Rely on Our Expertise.

Vivek leads Saama in its mission to empower the life sciences industry to conduct faster and safer clinical development programs and file New Drug Applications (NDAs) more efficiently. His expertise in pharma services, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), combined with over 25 years of life science and financial industry operational experience, have resulted in a business philosophy that aligns investor, customer and employee interests while creating significant business value.

Prior to joining Saama, Vivek served as CEO at Decision Resources Group (DRG), Piramal Pharma Solutions, and Piramal Critical Care, as well as Managing Director at Thomas H Lee Partners. At DRG, Vivek implemented a highly successful, growth-focused strategy with data analyses, AI, pharma insights, market access and strong customer focus to fulfill the company’s mission and allow pharma customers to gain invaluable information and data access prior to leading the sale process for DRG to Clarivate.

Vivek leads with inspiration and has been recognized as “Global CEO of the Year” by CPhI Pharma Awards. Vivek earned an Executive Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Vivek has a passion for philanthropy and has been actively involved in supporting various nonprofit missions with a focus on women empowerment, social and educational advocacy and environment.

For more than 20 years, Lisa Moneymaker has been a leader in the pharma, biotech and medical device industry. Her leadership has delivered complex systems solutions in support of excellence in clinical trial execution. She is respected throughout the industry as a thought leader and speaker, having worked across the consulting, vendor and internal pharma information systems space.

Prior to joining Saama, she was SVP of Clinical Operations Technology at Medidata Solutions. In this position, she helped to advance the role of internal sponsor and CRO technology in support of Decentralized Clinical Trials, as the industry responded to the pressures of an increasingly remote world.

Lisa began her career at Accenture and continued as an independent consultant, gaining exposure to information systems across the pharma space. Much of her career was in support of Amgen, developing systems within its global development organization, which gained her exposure and recognition as a subject matter expert within pharma information systems. While at Amgen, she was given leadership roles within TransCelerate Biopharma, driving industry innovation through delivery of the Shared Investigator Platform and the Investigator Registry.

A graduate of University of Southern California, Lisa holds a BS in Biomedical Biochemical Engineering.

Dr. Clinton White is an accomplished business leader whose unique blend of experience in clinical research and drug development, technology, and operational delivery will help Saama drive innovation, accelerate clinical trial execution, and improve the lives of patients worldwide. 

Across his 25+ year career, Clinton has focused on structure-based drug development within oncology, immunology, and virology and has provided strategic guidance and direction on clinical research, clinical technology, and data analytics within both the CRO and BioPharma industries.

Prior to joining Saama, Clinton was the global head of oncology project delivery for an industry-leading global contract research organization (CRO). In this role, he managed a large portfolio of phase 1 through phase 3 trials for sponsors ranging from emerging biotech to large pharma.  

Before that, he was the Global Head of Enterprise Data and Analytics for another leading global CRO, where he led the company’s big data and next-gen analytics efforts. Clinton also previously served as Chief Operating Officer for a virtual oncology drug development company conducting pivotal trials in Japan, Asia, Europe, and the U.S., and as a Management Consultant in the life sciences focused on clinical process improvement, drug development, and asset evaluation.

Clinton earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MBA from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, and a PhD in Structure-Based Drug Design from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he was an NIH Pre-Doctoral Fellow. In addition, Clinton completed his post-doctoral training at Caltech were he was named a Gosney Fellow and the Andrew Meadows Fellow of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Foundation.

Scott leads Saama’s global finance organization and operations. He is passionate about using the language of finance to enhance Saama’s performance and help tell the story of how industry is embracing AI technologies to accelerate the delivery of safe and effective medical treatments.

A high-impact executive, Scott has a compelling blend of financial experience and deep understanding of clinical development. He comes to Saama from Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD, Inc.), a leading global provider of clinical research services to the biopharma and biotech industries. As PPD’s Senior Vice President of Clinical Finance, Scott oversaw a portfolio of the contract research organization’s businesses across the phases of clinical development. He also had direct responsibility for PPD’s adjunct business units, including consulting, digital and enrollment solutions, where he worked to optimize business performance and communicate to executives and owners. While at PPD, Scott also implemented a global leadership program designed to enhance the career development and engagement of the finance team.

Scott began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor, then moved into corporate finance in the pharmaceutical industry. He holds an accounting degree from Texas Tech University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Scott likes to spend time with his family boating, golfing and playing tennis, as well as traveling and experiencing new adventures, places and cultures.

With 24 years of experience in leadership roles at Saama and Silicon Graphics (SGI), Rajeev currently leads Saama’s Client Care and Delivery organizations, while simultaneously driving the company’s technology roadmap.

Previously at Saama, Rajeev led the development of strategies, methodologies, and partnerships, with a focus on cloud, syndicated data sources, social data, advanced analytics, and mobile technologies.

Rajeev has created BI and Analytics strategies for large organizations and managed large-scale deployments of data warehousing, analytics and applied data mining/predictive analytics systems in diverse business environments. He has also been involved in the analysis, design, and deployment of both B2C and B2B solutions in different vertical industries.

Rajeev earned an M.S. in Computer Science at California State University, Chico.

Stephen architects and empowers Saama’s partnerships with life science industry companies, ensuring that Saama’s technology exceeds customers’ expectations and needs, enabling them to accelerate clinical development programs. He has a passion for being hands-on with customers to fully understand the daily challenges of their drug development processes.

Stephen is committed to improving the clinical trial landscape through customized technology and innovation. Stephen has over 15 years of experience supporting pharma, biotech, and contract research organizations (CROs), including tenure as Vice President, Portfolio Executive Partner at PPD Inc, part of ThermoFisher Scientific. Stephen’s professional experience also includes business development positions with Inclinix, Inc. and NovaQuest, the managed partnership group of Quintiles Transnational Corp.

Stephen earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky, with a Major in Hospitality Management and a Minor in Business Administration. After finishing his collegiate football career, he played three years of professional football as a kicker in the U.S. and Germany.

For more than 30 years, Neelesh has led and managed businesses throughout the Global market. He’s been a progressive visionary in leading businesses and operations for high-growth emerging companies as well as large global organizations. Prior to joining Saama, he served as Head of Global Delivery Centre at Clarivate Analytics and as Managing Director of DRG India. In these roles, he was responsible for the company’s operation in India overseeing all aspects of business operations, from strategy to execution of delivery. DRG enjoyed their highest revenue growth in 2019, under Neelesh’s operations leadership.

Earlier in Neelesh’s career, his attention was focused on delivering strong revenue growth across businesses in manufacturing and IT/ITES. His understanding of key industry and customer trends led him on a successful path, paving the way for his continual achievements in leading businesses and operations on a high-growth track for success. While serving as Vice President and Service Line Leader at Genpact, Neelesh oversaw the commercial analytics portfolio and was responsible for delivering strong revenue growth both in 2017 and 2018.

Neelesh’s overall leadership style is responsible for strong team building and high-performance track records throughout the organizations he has managed. He encourages a culture of values and loyalty which is the foundation of his mantra.

A graduate of the University of Pune (India,) Neelesh holds a degree in Engineering (BE) and a Master of Management Studies in Marketing from the University of Mumbai (Bombay).

With over 25 years of marketing and communications experience, combined with 20 years of patient advocacy, Suzanne Harris brings marketing expertise, the patient voice, and the ability to create high-functioning teams with character to Saama.

Suzanne prides herself on being able to build brands with purpose. An expert on messaging and storytelling, she has been helping organizations increase revenue, create brand equity, drive customer acquisition, and improve customer and employee experiences. Most recently, she led the global rebrand of Clario (formerly ERT and Bioclinica).

Her family’s personal experience with rare disease and clinical trials has ignited her passion as a patient and clinical trial advocate. Suzanne has spent two decades advocating and lobbying for children’s healthcare issues, successfully passing legislation that improves the health and livelihood of Pennsylvania’s sickest children and their families.

Suzanne received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Professional Writing and Marketing from Gannon University in Erie, PA and a Master of Arts degree in Advertising from the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

Nirali heads Operations at Saama, which includes Risk Management, Legal, Facilities, Employee Communications, and onsite Information Technology. Nirali also leads Saama’s Human Resources function, driving employee recruitment, engagement, and retention, and ensuring that Saama’s talent is aligned with roles that fulfill organizational needs and goals, as well as individual ambitions.

An energetic and devoted people, culture, and change pioneer, Nirali ensures ongoing and active engagement with Saamaites for both career coaching and a day-to-day, growth-conducive work environment.

Nirali also stewards Saama’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitment, developing and implementing initiatives to support underrepresented employee groups and ensure gender parity. She also oversees Saama’s Learning and Development Opportunities, Performance Management, and Compliance efforts.

Nirali is recognized as one of the most accomplished women in healthcare technology. Her accolades include the Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare Software of 2022 (The Healthcare Technology Report), Dynamic Women Business Leaders to Watch 2021 (The Enterprise World), and Women Influencer for the 21st Century (Insights Success). Since 2015, Nirali has served on the Advisory Board of Rocket Lawyer. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Saas Research.

Nirali earned a Bachelors in Business Administration from J. J. Kundaliya College in Rajkot, India and her Post Graduate degree in Business Management from SLIMS in Ahmedabd, India. Nirali enjoys hiking, dancing, reading and spending time with her family.

Vivek leads Saama in its mission to empower the life sciences industry to conduct faster and safer clinical development programs and file New Drug Applications (NDAs) more efficiently. His expertise in pharma services, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), combined with over 25 years of life science and financial industry operational experience, have resulted in a business philosophy that aligns investor, customer and employee interests while creating significant business value.

Prior to joining Saama, Vivek served as CEO at Decision Resources Group (DRG), Piramal Pharma Solutions, and Piramal Critical Care, as well as Managing Director at Thomas H Lee Partners. At DRG, Vivek implemented a highly successful, growth-focused strategy with data analyses, AI, pharma insights, market access and strong customer focus to fulfill the company’s mission and allow pharma customers to gain invaluable information and data access prior to leading the sale process for DRG to Clarivate.

Vivek leads with inspiration and has been recognized as “Global CEO of the Year” by CPhI Pharma Awards. Vivek earned an Executive Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Vivek has a passion for philanthropy and has been actively involved in supporting various nonprofit missions with a focus on women empowerment, social and educational advocacy and environment.

Suresh founded Saama Technologies in 1997 to help customers access previously unattainable insights of raw data across disparate sources via game-changing analytics solutions. Suresh served as Saama’s CEO for 25 years, leveraging AI to reshape businesses across different verticals, including Life Sciences, Insurance, CPG, and High-Tech.

Prior to being elevated to Chairman Emeritus of Saama’s Board in June, 2022, Suresh stewarded Saama’s partnership with Pfizer to develop the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine in less than one year. In 2021 he architected a bold new strategic growth investment for Saama with global investment firm Carlyle and a unique and unprecedented consortium of the corporate venture arms of major pharmaceutical companies.

As one of the world’s most inspiring data & analytics (D&A) innovators, Suresh sits on the Board of Directors of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO), which is dedicated to advocating on behalf of safe, ethical clinical trials that protect patients and ensure high-quality results. Suresh was named PM360’s 2018 ELITE Entrepreneur and as one of PharmaVOICE’s 100 Most Inspirational Leaders, is a frequent contributor to industry publications, and is a sought-after featured speaker for industry conferences and panels.

Suresh has been associated with various programs that provide education assistance for the less fortunate. Prior to founding Saama, Suresh successfully launched two startups. He earned his M.S. in Computer Engineering at the University of Southwest Louisiana, and his B.S. in Electronics Engineering at the University of Bangalore.

Ian C. Read served as Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer Inc., one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, from 2010 through 2018, as well as Chairman of Pfizer’s Board of Directors from 2011 through 2019. Under Ian’s stewardship during this critical and exciting time in the life sciences industry, Pfizer generated a total shareholder return of 250%, achieved 32 FDA approvals for new medicines, invested significantly in research and development, and completed several transformational transactions to help strengthen Pfizer’s pipeline.

Previously, Ian served as Senior Vice President and Group President of Pfizer’s Worldwide Biopharmaceutical Businesses, overseeing five global business units: Primary Care, Specialty Care, Oncology, Established Products, and Emerging Markets. Prior to this, he held positions in several of the company’s largest, fastest-growing operations, including Chief Financial Officer, Pfizer Mexico, and Country Manager, Pfizer Brazil. He joined Pfizer in 1978.

Ian serves on the board of directors of Kimberly-Clark and Viatris, while also being Chairman of DXC. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from London University Imperial College in 1974, and subsequently earned his Chartered Accountants certification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales in 1978.

Dr. Clive Meanwell, is the Executive Chairman of Population Health Partners LLC, a global investment firm, and Chief Executive Officer of Population Health Investment Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company. He is also vice chairman of the board of directors of BB Biotech, a global biotechnology investment corporation headquartered in Switzerland.

In 1996, Dr. Meanwell founded biopharmaceutical company The Medicines Company. He served as a member of the Board of Directors and held a range of leadership positions including Chairman, Executive Chairman, Chief Executive and Chief Innovation Officer until January 6, 2020, when Novartis AG acquired the company.

From 1995 to 1996, Dr. Meanwell was a founding partner and managing director of MPM Capital L.P. Earlier in his career, Dr. Meanwell held various positions at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, Switzerland and Palo Alto, California.

Dr. Meanwell is a board member of EQRx, Fractyl Health, and Comanche Pharmaceuticals. He received his medical degrees from the University of Birmingham in the UK, where he also trained in medical oncology and undertook research in virology, oncology and clinical trials methods.

Joe Bress is a Managing Director on the U.S. Buyout team at Carlyle focused on private equity investments in the healthcare sector.

Since joining Carlyle in 2007, Mr. Bress has been involved in investing and managing over $4 billion of equity investments into healthcare companies globally. In addition to Saama, he is currently a member of the boards of CorroHealth, Curia, Millicent Pharma, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), TriNetX, and WellDyneRx. He is also involved in Carlyle’s investments in Included Health and Rede D’Or Sao Luiz. He was previously a member of the boards of Visionary RCM and X-Chem. Prior to Carlyle, Mr. Bress worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at UBS.

He received an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and an AB from Harvard College.

Mr. Neeraj Bharadwaj is the Managing Director at Carlyle India Advisors Private Limited, focused on the growth capital and buyout opportunities across various sectors in India.

He serves or has served on the boards of Piramal Pharma, Hexaware, Metropolis, Indegene, Delhivery Logistics, and others. He was involved in many significant investments like Apollo Hospitals (BSE: AHEL) and Jamdat (NASDAQ: JMDT).

Mr. Bharadwaj was selected as Board Member of the Indian School of Business (ISB), a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Board Member of Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), Member of the Harvard Business School South Asia Advisory Board, Member of the Wharton Executive Education Board, and Co-Chair, FICCI Committee on Private Equity & Venture Capital.

He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics before completing his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Patrick R. McCarter is a Managing Director and Head of the Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications team. Mr. McCarter focuses on buyout and growth equity investments in companies, including software, business services, semiconductors, communications, systems and related distribution businesses. He is based in Menlo Park, CA.

Since joining Carlyle in 2001, Mr. McCarter has been involved with the firm’s investments in Jagex, Tribute Technology, Unison, Hirevue, ZoomInfo (DiscoverOrg), Ampere Computing, Veritas, Dealogic (acquired by ION), CommScope, Open Link Financial, Inc. (acquired by H&F), Open Solutions, Inc. (acquired by Fiserv), Freescale Semiconductor (acquired by NXP Semiconductors), Jazz Semiconductor (acquired by Acquicor Technology, Inc.), Sippican, Inc. (acquired by Lockheed Martin) and CPU Tech (acquired by Boeing).

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. McCarter was at Morgan Stanley with a focus on financial institutions in New York.

Mr. McCarter is currently a member of the boards of HireVue, ZoomInfo, CommScope, Veritas and Ampere Computing. He is also a member of Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering Advisory Council.

Mr. McCarter received his BS with a double major in industrial engineering and economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Andrea Jackson is a Director on the convergent technologies team at Northpond Ventures, a science-driven venture capital firm. Andrea is a Board Director at several digital health and patient engagement companies including Hawthorne Effect, Octave Bioscience, Outcomes4Me, and SimBioSys. She is also a Board Director at life science software technologies: Scitara Corporation, Syapse, and VieCure; as well as at R&D solutions: Codex DNA (NASDAQ: DNAY), , NanoView Biosciences, Refeyn, and Vizgen.

Previously, Andrea was the commercial lead at Farcast Biosciences, an oncology clinical diagnostic company. Prior to Farcast, Andrea held various senior commercial leadership roles in life science startups and large companies such as PerkinElmer (NYSE: PKI) and Millipore. Before her operating roles, Andrea worked in JPMorgan’s Healthcare Investment Banking team and focused on life science tools, diagnostics, and biotechnology companies.

Andrea received an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. with honors from Washington University in St. Louis.

Anshul has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries as a general manager, management consultant, commercial leader and entrepreneur. Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Peri- and Post-Approval Services at PPD. He started his career at PPD as Global Head of PPD Biotech and under his leadership PPD became a market leader for CRO services in the Biotech segment. Currently serves an Operating Executive at Carlyle and Venture Partner at Abingworth.

Before PPD, Anshul ran the global life sciences business unit at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), where he created a customer business model to serve the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to GLG, he worked at McKinsey & Company, where he was an associate principal in the health care practice, counseling senior management and CEOs of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Anshul earned his B.S and M.S.E in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and he earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Apratim Purakayastha (AP) has succeeded in directing several B2B SaaS (Software as a Service) product strategies, product design and executions, and product go-to-market, throughout his impressive career in software development. Since 2016, AP has held the title, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Skillsoft. During his tenure, AP built a market-leading enterprise learning platform called Percipio. The platform generated 1.5B in investment interest in Skillsoft and AP received the lion share of credit for Skillsoft’s IPO in June 2021.

Prior to joining Skillsoft, AP was Group President at ACI Worldwide and ran the corporation’s SaaS payments P&L. AP began his career at IBM in research and later became a Director at IBM where he built the first commercial SaaS offering called LotusLive.

AP currently serves on the board of directors for William Clarence, a London-based education consultancy. AP earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Jadavpur University in India, a M.S. in Computer Science from Washington State University and his Ph.D., from Duke University.

Sagar drove the concepts, business models, and development of Saama’s innovative analytics solutions. His passion is to help pharma companies operationalize clinical data and accelerate drug development. In 2018, Sagar was awarded a patent for his work using Natural Language Understanding (NLU) for risk and compliance programs.

Sagar came to Saama through the 2010 acquisition of InfoSTEP, Inc., the analytics company he founded in 1998. Sagar served as InfoSTEP CEO for 11 years, where he architected and sold solutions to help manage IT business value and business risks. Prior to starting infoSTEP, Sagar worked at CMC Ltd. with other pioneers in mathematical font generation and transliteration systems.

Sagar holds a B.S. from Andhra University and an M.S. from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He is a featured industry speaker and frequent industry association contributor, and has served on the board of ISACA, Silicon Valley Chapter, as Vice President and Director.

Dr. Susan Atkinson is an experienced pharmaceutical industry executive with over 35 years of expertise in clinical trials and research and development. As founder of AtCure Consulting, she currently consults with technology companies, biotechnology firms, CROs, and private equity firms investing in the health care sector.

Prior to her current board and consulting roles, Susan led a global organization as Senior Vice President of Global Biometrics and Centralized Services at PPD Inc. (Pharmaceutical Product Development). Her 30 years at PPD provided a vast foundation of developing multiple pharmaceutical and technology partnerships as well as leading operational excellence around the world. Her leadership skills encompass diverse functions such as core biostatistics and programming, data management, clinical supplies and logistics, clinical development technologies, and process improvement, positioning her well to support Saama’s journey in data and analytics innovation.

Susan is a board member for Everest Clinical Research. She is also involved in nonprofit board work and volunteer roles in the community.

Susan earned her Ph.D., Master’s, and Bachelor’s degrees in Biostatistics from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Former Managing Director Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Belgium and Chief Operating Officer, Janssen R&D Global

Stef Heylen, M.D., recently retired as Managing Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Belgium, and Chief Operating Officer of Janssen R&D Global.

Stef has 30-plus years of drug development and executive management experience in the pharma industry. His expertise extends over a wide range of areas: the development of small molecules, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines; clinical research in neuroscience and infectious diseases; regulatory affairs, drug safety, medical affairs, R&D operations, project/portfolio and general management.

As Managing Director Stef oversaw the corporate direction and strategy of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Belgium, focusing on leadership, innovation and unmet medical needs for patients in the development of tomorrow’s solutions. He was responsible for maximizing existing strengths and leveraging the present blend of innovation and experience to break new ground. He also was instrumental in using this strength to foster the ecosystem in Belgium by setting up successful strategic collaboration agreements with most of the large universities in Belgium and Research Institutes such as VIB and IMEC, as well as attracting start-up companies to the JLABS bio-incubator in Beerse.

As leader of the global Janssen R&D Operations team, Stef oversaw Global Clinical Development Operations, Quantative Sciences, Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing Sciences, R&D Project and Portfolio Management and R&D Operations Innovation, driving operational excellence and execution of the company’s global development programs to bring innovative transformational solutions to patients globally, quickly and cost-effectively.

In his previous role, Stef was the Head of the Johnson & Johnson R&D Innovation Program Office, driving meaningful innovation and leveraging innovation capabilities across all sectors of the Johnson & Johnson enterprise.

From 2009 till 2013 he was Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, LLC, based in San Francisco, USA, and before that Chief Medical Officer, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Early Development, EU. From 2003 to 2007 Stef served as Site Head, Vice President Development for Tibotec, based in Mechelen, Belgium. During his tenure, two of the company’s HIV medicines were granted accelerated approval.

Before joining Tibotec, Stef was Vice President, Development & Regulatory Affairs at Crucell in Leiden, the Netherlands, and held several senior positions within Janssen including Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, and Vice President, Medical Affairs for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. He joined the Janssen Research Foundation in 1987 and led the global clinical development of the antipsychotic RISPERDAL, one of the most successful Janssen medicines.

Stef obtained his M.D. at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and the Prince Leopold Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.

Stef has a passion and proven track record for global public health and innovation in drug development.

Currently, he is board member of AZ Turnhout General Hospital, UZA University Hospital Antwerp, and ExeVir, a Belgium-based biotech company developing single-domain antibody-based therapies for COVID-19 and other viral infections.

Jay is currently Chief Operating Officer at Celularity, a biotech start-up focused on harnessing the power of allogeneic placental cell therapeutics in Immuno-Oncology and other diseases with unmet medical needs.

Jay has close to 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, covering a broad range of therapeutic areas. He is an accomplished executive who is equally adept at shaping strategy and driving execution and nurturing culture.

Jay held the position of SVP, Global Clinical Research & Development Operations at Celgene Corporation, where he was responsible for leading all Global Clinical R&D Operations in support of Celgene-sponsored trials. At Celgene, Jay was also Director Field Sales; Executive Director Sales and Commercial Operations; Vice President Strategic Operations; Vice President General Manager, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics; and Vice President Business Development. Jay was instrumental in designing and patenting the enhanced S.T.E.P.S. (REMS) managed distribution program in support of THALOMID (thalidomide) and REVLIMID (lenalidomide) commercialization and successor compounds.

Prior to joining Celgene, Jay was with TAP Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture between Abbott Laboratories and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, for seven years, where he held various positions in sales, sales management, and marketing.

Jay holds a B.S Degree in Business Management from Ithaca College.

Having spent the majority of her career driving the information technology (IT) organizations within leading global pharmaceutical companies, Sandy Tremps has wide-ranging leadership experience with the technology aspects of R&D, information management, shop floor controls, and supply chain capabilities.

Most recently, Sandy was the Vice President of Research & Development IT at Merck, where she led all aspects of IT, from strategy development through implementation. In this role, she focused on optimizing discovery and development, with an emphasis on compliance, through greater data integration and visibility.

Prior to that, Sandy led IT organizations across multiple Merck divisions and programs in support of Merck Research Laboratory Global Development, Merck Research Laboratory Pre-Clinical, Global Human Health Emerging Markets, Merck Manufacturing Division IT Automation, and Merck Manufacturing Division Project 2000.

Sandy earned her Bachelors in Computer Information Systems from Purdue University, and her Masters in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Jonathan Zung is an experienced pharmaceutical industry executive with more than 25 years of development experience. He has held executive leadership positions in the pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical services industries.

Jonathan currently serves as advisor to the CEO, WCG, and President of Clintrax. Prior to that he was group president, Clinical Development & Commercialization Services for Covance Drug Development, where he led a global organization of 8,000-plus employees in 60 countries, spanning all phases of development and global market access services.

Before joining Covance, Jonathan was vice president and head of Global Clinical Sciences and Operations at UCB, with responsibility for clinical operations, data management, statistical sciences, contracting, medical writing, and operational excellence across the United States, Europe and Asia.

Previously, he was vice president and head of Global Development Operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he led a 1,400-person organization that managed clinical trials from Phase II through registration. He also held several positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer Global Research and Development.

Jonathan is a board member of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC). Previously, he served as chair of the TransCelerate BioPharma operations committee from 2013-2015 and served as a member of The Florida Institute of Technology Board of Trustees from 2010-2016.

He received his doctorate in analytical chemistry from Emory University in Atlanta, and has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

Craig Lipset is the founder of Clinical Innovation Partners, providing growth advisory services for organizations developing and implementing innovative approaches to clinical research and medicine development. He works as an advisor with pharma, biotech, venture capital, and nonprofits to provide vision and drive action at the intersection of research, digital solutions, and patient engagement.

Craig is co-chair for the Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance, serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (Vice President) and the MedStar Health Research Institute (Vice Chair), as well as on the Editorial Board for Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science. Craig is Adjunct Assistant Professor in Health Informatics at Rutgers University, and Adjunct Instructor in the Center for Health + Technology at University of Rochester. He serves on the Advisory Council for HL7 Project Vulcan.

Craig was the Head of Clinical Innovation and Venture Partner at Pfizer, on the founding Operations Committee for TransCelerate Biopharma, and on the founding management teams for two successful startup ventures.

Craig has been listed among the PharmaVOICE most inspiring people in the life sciences (Red Jacket hall-of-fame), Pharmaceutical Executive’s Emerging Leaders, CenterWatch Top 20 Innovators in Clinical Trials, and the AlleyWatch Who’s Who in eHealth.

Jackie Kent is a pharmaceutical development and healthcare technology executive, board director, and trusted advisor with a passion for clinical research and accessibility. With over 30 years of experience in pharma and technology, Jackie recently served as the Chief Customer Officer at Medidata Solutions. She continues contributing her expertise and passion for clinical trial accessibility through boards, advisory and consulting.

Jackie is a change leader and advocates with comprehensive knowledge about the dynamics of diverse healthcare systems and clinical development and execution.

Since 2022, Jackie has served as chair of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO). She is a board director for Circuit Clinical. Jackie recently accepted a consulting role with the Society of Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), providing leadership to a global organization to create greater site sustainability and also leading the Diversity in Clinical Trials Program.

Jackie spent over four years at Medidata where she led the Customer Success organization, which is laser-focused on ensuring a positive customer experience along every step of their journey with the company. The CS organization uses a cross-functional customer strategy to infuse the voice of the customer throughout the organization. Previously, she was the EVP, Head of Product and, in both roles, reported directly to the CEO while serving on the executive committee.

Throughout her 29-year tenure at Eli Lilly, Jackie held leadership roles across Clinical Development, where she worked with leading organizations to develop feasibility, recruitment/retention, site selection, clinical operations, CT supply planning, medical quality, and global audit.

Her recent honors include PharmaVoice 100, PM360 Elite Strategist and HBA Luminary.

The Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin was the ninth Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Nominated by President Trump, Secretary Shulkin was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 100-0.

As Secretary, David represented 21 million American veterans and was responsible for the nation’s largest integrated health care system, with more than 1,200 sites of care. The VA is also the nation’s largest provider of graduate medical education and a major contributor to medical research.

Prior to joining the VA in the Obama administration, David was a widely respected healthcare executive. He served as chief executive of leading hospitals and health systems, including Beth Israel in New York City and Morristown Medical Center in Northern New Jersey. He has also held numerous physician leadership roles, including Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital.

David has also held numerous academic positions, including Chairman of Medicine and Vice Dean at Drexel University School of Medicine.

As an entrepreneur, David founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality, one of the first consumer orientated sources of information for quality and safety in healthcare. He has served on boards of managed care companies, technology companies, and health care organizations.

David is the 2018 University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute Distinguished Health Policy Fellow and Professor in the Jefferson University College of Population Health. A board-certified internist, he received his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, his internship at Yale University School of Medicine, and a residency and Fellowship in General Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Presbyterian Medical Center. He received advanced training in outcomes research and economics as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.

Over his career, David has been named as one of the Top 100 Physician Leaders of Hospitals and Health Systems by Becker’s Hospital Review and one of the “50 Most Influential Physician Executives in the Country” by Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician. He has also previously been recognized as one of the “One Hundred Most Influential People in American Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare.