The People Who Keep Medicines Moving

William S. Marth, RPh., MBA

President & CEO

William S. Marth, RPh., MBA is an industry leader with an extensive record of commercial success and is currently the President & CEO at Resilience. Prior to joining Resilience, he served as the Global President and Chief Executive Officer of North America and Europe for the Emcure Pharmaceutical Company based in Pune, India (a Bain Capital investment) until December of 2021.  

Previously, William led the $1.6 billion take-private deal of AMRI, now known as Curia (formerly NASDAQ: AMRI), in September 2017, following seven acquisitions over four years that helped build one of the top five global CDMOs. He had been with the company since 2012 and served as its President and CEO starting in 2014. In 2013, he also served as Chairman of the Board. Before AMRI, William was President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for the Americas, as well as CEO of Teva North America and Teva USA through years of unprecedented growth. He was a member of Teva’s global executive management from 2007 to 2012, previously holding roles such as Executive Vice President and Vice President of sales and marketing for Teva USA. Before Teva, he held various positions at Apothecon, a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb. 

William earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Illinois, an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.) from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in the UK and is a member of the Advisory Board for Lupin Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company. He is also involved in several non-profit boards. Previously, William was Chairman of the Board at Sorrento Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: SRNE), an Independent Director at Galmed (NASDAQ: GLMD), Teligent (NASDAQ: TLGT), and Chairman of the Board for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (now AAM). Additionally, he served on the Board of the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists. William serves as the Managing Partner of North Ocean Ventures, LLC, a consulting/investment firm that assists Private Equity clients, since September 2020.

Ori Solomon

Executive Vice President, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer

Most recently, Ori Solomon was Co-Chair of the firmwide Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice at Morrison & Foerster LLP in Boston, MA where he was a founding partner of the Boston office and also served as the Hiring Partner.

For over 20 years, Ori has provided general corporate representation to a wide range of companies, from start-ups and emerging growth companies to large public companies, in a variety of industries, primarily life sciences and technology.  His transaction-based practice focused primarily on representing emerging companies and their investors in a variety of venture and growth equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, licensing and collaboration arrangements, joint ventures and other strategic matters.

Ori also represented venture capital funds in a wide range of transactions, including investments in portfolio companies and secondary direct transactions. He also has significant experience in public and private corporate finance transactions, including registered equity offerings, PIPEs and other alternative financing transactions, and regularly advised public company clients with respect to corporate governance issues, board of directors matters, SEC periodic reporting and other securities law compliance, proxy statements and annual meetings, disclosure controls and procedures, and Sarbanes-Oxley and other related matters.

Ori started his career at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York, NY in 1998 and transferred to Proskauer’s Boston office in 2011 to lead their private equity and M&A practice in the New England area.

Ori has a J.D. from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and an Honors in Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario.

Susan Billings, PhD

Chief Commercial Officer

Dr. Susan Billings is an accomplished, results-driven leader with over 15 years of experience in commercial strategy, business transformation, client-relationship growth, and business development within the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. She currently serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at Resilience, where she leads the company’s commercial organization, driving strategic go-to-market initiatives to accelerate growth and market presence, while prioritizing the development of strong client relationships.

Before joining Resilience, Dr. Billings was the founding Chief Commercial Officer of Vivodyne, a TechBio platform technology start-up, where she established and led the commercial and corporate strategy for launching their innovative platform. Prior to her role at Vivodyne, she served as Vice President & Global Head of Business Development at Curia, a multi-national CDMO. During her time at Curia, she managed global business development teams focused on drug discovery, development, and manufacturing for biologics, small molecules, fine chemicals, and laboratory testing services.

Dr. Billings earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Irvine. Before her tenure at Curia, she advanced through various technical and operational roles at an oncology start-up and later at Merck.

Andrew Montone

Chief Financial Officer

Andrew Montone is Chief Financial Officer at Resilience, where he leads the global finance, accounting, and procurement functions. Mr. Montone joined Resilience in October 2020 as the Vice President, Finance. He has been instrumental in establishing the company’s strategic, financial and operational objectives, providing essential thought leadership and overseeing our capital allocation strategy. He has 20 years of experience in the life sciences and biotech industries.

Prior to Resilience, Mr. Montone worked in roles of increasing responsibility at Foundation Medicine, including Corporate Controller, leading the company’s corporate accounting and finance processes, treasury and risk management strategy. Andrew started his career in the health industries practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers for 10 years, primarily serving public and private life science and biotech companies.

Mr. Montone is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Syracuse University.

Mari Carmen Pizarro

Chief Human Resources Officer

Mari Carmen Pizarro serves as Chief Human Resources Officer at Resilience, where she leads the human capital strategy for a high-performing contract development and manufacturing organization.

With over 30 years of HR leadership experience across global pharmaceutical and manufacturing operations, Mari Carmen specializes in organizational transformation, talent strategy, and culture development.

Most recently, Mari Carmen has been running her own HR strategic leadership consulting company, working with global clients on M&A, cultural transformation, change management, and leadership development. Previously, she served as CHRO at Avet Pharmaceuticals, where she led comprehensive HR functions through restructuring phases, and held senior HR leadership roles at Teva Pharmaceuticals, managing HR operations for the world's largest generic pharmaceutical company. She also spent a decade in progressive leadership roles at Warner Lambert and Pfizer.

Mari Carmen holds an MBA from Universidad Interamericana and a BA in Marketing and Economics from Universidad de Puerto Rico. She completed executive education at Harvard Law School in Negotiation and Leadership.

Junan Guo, PhD

Chief Quality Officer

As our Chief Quality Officer, Junan is responsible for developing robust and compliant GxP processes and systems in support of Resilience’s technology development and GxP operations and enabling the timely delivery and continuity of high-quality product supply to our customers and their patients worldwide.

Prior to joining Resilience, Junan led R&D Quality, 3^rd Party Quality and Quality for the 503B business for Hikma Pharmaceuticals.  Junan worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 29 years, held quality and R&D leadership roles in a diverse set of companies including TWi Pharmaceuticals, Catalent, Curia, Patheon and Viatris. He brings expertise in CMC strategy for new product development, in establishing science-based and business-enabling quality systems in a wide range of dosage forms and APIs, including aseptic fill/finishing, and in managing large scale global quality teams across the pharmaceutical supply chain.  Junan received his PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry from The University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Steven Hagen, PhD

Chief Manufacturing Officer

Steven Hagen has worked in the biopharmaceutical sector for over 33 years. After attaining his PhD in Biochemistry, he worked for 14 years in positions of increasing responsibility in branded pharmaceutical development, with the last 11 years at Pfizer Global Research and Development. Steven then began a 14-year period of work in contract manufacturing for chemical APIs and injectable drug products, and advanced to lead global quality, regulatory affairs, operations, environmental health and safety, and procurement for 20 GMP sites, spanning three continents, at Albany Molecular Research, Inc. After this role, he worked on multiple quality compliance remediation programs as a consultant in Asia, Europe, and North America, primarily for sterile injectable manufacturing operations. 

Jimmy Wang, PhD

Chief Information Officer

Jimmy Wang, PhD, serves as Chief Information Officer of Resilience, ensuring the optimal execution of information technology strategy, maintenance of digital systems and infrastructure, and data security.

Jimmy brings a wealth of experience as a leader with a strong track record of establishing first-class IT organizations, overseeing ERP platform implementations and consolidations, and managing acquisition integrations.

Prior to joining Resilience, he held the position of Executive Vice President and CIO at Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, where he spearheaded the company's IT strategy and managed a global IT team supporting various functions, from sales and marketing to R&D and manufacturing. Prior to his role at Emcure, Jimmy served as Senior Vice President and CIO of Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI), where he led the development of the IT strategy to support the company's global expansion, including the implementation of the Oracle ERP platform. Before joining AMRI, Jimmy led in CIO roles at OPKO Health Inc., Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Teva Pharmaceuticals Americas.

Jimmy holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research and a Master’s degree in Operations Research and Engineering Management. He was selected as one of the 100 Premier IT leaders by Computerworld and Top 100 CIOs by CIO Magazine.

Outside of work, he is an avid Marathon runner with a personal record of 3:37:04, Jimmy completed Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2023.

Robert Nelson

Chairman and Founder, ARCH

Robert Nelsen is among the most successful biotechnology investors globally. His efforts have helped propel ARCH to be one of the top early-stage biotech venture groups. He joined ARCH at its founding and played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing, and development of more than 100 companies, including thirty that have reached valuations exceeding $1 billion. His seed and early-stage investments include Illumina (ILMN), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Juno Therapeutics (JUNO, acquired by Celgene-CELG now BMS), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX), Array BioPharma (ARRY, acquired by Pfizer-PFE), Unity Biotechnology (UBX), Hua Medicine (2552:HK), Vir Biotechnology (VIR), Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO), Sage Therapeutics (SAGE), CStone Pharmaceuticals (2616:HK), Gossamer Bio (GOSS), Ikaria (acquired by Mallinckrodt-MNK), Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH, acquired by Allergan-AGN now ABBV), Receptos (RCPT, acquired by Celgene-CELG now BMS), Aviron (AVIR, acquired by MedImmune-MEDI now AZNCF), Denali Therapeutics (DNLI), Rubius Therapeutics (RUBY), Syros Pharmaceuticals (SYRS), Sana Biotechnology, Lyell Immunopharma, GRAIL, Nutcracker Therapeutics, Bit Bio, Brii Biosciences, Happy Healthcare, Insitro, Maze Therapeutics, Encoded Therapeutics, Encodia, EQRx, Mindstrong, Omniome, Prime Medicine, RBNC Therapeutics, KSQ Therapeutics, SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals, Singular Genomics, Sironax, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Transcenta Holding, Verve Therapeutics, Volastra Therapeutics, NetBot (acquired by Excite), Bluebird Bio (BLUE), R2 Technology (acquired by Hologic-HOLX), Genomica (GNOM, acquired by Exelixis-EXEL), XenoPort (XNPT, acquired by Arbor Pharmaceuticals), Fate Therapeutics (FATE), Caliper Life Sciences (CALP, acquired by Perkin Elmer-PKI), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN, acquired by Emergent Biosolutions-EBS), Adolor (ADLR, acquired by Cubist Pharmaceuticals-CBST now MRK), deCODE Genetics (acquired by Amgen-AMGN), Editas (EDIT), 10x Genomics, Semma Therapeutics (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals-VRTX), IDUN Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer-PFE), Classmates.com (acquired by United Online-UNTD), and Everyday Learning Corporation (acquired by Tribune Corp. now NXST).

Mr. Nelsen is a director of Vir Biotechnology, GRAIL, Sana Biotechnology, Beam Therapeutics, Unity Biotechnology, Denali Therapeutics, and serves as Chairman of Hua Medicine, among others. He previously served as a Trustee of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, the Institute for Systems Biology, and was a director of the National Venture Capital Association. Mr. Nelsen holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. from the University of Puget Sound with majors in Economics and Biology.

William S. Marth, RPh., MBA

President & CEO

William S. Marth, RPh., MBA is an industry leader with an extensive record of commercial success and is currently the President & CEO at Resilience. Prior to joining Resilience, he served as the Global President and Chief Executive Officer of North America and Europe for the Emcure Pharmaceutical Company based in Pune, India (a Bain Capital investment) until December of 2021.  

Previously, William led the $1.6 billion take-private deal of AMRI, now known as Curia (formerly NASDAQ: AMRI), in September 2017, following seven acquisitions over four years that helped build one of the top five global CDMOs. He had been with the company since 2012 and served as its President and CEO starting in 2014. In 2013, he also served as Chairman of the Board. Before AMRI, William was President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for the Americas, as well as CEO of Teva North America and Teva USA through years of unprecedented growth. He was a member of Teva’s global executive management from 2007 to 2012, previously holding roles such as Executive Vice President and Vice President of sales and marketing for Teva USA. Before Teva, he held various positions at Apothecon, a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb. 

William earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Illinois, an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.) from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in the UK and is a member of the Advisory Board for Lupin Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company. He is also involved in several non-profit boards. Previously, William was Chairman of the Board at Sorrento Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: SRNE), an Independent Director at Galmed (NASDAQ: GLMD), Teligent (NASDAQ: TLGT), and Chairman of the Board for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (now AAM). Additionally, he served on the Board of the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists. William serves as the Managing Partner of North Ocean Ventures, LLC, a consulting/investment firm that assists Private Equity clients, since September 2020.  

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.

Former President of Purdue University

Governor Mitchell Daniels was elected Governor of Indiana in 2004. He spearheaded a host of reforms aimed at improving the performance of state government. These changes and a strong emphasis on performance measurement have led to many state agencies, including the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Department of Child Services and Department of Correction winning national awards.

In 2005, he led the state to its first balanced budget in eight years and, without a tax increase, transformed the nearly $800 million deficit he inherited into an annual surplus of $370 million within a year. Governor Daniels’ innovations include the 2006 lease of the Indiana Toll Road. This is the largest privatization of public infrastructure in the United States and generated nearly $4 billion for Major Moves, the state’s record-breaking 10-year transportation and infrastructure program.

Daniels first became interested in public service while serving as chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar. He has also served as a senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush.

Daniels also comes from a successful career in business, holding numerous top management positions. From 1987-1990, Daniels served as the CEO of the Hudson Institute.  In 1990, he accepted a position at Eli Lilly and Company, the largest corporation headquartered in Indiana at that time, and eventually held the role of president of the company’s North American Pharmaceutical Operations. Daniels also serves on the corporate boards of Cerner Corporation and Interactive Intelligence.

In recognition of his leadership both as Governor and as president of Purdue University, Fortune Magazine named President Daniels to its list of the top 50 world leaders in March 2015. In June 2016, he was named a Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society.

Many other organizations also have recognized his leadership. In May 2012, the Manhattan Institute presented the governor with its Alexander Hamilton Award.

The governor’s conservation efforts set aside record acreages of protected wetlands and wildlife habitats. In January 2012, he received the Chancellor Award for Conservation and Wildlife Protection from the Weatherby Foundation, and in March 2012, he also was awarded the Theodore Roosevelt Award from the Indiana Wildlife Federation.

Daniels received the Woodrow Wilson Award from Princeton University in February 2013. The award recognizes an alumnus whose career embodies the call to duty in Wilson’s famous speech, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service.” He was also the recipient in June 2013 of the Bradley Prize from the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The award recognizes accomplishments that “strengthen American institutions.”

Daniels is also the author of three books, including best-seller “Keeping the Republic: Saving America by Trusting Americans.” He is a contributing columnist in the Washington Post, and his writings are regularly featured in other publications. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1971 and his law degree from Georgetown University in 1979.

Chris Darby

Global Head of Venture Investments Cerberus Capital Management

Christopher Darby serves as Global Head of Venture Investments at Cerberus Capital Management. He served as President and CEO of In-Q-Tel 2006-2023. He is also a member of its Board of Trustees. In January 2019, Chris was nominated as a Commissioner on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. He is also a Director on the Board of the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation.

Prior to joining In-Q-Tel, Chris was a Vice President and General Manager at Intel, where he oversaw the Middleware Products Division. At Intel, Chris had responsibility for the corporation’s Infrastructure Software business, including open source and commercial products. He joined Intel in August 2005 with the acquisition of Sarvega, a venture-backed supplier of XML networking and security products, where he served as President and CEO.

Prior to Sarvega, Chris was the Chairman and CEO of @stake, the well-known Internet security consulting firm ultimately acquired by Symantec (SYMC). While at @stake, he assembled the world’s leading collection of security researchers and built a business that spanned North America and Europe.

Before that, Chris served as President and CEO of Interpath Communications, which was later acquired by US Internetworking (USIX). Earlier in his career, he held several executive positions at Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett-Packard) and Northern Telecom (now Nortel Networks) with responsibility for telecom industry sales initiatives, corporate strategy, and alliances. Chris began his career at Bell Northern Research.

He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario.

Kaye Foster

HR Leader, Onyx, J&J, Pfizer

Kaye Foster is currently an independent consultant, working with CEOs and leadership teams focusing on business transformations, talent management strategy and Human Resources strategy development and implementation. She serves as a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and is a guest lecturer at Columbia University Graduate School of Business and Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Kaye joined Onyx from Johnson & Johnson where she served as Vice President of Global Human Resources, and a member of the Executive Committee. In that role, she led the global Human Resources organization, and also served as a member of the Management Compensation Committee and the Pension Committee, partnering with the chair of the Compensation Committee of the Johnson & Johnson outside Board of Directors. Prior to Johnson & Johnson, she held several Human Resources executive positions with Pfizer Inc. supporting its pharmaceutical businesses in Japan, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America, and she led the integration of both the Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia mergers for these countries.

Kaye received her undergraduate degree from the City University of New York, Baruch College, and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University in New York City.

Joseph Goldschmid

Partner and Portfolio Manager at Oak Hill Advisors

Joseph Goldschmid serves as a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Oak Hill Advisors (OHA), a leading global credit-focused alternative asset manager with approximately $111 billion in assets under management. At OHA, Mr. Goldschmid focuses on special situations investments, leveraging deep expertise in driving financial and operational transformations for companies navigating complex reorganizations. Prior to joining OHA in 2019, he was a Director in the Distressed & Special Situations Group at Angelo Gordon, where he led numerous high-profile restructurings and investment opportunities across sectors. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Restructuring and Special Situations Group at The Blackstone Group and PJT Partners. He began his career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Goldschmid currently serves on the Board of Directors for Valaris Limited (NYSE: VAL) and previously served on the Board of Directors for Expro Group. He is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Mr. Goldschmid holds a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was recognized as a James Kent Scholar.

Scott Gottlieb, MD

Partner, NEA, Former Commissioner, FDA

Scott Gottlieb is a physician and served as the 23rd Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Gottlieb’s work focuses on advancing public health through developing and implementing innovative approaches to improving medical outcomes, reshaping healthcare delivery, and expanding consumer choice and safety. He is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Dr. Gottlieb is an aggressive advocate for advancing the health of patients, promoting healthcare access, and driving innovation. The agency’s historic and prolific advances in new policy distinguished his tenure as the FDA’s commissioner, in addition to a record-setting number of approvals of novel drugs, medical devices, and generic medicines. Under his leadership, the FDA advanced new frameworks for the modern and safe and effective oversight of gene therapies, cell based regenerative medicines, targeted drugs, and digital health devices. The FDA implemented new reforms to standardize drug reviews and make historic improvements of post market data collection and the use of real-world evidence. They promoted policies to reduce death and disease from tobacco, improve food safety, and aggressively confront addiction crises.

Previously, Dr. Gottlieb served as the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs and before that, as a Senior Adviser to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he helped advance policies to improve healthcare quality and promote the effective use of new medical technologies. Dr. Gottlieb is widely published in leading medical journals and periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He has held editorial positions on the British Medical Journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association and is a regular contributor to CNBC. Fortune Magazine recognized him as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2018 and again in 2019. In 2018, 2019 and again in 2020, Modern Healthcare named Dr. Gottlieb the “Most Influential Physician Executive and Leaders” in its annual survey of 50 physician executives, and Time magazine named him one of its “50 People Transforming Healthcare in 2018.”

Dr. Gottlieb was a practicing hospitalist and he is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. He lives in Westport, Connecticut with his wife and three daughters.

Drew Oetting

Co-founder & President, 8VC, Co-founder Affinity

Drew Oetting is co-founder and President of 8VC, where he oversees the internal company incubation efforts in addition to investing. He is a co-founder of Affinity Technologies. Previously Drew served as a partner at Formation 8, and started his career as Chief of Staff to Joe Lonsdale. Drew serves on the Competitiveness Council for Cerberus Capital Management. He is also a Trustee to LivingOnOne, a non-profit impact production studio; WeAreThorn, a NGO which leverages technology to eliminate child trafficking; and the Claremont McKenna College Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Drew graduated with degrees in Mathematics and Economics from Claremont McKenna College. He was a Robert Day Scholar, two-time Bill Gates Investment Asset Management Fellow, and served as CEO of the Student Investment Fund. In college he played varsity golf and sang in The Claremont Shades a capella group. Drew is originally from Iowa City, Iowa.

Joseph Robert Kerrey

Former United States Senator of Nebraska

Bob Kerrey is Managing Director at Allen & Company. He is also Executive Chairman of the Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship, supporting The Minerva Project, an exceptional liberal arts and sciences education.

From 2001 to 2011 Mr. Kerrey was President of The New School, a university founded on democratic ideals and daring educational practices. On his watch, The New School experienced unprecedented growth in enrollment, faculty, scholarships, capital projects, research, and international engagement.

From 1989 to 2001 Mr. Kerrey represented Nebraska in the Senate, where he promoted equity for rural communities, led in farm and environmental legislation, strengthened taxpayers’ rights, led in restructuring our intelligence agencies, and partnered with local leaders to build projects of lasting value to Nebraskans.

His public service since leaving the Senate includes: the 9/11 Commission, advisory board of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, co-chair of the Concord Coalition, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Prior to his Senate service, Mr. Kerrey served one term as Nebraska’s Governor.  Before entering politics, he was a businessman who helped build a chain of restaurants and health clubs employing over 1000 people.

Mr. Kerrey served as a U.S. Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War. For his service, he received the Medal of Honor. While in Vietnam, he was wounded, permanently disabled, and received from this injury a great gift:  sympathy for those who are suffering and an appreciation for the capacity of government to save your life.

Mr. Kerrey earned a BS degree in Pharmacy from the University of Nebraska.

Denice Torres

Former CEO, J&J McNeil

Denice Torres is CEO of The Ignited Company change management firm and Founder of The Mentoring Place, an organization dedicated to helping women advance in their careers. She has over 25 years of management and P&L experience in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer healthcare. She served as president for several multi-billion-dollar Johnson & Johnson companies including Janssen Pharmaceuticals, CNS, and J&J Consumer Healthcare. Denice was also chief strategy and transformation officer for the medical device sector. Denice is credited for successfully leading and transforming the Tylenol company through an unprecedented time period marked by product recalls, manufacturing challenges, and a consent decree. She was named the Healthcare Businesswoman of the Year in 2015.

Prior to joining J&J, Denice had a highly successful, 14-year career at Lilly where she served in leadership roles of increasing responsibility including executive director for women’s health and head of global marketing for a multi-billion portfolio.

Denice has served on multiple boards and is currently a director of bluebird bio (Blue). She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, a J.D. from Indiana University, and a B.S. in Psychology from Ball State. She is a member of the Michigan Bar Association.