Brett Hurt – Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Data world

Brett is the CEO and Co-founder of data.world, which is building the most meaningful, collaborative, and abundant data resource in the world.  He is also a seed-stage investor at Hurt Family Investments (HFI) in partnership with his wife, Debra. HFI are involved in 45 startups and counting. HFI has made 35 startup investments, 18 of which are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies. Brett has also joined the Advisory Board of eleven additional companies, nine of which are SaaS. Out of the 45 startups HFI are involved in, 32 are headquartered in Austin and 25 are SaaS. HFI are also investors in eleven venture funds - one with Next Coast Ventures, one with Capital Factory, one with Rothenberg Ventures, three in Silicon Valley, one with CAVU Venture Partners, and four with Lead Edge Capital - and these funds hold investments across many startups.

 Brett co-founded Bazaarvoice and served as CEO and President for seven and half years, leading the company from bootstrapped concept to almost 2,000 clients worldwide and through its successful IPO (one of the top five IPOs of 2012 according to the WSJ). He subsequently guided the company through a successful follow-on offering, and two acquisitions, PowerReviews and Longboard Media. Prior to Bazaarvoice, Brett founded Coremetrics and helped grow the company into a global, leading marketing analytics solution for the eCommerce industry before its acquisition by IBM.

 Brett holds an MBA in High-Tech Entrepreneurship from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin.

Marianne Fazen PhD - President & Chief Executive Officer

Texas Business Group on Health

Marianne Fazen is President and CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health, a statewide coalition representing the interests of Texas employers in healthcare purchasing and policy issues. She also serves as Executive Director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health, a regional employer-led coalition of 155 DFW-area employers and other healthcare stakeholders committed to improving healthcare quality, efficiency, and patient outcomes in North Texas. Both coalitions advocate a value-driven approach to employer-sponsored healthcare and rapid transformation of the current fragmented healthcare delivery system into integrated, accountable patient-centered systems of care.

 Ms. Fazen also serves on the Board of Directors (Past Chair) of URAC, a national managed care accreditation organization, and on the Executive Committee of the North Texas Accountable Healthcare Partnership, a regional multi-stakeholder collaborative initiative focused on healthcare system transformation in North Texas. She is the Past President and out-going Treasurer of Board of Governors of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, a national organization representing 50 regional employer coalitions across the country.

Ms. Fazen has an undergraduate degree in Medical Technology from University of Wisconsin and a Doctorate in Communications Science & Human Development from University of Texas at Dallas.

Esteban Lopez M.D. - Chief Medical Officer

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas

Esteban López, MD, MBA serves as the newly appointed Chief Medical Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), where he helps fulfill its mission to improve the health and well-being of its five million members. In addition to serving as the executive sponsor for Texas Government Programs, Dr. López leads the Community Investment Department in its long-term strategy to improve public health. He also holds the title of Market President of Southwest Texas. Since taking on this role in 2013, he oversees engagement in major metropolitan areas such as Austin, San Antonio, Laredo, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi. Previously, Dr. López worked as a practicing physician with nearly every hospital system in the San Antonio community, and he continues to maintain involvement in medical associations on a local, state and national level. He also serves the San Antonio community in his roles on the Witte Museum Board of Trustees and the Mayor’s Fitness Council Executive Committee. As an active member of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he was recently elected as the 2017 Chair and currently participates on the Executive Board of Directors.

 Dr. López is dual board certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and received his training at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He holds degrees from the University of California at Santa Cruz and Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine, in addition to a Master’s in Business Administration from a combined program at the University of Texas at Dallas and UT Southwestern School of Medicine.

Dr. Clay Johnston - Dean and Vice President of Medical Affairs

UT-Austin, Dell Medical School

Since March 2014, Clay Johnston has served as the inaugural Dean of the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin.  Previously, Clay was associate vice chancellor for research at the University of California, San Francisco. He also directed the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, overseeing the planning, development, and implementation of a $112-million, five-year, National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant award; and founded the UCSF Center for Healthcare Value to engage faculty and trainees in improving the quality of care while also lowering costs.

 He is a graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Medical School. He later received a PhD in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and was a resident in Neurology at UCSF, where he later trained in Vascular Neurology. During his 20 years at UCSF, he rose the academic ranks to Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology, and directed the Stroke Service.

 Clay has authored more than 300 publications in scientific journals and has won several national awards for his research and teaching. In particular, he has published extensively in the prevention and treatment of stroke and transient ischemic attack. He is perhaps best known for his studies describing the short-term risk of stroke in patients with transient ischemic attack and identifying patients at greatest risk, and also for his work related to measuring the impact of research. He has led several large cohort studies of cerebrovascular disease and three international multicenter randomized trials, two of which are ongoing.

Dr. Marschall Runge - Dean and Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs

University of Michigan Medical School

Before coming to Michigan in March 2015, Dr. Runge was executive dean for the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, the Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders Distinguished Professor of Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), chair of the UNC-CH Department of Medicine, and principal investigator and director of the NIH-funded North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute, one of 55 medical research institutions working together as a national consortium to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country.

 An honors graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Dr. Runge earned his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he was an intern and resident in internal medicine. He then completed a cardiology fellowship at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital and was a faculty member there prior to moving to Emory University as an associate professor of Medicine in 1989. Before joining the UNC faculty in 2000, Dr. Runge held the John Sealy Distinguished Centennial Chair in Internal Medicine and was Director of the Division of Cardiology and the Sealy Center for Molecular Cardiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

 Dr. Runge holds five patents for novel approaches in healthcare and is a past president of the American Heart Association, Galveston Island Division, and the Paul Dudley White Society at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Susan Skochelak - Group Vice President for Medical Education

American Medical Association

Dr. Susan Skochelak serves as the Group Vice President for Medical Education at the American Medical Association (AMA). She leads the AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative promoting innovation to align physician training with the changing needs of our health care system. Since 2013, the AMA has awarded more than $12.5 million dollars in grant funding to 32 medical schools to transform medical education through bold, rigorously evaluated projects to create the medical school of the future.

 A nationally recognized authority in medical education, Dr. Skochelak pioneered new models for community based interdisciplinary medical education and initiated new programs in rural, urban, global and public health. Dr. Skochelak previously served as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and as the director of Wisconsin Area Health Education System. Dr. Skochelak has been the principal investigator for more than $18 million in grant awards for medical education research.

 Dr. Skochelak serves as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professions Education, the Liaison Committee for Medical Education Council, the National Board of Medical Examiners Board of Directors, and the Coalition for Physician Accountability. In 2015, Dr. Skochelak was elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Jennifer Speer - Director of Wellness & Health Risk Management

Higginbotham

Ms. Speer specializes in developing wellness intervention programs to meet the specific cultural needs within a corporation. With over a decade of experience, Ms. Speer has created wellness programs that engage employees, improve morale, and offer a proven return on investment.

Currently, she is the Director of Wellness and Health Risk Management for Higginbotham & Associates where she develops worksite wellness programs and initiatives and provides numerous wellness services in a variety of corporate cultures. Prior to joining Higginbotham & Associates in 2009, Jennifer designed, implemented, and managed worksite wellness programs for over 17,000 aerospace employees as the Wellness Director at NASA – Johnson Space Center. Her previous experience includes developing wellness and fitness programs for over 100 companies including professional sports teams, special needs populations, and individuals.

Jennifer has taught health promotion courses to upper level college students pursuing a career in worksite wellness for the University of Houston Clear Lake since 2004. She is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist through the National Commission for Health Education and Credentialing. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science from Baylor University in Health Fitness Studies with a minor in Business and a Master of Arts from the University of Houston in Fitness and Human Performance with a concentration in Health Promotion.

Clinton Phillips – Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Medici

Clinton left South Africa in 2002, as a chiropractor & sports therapist, to come and play rugby for Aspen, the National Champs. Like all rugby players he started as a painter but quickly grew from there into massage therapist and personal trainer. His real knack was an almost miraculous result with bad spines, which led Barry Sternlicht, founder of Starwood hotels, to allow Clint to open Aspen Back & Body in the St Regis in 2005. Clint’s love for his clients was unmatched. Aspen Back and Body was a big hit, and people travelled from across the world to get out of pain and avoid surgery. The clinic was packed with world leaders, celebrities and over 40 of the Forbes 400 families. For those who couldn’t make it to Aspen, Clint bought the patent for a stretching device and started shipping IdealStretch across the world to help improve flexibility across the world. Clint and his wife Jade’s 3rd child, Gabi, also born in Aspen, had a stroke at birth. Shocked at the difficulty in accessing a good pediatric neurologist, Clint vowed to take on a much larger challenge and improve access for families. Clint founded 2nd.MD, raising investment from several US billionaires and built a service allowing members to enjoy unprecedented access to doctors at MD Anderson, Mayo, Hopkins, Mass General etc for 2nd opinions via video. It’s a game changer and its clients now include Morgan Stanley, Starbucks, Chevron, Waste Management, Viacom and many more.

 Most recently, Clint has once again, been funded by billionaires to build the Uber of healthcare. Medici is a bold initiative that will change the face of healthcare across the world and reestablish America as the healthcare leading innovator, not just leading spender. Leaders from Amazon, Ebay, and United Healthcare have joined the mission. Clint has been featured on CBS, ABC, Forbes, TechCrunch and manages health matters for several royal families and US leaders. He was recently selected as Houston Business Journals Top 40 under 40. Clint has been married to Jade, a former TV gladiator, for 14 years and has three children: Clinty, Faith and Gabrielle (who has recovered marvelously from her stroke). Clint is the National Champion in various track and field events for his age group and loves nothing more than returning to Aspen to train.

Charles Barnett – President, Healthcare Group

Cognitive Scale

Charles J. Barnett is the president of CognitiveScale’s healthcare business unit. He brings an illustrious 30-year career in healthcare administration to CognitiveScale’s senior leadership team. Prior to CognitiveScale, Mr. Barnett served as president and CEO of Seton Healthcare Family. Under his leadership, Seton Healthcare grew from a $200 million to a $2.5 billion organization. Subsequently, he was president of Healthcare Operations at Ascension Health prior to returning to Seton as executive board chair.

 At Ascension Health, he guided the integration of Alexian Brothers Health System and Marian Health System, increasing Ascension Health’s assets by $4.1 billion to $26 billion.  Before joining Seton, Mr. Barnett was the vice president and chief operating officer of Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, VA.

 Mr. Barnett is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and has earned numerous promotions, awards and accolades from the healthcare industry, former employers, and national and local organizations.  These include being appointed a member of the Organizing Committee for the development of a medical school at the University of Texas at Austin, Chair of the Capitol Area United Way, Austin Partners in Education, and Children’s Optimal Health. Mr. Barnett was named Austinite of the Year in 2009 for his various accomplishments.  Mr. Barnett earned a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Xavier University. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati. 

Yvonne Van Dyke- Chief Nursing Officer

Seton Healthcare Family - Ascension's Texas Ministry

Yvonne VanDyke, MSN, RN, Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow was recently named the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Ascension Texas. In her expanded role, Yvonne is responsible for providing the strategic, clinical, and operational nursing leadership for Ascension Texas and the Seton Healthcare Family. She continues to lead the development of strategies that inform operational plans for clinical education, D&T (diagnostics and therapeutics), and pharmacy services that are aligned with the vision, mission, and goals of the Seton Healthcare Family and Ascension Texas. As the Ascension Texas CNO, Yvonne, is the nursing dyad partner with the CMO for Ascension Texas, Dr. David Martin. Yvonne and David are partners in leading the CNOs and CMOs, and other Ascension Texas clinical leaders, in achieving the quadruple aim of delivering high-quality care with better patient and provider experiences at a lower overall cost of care.

Yvonne was recruited to Seton in 2006 after having spent more than twenty years working for Austin Community College as a nursing faculty and holding various leadership roles of increasing responsibility.

Yvonne is a member of several national and local organizations, such as the American Nurses Association and the American Organization of Nurse Executives. She serves as a board member for Hospice Austin and Goodwill Industries of Central Texas. Prior to joining Seton, Yvonne was executive dean for Health Sciences at Austin Community College. Yvonne received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Prairie View A & M University and her Master of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas at Austin.

Kevin Warren- President/CEO

Texas Health Care Association

Kevin Warren is the President/CEO of the Texas Health Care Association, the state’s largest long term care association, representing skilled nursing / post-acute care facilities, specialized rehabilitation, assisted living facilities.  Mr. Warren has been involved in long term care for over twenty years and prior to his arrival at THCA, he served as a Deputy Commissioner with the Texas Veterans Land Board of the General Land Office. 

Former Senior Vice President/ Chief Operating Officer for TMF Health Quality Institute, the Texas Quality Improvement Organization, Mr. Warren served as a member of the editorial board of the Journal for Healthcare Quality. He has belonged to several professional organizations including the Texas Association for Healthcare Quality, where he has served as a member of the board.  Mr. Warren is a licensed nursing home administrator and serves as a Senior Examiner for the American Health Care Association National Quality Award.

Mr. Warren received his undergraduate degree from Texas State University and holds a master's degree in Health Services Management from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.  He lives in Austin with his wife of 16 years and their five children.

Kathleen Gibson

President/Chief Executive Officer

Southwestern Medical Foundation

Kathleen Gibson is President and CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundation - a leading charitable corporation supporting advancement in medical education, medical research and medical care.  The Foundation’s assets exceed $800 million, arrayed across more than 1,000 funds, creating a financial resource that enables continuing advances in health care to benefit the citizens of the community and the world beyond for years to come.  During 1943, the Foundation formed Southwestern Medical College, now known as UT Southwestern, and remains its most significant philanthropic partner.

Prior to joining Southwestern Medical Foundation, Kathleen spent thirty years in financial services, holding a number of leadership positions within Citibank and Bank of America.  Kathleen joined Citibank in 2006, as Head of Citibank Texas Commercial and President of Citibank Texas.  In 2007, she was named President of the Central Division, Commercial Banking, with responsibility for the Central US Commercial Business.  Prior to joining Citibank, Kathleen spent twenty-five years with Bank of America and its predecessor banks, where she held top leadership roles in Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking and Asset Management; also, serving as President, Bank of America-Dallas.

Ms. Gibson has been involved in community activities in Dallas and Texas for many years.  She is Past Chair of the Board of The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M University, and a current member of the Board of the Texas A&M Foundation.  Ms. Gibson is Membership and Strategy Chair on the Board of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and serves on the Boards of the SMU Tate Lecture Series and the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas.  She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance at UT Dallas and the DFW Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Program.  Kathleen is a member of Charter 100, the International Women’s Forum – Dallas, Dallas Woman’s Club, Marianne Scruggs Garden Club, and the Junior League of Dallas.

She has been recognized in the Dallas Business Journal as a ‘Top 25 Industry Leader in Women in Business’, and by the Profiles in Diversity Journal in the 10th Annual Women Worth Watching edition.  Kathleen is a recipient of Texas A&M’s Tyrus R. Timm Honor Registry Award, Women’s Legacy Award, and was honored to be selected as a 2014 Fish Camp Namesake.  She serves on the Advisory Council for the Center for International Business Studies at Texas A&M and the Mays Business School Development Council.  Her prior involvement in civic activities includes serving on the Dallas Regional Chamber Board and Executive Committee, and serving on the Boards of Children’s Medical Center, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, The Dallas Opera, The Lamplighter School, Dallas Citizens Council, The City Club, and the Dallas 2012 Olympic Bid Committee.

Ms. Gibson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University, and attended school at SMU in Oxford and SMU in Russia.  Kathleen and her husband, Robert, have two daughters, Catherine and Sarah.

Earl Maxwell

Chief Executive Officer

St. David's Foundation

As Chief Executive Officer, Earl is responsible for the Foundation’s strategic direction. He coordinates the efforts of an extensive grants program, the operation of a mobile dental program, multiple boards, a scholarship program, and several community service groups.

Earl looks for innovative ways to help serve the people of Central Texas through partner opportunities and collaborations in the community. During his tenure, the Foundation’s grant program has increased from $10 million to more than $65 million annually, and St. David’s Dental Program has grown to nine mobile dental vans. Under his leadership, the Foundation now supports all health science education programs in the region, including those at the St. David’s School of Nursing at Texas State University, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M Health Science Center campus in Round Rock, Concordia University Texas, Austin Community College and Capital Idea.

Earl enjoys serving the community by supporting various educational and health and human services programs, including the following community organizations for which he has served as President or Chair: Austin Area Research Organization, Austin Community College Foundation, Austin Partners in Education, Community Action Network, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, The Long Center’s Corporate Council, Huston-Tillotson University UNCF Campaign, American YouthWorks Charter School, St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, and the E3 Alliance. He is committed to mentoring youth in the community, and teaches a Youth Pathways class to Ojeda Middle School students weekly. As part of the curriculum, he invites in business and civic leaders with backgrounds similar to the students to share their stories and serve as positive role models.

Prior to stepping into the St. David’s role, Earl was the leading partner of Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP, Austin’s largest accounting and consulting firm. Earl's experience includes over 31 years in public accounting, including 14 years with Deloitte & Touche. Earl is the author of Service, Prosperity & Sanity – Positioning the Professional Service Firm for the Future.

Earl attended the University of Houston where he received his Bachelor of Business in Accounting.

Julie Chicoine 

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Texas Hospital Association

Julie Chicoine is an attorney at law, certified professional coder and former registered nurse with several years of health law policy and regulatory experience. Julie currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Texas Hospital Association (THA), one of the nation's largest healthcare associations representing more than 450 hospitals and health systems. In this role, she provides legal advice to the CEO and Board and manages day-to-day legal activities for THA and its subsidiaries and affiliated businesses.

Julie earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Houston Law Center. She also holds a Bachelor of Science and Nursing degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston.

Hubert Zajicek, MD, MBA

Chief Executive Officer/Co-Founder

Health Wildcatters

Hubert Zajicek, MD, MBA, is CEO & Co-founder of Health Wildcatters, a nationally ranked Top 3 healthcare accelerator and fund in Dallas, TX. Health Wildcatters provides mentorship, capital and guidance to up to 12 healthcare related startups during an intensive 3 month program annually, which culminates in a pitch day. The fund has invested in 42 healthcare startups, which have attracted over $32M in capital in just over 3 years. Dr. Zajicek has extensive experience with startups and is an active speaker, panelist and thought leader on healthcare innovation, startups, entrepreneurship & financing.

He serves as advisor, mentor and board member on various organizations and startup companies. He was managing director – medical technology at NTEC (North Texas Enterprise Center), where he ran what eventually became the Southwest’s largest medtech investment conference, showcasing startups that attracted in excess of $300M. Prior, he was on faculty at UT Southwestern, as an NIH funded principal investigator, in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Cell Biology.

He has an MD from the University of Vienna and an MBA from SMU. He lives in Dallas, with his wife, Beth McNally Zajicek, MD and two daughters.

Dr. M. Lynn Crismon

Dean

College of Pharmacy @ The University of Texas

Dr. Crismon is Dean, James T. Doluisio Regents Chair and Behrens Centennial Professor at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.  He also teaches clinical psychopharmacology for the psychiatry residency program and the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship for the Dell Medical School, Seton Healthcare Family.

Dr. Crismon received his BS degree in Pharmacy from The University of Oklahoma and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from a joint program of The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.  He completed residencies in pharmacy practice at the USPHS Gallup Indian Medical Center and in psychiatric pharmacy practice at The University of Texas and San Antonio State Hospital, and completed a National Endowment for the Humanities–funded summer fellowship in biomedical ethics, with a focus in cross cultural ethics, at the Kennedy Institute for Ethics, Georgetown University.  He served as a visiting professor for the Institute of Mental Health, National Health Group, Singapore, and for the pharmacy program at the University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica.  He is board certified in psychiatric pharmacy by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, and he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology.

In addition to over 250 articles, chapters, or handbooks to his credit, he has over 200 abstracts in print or in press, and has delivered more than 400 invited lectures or presentations.  He served as associate editor of the APhA Drug Treatment Protocols, 2nd edition and as a member of the editorial advisory board for The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.  He currently serves as a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA) and the APhA DrugInfoLine, and is a reviewer for numerous journals.

Dr. Crismon is a past chair of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Council of Deans, and past member of the AACP Board of Directors.  He served as a member of the ACCP Board of Regents, the ACCP Research Institute Board of Trustees, and he is an ACCP fellow.  A past chair of the ASHP Specialty Practice Group on Psychopharmacy and the task force to recognize psychiatric pharmacy as a specialty by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS), he was the first chair of the BPS Specialty Council on Psychiatric Pharmacy Practice.  He is a past president and past treasurer of the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP) and the TSHP R&E Foundation.  He is a recipient of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Robert G. Leonard Memorial Lecture Award, the Philip C. and Ethyl F. Ashby Endowed Lecture Award, the CPNP Judith K. Saklad Lecture Award, the Creighton University Rho Chi Lecture Award; he was the 2010 Teacher of the Year for the UT Southwestern Medical Center – Austin Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, and a First Tennessee Chair of Excellence Distinguished Visiting Professor, College of Pharmacy, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center.

Kevin Mayes

Chief Product Officer

Digital Pharmacist

Kevin Mayes has over 20 years in technology and healthcare experience. He was a co-founder and SVP of Product at Care Team Connect, a Chicago-based software company that built one of the first online platforms to support care coordination, which was acquired by The Advisory Board Company in 2009.

He then served as Managing Director of Population Health here in Austin at The Advisory Board. More recently, as CEO he helped launch PrescriptIQ, a software startup helping physicians make better prescribing decisions utilizing a person’s unique genetic code.

Currently, Kevin is the Chief Product Officer at Digital Pharmacist, the leading marketing and patient communications platform for independent pharmacists.

Sue Hart

Principal, Consulting Actuary

Milliman, Inc.

Sue is a principal and consulting actuary with the Houston office of Milliman.  She joined the firm in 1995.  Sue’s area of expertise is health insurance. Her clients include insurers, HMOs, employers, government entities, and providers. Sue has advised clients on the design and pricing of insurance programs, the projection and monitoring of financial results, and strategic planning. Her experience includes financial analyses associated with commercial individual, small group, and large group business, Medicaid, and uninsured populations.

Sue has extensive experience in the Texas health insurance markets, including commercial and Medicaid business, with a broad statewide view as well as the health plan perspective.  She served as the actuary for the Texas Health Insurance Pool (THIP), the state’s high risk pool, from its inception in 1997 until its closure in 2015, including the development of premium rates, financial projections, total funding needs, and other ad hoc work. 

She has lead multiple projects analyzing the impact of healthcare reform proposals and changes to legislation related to health insurance in Texas and other states and on a federal level.  These projects include studies in Texas related to mandated benefits, programs to expand health insurance coverage in the state, and the impact of federal healthcare reform.   

In the time since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Sue has assisted multiple health plans as they moved into the Health Insurance Marketplace starting in 2014 and revised their business plans and offerings in response to changing laws and guidance at the federal and state level.  She has also tracked the impact of federal healthcare reform on the insurance markets in Texas, including individual, small group, Medicaid, and the uninsured.

Sue is originally from Wisconsin, where she earned a BS in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin. 

Cherie’ Boxberger

Regional Vice President

American Heart Association

Cherie’ Boxberger is Regional Vice President of Quality and System improvement for the six-state SouthWest affiliate of the American Heart Association.   Cherie’s background includes 20 years in healthcare administration for an eleven-hospital health system in Kansas and Missouri.  

Her areas of responsibility included:  Corporate Wellness; Nurse Call Center management; Website / eHealth oversite; and Marketing of Cardiovascular and Stroke programs.  

Since 2009 she has been working with hospitals to assure their guideline based performance.   Cherie has an MBA and a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Kansas and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. 

Rick Davis

Chief Executive Officer

LOHAS Capital

Rick has extensive experience serving in executive sales, strategy, and management roles, with a professional career spanning legal, technology, international, and entrepreneurial pursuits.  Having historically worked with early stage or high growth companies in an executive role or as a consultant serving the CEO, Rick over the last decade has primarily focused on the cleantech and sustainability sectors, taking a leadership role in venture-backed, publicly-traded, and Austin-based companies.

He possesses a keen understanding of the challenges certain ventures face in raising capital, the groundbreaking advances in marketing and database technologies, the opportunity inherent in newly developed company financing regulations and strategies, and the rapidly expanding global appetite for health and sustainability solutions; and he has a passion for capitalizing on the confluence of all these elements in positively shaping the growth trajectory of these types of organizations.

Greg Lee

President

LIVESTRONG Foundation

With more than 25 years of experience in financial management and work in the nonprofit arena, Greg Lee is responsible for the integrity and operation of all financial, accounting, technology and compliance activities for the LIVESTRONG Foundation.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Greg served as the Manager of Finance and Administration for The University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), where he was responsible for the finance, accounting and compliance activities for this nonprofit organization, and he managed more than $21 billion in investments for The University of Texas System.

In his role as Vice President of Finance and Business Operations for the American Heart Association, he directed the activities of both the finance and operations functions, including 31 staff in 14 regional offices, revenues in excess of $32 million, a $28 million operating budget and an investment portfolio of $35 million.

Krishna Srinivasan

Founding General Partner

LiveOak Venture Partners

Krishna Srinivasan is a co-founder of LiveOak Venture Partners and has been investing in early stage Texas based companies and entrepreneurs since 2000. His current board involvements at LiveOak include CS Disco, Razberi Technologies, Stack Engine, StepOne, and Written.

Prior to co-founding LiveOak, Krishna was a Partner at Austin Ventures. At Austin Ventures, he worked with companies focused on Enterprise Solutions (Augmentix, Entorian – NASDAQ: ENTN, Caringo, Coldwatt – Nasdaq: FLEX) and Wireless (Spatial Wireless – NASDAQ: ALU, Mavenir Systems (NYSE: MVNR), Black Sand Technologies). Prior to joining Austin Ventures, Krishna was with Motorola where he wrote large scale optimization software for supply chain planning and worked with a variety of business units on strategic and operational issues. He started his professional career at SEMATECH.

Krishna received his MBA from Wharton where he graduated with highest academic honors as a Palmer Scholar. He also has an MS in Operations Research from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, where he graduated with the highest all-round honors.

Krishna is one of the founding members and previously served as a board member of TiE Austin and currently serves as Chairman of the Miracle Foundation board, an Austin-based organization that supports orphanages in India.

Barbary Brunner

Chief Executive Officer

Austin Technology Council

Barbary Brunner serves as Chief Executive Officer at Austin Technology Council. Ms. Brunner served as Vice President of Marketing and Product Innovations at MediaNews Group, Inc. since August 18, 2011 and served as its Chief Digital Products Officer until 2011. Ms. Brunner lead corporate marketing strategy, product innovations and business intelligence across MediaNews Group’s affiliated properties.

Ms. Brunner has more than 20 years of experience as an executive at global technology leaders Experian, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Vivendi Universal and in her consulting business which provided strategy, brand and organizational solutions to small and mid-sized companies. She joined MediaNews Group from affiliate property, The Denver Post, where she served as Chief Digital Products Officer.

She is an advisor and board member to, and investor in, a number of early stage companies. Prior to joining The Denver Post, she held executive roles in marketing, product and strategy at Experian. Ms. Brunner served as Chief Marketing Officer at PriceGrabber.com, Inc. She was responsible for Marketing and Brand development for PriceGrabber and lead all product management, marketing and marketing communications for it.

Prior to joining PriceGrabber, Ms. Brunner served as Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for Yahoo! Media and before that, she served as Director of Global Product Planning for MSN at Microsoft. She also held executive roles at Sierra Online and other companies across a variety of disciplines ranging from program management to strategic planning and marketing. She was mentor of the Founder Institute's global accelerator program and prior to her years in high tech, worked with nonprofits and civic organizations as a board member, committee chair and lobbyist.

Ms. Brunner majored in Medieval Studies at Reed College.

Louis Bock

Venture Partner

Sante’ Ventures

Lou joined Santé Ventures as Venture Partner in 2014. Prior to joining Santé, Lou was a Partner
and Co-Founder of Scale Venture Partners from 1997-2014. He was a member of the healthcare team and built the firm’s biotech practice.

Lou joined Scale in 1997 from Gilead Sciences, where he held positions in research, project management, business development and sales. Prior to Gilead, he was a research associate at Genentech. Lou has been involved with life science companies that have completed 8 IPOs
and 4 acquisitions. The current public companies have a market cap in excess of $6B.

A number of his portfolio companies have received FDA approvals and are treating patients for important indications including Adcetris for the treatment of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Xenazine for the treatment of Huntington’s disease and Rayos for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Lou holds an M.B.A. in Finance from California State University, San Francisco and a B.S. in Biology
from California State University, Chico.

Erik Milch

Partner

Cooley LLP

Erik Milch's practice focuses on the representation of clients in connection with patent litigation, US Patent and Trademark Office post-grant proceedings and strategic patent counseling. He has experience

litigating complex patent infringement matters involving malware detection, online transactions, call center technology, telecommunications, medical devices, consumer products and biofuels.

Erik also regularly counsels clients in connection with patent procurement, strategic counseling regarding the development of patent portfolios, patent licensing, valuation of patent portfolios in business transactions and transactional diligence Erik's professional experience includes all aspects of patent litigation, including enforcement of patents against competitors and defense of patent infringement allegations, from pre-filing through appeal. He has litigated in key patent jurisdictions across the country and the International Trade Commission.

Erik has been lead counsel or advised on numerous post-grant proceedings, including ex parte re-examination, inter partes re-examination and inter partes review in connection with co-pending litigation and separately. He has experience initiating and defending post-grant proceedings from filing to appeal.

Erik's technical experience includes technologies such as medical devices, life sciences instrumentation systems and software, haptic feedback systems, sports equipment, computer software, consumer products, retaining wall systems, fluid mechanics applications, water purification systems, automotive engines and mechanical and electrical components, aerospace propulsion and control systems, weapons systems and telecommunications.

Erik is recognized as one of the top patent attorneys in the country. He is named to Intellectual Asset Management's (IAM) Patent 1000 list, an honor that recognizes the best IP and licensing attorneys in the world. In the most recent edition of IAM  Patent 1000, he was lauded as "a results oriented lawyer with excellent judgment who you can trust in any litigation, prosecution or inter partes review conflict situation."  He has also been named to The Washingtonian's exclusive "Top Lawyers" list.

Erik is chair of the Reston Office Pro Bono Committee and a member of the firm wide Pro Bono Committee. He is co-chair of the firm wide Summer Associate Committee. 

Prior to law school, Erik was in the US Navy, serving as a naval aviation support officer at the US Naval Air Station in Keflavik, Iceland, and with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One in Patuxent River, Maryland.

Eric Stone

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Velano Vascular

Eric M. Stone is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Velano Vascular.  A patient advocate and serial healthcare entrepreneur, Stone currently serves as National Trustee and a Committee Chair of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).

Prior to Velano, he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Molecular Health, and earlier in his career launched a series of pioneering interventional cardiology devices for Abbott while based in Brussels, Belgium and California. 

Eric was a founding member of Model N’s (NYSE:MODN) Life Sciences division, where he led marketing and business development.  Stone began his career in Marketing with Triology Software, and has since co-founded social sector programs at Harvard and Wharton.

He served for a decade on Harvard University’s  Alumni Association (HAA) Board of Directors. Stone is a Director of Vigilant Biosciences and an Advisor to multiple healthcare upstarts.  Stone received an MBA from the Wharton School, a Master’s from Harvard University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Eric lives with his wife and daughter in San Francisco.

Bob Smith

Principal and Co-Founder

Bridgepoint Consulting

As co-founder of Bridgepoint Consulting, Bob Smith leads the company’s Financial Consulting  practice. His expertise ranges from regulatory compliance to financial strategy consulting for high-growth companies.

His prior experience includes 25 years with the Big Four accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. While with PwC, he served as an audit partner and became the managing partner of the Austin office in 1995.

Throughout Bob’s career, his clients and experience have ranged from early-stage start-ups to multinational companies where he was responsible for overseeing a number of IPOs. Subsequent to his years in public accounting, he served as CFO of several early-stage technology companies.

Bob holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas Tech University and is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas.

Russell Newman

President

HealthTronics

Since Russell Newman was appointed to President of HealthTronics at  age 35 (approx. $170M revenue) in February 2014, he lead the successful spinoff of HealthTronics from publicly traded pharmaceutical company Endo International, “Endo” (Nasdaq: ENDP) to Private Equity (Altaris Capital Partners) (2014)

In four years as President of HealthTronics,

·        Revenue has grown more than 20% and profitability of the company has nearly doubled

·        Expanded the company’s service offerings to become a full suite provider of mobile, surgical     solutions

·        Expanded the company’s geographic footprint and technical capabilities with nearly 50% growth in employee base since 2014

Mr. Newman has lead or participated in numerous acquisitions and integrations including HealthTronics acquisition of Endocare, Inc (2009), Endo Pharm $2.6B acquisition of American Medical Systems (AMS, now owned by Boston Scientific) in 2011, and has successfully completed eight acquisitions since 2014

Previously, Mr. Newman served as Vice President and General Manager for HealthTronics' General Urology Solutions, a position which he was appointed to in September 2011. 

Mr. Newman joined HealthTronics in 2008 as a Senior Financial Consultant and was soon promoted to Director of Business Planning & Operations. Prior to joining HealthTronics,

Mr. Newman held various finance positions with Dell, Inc., where he was recognized for his outstanding performance through nominations in the CFO Award program and participation in the CFO Finance Rotation Program.  Prior to Dell, Mr. Newman held positions of increasing responsibility with Arthur Andersen and Property Crossing LLC.

Mr. Newman holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master's degree in Professional Accounting from The University of Texas and is a licensed CPA.

Taylor Curtis

Managing Director and Co-Lead, Healthcare Industry Practice

MHT Partners

Taylor Curtis, a Managing Director at MHT Partners, a leading national middle market investment bank focused on representing leaders in growth markets, joined the firm” in 2011. Prior to joining MHT Partners, he served as co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of Connemara Bancorp, an entity established to purchase failed banks from the FDIC during the most recent financial crisis. Prior to Connemara, he was Director of Corporate Strategy for ORIX USA Corporation, where he pursued a series of strategic acquisitions in the specialty lending, alternative asset management, real estate finance and banking industries.

Before joining ORIX, Taylor served as Vice President and Assistant Treasurer for Concentra Inc., a Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe portfolio company focused on the occupational healthcare space. He preceded his time at Concentra as a Director in the Corporate Business Development group of Electronic Data Systems Corporation. Taylor began his career in New York with Greenhill & Co., the boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm.

In 2013, Taylor was named Finalist, Dealmaker of the Year by ACG DFW and DCEO, based on transactions he led that year, and he was named a Winner of the Mth Annual 40 Under 40 M&A Advisor Recognition Awards, based on his career accomplishments, professional expertise and community service.

Taylor graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in the Business Honors Program and Finance

Kim Bridges Rodriguez

President/Chief Executive Officer

Acessa Health

Kim Bridges Rodriguez brings nearly 20 years of medical device experience in cardiology, radiology, vascular surgery, neurology and women’s health.

Kim currently serves as the President and CEO of Acessa Health Inc., a privately held company, developing minimally invasive, uterine sparing solutions for women who suffer from symptomatic fibroids.

Prior to Acessa, she served at Spectranetics, as Senior Vice President of the Vascular Intervention business unit, which more than doubled US revenue under her leadership.  Prior to Spectranetics, Kim has held several global vice president and management roles in sales, marketing, therapy development and general business management at companies such as Blockade Medical, Stryker Neurovascular, Concentric Medical, Johnson & Johnson, Guidant Corporation and ev3.

She received her Executive MBA at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and BS in Management from Pepperdine University.

Scott Wallace

Managing Director

Value Institute for Health and Care

Dell Medical School

Scott Wallace, JD, MBA, plays an influential part in the transformation of America’s health delivery. He recently served as the Interim Chief Business Officer of the Dell Medical School, where he is an Associate Professor.  Leveraging both a business and health policy background, Wallace was appointed by Pres. George W. Bush to chair the Federal Commission on Systemic Interoperability, a commission created to advise the White House and Congress on health transformation through Information Technology (IT). 

He has held a number of senior leadership positions – as CEO of a specialty chemical company, co-founder of a venture capital fund, CEO of the National Alliance for Health Information Technology, and a transactional attorney at Kirkland & Ellis. He is also a Batten Fellow at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, previously served on the faculty for Harvard Business School’s executive education program on health care strategy, and was a Distinguished Fellow at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

In collaboration with Elizabeth Teisberg – a leading expert on value creation and its integral role in improving service delivery in health care – Wallace teaches workshops on value-based health care delivery using a new case model they developed together, including the proprietary Experience Group research tool. 

The expert duo – also co-authors of a forthcoming book, “Capability, Comfort and Calm: Designing Health Care Services for Excellence and Empathy” –deliver custom content programs onsite, a significant differentiator from typical executive education platforms.

Sara Brand, PhD

Founding General Partner

True Wealth Ventures

Sara is Founding General Partner at True Wealth Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund investing in women-led businesses in consumer health and sustainable products and technologies.

Throughout her career, Sara has worked with and contributed to some of the top teams in the technology industry and has cultivated a diverse portfolio of leadership experiences including:

Investing with Fremont Ventures, a $150M venture fund in San Francisco named one of the top 10 venture capital firms for adding value to portfolio companies

Working at Intel, Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices and directly with 3 Fortune 500 CEOs and their teams in technical, strategic and operational capacities

Leading business units from $0 to $100M

Acquiring startups and integrating them into large publicly-traded corporations & leading company mergers and cross-functional dynamics

Strategic management consulting with McKinsey & Co.

Founding (512) Brewing Company, the largest draught only, self-distributing microbrewery in the United States

An active member of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to support gender diversity, Sara is a founding investor in the Rising Tide Fund, advisor to DivInc. and steering committee member of Women@Austin. She also serves the consumer health and sustainable consumer sectors as advisor to Texas Health Catalyst at the Dell Medical School, mentor for CleanTech Open and as an active speaker on the topic.

Sara holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Green Design and Manufacturing, a minor in Public Health and Energy, and a Management of Technology Certification from UC Berkeley. She also holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin where she serves on the Cockrell School of Engineering’s External Advisory Board and the Texas Health Catalyst Advisory Panel for UT’s new Dell Medical School to foster health technology innovations across industry, academia and community.

Rachel Haurwitz, PhD

President/Chief Executive Officer

Caribou Biosciences

Rachel is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences and has been President and CEO since its inception in 2011. She has a research background in CRISPR-Cas biology, and is also a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics.

In 2014, she was named by Forbes Magazine to the "30 Under 30" list in Science and Healthcare, and in 2016, Fortune Magazine named her to the "40 Under 40" list of the most influential young people in business. In 2018, the Association for Women in Science recognized Rachel with the annual Next Generation Award.

Rachel is an inventor on several patents and patent applications covering multiple CRISPR-based technologies, and she has co-authored scientific papers in high impact journals characterizing CRISPR-Cas systems.

Rachel earned an A.B. in Biological Sciences from Harvard College, and received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Chad Moore

Co-Founder/President

Elligo Health Research

Chad Moore is the co-founder and President of Elligo Health Research - a technology-enabled services company providing easy access to both patients and physicians to participate in clinic research studies. Elligo offers the only platform that brings clinical research to physician practices, accelerating the development of new pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device products and therapies

Prior to Elligo, Chad was an investment banker covering the outsourced pharmaceutical services and IT sector for over a decade. Most recently, Moore was a Managing Director at Leerink Partners where he led the firm’s pharmaceutical services and IT investment banking team.

In addition, he founded and was the head of the pharmaceutical services and IT investment banking practice at Robert W. Baird & Co. Earlier in his career, Chad held positions of increasing responsibilities at PRA International (now PRA Health Sciences) where he oversaw PRA’s merger and acquisition activities and assisted in the company’s 2004 initial public offering and subsequent follow-on offering,

Chad received his B.S. from Elmhurst College and a MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Debra Patt, MD

Vice President

Texas Oncology

Dr. Debra Patt is a practicing oncologist and breast cancer specialist in Austin, Texas, and a vice president of Texas Oncology with responsibilities in healthcare policy and strategic initiatives. She is an active leader in breast cancer research, serves on the US Oncology Research breast cancer committee, and chairs the breast cancer subsection of the pathways task force for The US Oncology Network as well as the leader locally for breast cancer research.

She has expertise in healthcare policy and has testified before Congress to protect access to care for Medicare beneficiaries. She is a leader in clinical cancer informatics, and is involved in system innovations to enhance care delivery. She is the Editor In Chief of the Journal of Clinical Oncology- Clinical Cancer Informatics.

She led healthcare informatics for The US Oncology Network from 2008-2015 and  continues to lead analytics as a medical director for McKesson Specialty Health. In addition to a substantial background in informatics and health economics and outcomes research, she directs public policy for Texas Oncology. Nationally, she is the past-chair of ASCO’s clinical practice committee and serves on ASCO’s nominating committee as well as the health IT work group and guidelines committees.

Dr. Patt serves on the national board for the Community Oncology Alliance and local board of The Shivers Cancer Foundation. She serves on the Texas Medical Association’s Council on Legislation and frequently speaks on healthcare policy at the state and federal level.

She is a past chair for the Texas Medical Association’s committee on cancer and has served on the council on science and public health. She is a former board member of Komen Austin and the breast cancer resource center.

Dr. Patt is a nationally recognized leader in cancer research, has published many articles, and leads the service line for breast health services for the Dell Medical School in addition to leading multidisciplinary breast cancer conferences and directing breast cancer services for the Seton Family of Hospitals.

James Willson, MD

Chief Scientific Officer

Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas

Dr. Willson leads the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) academic research program in supporting innovation in cancer research and recruiting world-class cancer researchers to Texas institutions. He is nationally renowned for his work in the genetics of colorectal cancer, having spent more than three decades in the field. Dr. Willson’s research led to the development of cell and animal models for human colon cancer that have been key to identifying genetic factors in disease progression.

Dr. Willson joined CPRIT in March 2016 following a distinguished career as director of Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate dean of oncology programs at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Under his leadership, Simmons Cancer Center became one of only 45 cancer centers in the U.S. to achieve comprehensive status from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He helped bring the same prestigious designation to Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland, where he served as its director from 1994-2004.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dr. Willson earned his MD from the University of Alabama in 1976. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1981 and received additional training at the NCI.

Manoj Saxena

Executive Chairman

Cognitive Scale

Manoj Saxena is the Executive Chairman of Cognitive Scale and a successful serial entrepreneur who founded and sold two venture-backed software companies within a five- year span.

He is a Former Chairman, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio branch, and is founding Managing Director of The Entrepreneurs’ Fund IV, a $100M seed fund focused exclusively on cognitive computing.

Most recently, Manoj was the 1st General Manager of IBM Watson, where his team built the first cognitive systems. Manoj currently serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Communities In Schools, and the Saxena Family Foundation.

Holder of two U.S. patents for web services technologies. Saxena holds an MBA from Michigan State University, and a master’s in Management Sciences from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India.  An avid racecar fan and owner of Saxena Racing, he has raced in a 2009 Porsche 911 GT3RS and a “rally prepped” 1971 Datsun 240z on five continents.

Douglas Denham, DO

Medical Director

Clinical Trials of Texas

Dr. Denham is the Medical Director for San Antonio based, Clinical Trials of Texas. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and has practiced family medicine for more than 20 years.

Since 2006, he has served as Principal Investigator and Sub-investigator on over 200 studies in the areas of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, seasonal allergies, growth hormone, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, implantable devices, insulin pumps, clamp studies, renal studies and more.

His experience includes Phase I-IV protocols, including first-in-man studies.  Dr. Denham also serves as Medical Director for the Army Residence Center (ARC) Assisted Living, Nursing Home and Alzhiemer's Unit in San Antonio, TX.

He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and his B.S in Biology from Hampden-Sydney College.

Andrew Eye

Founder/CEO

ClosedLoop

Andrew’s executive and entrepreneurial experience spans nearly 20 years in B2C and B2B, for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Andrew founded and sold three technology companies and today is the CEO and Founder of ClosedLoop.

ClosedLoop.ai  uses the power of AI to identify at-risk patients and recommend the best interventions for each individual.  They are currently working with the Mayo Clinic & Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation on a precision medicine research effort to study which maintenance therapy care pathways are most effective for which patients.

In 2012 Andrew co-founded the mobile software company Boxer. Boxer develops mobile productivity software for individuals and large corporations. Boxer's flagship email product was downloaded by millions of users and received significant industry praise for its exceptional user interface, including a 2015 Webby Nomination as one of the top 5 productivity applications in the world. Boxer was purchased by VMWare (one of the top 10 largest software companies in the world) in 2015.

Prior to Boxer, Andrew co-founded the cyber security firm Ciphent in 2007. Ciphent grew to nearly 100 employees with 1,000 customers by 2010 before being acquired by Accuvant (now Optiv). With a three year growth rate of 8900%, Ciphent was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the #16th Fastest Growing Private Company in the United States. During his tenure as SVP of Services at Accuvant, Andrew oversaw a $50mm, 200 person organization and was responsible for doubling revenues in 18 months. 

Andrew also served as CEO of Bodkin Consulting Group where he worked with Fortune 500 brands and technology companies to define their interactive marketing strategies. Andrew began his career as a software architect working with NASA, i2 technologies, and the US Marine Corps. 

Andrew graduated Summa Cum Laude from Virgina Tech with a degree in Management Information Technology. Andrew lives in Austin TX with his two daughters and champion “Dock Dog” Sophie.

Celia Cole

Chief Executive Officer

Feeding Texas

Celia Cole is an expert in food and nutrition policy with experience at the state and federal level. Prior to Feeding Texas, Celia was a senior policy analyst with the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) for 14 years, where she covered food and nutrition, welfare, and family economic security issues.

She also has worked in a policy capacity with the Texas Department of Human Services and for Laurel Consulting Group, a private consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Celia serves on the advisory committees of the Partnership for a Healthy Texas and the Texas Food Policy Roundtable, and is actively involved as a board member of her local YMCA.

Celia holds a bachelor's degree in Art History from Columbia University and a master's degree from the Institute of Latin American Studies at UT-Austin.

William Buster

Executive Vice President of Community Investments

St. David's Foundation

William Buster currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Community Investments. William provides oversight for the Foundation’s grantmaking programs and mobile Dental Program and is responsible for leading the design, development, delivery and evaluation of the Foundation’s grantmaking strategies and policies. 

He also provides oversight to ensure grants and programs match the strategic direction established by the Board and ensure that programs are achieving the desired outcomes.

Prior to joining the Foundation, William was the Owner and Lead Consultant for Common-Unity Philanthropic and Nonprofit Advisors.  He worked in a variety of positions, including Director of Mississippi and New Orleans Programs and Advisor to the President on Men and Boys of Color during his 9 years with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

William holds a Master of Arts in Policy and Practice of Development, University of New Hampshire as well as a BA from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University and an Executive Education certificate in Mastering Negotiation from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Jay Maddock, PhD

Dean, School of Public Health

Texas A&M University

Jay Maddock, PhD, FAAHB assumed the leadership of the School of Public Health in 2015.  Dean Maddock previously served as the director and chair of the University of Hawaii Public Health Program.  He is internationally recognized for his research in social ecological approaches to increasing physical activity.  He has served as principal investigator on over $18 million in extramural funding. He is an author of over 100 scientific articles which have been cited almost 4,000 times.

Dean Maddock received his undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University and his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in experimental psychology from the University of Rhode Island.

Dr. Maddock serves as the Senior Academic Advisor for the President George H.W. Bush China-US Relations Foundation.  He serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Health Institute and the Well-Connected Communities Initiative.  Previously, has was named the Bank of Hawai‘i Community Leader of the Year and received the Award of Excellence from the American Public Health Association, Council on Affiliates.  He has chaired the Hawaii state board of health and served as President of the American Academy of Health Behavior and Honorary Secretary of theAsia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health. 

His research has been featured in several national media outlets including The Today Show, Eating Well, Prevention andGood Housekeeping.  Dr. Maddock has given invited lectures in numerous countries including Australia, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, El Salvador, Austria and Brazil and he holds honorary Professorships at two universities in China.

Elena Marks

President/Chief Executive

Episcopal Health Foundation

Elena M. Marks is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Episcopal Health Foundation. Ms. Marks is also a nonresident Fellow in Health Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy where her work focuses on health reform and access to care for low-income and uninsured populations.

She serves on the boards of Grantmakers in Health, the largest national organization serving the field of health philanthropy, Harris Health System, a public hospital system serving over 300,000 patients annually, and Community Health Choice, a nonprofit, community-based health insurance company with more than 400,000 members.

Ms. Marks holds a Bachelor’s degree from Emory University, a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health.  Ms. Marks’ previous professional experience includes serving as the Director of Health and Environmental Policy for the City of Houston; consulting in the health care industry with large systems and community-based providers; starting and directing a successful legal placement firm; and practicing trial and appellate law with major Texas law firms.

George Terrazas

President

Texas Care Alliance

George H. Terrazas currently serves as President of Texas Care Alliance, an organization comprised of 12 leading health care systems across the state of Texas. In this role, he works with member organizations to facilitate the individual and collective pursuit of the triple aim objectives – improving the experience of care, improving population health, and reducing the per capita costs of care. Supported by a shared commitment to adopt common metrics, measure performance, and share clinical and administrative best practices, George works with members of the Texas Care Alliance as they seek to improve and integrate the key pieces of the healthcare value chain through a collaborative focus on better quality and efficiency in care delivery.

Prior to working with the Texas Care Alliance, George served as a Senior Associate at Nexus Health Capital, a boutique healthcare investment bank with offices in New York, NY and Dallas, TX. In this role, he effectively addressed complex strategic and financial needs of high-quality growth stage and middle market healthcare organizations via successful day-to-day transaction leadership.

In 2004, George was selected as the Boone Powell, Sr. Fellow in Healthcare Administration at Baylor Health Care System. Upon completion of the program, he served as a management consultant at Baylor Health Care System, where he managed several strategic business support projects on a corporate/system wide level.

George is also involved in the local Dallas/Fort Worth community, where he recently served as President of the Dallas Regional Chamber Young Professionals, a dynamic group of 350+ emerging leaders ages 25 – 40. He is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Baylor Business Network, and the Dallas Texas Exes organizations.

Thyge Knuhtsen

AVP of Healthcare Solutions

AT&T

Thyge currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Healthcare Industry Solutions. He is tasked with recognizing industry trends, analyzing AT&T's product mix and orchestrating solutions to deliver client value. Thyge holds / has held CCNA, AWS:SAA & IBM: Certified Architect credentials.

With over 8+ years of healthcare industry experience as a technical architect, Thyge has developed solutions in all sub-verticals of the industry. Thyge served as the Lead Architect for the following solutions / products: - "IBM Counter Fraud Solutions for Healthcare" - "Watson Analytics for Clinical Informatics" - "Municipal-Grade Blockchain for Actualizing E-Voting" - "Reimagining Healthcare Benefits and Enrollment with Enterprise Blockchain" Thyge has presented at all major healthcare conferences, published several technical papers and currently has four blockchain patents pending.

He works hard to maintain technical proficiency while keeping his focus on solving healthcare client pain-points.

Mike Marcantonio

Principal

LiveOak Venture Partners

Mike is a Principal at LiveOak and has been investing in high growth businesses for more than a decade.

Prior to joining LiveOak, Mike was a Principal with Blue Heron Capital, where he invested in early & growth-stage companies in the tech-enabled business services and healthcare industries.

Earlier in his career Mike was with American Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, where he focused on pre-investment due diligence, valuation, and portfolio company management. He also spent time with the Healthcare group at Harris Williams, a sell-side M&A advisory firm. Mike started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mike received his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He also has a BS in Finance and Accounting from James Madison University.

Stephen Popovich

President/CEO

Clairvoyant Networks

Stephen Popovich, an innovator in the data communications field, has more than 30 year’s experience in executive management, enterprise sales, and marketing. Prior to founding Clairvoyant Networks, Popovich, a serial entrepreneur, co-founded and was CEO of Inside Out Networks of Austin, Texas. His company, founded in 1997, established him as a pioneer and leader in mission critical Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology, with his products used in medical, military, and other commercial applications. He successfully sold the company to Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) in October 2000, and became responsible for business development for enterprise applications involving Machine to Machine (M2M) and IoT cloud-based applications called The Social Machine. In 2015, Popovich left Digi to form Clairvoyant Networks.

Clairvoyant Networks, LLC, is a services and solutions company focused on the transformative power of technology to solve life and business challenges through data insights.  Clairvoyant leverages the Internet of Things (IoT) with the precision of low frequency Ultra Wideband (UWB) to provide visibility into real-time and historical analytics to proactively identify and rapidly resolve issues to maximize productivity and efficiency, recognize enhancement opportunities, lower costs, and improve quality of life.

Theoracare™ is Clairvoyant’s premiere range of IoT solutions designed to reduce caregiver stress while promoting independence for senior family members with Alzheimer’s Disease and other memory care and dementia symptoms. Theoracare provides simple-to-use, cost effective solutions supporting Aging in Place for loved ones, which include sensors, communication hardware, smart phone applications, cloud connectivity, streaming analytics, and natural language programmed systems.

Peter Boyd

Vice President/General Counsel

HARPOON MEDICAL

Baltimore, MD

Peter joined Edwards Lifesciences as a Senior Director of Strategy when Harpoon Medical, Inc. was acquired in December of 2017. He serves as the Harpoon representative to a three-person post-merger integration team and focuses on commercialization of Harpoon’s beating-heart mitral valve repair technology.

He was a member of the founding team at Harpoon Medical, served as EVP of Business Development and General Counsel and was responsible for Harpoon’s corporate strategy, fundraising and managing the Edwards acquisition process. Harpoon sold to Edwards for $100M upfront payment with $150M in potential milestone payments in less than five years after raising just $6.5M of dilutive capital. The transaction generated a >100% IRR for investors based on the upfront payment alone.

Prior to Harpoon, Peter worked as an associate in a large law firm representing startups and VCs in a variety of corporate transactions ranging from company formation to fundraising and M&A deals. Peter holds a JD/MBA from the University of Virginia, a B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina, has a wife and two small boys, and has traveled over 30,000 nautical miles in various professional capacities on private yachts.

 Adam Dakin

Managing Director

DREAMIT VENTURES

Philadelphia, PA

Adam  serves  as  the  Managing  Director  of  Dreamit  HealthTech,  a  venture  fund  that accelerates  digital  health  and  medtech  companies.  His  career  has  focused  on  building early  stage  venture-backed  healthtech  companies.  Adam  has  held  various  senior management roles in sales, marketing, product development, clinical affairs, operations, and general management.  He co-founded five health technology companies which have collectively raised over $60M in early stage capital.

Prior  to  Dreamit, Adam  served  as  CEO  PhotoSonix  Medical  (consumer  acne  device), Bioconnect  Systems  (vascular  implant)  and  X-SITE  Medical  (vascular  surgical  device, acquired by Maquet Getinge Group).

Adam  serves  on  the  boards  of  Safkan  Ear  and  ZSX  Medical.  He  is  an  active  angel investor  and  has  served  on  the  boards  of  several  healthtech  companies.  He  is  the  co-chair of the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology (PACT) medical technology advisory board and serves as a Mentor in Residence for the Penn Center for Innovation.  Adam  was  awarded  the  PACT  MedTech  Leadership  Award  in  2014.  He  is  a  named inventor  on  seven  U.S.  patents.   Adam  holds  a  BSE  from  the  Wharton  School  and  an MBA from UCLA.

 Andrew ElBardissi, MD

Principal

DEERFIELD MANAGEMENT

New York City, NY

As a Principal of the Private Transactions team, Mr. ElBardissi joined Deerfield in 2017 to work on structured transactions in Deerfield’s Private Design Funds.  Prior to joining Deerfield, Mr. ElBardissi was a Principal at Longitude Capital where he focused on investments in medtech and biotechnology.  Prior to Longitude, Mr. ElBardissi was an Associate in J.P. Morgan’s Healthcare Investment Banking practice.

He received residency training in General Surgery at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University.  Mr. ElBardissi has been independently funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has over 30 publications in leading peer reviewed scientific journals and has presented his research at numerous medical and surgical conferences.

He holds an M.D. from the Mayo Clinic, an M.P.H. in Quantitative Methods from Harvard University, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. with honors in Biology (Phi Beta Kappa) from the Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University.

 Christine Horton

Vice President/General Manager

DEVICEPHARM

Minneapolis, MN

Christine Horton has over 20 years of record success and accomplishment in the medical device industry. She served as CEO of CoreSpine Technologies, a successful emerging spine company, from 2005-2010, and currently serves on two private-company medical device and two non-profit Board of Directors.

Under her leadership, CoreSpine transitioned from a concept company to one that licensed its technology for use outside of spine, with a submitted patent portfolio and products cleared by the FDA. In addition, Ms. Horton was successful in raising private equity and building a top team of medical advisors.

Christine held marketing leadership positions in the orthopedic industry and cardiology business sectors, skillfully earning management positions with each medical device company. Ms. Horton is currently the Vice President and General Manager at DevicePharm, a marketing strategy and integrated marketing communications company.

 Michael Liang, PhD

Partner

BAIRD CAPITAL

Chicago, IL

Michael Liang joined Baird Capital in 2006 and concentrates on Healthcare investments. Prior to joining Baird Capital, Mike was a venture investor with Advent Venture Partners and before that served in an operating role as a Director of R&D at Cortek, a spinal orthopedics company. Mike is currently a member of the board of directors of Amphora Medical, GenomeDx Biosciences, Insightra Medical, Veniti, Zurex Pharma, Integrated Diagnostics and Apervita, serving as chairman of the board for Insightra Medical and Veniti.

He was previously a board member of Interlace Medical before its acquisition in 2011 and a board observer of TomoTherapy before its public offering.  Mike is a member of the advisory board for the University of Illinois Chicago’s Proof of Concept Fund, Northwestern University’s Innovation and New Ventures Office, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) Accelerator program and Chicago MATTER. Mike also is a member of Rush University Medical Center’s Associates Board.

Mike received a BS from the University of California Berkeley and a PhD in biophysical chemistry from Stanford University and conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

 Tom Luby

Head of JLABS

Texas Medical Center

Houston, TX

Tom Luby Ph.D. is the Head of JLABS @ TMC in Houston, Texas. His responsibilities include external engagement, innovation sourcing, company onboarding, portfolio management, operational excellence, educational programming and P&L. In this role, he catalyzes and support the translation of science and technology into valuable solutions for patients and consumers across the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer healthcare sectors.

Tom joined the Johnson & Johnson Innovation family 5 years ago as a New Ventures Lead at the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center in Boston. In that role, he was instrumental in fostering many deals for the Boston office, which included the expansion of JLABS to JLABS @ Toronto. Prior to J&J, Tom spent 14 years in various R&D and business development positions, most recently as Sr. Director, Research Ventures at Shire. Nine of those years were spent working in R&D and operational roles across three start-up biotech companies in the Boston area.

Tom received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from State University of New York, and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University. For his post-doctoral research, Tom shifted to the study of cancer cell genetics at Harvard School of Public Health.

Nicole Walker

Partner

Baird Capital

Nicole Walker joined Baird Capital's Venture Capital team in 2013 and focuses on early-to-growth stage healthcare investments. Nicole is a current member of the board of directors at Amphora Medical, Elucent Medical, MI Bioresearch, NeoChord, Inc, NeuMoDx Molecular, and Strata Oncology. She is also a Life Science Council member for Springboard Enterprises, an accelerator program dedicated to building high-growth technology-oriented companies led by women.

Prior to joining Baird Capital, Nicole was a venture investor with Abbott focusing on early stage biotech, device, and diagnostic opportunities; and prior to that with Onset Ventures, a Menlo Park, CA firm that specializes in seed & early staged healthcare and tech service investments. Before starting in venture, Nicole served in a number of operating roles. Beginning her career as a reliability & process engineer with Guidant's Advanced Cardiovascular Systems division, she went on to hold a variety of roles within product design, engineering management, and marketing management including roles in Commercial Marketing for Guidant's Asia Pacific operations, based in Hong Kong and in Strategic Marketing for Abbott's OUS discrete and continuous diabetes monitoring brands.  

Nicole received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and dual Masters Degrees in Business Administration and Engineering Management from the Kellogg School of Management & the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. 

Shaye Mandle

President/CEO

Medical Alley Association

Shaye Mandle has served as President & CEO of The Medical Alley Association since May, 2014. During this tenure, the association has undertaken significant transformation to focus on championing and facilitating an environment that enables health technology and care organizations to innovate, succeed, and influence the evolution of healthcare.

Medical Alley is home to the world's #1 health technology innovation cluster that includes Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Smiths Medical, Abbott, 3M, Ecolab, Coloplast, Cantel Medical, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Upsher-Smith Laboratories. Medical Alley is home to Mayo Clinic, the #1 hospital in the world and the world's Destination Medical Center.

Medical Alley is also home to UnitedHealth Group, the world's largest private health insurer, and home to Be the Match, the National Marrow Donor Program. Medical Alley is home to more than 1,000 healthcare companies, employing more than 500,000 Minnesotans and millions worldwide. Under Mr. Mandle’s leadership, the association’s vision is to elevate Minnesota’s Medical Alley as the global epicenter of health innovation and care.

Mr. Mandle has more than 20 years of experience in government, the private sector and academia, leading organizations, public affairs and political activities. From 2011-2014, Mr. Mandle served as the association’s EVP & COO and its VP of Government & Affiliate Relations. Prior to joining The Medical Alley Association, Mr. Mandle served as the Executive Director of the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis, where he launched and oversaw the University Office of Technology Transfer and led the University’s corporate partnership, entrepreneurship and economic development programming. Mr. Mandle has also led business development and government affairs for the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Operation of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a Fortune 500 company specializing in defense and homeland security technologies.

Mr. Mandle has served as the chief executive of two industry and economic development organizations, the Illinois Coalition for Science & Technology and the East-West Corporate Corridor Association. Mr. Mandle’s extensive policy and political experience includes leading state and federal political campaigns and having served on the policy staff of former U.S. House Speaker, J. Dennis Hastert and former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. Mr. Mandle has a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Duquesne University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Eric Olson

Founder/CEO

Babson Diagnostics

Eric Olson is CEO and founder of Babson Diagnostics, an Austin-based healthcare technology company focused on moving laboratory testing to the pharmacy counter.

Eric spent 17 years with one of the giants of the medical device industry, Siemens Healthineers.  He served as VP, Portfolio & Product Management for Siemens’ clinical laboratory business. In this role, he was globally responsible for portfolio strategy, product management, and R&D budget allocation for the company’s current and future products, including ADVIA, Centaur, Dimension, Vista, IMMULITE, and Atellica.

Eric also served as the global head of Siemens’ clinical laboratory automation and IT business, which advanced from #2 to #1 in market share during his tenure.  In this role as VP, Automation & IT, he was also responsible for the company’s web properties and $1B+ in e-commerce operations.

Eric earned his Bachelor’s in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Master’s in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania.  He has a technical background in software architecture and development.

Wayne Roberts

Chief Executive Officer

Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas

Wayne Roberts has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas since November 2013.   The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute is a Texas voter approved $3 Billion in bonds to fund groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs and services in Texas.

Prior to four years with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as Associate Vice President for Public Policy, Wayne’s career emphasized public finance and budget, especially related to higher education.  He held numerous senior positions under Governor Rick Perry.

Wayne served Governor George W. Bush as Deputy and Acting State Budget Director and was Lt. Governor Bob Bullock’s special assistant for budget and human services following 18 years with the Legislative Budget Board.

Wayne was awarded life membership in the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) after holding several positions, including president, on their executive committee.  In 2009 Governor Perry appointed Wayne to the State Pension Review Board for a term that ended in 2016.

He received a B.A. with honors and special honors in government from The University of Texas at Austin and a Masters from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at UT.

COL Dennis McGurk, PhD

Medical Department Representative

U.S. Army Futures Command

COL Dennis McGurk is the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) representative to the Army Futures Command (AFC) in Austin, TX. AFC’s mission is to integrate the future force modernization enterprise in order to provide the Army the concepts, force designs, requirements, and materiel solutions required to deter and, when necessary, decisively defeat a future peer adversary.

Previously, COL McGurk was the Director of the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP), Ft Detrick, MD. The MOMRP is responsible for managing research to develop effective medical countermeasures against combat and operational stressors to maximize Service member health, readiness and performance.

COL McGurk entered the military in 1990 as an Infantryman in the Army Reserve.  He was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps Officer in 1994. COL McGurk earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Texas Tech University in 2002. He has served as a Platoon Leader, Operations Officer, Company Commander, Research Branch Chief, and Detachment Commander. During his 24+ years of military service, COL McGurk has deployed to Haiti, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

He has published in peer-reviewed journals, was the lead author on two book chapters, has presented to numerous scientific and military conferences and has briefed many senior military leaders to include the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy.

Janis Powers

Director

Powers Enterprises

Janis Powers is a career health care strategy and operations consultant. She focuses on optimizing how health care dollars are spent to improve patient care. She advises clients on strategic acquisitions, transitioning care to the outpatient environment, shifting to consumer-based pricing and operational turnarounds. Her expertise lies in understanding how policy changes, competitive forces and new technologies will impact the delivery of care.

Janis is the author of the Amazon Bestselling book Health Care: Meet the American Dream. The book asserts that advances in genetic testing and AI will be leveraged to predict lifetime health care diseases and conditions for individual Americans. Such an approach "de-risks" the population and helps bring about the obsolescence of health insurance. She recently founded the company Longitudinal Health Care to bring the ideas from her book to life.

Janis has an undergraduate degree in architecture from Yale and masters' degrees in architecture and business from the University of Michigan. You can catch Janis speaking this March at South by Southwest.