Ashish K. Kulkami, PhD of Avantor, Anne S. Lindblad, PhD of The Emmes Corporation, and Kurt Newman, MD of Children’s National Health System, Join BHI’s Board
BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved the appointments of three new board members, Ashish K. Kulkarni, PhD, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Avantor, Anne S. Lindblad, PhD, President and CEO, The Emmes Corporation, and Kurt Newman, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children’s National Health System.
“I am honored to welcome our new members to the board,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President and CEO. “Ashish, Anne, and Kurt bring years of biohealth experience and fresh perspectives to our board.”
Ashish K. Kulkarni, Ph.D., has been Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Avantor since 2016. Dr. Kulkarni has extensive experience serving as Chief Technology Officer for other large global companies. Prior to joining Avantor, Dr. Kulkarni acted as Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Celanese Corporation, from 2012 to 2016, and Vice President of Research and Development for the Advanced Engineering Materials and Emulsions business units, from 2010 to 2012. Dr. Kulkarni also previously acted as Vice President of Global Engineering, Building Systems and Services division of United Technologies Corporation, from 2007 to 2010. In addition, Dr. Kulkarni served in various leadership roles with American Standard. He started his career with General Electric Company on their Technical Leadership Program (TLP).
During his career he has experienced and used multiple innovation models and delivered significant business impact. All the products launched under his watch in his career have multi-billion dollar annualized sales. Avantor, a global supplier of ultra-high-purity materials for the life sciences and advanced technology industries, recently completed its acquisition of VWR Corporation, the leading global independent provider of product, supply chain, and service solutions to laboratory and production customers.
“BHI has done an exceptional job building a brand based on innovation and growth” said Ashish K. Kulkarni, PhD, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Avantor. “I look forward to leveraging my experience to contribute to the Board and organization as a whole.”
Anne Lindblad, PhD, is President and CEO of The Emmes Corporation, a 40-year-old company that conducts clinical trials and studies aimed at improving public health. She joined Emmes as a biostatistician in 1982 and was named President/CEO in 2013. In addition to her leadership role at Emmes, she serves as Principal Investigator for clinical research projects spanning diverse disease areas, authors papers for scientific journals, and is active in industry associations including the Society for Clinical Trials. Emmes, the Washington area’s fifth largest bioscience employer, recently was named one of the area’s top women-owned businesses by the Washington Business Journal.
Dr. Lindblad has been an NIH reviewer on multiple project applications for NINDS, NEI, NICHD, NIDCR, NIDDK, and NCCAM and has served as a member or chair of several Data and Safety Monitoring Committees for NEI, NIAAA, NIDDK, and NINDS. She was a member of an Advisory Committee charged with drafting policy to shape the appropriate planning and conduct of intramural studies at NIH. She was elected to the Board of Directors for the Society for Clinical Trials (2003-2006) and served as Program Chair (2002), as an Officer (2006-2014), and as President (2012-2013). Dr. Lindblad was selected to serve on NIH’s National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council from 2004 through 2008. She has taught courses in best practices in clinical trial design and conduct for ophthalmologists, neurologists, and immunologists.
“I am grateful to join the Board of Directors of BioHealth Innovation,” said Anne S. Lindblad, PhD, President, and CEO, The Emmes Corporation. “The work that BHI does throughout their many programs in the region are very valuable and I am excited to help them reach their goals.”
In the over 30 years with Children’s Health, Kurt Newman, MD became Surgeon-in-Chief in 2003 and CEO in 2001. He has fostered a culture of patient-centered care and championed innovations in research, operations, and clinical care. He has forged productive partnerships with other health systems in the region, with government and community entities and with industry at the local, national, and global level. He is also a strong advocate for expanding mental health access for kids and has led two national forums on this issue. Children’s National, a founding memberof the BioHealth Capital Region, is ranked as one of the nation’s top ten children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Newman is also a Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Public Health. In 2017, Dr. Newman’s medical memoir Healing Children: A Surgeon’s Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine, debuted as an Amazon bestseller in Pediatrics and earned national attention and critical praise in The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post and Harvard Business Review. Additionally, Dr. Newman was named to the 2017 Power 100 list by the Washington Business Journal, which featured the most influential newsmakers of the year in the Washington, D.C., area.
“I have always admired BHI for its mission and I’m honored to be joining their board,” said Kurt Newman, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children’s National Hospital. “The group of experienced leaders that Rich has brought together is one of the strongest I’ve seen”
“Ashish, Anne, and Kurt’s expertise is respected globally,” said Douglas Liu, SVP Global Operations, QIAGEN and Chairman BHI Board of Directors. “They will make a significant contribution to the BHI Board.”
BHI also would like to thank Richard M. Ivey and David Gillece for their many years of service as they depart from its Board of Directors.
About BioHealth Innovation, Inc.
BioHealth Innovation, Inc., is a regional innovation intermediary which supports the transformation of research projects into new business opportunities in partnership with the region’s rich assets, institutions, and entrepreneurial community. BHI achieves this goal by being a catalytic partner in the economic development ecosystem. Learn more at www.biohealthinnovation.org.