DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND STRATEGIC INNOVATION

Dr. Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D. recently retired from Pfizer Inc. after a 16-year tenure as Chief Scientific Officer and President of Pfizer Research & Development. He has authored over 160 scientific publications and holds numerous patents.

Mikael brings over 30 years of leadership experience as a pharmaceutical executive and an extensive global network spanning biotech, AI, life sciences, and pharmaceutical companies, where he serves as chairman, board member, and advisor.

At Pfizer, Mikael oversaw the regulatory approval of more than 36 medicines and vaccines and advanced over 150 drug candidates into clinical studies. He led breakthrough innovations across small molecules, biologics, gene therapies, and vaccines, and played a pivotal role in Pfizer’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His prior leadership roles include: President of Wyeth Research, Executive Vice President and Head of Worldwide Research at Boehringer-Ingelheim, Global Vice President at AstraZeneca, Head of R&D Astra Draco,

He serves on the public boards of Agilent Technologies and Rocket Pharma, and as chair, board member, or advisor to several private biotechs, including Orbis Medicine, FairJourney Biologics, ImmuneAI, Quarry Therapeutics, Orogen Therapeutics, and ChAI Discovery. He serves as an investment advisor to Blackstone Life Sciences, GV, Bain & Company, and Formation Bio.

He has advised the Obama, Biden, and Trump administrations on public health initiatives, as well as the UK Government’s G7 pandemic leadership efforts.

PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

Bill has been advising leaders for decades. He is actively involved in delivering services to clients as a coach to CEOs and trusted advisor to executives and boards in matters pertaining to organization design, culture, leadership, succession planning, board effectiveness, executive development, and change.

He holds the position of Professor of Practice at Teachers College, Columbia University and is also on the executive team at the Center for Creative Leadership where he focuses on advising CEOs,

Boards and executive teams. Before joining Columbia and CCL, he was a senior partner with the New York-based consulting firm, Oliver Wyman Delta Consulting, and prior to that, a tenured full professor in the School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. As a thought leader in the field of organization development, he has published thirty books and numerous articles.

His current research focuses on understanding the implications of future trends in technology for organizations and leadership, assessing change leadership behaviors, and understanding the factors underlying why people choose to take responsibility and accountability.

He resides in New York with his wife, Mary and is the proud father of two young professional women pursuing careers in consulting. Bill holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering/Industrial Management and a Ph.D. inAdministrative Sciences, both from Purdue University.

INDUSTRIAL / ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR, FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Dr. Converse received his B.A. from the State University of New York at Fredonia and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

He is currently a professor in the industrial/organizational psychology program at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Converse’s teaching and research are in the areas of research methods and statistics, personality, personnel selection, organizational training, and work motivation.

He has delivered consulting services to a range of clients including local organizations, government agencies, and international companies in areas such as job analysis, selection, and training.

PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND DIRECTOR OF THE BUSINESS AND SOCIETY PROGRAM AT THE NYU STERN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Batia Wiesenfeld, Andre J.L. Koo Professor of Management, is also the Director of the Business and Society Program at New York University’s Stern School of Business. She is an expert on the effective management of organizational change across industries and sectors. She studies how technology changes the future of work and organizations, and how to manage employee and stakeholder reactions to layoffs, restructuring, remote work, and stigmatizing crises. Currently, much of her work focuses on how new AI/ML and digital health technologies are changing healthcare work and healthcare organizations, and how these technologies can be used for equity, upskilling, and at scale. Her work is multi-method, incorporating surveys, experiments, archival data analysis, interviews and observation. She is also an expert on theories of organizational identification, fairness, and construal level.

A former editor of Organization Science, she serves or served on multiple editorial boards including Administrative Science Quarterly and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Management, and has received several large grants to support her work, including from the National Science Foundation. Batia received her PhD in Management from Columbia Business School, serves as an executive coach, and consults to senior leadership in a variety of organizations.

CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER & CANCER CENTER DIRECTOR

Dr. Gerber received his B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) and M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) from Johns Hopkins, where he also completed residency and a Hematology fellowship before serving five years on the faculty. He later founded the Leukemia Program at Levine Cancer Institute and helped launch Charlotte’s first adult allogeneic BMT. He went on to serve as Chief of Hematology & Oncology and Cancer Center Director at UMass Memorial Health, and in 2024 joined NYU Langone Health as Chief Clinical Officer of the Perlmutter Cancer Center, overseeing a $1.5B cancer service line and clinical/translational research.

His clinical and research work focuses on leukemia, BMT, cellular therapy, and early-phase trials, resulting in multiple grants, over 50 publications, three patents, and national/international presentations. During COVID-19 he helped lead convalescent plasma research recognized as a 2023 Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement, and more recently co-led one of the first U.S. uses of CAR-T therapy for systemic lupus.

He is active in ASH and ASCO, serving in leadership roles on ASH’s Precision Medicine and Reimbursement subcommittees, and has previously served on ASH/ASCO practice and research committees, LLS boards, and the Massachusetts State Cancer Plan Working Group.