowledge with smaller life sciences companies that are just starting and can't yet afford a full-time, experienced CFO. Many of his clients are virtual and have ten employees or fewer. When clients hire his company, they get the help of an experienced CFO on a part-time, fractional basis. Because he has a lot of experience, he can make and carry out action plans well.

 

He thinks that the trend of C-level executives working part-time for new companies is good for both the companies and the executives. With his consulting business, where he works as a part-time CFO for several companies, he can better balance work and family life. It also keeps him from getting tired and makes him healthier and more productive. It also keeps him interested because he gets to do different things.

 

CFOs help small biotech companies build financial relationships, manage financial resources, and plan their finances. CFOs can also give a business a stronger foundation and more accountability. Part-time CFOs are paid an hourly wage or a flat fee for the hours they work for the company. Companies can hire an experienced part-time CFO for less than they would pay for a full-time one because they only pay for their work time.

 

CFOs play many important roles in biotech companies, such as getting funding and overseeing grants, financial reporting, budgeting, guiding compliance, and helping to plan the company's future path in the market. CFOs sometimes act as CEOs, especially when cash flow is very important.

 

Some of his firm's clients have CFOs, but they still hire him for strategic advice. He thinks that entrepreneurs do best when they are disciplined, professional, and have a sense of humor.

 

Written Work

​

As a former CFO, Johnston also writes many blogs and books about biotechnology and finances. Some of his articles have been published on online business and medical sites like Medium, Tumblr, the Buckeye Business Review, DrBioScience, and others.

 

Previous Roles: Since 1998, he has worked as a senior-level finance worker for companies in the life sciences field. His first job in life sciences finance was as Genzyme's senior vice president of corporate finance, planning, and analysis. Later, this Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company was bought by Sanofi, a global pharmaceutical and healthcare company based in Paris. After Genzyme, he worked as the chief financial officer (CFO) for two large Boston companies looking for drugs to treat and cure cancer.

 

Before becoming a senior manager for the first time at a biotech company, he worked in finance at other companies.

 

He has won a lot of awards for his business and financial sense.

 

Skills and Experience

​

Johnston helps clients of dbj Consulting by drawing on his many years of experience. He has experience in the following:

​

• Leading Initial Public Offerings

• Creative, non-dilutive royalty financing

• Advising companies on strategic stock buy and sell solutions

• Managing SEC reporting and financial analysis

• Investor relations

• Corporate finance

• Strategic planning and the setting of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Financial modeling

• Mergers and acquisitions

• Advising startups on how to raise funding and plan their financial future

• Corporate development

• Financial analysis

• Acquisition integration

• Revenue recognition

• Due diligence

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

• Developing and rethinking capital allocation strategies

• Improving operational efficiencies by analyzing bottlenecks

• Helping companies use financial data to make decisions

 

Education

​

Former CFO David went to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and got a Bachelor of Science. He got his MBA from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor.

 

Charity and Volunteer Work

​

He helps several non-profit boards with his financial and strategic skills. For example, he used to be on the board of directors at RAW ArtWorks. RAW Artworks is a youth arts organization in Lynn, Massachusetts, offering free programs in several different art forms. He has also been on the board of Tissue Banks International Inc., the largest ocular tissue supplier in the world.

 

Hobbies and Leisure Activities

​

David Johnston loves to read. Rinker Buck's The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey is one of his favorite books. The book is interesting because it talks about traveling the Oregon Trail in a wagon pulled by mules. It is also useful for people who want to start small biotech businesses. The book talks about how the two travelers deal with problems and uncertainty while still keeping their eyes on the goal of finishing the trail.

 

He and his family live in the Greater Boston area in Marblehead, MA.