Brian Corvino
Mary Lacquaniti
Lelia O’Connor
Danita Sutton, Ph.D.
MENTORING AND SHAPING THE CAREERS OF OTHERS ARE VENERABLE AND ADMIRABLE TALENTS. MENTORING TAKES PATIENCE, FORESIGHT, AND UNSELFISH DEVOTIONTO OTHERS’ SUCCESS and is a skill that is often unheralded — until now. We salute those who take the time from their own busy careers to help others develop their paths to success.
It is an understatement to say Brian Corvino has always been wise beyond his years. In 2006, at the age of 26, he became a partner in up and coming consulting firm PharmaStrat. At 21, he wrote a thesis using Michael Porter’s work to predict trends in the pharmaceutical industry — most of which have proven accurate. At 19, he worked fulltime as an intern in the industry while attending college — not for money, but because he was so interested in healthcare. An inspiration to anyone he meets, Mr. Corvino leads his life under the “pay it forward” mantra, helping more than 30 students launch their careers in the pharmaceutical industry by serving as a mentor, friend, and sometimes boss. While a strong believer in the potential of innovative healthcare solutions to improve health and quality of life, Mr. Corvino notes that the explosion of technological innovation presents challenges, such as finding the appropriate levels of resource allocation toward funding these advances. Paramount in meeting these challenges, he believes, will be to continue to attract, retain, mentor, and inspire the next generation of leaders. Mr. Corvino is a strong believer in lifelong learning and has an innate desire to actively explore a diverse range of experiences and learnings in a continuous pursuit of excellence, knowledge, and adventure. He says he learns something new from the people he meets, the places he visits, and the challenges and opportunities that are presented to him. And he is excited by the activities that allow him to operate on the fringe of his comfort zone. An extrovert by nature, he derives energy and inspiration from those around him, particularly those driven by ambition, passion, and dedication, no matter what their pursuits. His unending enthusiasm motivates those around him. As partner of pharmaceutical market research services firm PharmaStrat, Mr. Corvino has helped to build a culture focused on continuous learning, and his team is making strides in infusing enthusiasm, analytic curiosity, innovative thought processes, and empathy among the clients and communities that it serves. Additionally, Mr. Corvino serves as a volunteer on his college alumni board and as an advisor and national faculty member for his college fraternity. His own mentor and role model is his business partner at PharmaStrat, Phil Patrick, who introduced him to the healthcare industry by sponsoring him for various internships in the field while Mr. Corvino was an undergraduate; Mr. Patrick also served as an advisor on his honors thesis. It was Mr. Patrick who instilled in Mr. Corvino the desire to devote time and effort toward helping clients, colleagues, and the community achieve worthwhile goals to improve patient care. GETTING PERSONAL Brian J. Corvino is Partner at PharmaStrat Inc., (pharmastrat.com), Flemington, N..J., a consulting and market research services firm that provides insights and recommendations on the complex issues related to managed care and reimbursement of prescription drugs. He joined the firm in 2004 from Janssen Pharmaceutica, where he was a member of Johnson & Johnson’s Leadership Development Program in Business Analytics and served as a CNS specialty sales rep. Mr. Corvino began his lifesciences career at Morpace Pharma Group as an analyst in sales and marketing. BRIAN CORVINO DYNAMIC. NAME:Brian Corvino TITLE: Partner COMPANY: PharmaStrat Inc. EDUCATION: B.A., Magna Cum Laude with Honors, 2002, Moravian College; Executive Education Program, Harvard Business School DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: Oct. 4, 1979, Pen Argyl, Pa. ON HIS READING LIST: Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath; The Execution Premium, by Robert Kaplan and David Norton HOBBIES: Traveling with his wife on as many world adventures as budgets will support and minds and bodies will allow, including running marathons through Washington, D.C., canyoning in the Swiss Alps, hiking Le Cinque Terra in Italy, scuba diving in the Caribbean, and sea kayaking in the South Pacific Brian Corvino takes on each responsibility with unending enthusiasm, and he makes people around him feel motivated to make themselves and their organizations better. IN PURSUIT OF DISCOVERY PASSIONATE. The Road to Success: PatientCentric Approaches Across the Brand Journey WebCast Network Register at: www.pharmavoice.com/patientcentric Sign up now at: www.pharmavoice.com/patientcentric DISCUSSION AND EXAMPLESWILL FOCUS ON: . Developing the brand vision and estimating market potential . Creating the clinical strategy . Preparing the HEOR and market access strategy . Planning and evaluating promotion . Training and allocating the sales force . Managing brand performance . Determining and aligning compensation Given today’s harsh commercial realities, success requires expanded capabilities for understanding patient needs and preferences throughout the entire product lifecycle. What benefits can be realized? Why is a patient centric view essential? How have successful marketers leveraged this rich information source to better inform strategy decisions, from discovery and clinical trials through patent expiry? For industry executives who need to gain a competitive edge, a patient centric view is essential. Register for this must attend event today! Join IMS and industry experts as they review results from new IMS research as well as highlight real world examples of “The Road to Success: Patient Centric Approaches Across the Brand Journey.” FREE WebSeminar Sponsored by The MENTORS NAME:Danita Sutton, Ph.D. TITLE: Executive VP COMPANY:MedErgy HealthGroup EDUCATION: B.A., Biochemistry, Smith College; M.S. and Ph.D., Pharmacology, Yale University DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: March 11, 1966; Milford, Mass. ON HER READING LIST: Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy; The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini FAMILY: Husband, James, and 5yearold twin sons, Ethan and Jason FIRST JOB: Laboratory Director, Cancer Institute of New Jersey HOBBIES: Reading novels, decorating her home PERFECTIONIST. CANDID. People love working with Dr. Danita Sutton so much that some have made a point of having her as a boss more than once. Dr. Sutton empowers the people who work for her by believing in them, finding out what career paths they wish to follow, and then putting them in a position to get there. She leads by example and never hesitates to guide and instruct those who are unclear about which direction to take. Her daily dose of humor, positive attitude, and generally good natured personality add to a pleasant working environment and one in which her staff is enthusiastic and accepts challenges readily. And her energy, commitment, knowledge, experience, and excellence in medical and scientific affairs inspire all those who work with her. She, in turn, is inspired by those who demonstrate poise under pressure, are honest and professional in all they do, and are able to smile and laugh in the worst circumstances. She points to her boss, MedErgy President and CEO Julia Ralston, whom she has worked for at two different medical marketing agencies, as the most significant influence on her career and says Ms. Ralston’s mentoring and support are behind her rise to the position of executive VP. A self described perfectionist in all aspects of her life, Dr. Sutton always emphasizes the importance of quality and ensures that everyone in the organization takes the time necessary to do the job right. She allows her reports to make mistakes and learn from them, and she shows them that to lead means understanding what it takes to get the job done. At the same time, though, she rolls up her sleeves and will do the most mundane tasks to meet a deadline. Dr. Sutton is passionate about the medical communications field and, having been with the agency almost since its inception, she has been integral in building MedErgy’s reputation and success in the marketplace. Dr. Sutton is mindful of the constant changes in the healthcare environment regarding regulations, such as those surrounding authorship, for example. At the same time, she says agencies must be mindful of the intense media and government agency scrutiny that the industry is under. Drawing on her knowledge and experience in medical and scientific affairs, she helps clients navigate these issues and sets a tone of trust. Direct and honest in all interactions, Dr. Sutton has instilled a policy of full transparency in the agency’s dealings with clients, outside authors, and editors of journals. As important as doing her job to the best of her ability and enjoying career success is being a passionate, involved mother of her twin sons. And so, next on Dr. Sutton’s list of goals is to find a new hobby that will involve the whole family. GETTING PERSONAL Danita Sutton, Ph.D., is Executive VP and a Founding Member of MedErgy HealthGroup, (medergygroup.com), Yardley, Pa., a medical marketing agency that combines scientific expertise with strategic marketing. Dr. Sutton was hired as Senior VP, Medical and Scientific Services in 2002 from OCC North America Inc., where she held a variety of positions, including VP, Medical Services. Dr. Danita SUTTON Dr. Danita Sutton is committed to ensuring her employees’ high morale and career growth by creating a motivational atmosphere centered on teamwork. CANDID COMMUNICATOR The MENTORS A leader, mentor, and friend to many, Mary Lacquaniti just gets things done. She is defined by her deeply caring approach, her unmatched passion to lead and do the right thing, and her vision for a better future for all. In leading the former Healthcare Marketing & Communications Council (HMC), she has been the pillar of effectiveness in terms of time management, focusing everyone’s efforts on making worthwhile contributions to the industry, consolidating strengths to ensure greater productivity, concentrating efforts, and always making effective decisions on behalf of a broad spectrum of people and organizations. Her focused approach has yielded important landmark results. Her success can be attributed to her cando spirit, her work ethic, and her passion for people, the organization, and the industry. These traits led to her pro motion to the position of associate director in 2001 and, in 2004, to taking the helm as the executive director of the HMC. As a leader, Ms. Lacquaniti worked with the board and countless committees to better align the organization while keeping a finger on the pulse of the endless changes taking place in the industry. She built and maintained the momentum around consolidating the respective resources of HMC, the Medical Marketing Association (MMA), and Midwest Healthcare Marketing Association (MHMA) into one national organization. The outcome was a success and in January 2008, the Healthcare Communication & Marketing Association (HCMA) was launched as a nonprofit, national organization with a focus on education and training for healthcare marketing and communications professionals. This was one of her biggest professional challenges, but also one of the most satisfying since it was a test of her professional and personal skills. She achieved this feat by ensuring that the best interests of each organization were met. Along the way, she had to learn a new set of skills, including complex nonprofit law regarding dissolution and mergers. The consistent leadership and mentorship by Ms. Lacquaniti on behalf of the healthcare industry has led to direct tangible results in the building of a better and more inclusive association at every level, the reaffirmation and building of values that will help those across the industry succeed together for decades to come, and the investment in the industry’s most priceless resource — its people. Even while overseeing such phenomenal change, Ms. Lacquaniti has faced a huge personal hurdle. In April 2007, she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, and she describes her battle with the disease as the toughest challenge she has ever faced. After much discussion with colleagues and family, Ms. Lacquaniti traveled to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for chemotherapy and a stemcell transplant. This was an incredibly difficult nine months for Ms. Lacquaniti, but her strength, faith, and the support of her family gave her the impetus to battle the disease. The first round of chemotherapy was not fully effective, so she had to endure a subsequent round of treatment, which was worse than the first, with severe side effects — infections, fevers, heart problems, pneumonia, drug reactions, and so on. After enduring all that, she received more bad news: the leukemia was up to 24%. There was concern that she would not be strong enough to handle the transplant, but after anxious deliberation it was agreed that if she could gain some strength, the transplant would proceed, even without Ms. Lacquaniti being in remission. Her brother, John, had been found to be a perfect match, and he traveled to Houston for the donation process. Finally on Oct. 11, 2007, Ms. Lacquaniti’s “new” birthday, the process began. With the first 100 days post transplant being the most precarious, Ms. Lacquaniti went to the hospital for outpatient treatment each day. On day 96, her liver enzymes shot up, requiring a pro longed stay in Houston. Finally, in late February of this year she got the news she and her family had long been waiting for — the trans plant was a success. While she is still recuperating, she has returned to work for HCMA as the executive director, having found interim management for MMA and HMC during her treatment. She ensures a healthy balance between work and her personal life and counts each minute of every day as a blessing. In everything, family comes first for Ms. Lacquaniti. Her infectious smile and her resolve are great inspirations to everyone. She is always positive, looking for that silver lining. To Ms. Lacquaniti inspiring people is something that happens when one least expects it. She draws inspiration from people who are genuine; from those who have a spiritual nature; who can share a message clearly and can also listen carefully and completely; people who laugh out loud, showing that they truly enjoy life; and those who live every minute and will never regret that they didn’t do something they would have enjoyed. GETTING PERSONAL Mary L. Lacquaniti is the Executive Director of the Healthcare Communication & Marketing Association (thehcma.org), Mt. Royal, N.J., an amalgamation of Healthcare Marketing & Communications Council (HMC), the Medical Marketing Association (MMA),and Midwest Healthcare Marketing Association (MHMA). Ms. Lacquaniti joined HMC in March 1999 as a Program Manager and assumed the position of Associate Director on Jan. 1, 2001. In September 2004, she was appointed to the Executive Director position. She has held various positions in sales and management throughout her career, including pharmaceutical product sales. MARY Lacquaniti NAME:Mary Lacquaniti TITLE: Executive Director COMPANY:Healthcare Communication & Marketing Association (HCMA) EDUCATION: B.A., Duquesne University DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: Dec. 19, 1954; Erie, Pa. ON HER READING LIST: Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett; The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren; The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory; Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende; Standing Still, by Kelly Simmons FAMILY: Husband of 31 years, Frank, who has been in the pharmaceutical industry for 31 years — one year as a practicing pharmacist, then the past 30 years with Merck; two children: son Frankie, 28, daughter in law Stephanie; and daughter Michele, 25, who took a year off from her career to be her mother’s primary caregiver and personal angel during Ms. Lacquaniti’s battle with leukemia, and who is now working at Rice University POSITIVE. NICE. Mary Lacquaniti leads by caring more than everybody else, being incredibly effective in her execution, and always doing the right thing — even when no one is looking. A SPIRIT OF OPTIMISM 2008 ANNUAL CONFERENCE September 2124, 2008 . Hyatt Regency Dallas . Dallas, Texas Register online at www.scdm.org. For more information contact [email protected] Society for Clinical Data Manag ment 555 E. Wells St., Suite 1100 Milwaukee, WI 532023823 (414) 2260362 (414) 2763349 (fax) www.scdm.org Keynote Presentation by: David Cottrell President and CEO of CornerStone Leadership Insitutue Author of Monday Morning Leadership SCDM0508535 130 J u l y / Au gu s t 2008 PharmaVOICE The MENTORS Building a business based on a philosophy of turning negatives into positives has enabled Lelia O’Connor to have an enormous impact on the careers and outlooks of those she has mentored. Ms. O’Connor is an intuitive life and business coach who guides with compassion and strategic acumen and helps those she mentors to reach their full potential, both personally and professionally. Committed and compassionate, Ms. O’Connor will do whatever it takes to help a client break through the inner barriers to achieve success and happiness. And she judges her own success on her ability to help others be more successful and have more meaningful lives. Her mentorship philosophy centers on emphasizing the need to take a more relaxed approach to work and life, helping to reduce stress and thus enabling people to make better decisions, be more creative, and solve problems more effectively. A mentor to countless individuals in the lifesciences industry, Ms. O’Connor has helped people become more authentic leaders. By focusing on peoples’ strengths and not their weaknesses, she helps to bring out the best in them. Many of the individuals she has mentored have gone on to become honored as Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, recipients of Fortune’s Best Boss’ and winners of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year’ among other awards. Having three of her clients be named as HBA Woman of the Year was, she says, one of the highlights of her career. In today’s frantic business world where the bottom line is often is over emphasized, one of the biggest challenges is to inspire people to lead from the heart and to use their businesses and profits for the greater good. Businesses are not only about making profits, they are a vehicle to improve the quality of life for the global community. What truly inspires Ms. O’Connor are people who are willing to roll up their sleeves, open their hearts, and make the workplace and the world a more compassionate environment. In her own life, and through her company, Ms. O’Connor puts this philosophy into practice, supporting humanitarian causes throughout the world by volunteering and providing financial support. GETTING PERSONAL Lelia O’Connor is President of Ngal So Authentic Leader ship Group (ngalso.com), New York, a training and coaching company that helps people achieve extraordinary business results by integrating higher values of ser vice, visionary leadership, greater fulfillment, and meaning into the workplace. She is an internationally recognized executive career coach and leadership consultant with more than 20 years of experience. She has a broad roster of clients in the life LELIA O’CONNOR NAME: Lelia O’Connor TITLE: President COMPANY:Ngal So Authentic Leadership Group PLACE OF BIRTH: Hartford, Conn. ON HER READING LIST: How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, by David Bornstein NEXT ON HER LIST TO ACCOMPLISH: Publish a book on “Enlightened Leadership” THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE IN HER CAREER: International travel to the developing world where she visited villages with no running water, no electricity, no basic healthcare, and in some cases children without shoes; and yet for her they have a simplicity and pureness of spirit and a joy for life COMPASSIONATE. POSITIVE VIBRATIONS Lelia O’Connor’s holistic approach to mentoring has made a difference to countless individuals and their organizations. sciences industry, and she has coached Olympic athletes, entreprenuers, award winning team, and individuals. Ms.O’Connor serves as President of a global humanitarian foundation that works to alleviate poverty, protect the environment, and create a culture of peace and nonviolence. She also represents a humanitarian world peace foundation to the United Nations. COMMITTED.
