Board of Directors Elects New Chair, Vice-Chair, and Two New Members
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, January 31, 2021 – The Board of Directors of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) unanimously approved the appointment of Peter S. Briskamn, Executive Managing Director and Mid-Atlantic Life Sciences Practice Co-Lead for JLL, and Christine Dingivan, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer for Emmes as the new Chair and Vice-Chair in 2022. In addition, Ronald C. Kurz, Senior Director/GM for Canon Virginia, Inc. (CVI), and Dr. Tyrell Rivers, Executive Director of Corporate Development & Ventures at AstraZeneca, will be joining the Board as new members.
BioHealth Innovation and its Board of Directors would also like to thank outgoing Chair Jarrod Borkat for his leadership as he will remain with the Board. The Board would also like to thank Rebecca Farkas, Ph.D., for her contributions as she departs GSK and moves into a new role with CEPI.
“We are proud to announce Pete and Christine as our new Chair and Vice-Chair on the BHI Board of Directors,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President and CEO. “Their experience and industry knowledge, plus the additions of Ron and Tyrell are important pieces to not just BHI, but the continued growth of the BioHealth Capital Region.”
Peter S. Briskman is currently Executive Managing Director and Co-Lead for JLL’s Mid-Atlantic Life Sciences Practice. Previously, he was the Broker Lead for JLL’s Maryland region overseeing all brokerage operations for both Baltimore and Bethesda offices. His primary focus is working closely with the region’s most visible Life Sciences and Government Contracting organizations, assisting them with strategic real estate planning, lease/purchase structuring, negotiations, municipal incentives, and overall transaction management for his clients with leased and owned real estate portfolios.
Dr. Christine Dingivan has integrated her background as a physician with 25 years of experience in leading biotech, pharmaceutical, and clinical research organizations. She joined Emmes two years ago as chief executive officer. She has led the company in completing two acquisitions that added a diverse set of biopharma clients, expanded its global reach, and increased its employee count to more than 1,000. She began her corporate career at MedImmune-AstraZeneca, where she rose to become senior vice president and helped develop the influenza vaccine FluMist®. She subsequently became chief medical officer of Pharmaceutical Product Development, a global clinical research organization. She later was named the first global head of data and digital for Novartis Global Drug Development in Basel, Switzerland. Her broad clinical research and drug development experience across a range of therapeutic areas has been valuable in her role at Emmes as the company continues to grow and diversify.
Ronald C. Kurz is the Senior Director/GM at Canon Virginia, Inc. (CVI), the Canon manufacturing, engineering, recycling, and technical support center for the Americas located in Newport News, Virginia. Serving in a dual role, Ron is responsible for CVI’s Medical business, including Sales, P&L, and Strategy. In addition, Ron is also responsible for the Business Development Division, including developing strategic partnerships that leverage Canon Technology and Manufacturing Know-how. Before this position, he led the R&D division in designing and developing medical products for Canon BioMedical, Inc., a newly created Canon company. Ron has worked for Canon Virginia for more than 23 years.
Dr. Tyrell Rivers is Executive Director of Corporate Development & Ventures at AstraZeneca, where he is responsible for creating and executing innovative, value-enhancing business strategies. Prior to assuming this role in 2014, he worked at MedImmune Ventures, specializing in biotechnology investing. Earlier in his career, Dr. Rivers held various positions at Merck & Co., where he led technical support for commercial vaccines and directed global business initiatives for accessing key technologies for research and development. He currently serves as a Board member of ADC Therapeutics, Cerapedics, Goldfinch Bio, and VaxEquity. Dr. Rivers holds his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business.
About BioHealth Innovation, Inc.
BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is a public-private nonprofit organization focused on accelerating biohealth (therapeutic, diagnostic, medtech, and health IT) commercialization in the BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, DC, and Virginia). BHI’s team of expert Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, in-house venture analysts, and other professional staff work in the region to:
- Facilitate technology commercialization,
- Raise the profile of the industry cluster and individual organizations,
- Increase access to capital for early-stage and growing companies, and
- Expand the pool of talent with commercially relevant experience.
BHI’s early-stage company support includes market research and commercialization plan development, non-dilutive funding application assistance; a jobs board; event calendar; and introductions to investors, strategic partners, business advisors, and potential clients. BHI also manages wet lab space and provides referrals to other space for early-stage companies, offers soft-landing support for international companies, and works with partners to co-host the annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum and an annual BioHealth Capital Region investor partnering conference. For more information: www.BioHealthInnovation.org
# # #
Media contacts:
Rich Bendis
Phone: 301-637-6439, email: rbendis@biohealthinnovation.org