Biography

Vatsala is a strategy, innovation and operational excellence leader with business, technical and organizational skills focusing in the biopharmaceutical industry, with 16+ years of experience. She has worked in 4 different biopharmaceutical companies, from R&D to clinical and commercial manufacturing operations.

Worked in 4 different biopharmaceutical companies across 3 continents. Skilled at driving transformation roadmaps from R&D to commercial manufacturing. Expertise around process simplification and optimization, implementation of best in-class technology and digital solutions and developing high performing organizations. A strategic thinker who is able to translate vision and strategy into operational solutions. Passionate about innovation and technology, global networking, benchmarking and experience in multicultural environments (North America, South America, Europe and Asia).

Vatsala is currently the Operational Excellence Lead for Sanofi’s R&D North America Hub, where she is responsible for driving Operational Excellence roadmaps in North America and global R&D. Prior to her current role, she held various Operational Excellence roles within Sanofi Genzyme in the Commercial Manufacturing Operations business. Before joining Sanofi Genzyme, Vatsala worked for Shire and Millipore in various functions from R&D to clinical and commercial manufacturing operations.

She holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University-Boston and Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has a digital mindset and is passionate about AI applications for the life science industry and has completed the Executive Program in Artificial Intelligence - Implications for Business Strategy from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Biography

Bill Wong is currently the AI and Data Analytics Practice Leader for Dell Technologies responsible for supporting Canadian commercial businesses and public institutions. He spends his time developing AI strategies for firms, providing guidance on how to accelerate AI development, worked with universities in advancing AI research, and publishes a quarterly AI newsletter focused on AI adoption in Canada.

Previously, Bill has held roles an enterprise architect in consulting and AI and analytics roles in development, and product management during his tenure at Dell, Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM. He also published numerous books and whitepapers on advanced analytics and data management and often speaks at conferences.

Biography

Biography

Biography

Biography

Angela L. Perri oversees the Business Transformation Office leading business alignment and strategy initiatives, planning and prioritization for key business efforts, multidisciplinary approaches for development and growth. She is the executive responsible for Organizational Performance and Project Management Office, Innovation tools, apps, and strategies, Digital Development including telehealth and RxWell, Internal Proprietary Clinical Software including product development and management.

Angela has 25 years of experience in managed health care. Prior to joining UPMC Health Plan in 2018, she served in senior executive leadership roles for several Fortune 100 organizations including UnitedHealth Group (Optum), Centene Corporation, and Amerigroup (an Anthem Company). She has led product and program development, strategic planning, eHealth, business development and growth for Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), Medicare Advantage and Special Needs Plans including dually eligible individuals and commercial products designing and implementing population health management programs for these MCOs/MBHOs in numerous states.

She is recognized nationally as an expert on population health program designs such as models of care for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), Foster Care (children), Managed Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and integrated behavioral health including the technology solutions supporting these strategies for value-based care efforts.

Biography

Biography

Cristina Duta is the Intelligent Automation Director at Aecom, passionate about Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Business Intelligence and business transformation. Cristina capitalizes on more than 10 years of experience in software development and more than 6 years in Intelligent Automation, delivering significant Digital Transformation programs across Telecom, Life Science, Banking and Manufacturing companies. 

In her current role, she focuses on leading, developing, championing, and building an automation first enterprise by identifying Intelligent Automation opportunities, ensuring an end-to-end governance and building a scalable operating model.  Cristina is an Intelligent Automation evangelist and thought leader and specialize in helping organizations to automate and scale their CoEs. She takes a holistic approach to digital transformation that brings humans and technology together, seamlessly.

Biography

Biography

José Pires serves as the Global Excellence & Innovation (E&I) Leader for Andeavor Corporation, where he oversees the global identification, prioritization and execution of mission critical business improvements and innovations that add value to the company, business partners and external clients in multiple markets.

Prior to his current role, Pires held Excellence and Innovation leadership positions in large, global companies in the electronics (Sony), semiconductor (Cymer-ASML), food (Nestlé) and infrastructure (Black & Veatch) industries. Throughout his career, Pires developed and refined E&I as an award winning program for innovation, leadership development, strategy execution and value creation globally.

Pires is an advisory board leader and keynote speaker for several global conferences on innovation, operational excellence, leadership development, strategy execution, business transformation, customer engagement and growth acceleration.

He holds a Bachelor in Engineering Physics from the University of Kansas and a Master in Business Administration focused in Investment Banking and Entrepreneurship from the University of San Diego.

Biography

Biography

Biography

My current role as Global Vice President of Manufacturing Strategy involves bringing outside-in and innovative improvements. Includes knowledge, expertise and process standardization across the Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain network focusing on critical choices on key technologies and capabilities aligned with customer needs.

Global Network footprint, Digital Manufacturing Strategy, End to End supply chain optimization, Agility programs, Culture of innovation, Change management, Operational Excellence and Performance/Program management are core foundational elements under my leadership. 

Biography

Chris Carpenter is the Vice President of Business Improvement at Turner. His team of internal consultants deliver high-impact management consulting and program management services to initiatives associated with the continuous improvement of the enterprise. Recent initiatives include working with senior management on large-scale business unit reorganizations, process transformation, technology strategy, merger integration, and organizational redesign. Chris’s consulting career spans 18 years and includes extensive experience advising c-suite executives. 

Chris joined Business Improvement in late 2007 but spent the four previous years working with Turner as the lead external consultant on a number of initiatives including a global, finance transformation initiative. Prior to working with Turner, Chris spent 10 years in management and technology consulting, holding a variety of regional, practice‐leadership responsibilities at Andersen Business Consulting, BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting), and 33West. His project work was concentrated in the media & entertainment with a heavy functional focus on CFO advisory services. In addition, Chris led a number of large scale international projects in Europe and South Africa. 

Biography

Andy Tilstra, co-founder of Creativity Effect, is by nature is a collaborator, innovator, who’s always up for a ’safe' risk. Andy has five years experience facilitating design thinking projects in healthcare, government and universities. Andy also has extensive experience in launching and leading innovation projects for the AdventHealth Innovation Lab.  

Andy is the co-author of the Orchard Model of Innovation and is currently rolling it out for both government and university sectors. Andy earned a master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago graduating in 2019, with his thesis focusing on power dynamics of public space in downtown Chicago. Currently Andy is an adjunct professor at AdventHealth University, and is co-writing a design thinking curriculum with Dr. Karen for Rollins College Currently Andy co-hosts a podcasts. 

Biography

Dr. Karen Tilstra, Ph.D., believes everyone is creative with leadership potential. She thinks the world would be happier if everyone embraced this truth. Until that happens, she wants to help anyone who’s interested develop their inner wellspring of creativity.

Karen co-founded the award-winning AdventHealth Innovation Lab (priorly knows as FHIL), co-created the Orlando Magic’s Innovation Lab, and helped launch the San Diego State U Idea Lab. She co-designed one of the nation’s first undergraduate degrees in Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship at Rollins College.

Karen has designed innovation labs and developed design thinking teams at Santa Clara University, Pioneers International Institute, Seminole County Health Department, and Orange County. Over the last ten years, Karen and her team have facilitated over 610 Design Thinking projects for healthcare, government, universities, and Fortune 100 companies. Karen and her team have earned three innovation awards.

Karen has presented both nationally and internationally and has taught at the university level in both the US and Asia. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at AdventHealth University, and a visiting professor for Rollins College.

Karen holds a Ph.D. in Innovation and is a licensed Educational Psychologist. She holds an MA in Counseling Psychology and a BS in Journalism. She currently serves as the Executive Fellow for Innovation at the University of Santa Clara.