About TVECA

CEO

As owner of Smoking Everywhere, Ray Story initiated the litigation against the FDA claiming the e-cig was indeed a tobacco product and not a drug delivery device. On December 7, 2010 Ray and the e-cig industry won a unanimous court decision siding with the e-cig. He also initiated and successfully defeated the Dutch ministry in their attempt to ban e-cig and is currently working with EU parliament to allow e-cigarettes to be sold everywhere in the EU with responsible regulations. Ray Story is the Founder and owner of the UTVG which includes brands like Premium Vapes, WannaVape, Flavor Vapes, and Vape Master.

CFO

Thomas is Director of Operations/Co-Owner of NICMAXX Electronic Cigarette Brands. Thomas has worked with the States of California, Utah, Illinois and New York and in each state considering e-cig action, his presented documentation of science and experience led to e-cigarettes remaining available to its citizens. Prior to inLife, Tom spent 20 years on Wall Street managing investments for private estates. inLife and Thomas were founding members of The Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA), now the TVECA.

CTO

Chris Fowler is our Chief Technology Officer and is responsible for keeping the TVECA one step ahead whenever new and time critical information becomes available. He has also been an incremental part of E-Cigarette regulatory deliberations in both the US as well as in Europe.

Shipping & Importation

Neel Haq is a shipping and importation expert with 15 years experience in shipping and importing goods particularly in the e cigarette /vapor space. He has superior knowledge on harmonization and compliance. He has worked with law enforcement and regulatory agencies on this topic and promotes logical and responsible regulation for this category.

Head of Scientific Advisory Board

Gerhard Mulder PhD is the prototype of a scientist turned businessman. Educated as a biochemist, he spent over 20 years at universities (VU) and academic hospitals (VUmc) in Amsterdam and in New York (Mount Sinai Hospital). The focus of his attention has always been on R&D in the Life Sciences. After an academic career he accepted appointments at Elsevier Science Publishers, AKZO Pharma, TNO, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Syntens, Wetsus and Metalmembranes. His interest in the TVECA is the interpretation of science findings into meaningful applications for the business. Maintaining Human Health is his main concern.

EU Chief Political Officer

Renato F. Addis has over 20 years of experience in European Union and international politics working most of that time for business but also briefly with government and non-governmental organizations. After graduating in International and European Law in Leiden, The Netherlands, in 1995 he joined the Brussels based specialized management consultancy EPPA. In his position as Partner at EPPA he advises clients to manage all aspects of the business-government interface. He specializes in policy and regulatory developments related to the protection of human and animal health and the environment in the context of the triangular relation between business, government and society. He has vast experience in highly regulated and complex industry sectors, bridging specific client interests with broader political and socio-economic imperatives. His sector specific activities primarily focus on health, consumer, chemical, agricultural, environmental and international trade and commerce. In addition he advises his clients in crosscutting and horizontal areas including public governance, the business license to operate, science and evidence-based political decision-making, impact assessment and cost benefit analysis. He is recognized as a leading expert in EU legislation as regards approaches to the interaction between risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. He has been an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) since 2006, where he has been serving in various elected positions, including in the Board of Directors and where he continues to chair the Institutional Affairs Committee. He is a regular speaker and moderator at international conferences and workshops. In recognition of his role in establishing a regulatory framework for electronic cigarettes in the European Union during the landmark lobby on the revision of the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive he was appointed TVECA’s Chief Political Officer. In this position he endeavors to implement and further develop the EU legislation on electronic cigarettes and to promote strict but fair regulation in other parts of the world, including the United States and Asia. Mr. Addis’s family is divided between The Netherlands and Italy and he is fluent in Dutch, English, French and German and his ancestry has also left some Italian. He resides in Brussels, Belgium with his cat.

US Chief Political Officer

Keith B. Nelson is an attorney and former prosecutor with extensive government experience at both the state and Federal level. Prior to joining Washington DC lobbying firm Lobbyit.com, Mr. Nelson ran the Offices of Legislative Affairs for two Federal Cabinet-level agencies – The U.S Department of Justice, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In both these positions, he managed agency-wide issue portfolios, advised the Attorney General and Director of National Drug Control Policy on a daily basis, and was the primary liaison and chief negotiator between the agencies and Congress. At DOJ, he was named to the Federal Senior Executive Service. Subsequent to DOJ, Mr. Nelson served as an Associate Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense, preparing cases against suspected terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before assuming his current Washington DC lobbying role.

Mr. Nelson graduated cum laude from The American University Washington College of Law, where he was a member of and published in the Law Review. During law school, he clerked at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Subsequent to law school, Mr. Nelson spent three years as an Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County, PA in the Trial and Appellate Divisions, where he successfully argued in front of appellate panels of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and conducted numerous jury and bench trials. Mr. Nelson is a Member of the Pennsylvania State Bar, and is admitted to practice in The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Mr. Nelson resides in Alexandria, Va. with his wife and three sons.

Secretary / USA Member Services