Ian is an internationally known author, consultant, and futurist specializing in long-term forecasting and planning with particular emphasis on health care and the changing business environment. He combines research and consulting skills with an incisive Scottish wit to help public and private organizations plan their longer-term future.

Ian has written, lectured, and consulted on a wide variety of forecast¬ing, strategy, and health care topics for government, industry, and a variety of nonprofit organizations in North America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia. He has spoken to a range of audiences from the boards of Fortune 100 companies to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. Ian has worked with more than 100 Fortune 500 companies in health care, manufacturing, information technology, and financial services. Recent client sponsors include GE, Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic. He is a frequent commentator on the future for television, radio, and the print media.

Ian is the author of Leading Change in Healthcare: Building a Viable System for Today and Tomorrow (AHA Press, June 2011) and Healthcare in the New Millennium: Vision, Values and Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2002). His previous book: The Second Curve - Managing The Velocity of Change (Ballantine, 1996) was a New York Times Business Bestseller and Businessweek Bestseller. Ian has co-authored several other books and chapters, including Future Tense: The Business Realities of the Next Ten Years (William Morrow, 1994) and Looking Ahead at American Health Care (McGraw-Hill, 1988). He also has co-authored numerous journal articles for publications such as Chief Executive, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Across the Board, The British Medical Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, and Health Affairs.

Ian is a past President of the Institute for the Future (IFTF). Ian is a founding partner in Strategic Health Perspectives a joint venture between Harris Interactive and the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management. In 2017 the Strategic Health Perspectives team joined with Leavitt Partners (Health Intelligence Partners HIP program) a forecasting and intelligence service for clients in the healthcare industry. Ian serves as a Senior Advisor to Leavitt Partners and to HIP. From 1996-1999, Ian was retained by Accenture, (formerly Andersen Consulting), as Chairman of the Health Futures Forum. In that capacity, Ian chaired a number of international forums on the future of healthcare. Before coming to IFTF in 1985, Ian spent seven years in British Columbia, Canada, in a variety of research, teaching, and consulting positions.

Ian holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in urban stud¬ies from the University of British Columbia; an M.A. in geography from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a graduate degree in urban planning from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England). He is a past director and chair of the California Health Care Foundation; a director of the new Martin Luther King Community Hospital in Los Angeles; a past director of the Health Research and Education Trust (HRET), the research and education arm of the American Hospital Association; and a past director of the Center for Healthcare Design. Ian currently serves on the Founder’s Council of United States of Care a new non-partisan non-profit movement to achieve long-lasting solutions that make health care better for everyone. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices (an affiliate of the American Medical Group Association and served as a member of the Stakeholders Advisory Committee of the Program on Health System Improvement at Harvard University.

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, has led the natural and organic grocer to a $15.7 billion Fortune 500 company with more than 460 stores and 87,000 team members in three countries. The company has been included on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 20 consecutive years.

While devoting his career to helping shoppers satisfy their lifestyle needs with quality natural and organic foods, Mackey has also focused on building a more conscious way of doing business. He was the visionary for Whole Planet Foundation to help end poverty in developing nations, the Local Producer Loan Program to help local food producers expand their businesses, the Global Animal Partnership’s rating scale for humane farm animal treatment, and the Health Starts Here initiative to promote health and wellness.

Mackey has been recognized as one of Fortune's "World's 50 Greatest Leaders," Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Winner for the United States,” Institutional Investor’s “Best CEO in America,” Barron’s “World’s Best CEO,” MarketWatch’s “CEO of the Year,” Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year,” and Esquire’s “Most Inspiring CEO.”

A strong believer in free market principles, Mackey co-founded the Conscious Capitalism Movement (http://consciouscapitalism.org/) and co-authored a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book entitled “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” (Harvard Business Review Press 2013) to boldly defend and reimagine capitalism, and encourage a way of doing business that is grounded in ethical consciousness. Mackey cut his pay to $1 in 2006 and continues to work for Whole Foods Market out of passion to see the business realize its potential for deeper purpose, for the joy of leading a great company and to answer the call to service that he feels in his heart.

Mackey is also the co-author of the new book, “The Whole Foods Diet” (Grand Central Life & Style 2017).

Dr. G. Keith Smith is a board certified anesthesiologist in private practice since 1990. In 1997, he co-founded The Surgery Center of Oklahoma, an outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by over 90 of the top physicians and surgeons in central Oklahoma. Dr. Smith serves as the medical director, CEO and managing partner while maintaining an active anesthesia practice.

In 2009, Dr. Smith launched a website displaying all-inclusive pricing for various surgical procedures, a move that has gained him and the facility, national and even international attention. Many Canadians and uninsured Americans have been treated at his facility, taking advantage of the low and transparent pricing available. His most recent effort is the launch of the Free Market Medical Association which provides a platform where those seeking to obtain high quality and affordable health care can find free market-minded providers, both physicians and facilities.

Operation of this free market medical practice, the standard for all who have embraced this practice approach, has gained the endorsement of policymakers and legislators nationally. More and more self-funded insurance plans are taking advantage of Dr. Smith’s pricing model resulting in significant savings to their employee health plans. His hope is for as many facilities as possible to adopt a transparent pricing model, a move he believes will lower costs and improve quality of care for all.

He has made appearances on the John Stossel Show, CNBC, Huffington Post, The O’Reilly Factor, Capital Account, The Ron Paul Channel, NBC Nightly News and has been featured by Reason Magazine’s TV division. The New York Times, Time Magazine, ABC news, Forbes and many others have written articles featuring Dr. Smith’s revolutionary approach to the pricing of health care and uncompromising free market principles.

Kenneth has served Rosen Hotels and Resorts since 1998 in a variety of roles. With his bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Central Florida, Kenneth began as a triage nurse in the Rosen Medical Center not only providing patient care, but also organizing medical staff training and managing emergent medical needs. Within two years, Kenneth was promoted to Medical Staff Manager supervising the Center’s medical assistants and licensed practical nurses, leading and coordinating medical staff internal educational programs, managing patient education and handling departmental reports.

In 2004, Kenneth was promoted to Medical Center Administrator. In this role, he oversees all daily operational aspects of the medical center, including staff management, strategic planning, provider relations, public relations, budget development and analysis, and pharmaceutical and other external contract negotiations. In May of 2005, Kenneth completed a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Central Florida. In 2008, Kenneth was promoted to Director of Health Services responsible for various programs for the over 4700 covered lives of Rosen Hotels and Resorts. Responsibilities include: strategic planning, contracting, budgeting, community relations, quality assurance, program development, reporting, compliance programs, presentations, government relations, recruitment, claims reviews, utilization review and other responsibilities managing a $15 million dollar budget.

In 2012, Kenneth was a vital team member for the planning, design and implementation of the new 12,000 sqft Rosen Medical Center, A Place for Healing and Wellness. Kenneth brought into the new facility a full fitness center, physical therapy, digital x-ray, dexascan, ultrasound and a chiropractor.

Kenneth has truly found his niche in healthcare administration. Years of establishing professional and personal relationships within Rosen Hotels and Resorts, Inc. and the Central Florida healthcare community have allowed Kenneth to grow the medical center from one facility to two and expand the center’s service provision to the students of the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality. Providing a second location has improved access to healthcare for those served by the medical center.

Kenneth has worked diligently to contribute to efforts to cut healthcare costs for the medical center to ensure that recipients of the facility’s services receive the highest quality healthcare at the most affordable price. Kenneth has served on administrative teams that generated cost savings by negotiating and implementing improved administrative service only and pharmacy benefit management programs. To further achieve the cost-saving goal, Kenneth has sought to implement more programs internally, including radiology and dietetic services, in-house laboratory testing, electronic medical records and other preventative programs. Kenneth’s implementation of preventative care programs has already saved lives of employees of Rosen Hotels and Resorts, Inc. and continues to ensure our employees have the best health education and resources to stay healthy.

Kenneth has further served Rosen Hotels and Resorts, Inc. since 1998 as coordinator for the medical team that helps organize the annual Rosen Hotels Health and Benefits Fair. He is a graduate of Rosen Hotels and Resorts Management Training Program and the Certified Leader Program. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Professional Association of Healthcare Management, Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), Vice President of Dream Big (not for profit foundation) and an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida teaching graduate level health care administration.

Throughout his career, Kenneth has been honored with employee of the month from Rosen hotels and service advisory coach of the month approximately five times. 2009, Kenneth was honored by Rosen Hotels as manager of the year. In 2011, Kenneth was honored by the Orlando Business Journal as an outstanding health administrator. 2012, Kenneth is honored to receive the Collage of Health and Public Affairs Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Central Florida.

Ashley Bacot, President of ProvInsure, has a Bachelor of Science degree in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University, one of the leading universities and somewhat of a pioneer in the curriculum of Risk Management and Insurance.

Ashley has played an integral role in helping Rosen Hotels & Resorts develop a cutting edge self insured healthcare model to include an on-site patient centered medical home. This program has reduced the company’s healthcare costs to a mere fraction of its competitors while at the same time provides benefits that are far superior. Ashley has been instrumental in attracting national attention to this model with visits from the Chairman of the Congressional Subcommittee on Health, Katie Couric at CBS News, Fox and Friends and CNN to mention a few. This very model has saved Rosen Hotels & Resorts $340 million since its inception and it could reduce the nation’s healthcare cost by $1 trillion annually.

Ashley has become a sought after speaker at conferences on the topic of healthcare reform and maximizing ROI of on-site employee healthcare clinics. Most recently, Ashley has spoken at the World Healthcare Congress in Washington DC, Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy Symposium; the Society of Insurance Research 39th Annual Conference and several World Research Group conferences, among others.

Ashley is married to his wife Cathy with whom he has two children Erin, age 19 and Casey, age 16. Ashley has lived in Central Florida for 30 years and is actively involved in community volunteering including, but not limited to, Canine Companions for Independence, Runway to Hope and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Harris Rosen is the President & COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, the largest independently owned hotel chain in Florida.

After spending the early years of his career working for other major hotel groups, including Walt Disney World, Rosen purchased his first hotel in 1974. Since then, he has added eight hotels to his portfolio, for a total of six leisure hotels and three convention properties. Combined, Rosen Hotels & Resorts comprise more than 6,694 guest rooms, approximately six percent of Orlando’s total hotel inventory.

Rosen is a charter member of the UCF Board of Trustees. In 2000 he donated $18 million to the University of Central Florida to build the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. He also provided a $5 million scholarship endowment for UCF.

As well as Rosen’s commitment to UCF, he spearheaded the multi-million dollar Tangelo Park Program, which has provided more than 200 high school seniors with full college scholarships over the past 20 years. The program also provides a free preschool education for all 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds in the Tangelo Park neighborhood, a disadvantaged neighborhood in Central Florida, as well as parenting classes. In 2005, Oprah Winfrey presented Rosen with the President’s Award from the US Dream Academy at an event in Washington, D.C. for his work with this program. In the past few years, he has spearheaded a similar, five times larger program to benefit the Orlando urban neighborhood of Parramore. Here he also opened the 24-classroom Rosen Preschool at the OCPS Academic Center for Excellence.

In 2004, Rosen served as the Honorary Co-Chair of the Bethune-Cookman College Statue Project with the late Dr. Dorothy Height, President Emeriti of the National Council of Negro Women. The project raised funds to erect a monument to honor the legendary educator on the campus she founded which is Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Rosen is also a member of the Cornell Society of Hotelmen and the Waldorf Astoria Distinguished Alumni Association and is the past President of Visit Orlando. He is an honorary Tuskegee Airmen and holds an honorary Black MBA from the National Black MBA Association. He serves on the boards of numerous not-for-profit organizations throughout Florida including the Boys & Girls Club, the Boggy Creek Gang and the YMCA Aquatic Center.

Among numerous accolades, Rosen was named by the Orlando Business Journal as the "2017 CEO of the Year," Orlando Sentinel “2011 Central Floridian of the Year” and “2011 Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year ” by his alma mater. He was inducted into Visit Florida’s Tourism Hall of Fame in 2010. He has received Sustainable Florida’s Legacy Award for his contributions not only for his environmental efforts, but for his contributions to the local community and has been named an Orlando Business Journal “Healthcare Hero” and featured on national media outlets for his innovative healthcare program.

Rosen has four adult children that live in Orlando: Jack, Joshua, Adam and Shayna.

Ceci Connolly, a nationally-recognized health care leader, took over as president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans in January 2016. In her role, she works with some of the most innovative executives in the health sector to provide high-quality, evidence-based, affordable care. She is passionate about transforming America’s system to deliver greater value to all.

Connolly has spent more than a decade in health care, first as a national correspondent for the Washington Post and then in thought leadership roles at two international consulting firms. She is a leading thinker in the disruptive forces shaping the health industry and has been a trusted adviser to c-suite executives who share her commitment to equitable, patient-centered care.

She is co-author of the book “LANDMARK: The Inside Story of America’s Health Law and What it Means for Us All,” has covered six presidential campaigns and numerous natural disasters including Hurricane Katrina. She is the first non-physician to receive the prestigious Mayo Clinic Plummer Society award for promoting deeper understanding of science and medicine and in 2001 was awarded a fellowship to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

For four years, Connolly served on the board of Whitman-Walker Health, a $26 million non-profit, community health center, assisting 15,000 clients a year. She is a founding member of Women of Impact (WOI) for Healthcare and serves on the national advisory committee of the Altarum Institute Center for Sustainable Health Spending. She is a graduate of Boston College.

Jackson’s career has focused on health care transformation through integrated care delivery and financing. He’s held leadership roles in health plans, physician groups, clinical service lines, and strategy. As CEO of Health Plan Products, he oversees Sutter Health Plus, a commercial HMO; SutterSelect, Sutter Health’s self-insured plan for employees; and the Sutter Health | Aetna joint venture.

Jackson spent nearly 30 years with Washington-based Providence St. Joseph Health, the nation’s third largest not-for-profit health system that includes a successful health plan covering more than a half-million members. After leadership roles in Providence Health Plan, Jackson moved into medical group management. He served as Chief Operating Officer of Providence Medical Group and was promoted to Vice President of Physician Services at the system’s corporate office. Jackson concluded his tenure at Providence as the Chief Integration and Transformation Officer for Providence’s California region. Jackson served as President and CEO of Oregon’s Health CO-OP, a nonprofit, consumer-oriented and operated health plan, before joining the Sutter team. Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Paul Kusserow is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Amedisys and member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Kusserow, a healthcare industry veteran with deep expertise in driving growth strategies, most recently served as President and Vice Chairman of Alignment Healthcare, Inc., an integrated clinical care company focused on providing care to the Medicaid population. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy, Innovations and Corporate Development Officer of Humana, Inc., a Fortune 75 healthcare services and benefits company.

Mr. Kusserow’s experience also includes time as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Ziegler HealthVest Fund; Managing Director of San Ysidro Capital Partners, L.L.C.; and Managing Partner of Roaring Mountain, L.L.C. He began his healthcare career with Tenet Healthcare Corporation, one of the nation’s largest investor-owned healthcare service companies, where he spent seven years, the last four as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Ventures. Kusserow is on the boards of Connecture (Nasdaq: CNXR), Picwell, New Century Health, Matrix Medical Network and Dream Foundation Prior to Tenet, Mr. Kusserow was a consultant at McKinsey and Company, Inc. Mr. Kusserow received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and his Master of Arts from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Karen Springer was named Ascension President, Healthcare Operations in 2017. In this role, Karen is accountable for the management oversight of Enterprise Excellence, which includes Performance Excellence and the Project Management Office (ePMO) as well as Ascension Healthcare’s small and medium Ministry Markets, delivering solutions to improve operating performance and achieve operating excellence for all ministries within those markets, and the successful execution of strategic operating priorities. Karen provides leadership and guidance across Ministry Markets’ ongoing efforts to explore new models of healthcare delivery to achieve operational excellence. Driven by the operating model, Karen plays a key role in evaluating and aligning each Ministry Market’s services and structure to help leverage Ascension’s collective resources in order to create maximum value for the communities served while ensuring financial stability and optimal operating performance.

Prior to her current position, Karen Springer served as Senior Vice President, Ascension Health/Tennessee Market Executive and President and CEO of Saint Thomas Health. In this role, Karen oversaw nine acute care hospitals, 97 primary care and specialty clinics, 17 ambulatory surgery centers, 14 outpatient imaging centers, 13 outpatient rehab clinics, five sleep centers and one post-acute partnership. While President and CEO, Springer implemented the clinical dyad leadership model to Saint Thomas Health and Saint Thomas Medical Partners, including both the chief clinical officer role partnered with the chief operating officer, and the chief medical officer role partnered with the chief executive officer. She also established a chief nursing officer role for Saint Thomas Health in 2017. Springer focused heavily on new systems for population health management by assisting in the launch of an accountable care organization, MissionPoint Health Partners to launch the journey for clinical integration system of care.

Springer also served as Saint Thomas Health President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for operational success and effectiveness of Saint Thomas Health hospital facilities, physician practices and numerous joint ventures. Saint Thomas Health inpatient facilities include four acute care facilities ranging from 30 to 500 beds, a critical access hospital, long-term care facility and a joint venture specialty hospital complemented by joint-venture acute care hospitals and a robust network of community health clinics, medical practices, imaging centers and outpatient rehabilitation services.

Springer joined Saint Thomas Health in 2011 after serving as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana for four years. While there, she was administratively responsible for the operations of a 400-bed acute care hospital, providing key leadership of 16 division directors and more than 2,000 associates. Springer began her healthcare leadership career in the Lutheran Hospital System in Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving first as Director for cardiovascular and medical/surgical ICUs. From 1997 to 2000, she was Chief Nursing Officer for the Rehabilitation Hospital in Fort Wayne with direct responsibility for hospital operations and for multiple patient care departments in a setting focused on restoration of abilities. For Dupont Hospital, she held increasingly responsible positions and was responsible for construction of a new $52 million facility, serving as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer.

Springer received her Associate of Science degree in Nursing from Germanna College in Virginia and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. She completed her Master of Science degree in Administration at Ball State University.

Springer is active in the Middle Tennessee community, serving as the Board Chair for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, Board Member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Healthcare Council, Nashville Health, Tennessee Hospital Association, Center for Medical Interoperability and the Tennessee Business Roundtable. She also serves on the Boards of Saint Thomas Health, Saint Thomas Rutherford, River Park Hospital, DeKalb Community Hospital and Stones River Community Hospital. She serves on the board of advisors for the University of Kentucky MHA. And she is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing.

Springer resides in Nashville with her husband of 38 years, Brad. They have one amazing son who practices law in New Mexico and is married to a beautiful woman with whom he has two very busy boys.

Matt Wallaert is a behavioral scientist working at the intersection of technology and human behavior, designing products and programs that help people live happier, healthier lives and teaching others to do the same. An advocate for behavior change as the outcome of everything, he has a checkered past: academia, building and selling two successful startups, Microsoft's first behavioral scientist, director at Microsoft Ventures. He is currently the industry's first Chief Behavioral Officer at Clover Health, an insurance company focused on health outcomes. Wallaert sits on the board of a variety of startups and non-profits, prioritizes underrepresented founders and audiences, and continues to build side products like GetRaised.com, which has helped underpaid women ask for and earn over $2.3B in salary increases. And more important than all of that, he's a proud dad to a son named Bear.

In his four years as the President and CEO of MetroHealth, the public health system in Cleveland, Akram Boutros, MD, FACHE, has galvanized political leaders, entrepreneurs and the public around supporting community-wide health care many had taken for granted.

With his unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality health care to everyone in Cuyahoga County, Akram Boutros has achieved what many thought was impossible. Under his leadership, The MetroHealth System went to market on its own credit in 2017 and sold $946 million in bonds to rebuild its hospital, revitalize its main campus and resurrect its West Side neighborhood.

In the four years since, he has created an Integrated Delivery System that provides care at more than 20 community health centers, four emergency departments, four clinics in Discount Drug Mart stores, five MetroExpressCare locations and nine pharmacies. Those are in addition to MetroHealth’s main-campus hospital, which is home to the area’s most experienced Level I Adult Trauma Center, a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, one of two adult and pediatric burn centers in the state and Ohio’s only Ebola Treatment Center.

Now a more than $1 billion operation, MetroHealth and its caregivers treat patients at more than 1.3 million visits a year. In the past four years, The MetroHealth System has also created more than 1,200 additional jobs, sent doctors into a dozen Cleveland schools and constructed an $82 million addition to its Critical Care Pavilion. Annual operating revenues have grown from $783 million in 2012 to $1 billion in 2016. And last year, MetroHealth returned $226 million – 22 percent of its operating expenses – to Cuyahoga County in free care and community benefit programs. That is 2.5 times the national average. An internist with a 25-year record of successful hospital leadership at academic medical centers, community hospitals and specialty hospitals, Dr. Boutros cultivates personal relationships throughout the hospital system and the community along with an atmosphere of personal excellence for everyone he works with.

A graduate of St. John’s University, SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, he has led organizations through strategic repositioning, operational redesign, clinical and physician integration and population-health and risk-contracting programs. He sees collaboration with other health systems, organizations and local residents as a key driver in fulfilling MetroHealth’s mission of leading the way to a healthier community.

Martin Otto is currently on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and served as its Chairman from 2016-2017. In these roles, Mr. Otto works with the NACDS leadership to shape pharmacy industry policy and inspire NACDS’ members to embrace an increasingly larger set of responsibilities as health care providers, businesses and corporate citizens.

Known to his colleagues for his candid assessment and broad vision, Mr. Otto relies on his extensive experience and background to help advance pharmacy’s leadership position in the U.S. healthcare system. Mr. Otto currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of H-E-B, a $23 billion supermarket/pharmacy chain operating in Texas and Mexico. H-E-B is #13 on the 2016 Forbes list of America’s largest private companies and is among the more than 100 NACDS chain member companies, comprised of traditional drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchants with pharmacies.

Mr. Otto is a strong believer in the potential for collaborating at the national and local level to design healthcare solutions by confronting an array of socio-economic challenges. With 40,000 chain pharmacies industry-wide, employing 178,000 pharmacists who interact with these concerns on a daily basis, Mr. Otto sees pharmacy care as a key health care element.

In his 26 years with H-E-B, Mr. Otto has held numerous leadership roles in merchandising, store operations and finance, serving most recently as Chief Merchant and Chief Financial Officer, and serving earlier in his career in a variety of store management roles. He continues to mentor H-E-B’s key leaders, contributing his in-depth knowledge to assessing opportunities across the company’s operations.v

Mr. Otto's past professional experience also includes real estate investment banking and public accounting. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School.

Harold L. Paz, M.D., M.S., is executive vice president and chief medical officer for Aetna. He leads clinical strategy and policy at the intersection of all of Aetna’s domestic and global businesses. He is responsible for driving clinical innovation to improve member experience, quality and cost in all areas of the health care delivery system. Reporting to Aetna’s Chairman and CEO, he is a member of the company’s executive committee.

Before joining Aetna in 2014, Dr. Paz served as chief executive officer of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System, senior vice president for Health Affairs for Penn State University, dean of its College of Medicine and professor of medicine and public health sciences for eight years. His vision for health care transformation at Penn State led to the formation of an integrated healthcare system of four hospitals, 64 ambulatory care practices and 18 affiliated hospitals focused on population health across central Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment to Penn State, he spent 11 years as dean of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Group, the largest multispecialty group practice in New Jersey where he was professor of medicine.

Dr. Paz has focused his research and teaching on clinical outcomes, health care effectiveness and employee health benefit design. A pioneer in the field of quality management, Dr. Paz was among the first to study clinical outcomes in the intensive care unit. From this early work, he recognized the need to formally train physicians in quality, and in 1993 he started the first fellowship of its kind in quality management. Currently, he is professor adjunct of internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and remains clinically active in pulmonary medicine at the West Haven Veteran’s Administration Hospital. He serves on the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Leadership Consortium and the NAM Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Advanced Illness.

A fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians, Dr. Paz is currently on the boards of United Surgical Partners International, Research!America and the National Health Council. Dr. Paz is past chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers and a former member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the University Health System Consortium boards of directors. He previously was chair of the AAMC Council of Deans administrative board and has served on the AAMC executive council, in addition to corporate and scientific advisory boards in the biotechnology field. He has authored more than 85 publications, including peer-reviewed research and quality articles, chapters, commentaries and abstracts. He is the recipient of numerous awards and an honorary degree.

Dr. Paz received his bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester, a master of science in life science engineering from Tufts University, and his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his residency at Northwestern University, where he served as chief medical resident and instructor in clinical medicine. He was a Eudowood Fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School. In addition, he was a post-doctoral fellow in environmental health science at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Gene Cronin is the vice president of Priority Advantage, LLC., a Medicare Advantage (MA) services company offered by Priority Health, a national leader in Medicare Advantage. Priority Advantage provides a full suite of Medicare Advantage administrative services, both end-to-end and targeted services, to help health systems and health plans start and manage their MA plan to achieve profitable growth and maximize value capture.

Gene joined Priority Health in 2010 as vice president of Product and Market Development and led the development and implementation of Priority Health’s Affordable Care Act strategy resulting in Priority Health being selected as Michigan’s benchmark plan. Before assuming responsibility for the development and management of Priority Health’s Priority Advantage business unit, Gene was Priority Health’s Chief Marketing Officer and led all branding, marketing, and corporate communication functions.

Don Tuitel is Director, Business Development for Priority Advantage, LLC., a Medicare Advantage (MA) services company offered by Priority Health, a national leader in Medicare Advantage. Priority Advantage provides a full suite of Medicare Advantage administrative services, both end-to-end and targeted services, to help health systems and health plans start and manage their MA plan to achieve profitable growth and maximize value capture.

Don joined Priority Health in spring 2017 as Director, Business Development to lead and drive growth of Priority Health’s Priority Advantage business unit, by leveraging the success that Priority Health has experienced as a national leader in Medicare Advantage. Don will be helping other health systems and health plans maximize their success in this challenging market.

In his role as General Manager of HealthSmart Rx Solutions, Martino oversees HealthSmart’s High Cost Specialty Drug Management program for plan sponsors, health plans, and at risk provider groups. Martino advances HealthSmart’s capabilities to manage the ever increasing cost of specialty drugs. Specialty spend under the medical benefit will average $308 annually per person in 2017, representing approximately 40% of the total drug spend. Currently, management of specialty drug spend on the medical benefit has been minimal compared to the pharmacy benefit until now. Healthsmart Rx Solutions now offers plan sponsors and payers an array of options to manage and control them. Those solutions include additional drug discounts by leveraging our preferred specialty pharmacy network, utilization management tools, medical claims edits, specialty drug medical rebates, and integrated coupon and patient assistance program access to reduce plan spend.

Prior to joining HealthSmart Rx Solutions, Martino was a member of the senior leadership team at DaVita Rx, the specialty pharmacy unit of DaVita, which is the largest provider of kidney care in the United States. He previously held senior leadership positions at Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy (Vice President of Innovation), the nation’s largest independent specialty pharmacy, and Medco Health Solutions (Business Process Champion).

Martino graduated from pharmacy school at Rutgers University and completed his MBA in Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Silberman School of Business.

Venky is a senior Client Partner in Infosys’ Healthcare Industry Vertical. In this role, he is responsible for business profitability and growth at Infosys’ global HealthCare clients, particularly Fortune 50 clients. He manages critical relationships with senior client executives, industry analysts and anchors talent development of key Infosys personnel. He is responsible for crafting and delivering business and technology solutions to client business problems with his deep understanding of Healthcare business and technology.

Previously, Venky was the global delivery head for Infosys Digital transformation Practice focused on the Retail and Consumer Industry. Under his leadership the Digital practice delivered double digit growth. As Practice head he was responsible for Practice P&L;, Project/Program delivery, competency development and talent management in areas of Digital Commerce, Digital Marketing and Content management, Supply Chain, Integration technologies and Business Intelligence.

Venky has spent over 21 years with Infosys and has broad experience spanning multiple industries and geographies. He has won a multitude of excellence awards and Gold standard awards for outstanding achievement ranging from thought leadership in the industry to client management. He holds a undergraduate degree in mechanical Engineering and an executive leadership program from Stanford graduate school of business.

Jay Atkin currently serves as Vice President of Medicaid Business / Program Delivery. He is accountable for Information Technology (IT) business solutions supporting over 3 million members.

Previously Jay led Medicare, Senior Supplemental Insurance and FEDS Technology teams. Prior to that, he was accountable for the Enterprise Quality Assurance (QA) organization. In that role he drove results to best-practice levels, and initiated and executed the first IT managed services contract as well as several other progressive programs enhancing business value. Prior to QA, Jay led the IT Enterprise Production Maintenance teams, instituting programs to increase return on investments across technology products, significantly improved turn-a-round times on business related level one and two incidents and drove the application sunset program, retiring over 125 systems.

Prior to IT Production Maintenance, Jay held a variety of progressively responsible technical and service related roles in the Infrastructure Services organization.

Jay has a variety of college experiences focused primarily on Information Technology.

Kurt Waltenbaugh is a serial entrepreneur with a career focused on the consumer: using data to predict and influence behavior. Understanding consumer behavior, Kurt has built successful analytic solutions, products and companies in the health care, retail, education, and credentialing industries.

His previous companies were sold to Oracle and Pearson Education. Most recently, Kurt was responsible for product strategy at Optum, Inc. (UnitedHealth Group), building data analytic businesses for the provider, payer and employer markets.

When not working with customers, Kurt is with his wife, guiding their three children toward adulthood, and planning their next winter camping trek into Minnesota's Boundary Waters (BWCAW).

Martin Otto is currently on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and served as its Chairman from 2016-2017. In these roles, Mr. Otto works with the NACDS leadership to shape pharmacy industry policy and inspire NACDS’ members to embrace an increasingly larger set of responsibilities as health care providers, businesses and corporate citizens.

Known to his colleagues for his candid assessment and broad vision, Mr. Otto relies on his extensive experience and background to help advance pharmacy’s leadership position in the U.S. healthcare system. Mr. Otto currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of H-E-B, a $23 billion supermarket/pharmacy chain operating in Texas and Mexico. H-E-B is #13 on the 2016 Forbes list of America’s largest private companies and is among the more than 100 NACDS chain member companies, comprised of traditional drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchants with pharmacies.

Mr. Otto is a strong believer in the potential for collaborating at the national and local level to design healthcare solutions by confronting an array of socio-economic challenges. With 40,000 chain pharmacies industry-wide, employing 178,000 pharmacists who interact with these concerns on a daily basis, Mr. Otto sees pharmacy care as a key health care element.

In his 26 years with H-E-B, Mr. Otto has held numerous leadership roles in merchandising, store operations and finance, serving most recently as Chief Merchant and Chief Financial Officer, and serving earlier in his career in a variety of store management roles. He continues to mentor H-E-B’s key leaders, contributing his in-depth knowledge to assessing opportunities across the company’s operations.v

Mr. Otto's past professional experience also includes real estate investment banking and public accounting. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School.

As chief health officer for SAS Institute Gale Adcock is responsible for all operations of the onsite health care center at HQ in Cary, NC; serves as media spokesperson for health and wellness issues; partners with Benefits for enhancements to SAS’ self-funded medical and drug plans; and speaks, writes and conducts research on the SAS model of onsite health care delivery.

Adcock is a family nurse practitioner of 30 years and has been at SAS since 1991.

David Contorno is President of Lake Norman Benefits, now part of the Hilb Group and one of the employee benefit practice leaders inside this now top 40 largest insurance agency. As a native of New York, David began his career in the insurance industry at the age of 14, and has since become a leading expert in the realm of employee benefits over the last 21 years. The Hilb Group continues to grow organically by ensuring all management is handled locally, providing top notch solutions and supports, and through strategic acquisitions.

Among his many accolades, David received a Broker Spotlight in 2004 and was recognized as an outstanding Broker of Service in 2005 through 2014 by Blue Cross Blue Shield. He has continually received the Echelon Award by United Healthcare since 2003, reserved for the top 1% of agents nationally, and was a 2015 "40 Under 40" Award Winner presented by Charlotte Business Journal. Most recently, David was Benefits Selling Magazine's 2015 Broker of the Year and, in March 2016, Forbes deemed him "One of America's Most Innovative Benefits Leaders."

David is a member of the Board of Directors for both the Charlotte Association of Health Underwriters and Healthreach Community Clinic. He served on the NC Insurance Commissioners Life and Health Agent Advisory Committee, as well as participated in the Technical Advisory Group that helped with the Market Reforms required under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. He is a long-time member of the Lake Norman and South Iredell Chambers of Commerce as well as the National, North Carolina, New York and Long Island Associations of Health Underwriters. David contributes to numerous publications, including Forbes, Benefits Selling Magazine, Business Leader Magazine and Insurance Thought Leadership.

David is committed to giving back to his community and actively participates in the membership drive for the United Way, assisting the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and supporting The Dove House Child Advocacy Center. When he is not working, he enjoys boating, traveling, and being with his wife, Heather, and their two children, Hannah and Ethan.

Vincent Esposito is Chief Operating Officer of the New York based-company, Endeavor Plus, Inc., where he has a wide range of responsibilities covering all aspects of the company’s day-to-day operations, particularly those that are financially-related. He joined the company in 2014 after a decade of diversified experience working as a financial investment analyst.

Prior to joining Endeavor Plus, Vincent was a Senior Analyst with Wexford Capital in Greenwich, CT. At the time, Wexford Capital managed $6B in assets, invested globally and approached the market with a thematic lens and coupled this perspective with fundamental analysis to identify trends across sectors and invested in best-of-breed names by triangulating information through multiple avenues to develop unique opportunities in the public market, based on proprietary work.

Mr. Esposito began his Wall Street career at SES Partners (formerly Circle-T Partners) in New York as a Research Analyst. At SES Partners, he married their tactical strategy with fundamental analysis for their US Long/Short Opportunistic Equity Fund. He worked to identify inflection points & catalysts for specific investments through his research with C-Suite industry executives, as well as both buy and sell side specialists.

As a Presidential Scholar at Siena College, Loudonville, NY, Mr. Esposito graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.

Lee Lewis runs Gallagher’s Innovation Lab practice, a mission-driven group devoted to improving the cost, quality and design of American healthcare. Lee advises several health startups working to solve meaningful healthcare problems.

The Innovation Lab has a track record of breakthroughs. It leads the effort to bring sophisticated health plan audits to private employers. It pioneered specialty drug direct purchasing without using a PBM. His team led a grassroots effort to identify all independent freestanding Emergency Rooms in Texas. The innovation lab developed the first HSA compliant model for back and joint pain prevention, and is piloting first-ever ultra-high value virtual networks in 2018 in two major U.S. cities.

His current and past clients include American Airlines, Comcast NBC Universal, Albertson’s Grocery Stores, Home Depot, Abbot Laboratories and dozens of other large and jumbo employers.

Lee is a Rhodes Scholar Nominee. He graduated Second in his Class, Magna cum Laude with University Honors in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Dr. Josh D. Luke has more than ten years senior healthcare operations experience, including eight years as a hospital CEO. Most recently he is credited for designing Total Wellness Torrance (TWT Model), an innovative re-admission prevention protocol for Torrance Memorial Medical Center. TWT includes a unique Emergency Department triage system that quickly evaluate re-admit candidates to confirm compliance and utilization of previously offered post-acute transitional services, while seeking alternative levels of care for the patient to prevent un-necessary hospitalization.

Dr. Luke has experience in for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals, acute rehab hospitals, sub-acute, TCU, SNF and assisted living facilities. He previously served as CEO for Western Medical Center in Anaheim and HealthSouth Las Vegas Rehab Hospital, as well as an Executive Director for Kindred. He has Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training and is a Fellow with The American College of Healthcare Executives. He is an expert in dual eligible coverage (Medi/Medi) having served as Chair for Cal Optima's Provider Advisory Committee in 2011-2012, as an Executive Board Member for HASC in 2011 and is a licensed SNF and RCFE Administrator.

Prior to his role at SISD, Inc., Gary Bender was previously Chief Financial Officer with three privately held manufacturing and engineering companies following a successful 20+ year career with Air Products and Chemicals.

At Air Products he held a number of key executive roles in finance, business development, operations and general management. Prior to Air Products, he held positions in the international unit of R J Reynolds Industries with assignments in Europe, Canada and Asia.

Gary received his MBA degree from University of North Carolina and his undergraduate degree from Penn State University.

He has served on a number of community zoning boards and is on the boards of two privately owned companies, the Life Sciences Council board, on curriculum advisory boards for two technical engineering schools, the Workforce Investment Board. He is founder of the CFO Solution.

Inc. magazine calls Craig Lack, “Craig Lack is the most effective consultant you’ve never heard of.” As the creator Performance Based Health Plans®, Craig consults with public and private C-level executives and independent health care consultants to eliminate employee out-of-pocket expenses, measurably lower health care claims, and drive earnings to the bottom line.

He is a leading authority and a sought-after speaker at national conferences, business coalitions on health and to C-suite groups. Craig has appeared in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Huffington Post, Success, and Yahoo Finance and has been featured on CBS, ABC, CW and FOX.

His mission is to help employees eliminate $1 billion in out-of-pocket expenses for their employees.

Inc. says, “Craig Lack is the most effective consultant you’ve never heard of.” http://www.inc.com/logan-kugler/this-entrepreneur-gave-up-nba-dreams-to-make-millions-off-healthcare.html

Forbes calls Craig Lack a “Broker Whisperer for independent healthcare consultants.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/davechase/2016/06/26/if-you-want-to-see-the-future-of-healthcare-watch-the-cable-industry-what-happened-to-newspapers/#3af3a2a16bb1

Andy Neary is a healthcare strategist with The Olson Group. He has more than 15 years of experience in helping employers affect the rising cost of healthcare through innovative strategies. He works with his clients to move them from the benefits status quo with innovative and creative strategies that provide savings for employers and a rich benefit plan array for employees.

He recently was named to the “Boulder 40 Under 40” list, recognizing his professional and charitable contributions to that Colorado community. He was a former pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

As a former professional athlete, Neary understands the hard work and daily grind needed to perform at the highest level. His personal motto is, “It’s the work done when no one is watching that generates success”. He takes the same approach with his clients creating truly elite benefit programs.

In 2003, Tim Olson founded The Olson Group – an employee benefits consulting firm with an emphasis in retirement planning and group insurance plans.

Tim’s focus on serving his clients holistically garnered him and The Olson Group the honor of being named 2015’s Benefit Adviser of the Year by Employee Benefit Adviser magazine. Since then, Tim and his team have set the standard in client service by reinventing and reinvesting in the practice to deliver ACA expertise, electronic enrollment platforms, wellness initiatives, and fiduciary expertise among other vital solutions. Recently developed BenefitsEdge® – a game-changing strategic planning process that allows organizations to intentionally determine the outcomes of their benefits investment.

The Olson Group currently works with more than 150 employers participating in 500 employee benefit plans, and covering more than 20,000 employees throughout Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas.

Brian Tolbert has over ten years of experience in the health and benefits industry and is one of the founders of Bernard Health. Based in Nashville, Bernard’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted advisor when it comes to helping people plan for their healthcare. Today, they provide employer advisory services in multiple markets and license their proprietary all-in-one HR software, BerniePortal, through other trusted benefits advisors all over the country.

Brian received his BS from Vanderbilt University and earned his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management. He and Bernard Health were honored with the 2017 Summit Award from the Association for Insurance Leadership in recognition of their creating a NextGeneration Benefits Firm that provides a superior and more cost-effective benefits plan for employers and enhanced benefits for employees. Most recently, Bernard Health was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the U.S.

Keith has been involved in medical travel and cross border healthcare since the 1990’s. His career has embraced the management of private hospitals in the UK, research and feasibility studies for healthcare ventures, the marketing and business development aspects of healthcare and medical travel and publishing, research and consultancy on cross border healthcare.

Within Intuition Communication, Keith has driven the company’s initiatives in the medical tourism sector and has a worldwide reputation as an opinion leader, speaker, commentator and adviser on medical tourism. He is responsible for the development of consumer-focused medical tourism sites such as Treatment Abroad, and the B2B resource, IMTJ – International Medical Travel Journal. Through his Health Tourism Blog, he provides valuable insight into the medical travel business.

Keith is one of Europe’s leading experts on medical tourism and cross border healthcare, attending and contributing to major conferences across the world on the subject. He has been responsible for many initiatives in the sector including the first patient guide to the EU Directive on Cross Border Healthcare, a Code of Practice for Medical Tourism, a Good Practice Score for Cross Border Reproductive Healthcare, research into patient experiences of medical tourism and an initiative to collect meaningful data in this emerging market. He was an advisor on the NIHR funded project, “Implications for the NHS of Inward and Outward Medical Tourism”, and a contributor to the EU & International Cross Border Healthcare Policy Team at the UK's Department of Health.

With over thirty five years of experience in healthcare, senior living and human services, Irving Stackpole is the President of Stackpole & Associates, Inc., a market research, marketing, customer service and sales training, and organizational development firm. Founded in 1991, Stackpole & Associates has established itself in the field of medical travel working with governments, governmental agencies, professional associations, healthcare providers, and tourism organizations to define markets, conduct research, develop marketing programs and strategies, establish brand identity, and launch marketing efforts to attract international medical clients from the US, Canada, the UK, and other geographic areas. , Stackpole & Associates applies scientific marketing principles to develop practical solutions to clients’ challenges. Using the most rigorous psychological and behavioral science research, Stackpole & Associates develops methods and designs that produce unimpeachable data yielding reliable, actionable recommendations.

In addition to the publication of many articles in national and international trade magazines and newspapers, Irving is Editor of Medical Tourism Marketing, the first book on the subject published in the sector, and a co-host of the Medical Travel Show. He is a popular speaker, having addressed audiences at medical travel and health care conferences throughout the US and internationally. His client experience embraces an extensive list of medical tourism organizations including professional associations, governments, health care providers, developers, investors, and facilitators.

Seema Verma currently serves as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and she is only the 15th person ever confirmed to the post. She was nominated by President Trump on November 29, 2016 – the seventh nomination by the President-elect – and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 13, 2017. As Administrator, Ms. Verma oversees a $1 trillion budget, 26% of the total federal budget, that administers healthcare programs for more than 130 million Americans every day.

A nationally recognized leader in health policy and operational design, she has guided healthcare policy in the public and private sector, working with states to build flexibility into their Medicaid programs to help them meet the diverse needs of their unique populations. As the architect of the historic Healthy Indiana Plan, she helped create and implement the Nation’s first consumer-directed Medicaid program.

Administrator Verma is a graduate of the University of Maryland, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University.

Her editorial commentaries have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Health Affairs, and she also previously served as Vice President of Planning for the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana and most recently before heading CMS was President and CEO of Seema Verma Consulting.

Nebeyou serves as Vice President Health & Well-being for Sodexo North America. He is responsible for enterprise-wide health and well-being strategy, advising clients on their workforce (and community) health and well-being goals, developing comprehensive employee health and well-being solutions, and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships with private, public and non-profit entities.

Nebeyou earned his Masters in Social and Public Policy from Georgetown University, Bachelors in Economics from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Project Management Professional (PMP) credential from the Project Management Institute. From 2008-12, he served as a federal-level advisory board member for the Office of Minority Health. In 2012, Nebeyou was honored with the prestigious "40under40" award by the Envest Foundation for his work and contributions in public health. His work has been published in national peer review publications including Modern Healthcare, Diabetes Spectrum, Journal of Medical Internet Research, and Employee Business Plan Review. Nebeyou is a highly sought out speaker and has been interviewed by several media outlets.

David Contorno is President of Lake Norman Benefits, now part of the Hilb Group and one of the employee benefit practice leaders inside this now top 40 largest insurance agency. As a native of New York, David began his career in the insurance industry at the age of 14, and has since become a leading expert in the realm of employee benefits over the last 21 years. The Hilb Group continues to grow organically by ensuring all management is handled locally, providing top notch solutions and supports, and through strategic acquisitions.

Among his many accolades, David received a Broker Spotlight in 2004 and was recognized as an outstanding Broker of Service in 2005 through 2014 by Blue Cross Blue Shield. He has continually received the Echelon Award by United Healthcare since 2003, reserved for the top 1% of agents nationally, and was a 2015 "40 Under 40" Award Winner presented by Charlotte Business Journal. Most recently, David was Benefits Selling Magazine's 2015 Broker of the Year and, in March 2016, Forbes deemed him "One of America's Most Innovative Benefits Leaders."

David is a member of the Board of Directors for both the Charlotte Association of Health Underwriters and Healthreach Community Clinic. He served on the NC Insurance Commissioners Life and Health Agent Advisory Committee, as well as participated in the Technical Advisory Group that helped with the Market Reforms required under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. He is a long-time member of the Lake Norman and South Iredell Chambers of Commerce as well as the National, North Carolina, New York and Long Island Associations of Health Underwriters. David contributes to numerous publications, including Forbes, Benefits Selling Magazine, Business Leader Magazine and Insurance Thought Leadership.

David is committed to giving back to his community and actively participates in the membership drive for the United Way, assisting the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and supporting The Dove House Child Advocacy Center. When he is not working, he enjoys boating, traveling, and being with his wife, Heather, and their two children, Hannah and Ethan.

Valerie has 25 years of Human Resources experience across multiple industries, with a strong record of helping align workers to assignments that capitalize on individual strengths, drive business results and increase employee engagement.

Valerie is gifted at taking the complex, breaking it down and making it understood by a broad audience. This is evident by the consistently achieving higher than industry and corporate average employee participation in self-directed benefits.

During her career, in addition to her HR responsibilities, Valerie accepted “out of the box” assignments, taking on Security, Fleet and Facilities Management, opportunities that honed her project management and process analysis skills.

Valerie’s Human Resources knowledge and experience combined with her operational assignments has developed her into a true business partner. Understanding the needs and goals of the enterprise/business is the foundation of Human Resources, Organizational Development and Strategic Management.

Valerie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC) and completed the American Management Association’s MBA Certificate Program. She is a former member of the Board for the Southern CT chapter of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Search for Change.

As the Principal and Managing Partner of Axial Benefits Group, Mr. Rodgers brings his extensive background in health and welfare plans to Axial's clients.

He has been pioneering Healthcare Purchasing Coalitions since 2009 specializing in assisting medium and large corporations, many of whom have multi-state locations, with the development of effective health care programs. Specifically, he has designed, implemented and managed 5 successful healthcare purchasing coalitions helping hundreds of companies lower costs and stabilized renewals.

Prior to co-founding Axial Benefits Group, Mr. Rodgers founded its predecessor company, Atlantic Benefits, in 2003. He also founded The Staffing Exchange (TSE) in 2012, a successful healthcare purchasing coalition dedicated specifically to the Staffing industry. He has had over 22 years of experience and held senior consulting positions at Hays Companies, William Gallagher Associates, and Marsh & McLennan. Mr. Rodgers is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts School of Engineering. He is a former Massachusetts high school wrestling state champion and collegiate wrestler. He is an avid national speaker on the Affordable Care Act and has become known as one of the nation's experts on the topic of its compliance. He is the former Chairman of the Boston Board of Directors for the March of Dimes and has been involved with the development of corporate programs for the both Friends of Boston's Homeless charity and various local Habitat for Humanity Chapters. He lives in Concord, MA with his wife and family, where he is also a town meeting member.

John W. Sbrocco, CSFS is a healthcare strategist and founder of both Questige Consulting and Achieve Health Alliance. He began consulting in 2005 and specializes in bringing innovative risk management solutions to self-funded employers. John holds a designation as a Certified Self-Funding Specialist.

John recently visited El Salvador as a guest of the Ministry of Health on a fact-finding mission to evaluate that country’s healthcare facilities and physicians for their Healthcare Abroad program for patients around the world who travel for superior medical outcomes at substantial savings over domestic healthcare.

An in-demand speaker at industry events & conferences, John has been featured in industry publications including, most recently, BenefitsPro magazine. He is a Charter Member of the Association for Insurance Leadership and a member of the exclusive Agency Growth Mastermind Partnership – an elite group of high-performing benefits consultants and advisors from around the country.

Sherene Azli took office as the Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) or better known as Malaysia Healthcare in year 2015. Within her short stint with Malaysia Healthcare, an agency under the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Sherene facilitated to raise Malaysia’s silhouette as the “preferred destination for world-class healthcare services”.

Sherene’s fortitude to see Malaysia as the leading global healthcare destination is becoming a reality as the country was awarded as the “Destination of the Year” in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by the International Medical Travel Journal. Not resting on her laurels, Sherene continues to inspire and develop her team and the industry stakeholders for a bullish few years in order to further alleviate Malaysia Healthcare’s standing as the leading global healthcare destination, targeting to host more than a million healthcare travellers by 2020.

Sherene has a proven executive management track record and over 20 years of experience driving marketing growth in various industries. Prior to joining Malaysia Healthcare, Sherene was the General Manager at Talent Corporation Malaysia, playing an instrumental role in building strategies for talent development in 12 key sectors. Preceding that, she was with Telekom Malaysia for 15 years, entrusted with high level positions such as Vice President of Group Marketing and subsequently as the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.

In fulfilling her aspiration in knowledge sharing and talent development, Sherene has also established herself as an esteemed speaker and trainer in more than 15 countries globally (UK, USA, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Russia, Japan, Egypt, Spain, Thailand, Romania, Turkey, Oman, Dubai, etc.) at numerous international conferences and workshops in the areas of leadership, strategy, marketing and business management with special focus in healthcare travel and telecommunications.

Sherene is also self-driven, self-reliant, and highly-focused in making things happen, where she consistently adopts creative solutions and collaborative approaches with good interpersonal skills to engage, motivate and encourage others through organisational and industrial changes. Sherene's achievements and contributions earned her international recognition as one of the 50 “Outstanding Women in Healthcare” at the World Health and Wellness Congress 2017. She is also a recipient of the “30 Women Achievers and Leaders of Malaysia” at the Golden Globe Tigers Award 2017.

An ardent believer in accentuating the power of developing human capital, Sherene perceives value in building industry relationships and networks, and hence carries these ideals with her into her current role. Sherene holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Durham (United Kingdom) and a Bachelor of Business Studies (Hons) in Accounting & Finance from the University of Limerick (Republic of Ireland).

Sherene is correspondingly passionate about her role in contributing to Malaysia’s nation building efforts while at the same time balancing her career being a dedicated wife and a mother of two.

In March of 2016, Pam Frank joined Children's Mercy Hospital as their Director of International Services. She bring to the organization more than 20 years of experience in global business development for both healthcare startups as well as nonprofit teaching hospitals. Her expertise in international medicine at academic medical centers emphasizes international patient referrals and global physician advisory services for the purpose of increasing a hospital's exports, branding, innovation and physician as well as community outreach.

Pam has worked with many top ranked U.S. teaching hospitals, including: Boston Children's Hospital, Tufts Medical Center, NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center (New York), Children's Cancer Center Egypt 57357, and the University of Minnesota Medical Center. She has also been a senior advisor to The Association for Health Research & Development (Buenos Aires), EIFIT University's School of Medicine (Medellin), Medical Tourism Training Inc. (Boston) and Global Emerging Medical Services (Saudi Arabia). She has lectured throughout the U.S. and internationally on the globalization of healthcare and medical travel.

Pam began on the manufacturing side of global business as a manager for Latin America with telecom and medical equipment companies. In 1995, she shifted her regional focus from manufacturing to healthcare services, notably telemedicine and medical travel. As Director of International Services at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, she launched in 1997 their first international patient and telemedicine programs. In 1999, she joined Best Doctors as Vice President of Business Development, a provider of employee health benefits, offering innovative healthcare services to more than 15 million members worldwide. In this capacity, she helped transition a start up company through M&A; and restructured their Saudi Arabian PPO/TPA services. In 2006, she returned to the academic side of international health services as a Director at Harvard affiliated Boston Children's Hospital where she doubled the growth of the program to $50 million. In her capacity as an independent consultant, Pam developed healthcare partnerships between foreign government and corporations to add an “international twist” to her clients' existing strategies for technology transfer and commercialization.

Pam has conducted business in over 20 countries and lived in Spain, Turkey, and Mexico. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese, holds a B.A from the University of Colorado in Boulder and received her MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management.

Amongst her many civic contributions, she serves on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Association of Greater Boston, co-founded Boston's International Film Festival and Boston's Room to Read Chapter. She is an avid rower, skier, climber and ballet enthusiast.

Ilan Geva is a global branding and consumer behavior expert who provides consulting, teaching, training and help in developing and activating all brand touchpoints. He develops and creates Brand platforms including brand vision, strategy and personality, using strategic branding solutions for multinational, national and regional entities. Much of the work focuses on internal branding and understanding the consumers’ view of the brand. His work has won over 100 industry awards around the world.

Ilan teaches Branding at the University of Chicago and Consumer Behavior & Marketing at DePaul University. He is invited to speak at many international conferences. He helped many countries, doctors, hospitals and healthcare providers solidify their brands while working with some of the largest and best-known Healthcare and travel brands in the US and abroad.

Ilan visited 45 countries, and worked in many of them on 4 continents.

Jason Morgan is a Global Health and Wellness leader with broad expertise in Strategic Design, Program Implementation, Business Development and Account Management. Jason has a distinguished track record of developing, delivering, enhancing and managing global and domestic employee wellness initiatives in Fortune 500 companies as well as serving as a subject matter expert for corporate health & wellness consulting.

Within his roles of creating strategic direction for corporate wellness programs, he has the unique skill set of establishing the global corporate strategy and delivering employee wellness programs worldwide at Mars, Inc.

Given his natural ability with people and his confident, energetic, and outgoing nature, he has built and managed highly effective teams, mentored numerous colleagues and clients, and established a solid reputation as an industry leader.

Jason seeks to transform the approach to corporate health & Wellness by empowering and inspiring individuals and organizations to take action with effective strategies that will look not just at health, but overall happiness as well.

Nicole Stec is the Employee Health and Wellness Manager for the City of Mesa and a frequent speaker about employer wellness programs. For the past ten years, Nicole has worked in community and corporate health settings, designing and implementing well-being programs for organizations, including healthcare systems, small businesses, the U.S. military and local government.

In her current role, Nicole is responsible for the City of Mesa’s Health and Wellness Center and the City’s worksite wellness program. The Wellness Center and Program offer several resources to City of Mesa employees and families, including chronic disease self-management programs, preventative health services, screenings and coaching.

Nicole is a Certified Wellness Practitioner (National Wellness Institute), an Integrative Health and Lifestyle specialist (University of Arizona) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength and Conditioning Association).

William Slocum, Executive Vice President for ESurgeries. Slocum is a longtime veteran of the insurance industry, having spent a decade consulting for middle-market clients in all areas of insurance, employee benefits and risk management before joining ESurgeries. William also was an integral part of forming the industry we now know as “Referenced Based Pricing”.

In an article he wrote for the Council of Insurance Agent and Brokers (CIAB) William remarked, “We spend a lot of time figuring out how to reduce the costs of healthcare but little asking why medical services are so expensive in the first place.” (Leaders Edge Magazine March 2015)

Residents of Shreveport, LA, William and his lovely wife of 29 years, they have two boys that attend his Alma Matter; LSU. Their favorite pass-time is family; whether backpacking in Montana or skiing in Colorado they always look forward to the next family adventure. “Lately my hobby has become cooking”, he adds “you can’t say your from Louisiana but don’t know how to cook.”

Suzanne Webb is the Founder and CEO of Exclusive Surgeries Solutions, LLC. After spending 15 years in the Ambulatory Surgery Center marketplace Ms. Webb found the place where the safest surgical procedures are performed by the best surgeons. She has spent the last 3 years developing a surgery solution and one where the best surgeons and Ambulatory Surgery Centers provide safe and effective surgeries. Exclusive Surgeries Solutions is a national solution that has relations with 1,000’s of Ambulatory Surgical Centers and surgeons that provide this exceptional level of care -- all at a price point that self-insured companies want.

Prior to Exclusive Surgeries Solutions, Ms. Webb founded Lone Peak Group, LLC in 2006 and opened a new division ASC Billing Specialist, LLC. These companies are both National Medical Billing & Consulting Companies which focus on teaching doctors and medical providers how to maximize profits. Over the past 7 years ASC & LPG has brought in over $300 million for their clients. In 2012 contracts have already been signed to increase revenues by 54%. The company philosophy is to use out-of-network benefits to increase revenues and generate higher profits. The consulting arm of the company has held positions as administrator of Ambulatory Surgery Centers and all aspects of an ASC to create proper operations and procedures. The companies have worked with hundreds of medical professionals nationally with a large base in CA and now TX. There are also clients in MD, PA, NY, IL, GA, AZ, OR, OH, FL, and almost every state. Understanding how to be profitable in these changing times is important to all ASCs and we want everyone to understand these principles. The billing company was sold in 2013.

From 1996 to 2001, Ms. Webb held the role of Chief Financial Officer for three hospitals chains at Universal Health Services, King of Prussia, PA, Behavioral Healthcare, Nashville, TN and Iasis Healthcare, Nashville, TN. At every facility the challenge was the same: How to increase revenues. There were increases over 30% in these facilities due to understanding insurance companies and how to maximize revenues. Contract negotiations, budgeting and cash collections have always been the driving force and with the knowledge gained from working at UHS, these principles have continued to reap rewards.

From 1984 to 1996, Ms. Webb was Accountant/Controller at UHS, a fortune 500 hospital management company in King of Prussia PA. As an accountant, she assisted in helping the company go public. Her areas of responsibility included an Accounting Manager involved in everything from payroll to hospital consolidation. In 1984 when Ms. Webb started with the company they owed only 26 hospitals and when she left the company had grown to 45 acute centers and 18 behavioral health centers. After achieving the goals Ms. Webb had set for herself at Corporate she requested a move to a psych facility and quickly turned that facility to one of the most profitable within the behavioral division. Corporate quickly introduced her strategies as the proper way to bill behavioral healthcare. She was promoted to Controller after only a year at the facility.

Ms. Webb was educated at Brigham Young University, Provo UT, Villanova, PA and Bryn Mawr College, PA from 1979-1984.

She belongs to the NAPW Phoenix Chapter and serves as President, ASU Mentors, Peoria Chamber of Commerce, Glendale Chamber of Commerce, Glendale City Sports Volunteer Coach, Boy Scouts of America, Women’s in Healthcare Leadership Organization, Top 200 Women in Healthcare. She is a Board Member of the Peoria Chamber of Commerce, June 2016 and Treasurer in March, 2017.

Her activities include raising her six children, and 4 grandchildren helps to keep her balanced.

Sarah has over 15 years of international experience in benefits, compensation, internal communication, and change management.

Currently she is accountable for Total Rewards and Customer Care within KinderCare Education, a provider of early childcare education with 30,000 employees across the United States. Previously, she was accountable for Eddie Bauer’s Benefits, Compensation, Employee Communication, and Recognition Programs across the US, Canada, and Hong Kong.

Through managing the balance of fiscal accountability and employee engagement, Sarah has a proven track record of increasing appreciation for Total Rewards in her organizations while driving down erroneous spend. During her tenure at KinderCare Education, Sarah’s innovative work in cost containment has helped the company out-perform the industry average on benefits cost mitigation, and her creativity in building a meaningful total rewards package has enabled the company to stand out as a total rewards leader in the Early Childhood Education industry.

At Eddie Bauer, the work Sarah and her team accomplished helped to secure the company's spot at number 19 on Outside Magazine's "top 50 places to work" list.

Sarah is a Board Member of a Portland based not-for-profit, Start Making A Reader Today (S.M.A.R.T). The group is committed to helping children develop a love of books and reading through one-on-one attention. A passionate supporter of people, Sarah is also the author of a regular blog (www.sarahredgrave.com) dedicated to supporting people from all backgrounds succeed in navigating their careers.

Bob Gearhart Jr. is the third generation to lead DCW Group and has reshaped the company into a Next Generation Benefits Firm. He and the team at DCW Group are committed to delivering high performing employee benefit plans to the market, one client at a time. Bob’s goal is to reverse the hyperinflation of healthcare that has led to middle class wage stagnation over the last 20 years.

Bob is also a nationally recognized speaker on Healthcare Reform and Employee Benefits. He frequently appears on radio, television, and in print to provide insight into the ever-changing landscape surrounding healthcare in America. In 2017, Bob was invited to El Salvador by that nation’s Ministry of Health to provide feedback on the healthcare facilities and providers in their growing Healthcare Abroad Network for patients around the world.

Ben Krambeck serves as Chief Executive Officer of ClaimDOC, LLC. In this capacity, Mr. Krambeck is responsible for all staffing decisions, sales, marketing and distribution channel management. Mr. Krambeck was a co-founder of ClaimDOC in January 2013.

Prior to his time at ClaimDOC, Mr. Krambeck held a dual role as Regional Vice President with The TJS Group, a division of TrueNorth Companies, and also served the firm as a self-funded medical plan subject matter expert for the Top 100 insurance brokerage headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Mr. Krambeck served on the Iowa Association of Health Underwriters Board of Directors from 2006-2009, and his career began in the insurance industry as a Group Sales Representative for Sun Life Financial.

Mr. Krambeck is a licensed insurance agent and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa in 1997. He resides in Des Moines, IA with his wife, Jennifer, and his two daughters Emma and Hannah.

An intentionally small “concierge” consulting firm offering a unique approach to benefits management to a select group of clients, BenefitStrategies and Mitigate Partners provide Insurance, Risk Management and Employee Benefits Consulting.

Serving as a Population Health Manager specializing in Cost Containment and Risk Mitigation, the partners pride themselves on their ability to be creative in designing innovative, optimum plans and helping companies and individuals make the most of their financial resources by serving as a Fiduciary and Steward of health plan dollars. With more than 25 years of experience in employee and executive benefits consulting and financial planning experience, Carl offers clients improved cash flow, saves money and retains top talent with well-structured employee benefit and financial planning solutions. He is also an accomplished speaker and author.

After spending the last 5 years searching for the best in class Healthcare Solutions to solve the Healthcare Jigsaw Puzzle, by integrating these to significantly reduce his clients’ health plan spend, Carl created and is trademarking FairCost, a health plan design he pioneered.Carl has successfully networked with other trusted partners/vendors such as insurance companies, PBM’s, TPA’s, health care destinations, employee benefit communication companies, and onsite clinics. To the delight of his clients, he has a proven track record of bringing comprehensive High Performance Healthcare Solutions to businesses regarding healthcare costs, benefit design, improved medical outcomes, and improved employee communications. Carl is an employer advocate and provides easily understood solutions and encouragement to employers.

He was selected as one of the first group of 30 forward-leaning Benefits Advisors in the U.S. to participate as a Charter Member in the Health Rosetta Certification Program for Benefits Advisors. The Health Rosetta is a blueprint of best practices for intelligently purchasing health benefits that’s been sourced from the most forward leaning benefits purchasers of all types around the country. The certification program helps ensure he stays at the front of the market to better serve his clients.

Dr. Gillian Barclay is the health industry specialist in the State of Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. In this role, she serves as the lead expert for health sector expansion and investments for economic development in the state. Previously she was vice president of the Aetna Foundation where she led the development and execution of the foundation’s national and international strategies to improve community and economic development outcomes. She was a frequent spokesperson for the foundation, presenting to various audiences in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining the Aetna Foundation, Dr. Barclay was advisor for health systems strengthening at the Regional Office of the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization. There, she worked with governments and other stakeholders on strategic approaches to improve health and human development in low and middle-income countries. Previously, she was the manager for health programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she was responsible for the impact of the foundation's investments in health.

Dr. Barclay is a recognized expert in health and human development in the United States and developing countries. She is a member of expert roundtables at the National Academy of Medicine, under the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and has taught at the Harvard School of Public Health and the City University of New York. She has also conducted research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Channing Laboratory and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Barclay holds a doctorate in public health from Harvard University and a master of public health from the University of Michigan. Her doctorate of dental surgery degree was earned at the University of Detroit Mercy, and she completed her residency at New York Hospital in New York.

Doug Geinzer is a skilled and successful entrepreneur who was built and sold several businesses throughout his career. Most of his success has been found in the healthcare, technology and employment industries. Today, Doug considers himself more of a social entrepreneur spending a significant amount of his time improving Southern Nevada’s healthcare infrastructure and positioning Las Vegas to become the most globally recognized health & wellness destination.

As CEO of the Las Vegas HEALS (Healthcare | Education | Advocacy | Leadership | for Southern Nevada), Doug delivers on their mission “To foster strategic alliances in the healthcare community, collaborating on workforce issues and being a proactive force for legislative initiatives to improve access and the delivery of quality healthcare in Southern Nevada.” Doug has bee the recipient of many awards including Entrepreneur of the Year, Healthcare Hero, Innovative Business Leader, Top 40 under 40, “most influential” in employment and a ‘who’s who’ in healthcare. He is a past president of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Business Council and sits on the boards of numerous organizations.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Doug relocated to Las Vegas in 1993 to build a media company he later sold to Cox and Landmark Communications. Recruiting Nevada, another media company Doug developed was sold to the Greenspun Media Company in 2008, allowing Doug to focus on Las Vegas HEALS. He is married and is raising a multi-lingual young daughter. As an avid water sports fanatic, you will often find Doug stand-up paddling or boating on Lake Sahara.

Dr. Stowe Shoemaker (Ph.D., Cornell University) is the Dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and a Lincy Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with extensive background in pricing, revenue management, consumer behavior, and customer loyalty programs. He has worked with British Airways on their pricing strategy and trained all their revenue managers. He also worked with Accor, Hilton, Landry’s, and Hyatt on their loyalty programs.

Dr. Shoemaker has incorporated his knowledge of hospitality to help healthcare professionals work on patient satisfaction. He held a joint appointment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and is currently working with them on other research. Locally, he is working with UNLV Medical School.

Dr. Shoemaker’s research has won numerous awards, and he has published two marketing textbooks: Marketing Leadership in Hospitality and Tourism: Strategies and Tactics for a Competitive Advantage and Marketing Essentials in Hospitality and Tourism: Foundations and Practices.

Since 1996 Dr. Shoemaker has been on the executive education faculty of Cornell University where he has taught courses in strategic pricing, revenue management, strategic marketing for hotels and restaurants, and customer loyaly.

Cheryl Smith is the Director of Specialty Market Sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Through a variety of global business sales strategies, industry relations activities and strategic opportunities, Smith is responsible for niche travel market sales including international meetings, incentives, congresses and exhibitions (MICE), health and wellness travel, diversity and LGBT travel, cultural tourism and wedding and romance travel. She also oversees World Trade Center Las Vegas sales for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Prior to joining the LVCVA in 2012, Smith was the president and managing partner of Banyan Communications Group, LLC, a Las Vegas-based consulting firm specializing in health care, physician practice marketing, and strategic business development. Her 20-year background in the health care industry includes roles as the director of marketing and the system-wide media spokeswoman for HCA Sunrise Health System and the director of public relations and marketing for Good Shepherd Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Advocate Health Care, near Chicago.

Cheryl has marketed numerous medical specialties including neuroscience, neurosurgery, neurology, orthopedic, cardiovascular, oncology, emergency and trauma, diagnostic imaging, ambulatory surgery, ophthalmology, rehabilitation, behavioral health, bariatric, obstetric, pediatric, outpatient and preventative health and wellness services.

Cheryl holds a Masters in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications/Print Journalism from Western Illinois University. She is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and certified in Healthcare Medical Meeting Compliance (HMCC) and is also a published author and speaker. She serves on the boards of the Las Vegas Hospitality Association, Las Vegas HEALS and Family to Family Nevada, and is a member of the Las Vegas Spa Association and the past-chair of the Healthcare Special Interest Group of the Las Vegas Chapter of the American Marketing Association. She is currently a member of the MPI Medical Meeting Advisory Panel and sits on the Wellness Advisory Board of the Global Wellness Institute. Smith also has served on the boards of several local philanthropic organizations. In 2014, she was named one of Las Vegas’ “Women to Watch” by Vegas Inc.

Elizabeth Acord Maribito is the Executive Director of Oncology and Hematology for Cedars-Sinai Medical Network. The former Vice President of Oncology/Operations at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Western Regional Medical Center (Western) was recruited by Cedars-Sinai in 2015 to help integrate their newly acquired outpatient oncology services into the hospital-based cancer center and create one unified service line.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, with a Master of Science degree in medical informatics from Northwestern University, her academic background allowed her to open doors to collaborations with other major hospital systems, as well as, technology companies.

Ultimately, her experience building hospitals, programs and bridges prepared her for the exciting role she holds today at Cedars-Sinai Health System. In her short time at Cedars-Sinai, she has overseen the design of architectural plans for three major expansions, two electronic health record implementations and more change is on the horizon.

Dr. Thomas E. Price, an Orthopedic surgeon, most recently served as the 23rd Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). He brought to the Department a lifetime of service and a dedication to advancing the quality of health care in America – both as a physician and policymaker. Dr. Price is excited about opportunities to use his vast experience and unique expertise in healthcare and public policy to help actively shape improvements in technology and throughout the financing and delivery systems.

His first calling was to care for patients. Dr. Price received his Bachelor and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Michigan and completed his General Surgery Internship and Orthopedic Surgery Residency at Emory University. After his training, Dr. Price – a third generation physician following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather – began a solo medical practice in Atlanta, Georgia, which would eventually grow to be one of the largest, non-academic orthopedic practices in the country, which he led as Chairman of the Board. During his 20+ years as a practicing physician, he also served as Medical Director of the Orthopedic Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital as well as an Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine.

As with many physicians and health care providers, Dr. Price’s experience caring for patients gave him a unique perspective about the impact of public policy on the practice of medicine. Eager to broaden the impact he could have on improving access to quality health care, Dr. Price ran for public office and was elected to four terms in the Georgia State Senate – during which time he was chosen by his colleagues to serve as Senate Minority Whip and later as the first Republican Senate Majority Leader in the history of Georgia.

Dr. Price also served as the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District from northern suburban Atlanta. He held this office from 2005-2017 and earned a reputation amongst his colleagues for being a tireless problem solver and the go-to expert on health care matters. During his congressional career, Dr. Price served in various leadership roles including Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee and Chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

Committed to promoting positive solutions under principled leadership, Dr. Price remains a fierce advocate for a patient-centered health care system that adheres to six key principles: affordability, accessibility, quality, choices, innovation, and responsiveness.

Dr. Price and his wife, Betty, have lived in the Metro-Atlanta area for nearly 40 years. They have one adult son.

John Doerr is an engineer, acclaimed venture capitalist, and the chairman of Kleiner Perkins. For more than 37 years, John has served entrepreneurs with ingenuity and optimism, bringing ideas worth spreading to disruptive leaders and teams.

In 2018, John authored Measure What Matters, a handbook for setting and achieving audacious goals. Through his book and platform, WhatMatters.com, he shares valuable stories and lessons from innovators.

John was an original investor and board member at Google and Amazon, helping to create over 500,000 jobs and the world’s second and third most valuable companies. He’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs reimagine the future, from health care transformation to machine learning. Outside of Kleiner Perkins, John works with social entrepreneurs for change in public education, the climate crisis, and global poverty. John serves on the board of the Obama Center and ONE.org.

Thomas Owens, MD, is the President of the Duke University Hospital, Senior Vice President for Duke University Health System, and an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the Duke University School of Medicine.

Over the past decade, Dr. Owens has made important and varied contributions to the success of DUH and DUHS. He led the work to redesign, realign and in some cases reinvent the way we deliver care in many areas of clinical practice. This work has already resulted in significant reductions in readmissions and lengths of stay and enhanced patient experience. He also served in a critically important leadership role with clinical providers and leaders in the planning, preparation and implementation of Maestro Care, one of the most fundamental transformations across DUHS since its inception in 1998.

Dr. Owens’ leadership in patient safety and quality management has resulted in marked quantifiable improvements across multiple clinical quality measures and CMS core measures. In addition under Dr. Owens’ leadership, Duke Primary Care (DPC) has become the leading primary care network in the greater Triangle area while consistently exceeding quality, growth and financial targets. He has also played a pivotal role in helping shape our approach and capabilities in population health improvement.

Dr. Owens received his MD with honors from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in 1995. He completed an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics internship and residency at Duke in 1999, a General Internal Medicine fellowship in 2000, and served as Chief Resident in 2001. He has held a number of positions of increased responsibility over the years including Chief Medical Officer for DUH and chief of the DUHS Hospital Medicine program prior to being named Chief Medical Officer for DUHS in 2012.

Tom has received numerous awards and honors including the Eugene A. Stead, Jr. Award for Outstanding Teaching Faculty (2004, 2008), Samuel L. Katz Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching (2002) and the Duke University Presidential Award for Executive Leadership (2006).