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Stephen Lesser
PrincipalNovaquest Capital Management -
Mareese Keane
Co-FounderOpengate Partners -
Susan Groeneveld
Foundersylvester.ai -
Cherylyn Harley LeBon
PartnerWomble Bond Dickinson -
Rob Hunter
CEO/CSRO/CSOOne Medicine Consulting/ VHRC / Sorensis -
Richard Kestenbaum
PartnerTriangle Capital, LLCRichard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries. He is a Contributor to Forbes.com where he writes a regular blog about trends in retail and consumer product businesses. He also appears regularly in print and other media as well as industry panels and speaking programs.
Before co-founding Triangle, Richard was a Managing Director at a boutique investment banking firm called Financo, Inc. While at Financo, Richard was responsible for a majority of the firm’s apparel industry transactions. Prior to joining Financo, Richard was a Partner and First Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. At Drexel, Richard was responsible for a group of 14 professionals doing middle-market mergers and acquisitions around the world.
Richard is the co-author of three books on finance and computer programming. He is formerly an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Business at the graduate program of the Stern School of Business at York University.
Richard received a BS in Accounting from New York University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Harvard University. Richard is married and lives in New York.
Click here to read Richard’s blog and follow him on Forbes.com.
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Bruce Truman
President and FounderBLT Technology & Innovation Group -
Neal Fishman
Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Data-Based PathologyIBM -
Aaron Schacht
CEOBIomEditPrior to this role, Mr. Aaron Schacht was the Vice President of Global Research and Development / Regulatory Affairs at Elanco Animal Healthheld. Before that, he held the role of Global Brand Development Leader – Pain in Lilly Biomedicines. He was the global leader for product development and commercialization activities for LY2951742 – Lilly’s novel CGRP neutralizing antibody – a new potential treatment for prevention of Migraine and Cluster Headache. In 2012, Schacht joined Lilly Biomedicines as Senior Advisor – Strategy & Business Development for Lilly BioMedicines. His responsibilities included oversight of Therapeutic Strategy development, R&D Portfolio Management, and Business Development for Lilly BioMedicines – Lilly’s largest business unit. Past roles included serving as Executive Director, Global External R&D, at Eli Lilly and Company, where he was responsible for implementation of strategies which aim to leverage novel approaches to external partnerships to augment Lilly’s access to pharmaceutical innovation as well as Executive Director of LRL (Lilly Research Labs) Strategy, Portfolio Management and Project Management where he was responsible for strategic planning, R&D portfolio and project management. Prior to these roles, he was Director, Innovation Center in the eLilly organization where he focused on the exploration, incubation and implementation of new business models and capabilities relevant to the strategic evolution of the pharmaceutical industry. In 2002, during a short leave from Lilly, Mr. Schacht was co-founder, President and CEO of Artesian Therapeutics, a Gaithersburg, MD cardiovascular drug discovery start-up. Mr. Schacht began his career at Lilly in 1990 as a medicinal chemist, and spent 5 years in the laboratory working to discover pharmaceuticals to treat cardiovascular disorders. Schacht studied Organic chemistry at the University of Illinois, receiving his Bachelors of Science degree in 1990.
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Theo Weening
PartnerThe Sustainable Meats Group -
Candise Goodwin
FounderOutlier Advisors -
Paula Bamford
VP, Veterinary ServicesPetco -
Emily Aston, DVM, PhD
Senior Program Manager, Animal Health & NutritionTechAccel LLC -
Brett Wong
PrincipleAnterra Capital -
Lashonda Geffrard
FounderBlack Pet Business NetworkLashonda Geffrard's name is synonymous with passion, dedication, and innovation. As the driving force behind Black Pet Business Network, The Paw Shop, and Paws of Hope Florida. Lashonda is a force to be reckoned with, a true trailblazer in the world of entrepreneurship, and animal welfare. Her boundless love for animals and her drive to create a more inclusive and thriving pet industry has catapulted her into the realm of expert pet industry speaking and influence.
With an unwavering commitment to positively impacting the pet industry as a whole, Beyond her speaking engagements, Lashonda's impact on the pet industry extends to her role as a popular columnist for various industry publications. Her thought-provoking articles delve into the depths of the industry and shed light on emerging trends.
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Eric Buda
Sr Corporate Partnership ManagerPlug and Play Tech Center -
Christopher Oliviero
General ManagerNiman Ranch -
Linda Rhodes
VMD, PhD, Independent and ex-CSOIndependent Animal HealthDr. Rhodes has 28 years of accomplishments in human and animal drug discovery, development, biomedical research, and clinical veterinary medicine.
Dr. Rhodes was educated at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (VMD) and Cornell University (PhD). She has 28 years of accomplishments in human and animal drug discovery, development, biomedical research, and clinical veterinary medicine. She has an extensive background in physiology, veterinary medicine, and molecular biology. As a senior research fellow at Merck Research Laboratories for 10 years, she led pre-clinical biology evaluation of several marketed human drugs. Dr. Rhodes practiced clinical veterinary medicine for five years, with experience in both companion and farm animal practice. She worked for Merial Ltd. as director of development projects, leading project teams developing novel compounds for a variety of indications and headed new technology assessment, leading the evaluation of licensing opportunities. In April 2001, she formed AlcheraBio, a consulting, marketing, communications and contract research firm specializing in developing new drugs for animals, working with biotechnology and animal health companies, with clients in the US, European Union, Canada and Australia. AlcheraBio was acquired in 2008 by Argenta, and in 2011, Dr. Rhodes accepted a position as CEO of Aratana Therapeutics, a company developing innovative new medicines for dogs and cats, and subsequently, when the company became public (PETX) served as its Chief Scientific Officer. During her tenure, development was completed on three new pet therapeutics: two new molecules with novel mechanisms of actions were approved by the FDA, and a third drug had FDA registration completed and was approved in August, 2016. She is currently retired and an independent consultant. She is a member of the Board of Directors of ImmuCell (NASDAQ: ICCC) and the Alliance for Contraception in Dogs and Cats, serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Found Animals Foundation. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate Animal Science program at Rutgers University.
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Mike Charles
OwnerLaBelle Patrimoine Heritage Chickens -
Victoria Mo
Co-FounderTen Lives -
Julia Loew
Senior Vice President, Commercial OperationsMWI Animal Health -
Sanjeev Anand
Vice PresidentTechAccel -
Grant Barnekow
FounderSphinx -
Judy Schnurr
Director, Nutrition InnovationHills Pet NutritionJudy's career has spanned nutritional innovation, beginning with a PhD in plant molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics
-she has worked for various companies across plant, microbial, and animal nutrition research
-joined Hill's Pet Nutrition 2 y ago and leads a team focused on innovation in the pet and pet microbiome space
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Tom Overbay
PartnerExpedite Animal Health -
Natalie Marks
Executive CommitteeVANE -
Luis Lopez
Sr. Leader HealthcareAmazon Business -
Audrey Wystrach DVM
Founder and Chief Executive OfficerPetfolk -
Miriam Martin
Director of Animal Health and WelfareNorth American Meat Institute -
Ira Gordon
Co-FounderVANE -
Dr. Haley Larson
Assistant Professor of Animal HealthKansas State University -
Andrea Nance
Global Head of Corporate SustainabilityZoetis -
Heather Fowler
Director, Producer and Public HealthNational Pork Board -
David Haworth
PresidentVidium Animal Health -
Bob Lester
Chief Medical OfficerWellHaven Pet Health -
Ginny Siller
Director Government AffairsAnimal Health Institute -
Alejandro Bernal
President & CEOPetDx -
Mark Krivis
Senior Director, Business Development LeadZoetis -
Deborah Dullen
President and CEOBioTraceIT -
Richard Nilsson
CEO and FounderMyPetGo -
Brendan Lynch
SVP, Urgent Care Hospitals and InnovationVCA Animal Hospitals -
Megan Grether
Head of Global Business Development and Licensing Animal HealthBoehringer Ingelheim -
Joe Kennedy
Managing DirectorSkills Alliance -
Lucas Huntimer
Senior Advisor External InnovationElanco -
Scott Brown
Senior Executive DirectorCherry Tree & Associates -
Chuck Latham
CEOH&C Animal Health -
Cindy Trice
Founder and CEORelief Rover -
Sheri Gilmartin
Vice President, Data ServicesVetsource -
Brian Kanke
PresidentZoo Pharma Dynamics
