Candace Kendle, PharmD
As Chairman and CEO, Dr. Kendle provides the overall corporate strategy and vision to position the Company for continued growth as a top-tier global provider of early- to late-stage clinical development solutions for the world's biopharmaceutical industry,
Under Dr. Kendle's leadership, the Company has advanced from the small consulting business she co-founded in 1981 to the fifth largest global Phase II-IV clinical research organization (CRO) today with 52 operations in 31 countries across North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Africa and customers including 41 of the top 50 biopharmaceutical companies worldwide. The Company ended 2008 with revenues of $475.1 million and is one of only three CROs to derive more than 50 percent of its revenue from outside North America.
Dr. Kendle's focus is on positioning the Company to compete at the highest level for strategic outsourcing opportunities. In support of this effort, she has led Kendle through 15 successful acquisitions since 1997 to strengthen the Company's service, geographic and therapeutic capabilities in response to changing customer and market needs. In 2006 she led Kendle through a strategic transformation with the acquisition of the Phase II-IV Clinical Services business of Charles River Laboratories, increasing the Company's size by 50 percent and strengthening its position as one of the industry's leading global players
As a result of Dr. Kendle's leadership the Company continues to be recognized in independent quantitative research for the quality of its service delivery and ability to build strong relationships in support of its customers' needs. In 2009 Kendle ranked second overall among "Top CROs to Work With" in the CenterWatch Survey of U.S. Investigative Sites. The Company is the only CRO to be ranked consistently among the top two providers in CenterWatch investigative site surveys for three consecutive years. The "2009 CRO Quality Benchmarking Report", produced by Industry Standard Research, recognized Kendle as "the clear leader in service consistency" and found the Company performs "extraordinarily well" in comparison to the industry as a whole.
Prior to founding the Company, Dr. Kendle held senior faculty positions in the pharmaceutical programs of several leading institutions. She is recognized worldwide as leader in the CRO industry and is a founding member and past chairperson of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO), which fosters continued advancement of medical product development and expedites the introduction of new medicines and new treatments to improve health and save lives.
Dr. Kendle is a member of the Committee of 200, an organization of preeminent women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, and serves as a Mentor for the Fortune-U.S. State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership. She has received numerous civic, financial and pharmaceutical industry leadership awards. Dr. Kendle earned a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati Graduate School and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati, School of Pharmacy.
Christopher C. Bergen, MBA
As Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Mr. Bergen leads Kendle's strategic technology and infrastructure enhancement initiatives to drive down overhead and deliver increased innovation, productivity and organizational efficiency, strengthening the Company's ability to deliver strategic outsourcing solutions for its global biopharmaceutical customers.
Mr. Bergen is a co-founder and Director of Kendle and served as President and Chief Operating Officer from the Company's founding in June 1981 until April 2008 and as Chief Operating Officer from April 2008 until July 2009. He has more than 30 years of experience in the clinical research industry, with demonstrated expertise in the design and implementation of innovative technology solutions to enhance clinical trial delivery and organizational efficiency.
Mr. Bergen provides executive leadership for Kendle's ERP initiative, the largest initiative in the Company's history, which will yield significant benefits for the organization and its customers, including streamlined global processes, enhanced organizational efficiency and real-time access to clinical trial data to facilitate efficient project management.
Prior to Kendle, Mr. Bergen served in various capacities at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, ending his tenure as Associate Vice President. He earned a Master's of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton University and has completed the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program.
Simon S. Higginbotham
As Senior Vice President and CMO Mr. Higginbotham provides executive leadership for Kendle's Early Stage operations and its strategic customer development and global sales and marketing efforts. He has more than 25 years of experience in senior business development and marketing leadership positions in the CRO and biopharmaceutical industries.
Mr. Higginbotham joined Kendle in January 2004 as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer and since then has served in key executive leadership roles with the Company. Prior to his current position he served as President from April 2008 to July 2009 providing global leadership for the company's worldwide customer and business expansion efforts, including strategic customer relations and new market opportunities.
During Mr. Higginbotham's tenure, Kendle has reported record sales, delivering growth at double, triple and double again the reported sector growth rate for Phase I-IV services in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. As a result, the company was recognized as the "2006 North American Contract Research Organization Business Development Strategy Leader of the Year" by global growth consulting company Frost & Sullivan.
Mr. Higginbotham completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in October 2008 and holds a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England. He currently represents Kendle on the Board of Directors of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO).
Stephen A. Cutler, PhD, MBA
As Senior Vice President and COO Dr. Cutler provides global leadership for Kendle's worldwide Late Stage operations, leveraging its combined capabilities across Phase II-IV to maximize delivery of integrated service offerings for customers. He has more than 20 years of senior management and operations leadership experience in the CRO and biopharmaceutical industries.
Dr. Cutler joined the Company in 2009 following 14 years with Quintiles where he served most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Project Management responsible for the global project management group. While at Quintiles he also served as Senior Vice President, Clinical, Medical and Regulatory; Senior Vice President, Project Management – Europe; and Vice President, Oncology – Europe. He also held regional leadership positions in South Africa and Australia.
Prior to joining Quintiles Dr. Cutler spent eight years with Sandoz (now Novartis) in Australia and Europe where he served as a Group Head providing leadership for Phase I-III trials in a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. He holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, and a Master's of Business Administration from the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England.
Keith A. Cheesman
As Chief Financial Officer, Keith Cheesman oversees the Company's global financial operations, including Finance, Accounting, Budgeting, Tax, Investor Relations, Internal Audit and Financial Planning and Analysis.
Mr. Cheesman has served as a member of Kendle's Finance senior management team from 2000 to 2004 and from January 2008 to present and has provided leadership for nearly all facets of the Company's financial operations. He rejoined Kendle in January 2008, assuming expanded leadership responsibilities as Vice President, Accounting responsible for the Company's Accounting, Tax, Project Financial Support and Internal Audit functions. Mr. Cheesman was promoted to Senior Vice President and CFO in April 2009.
In all, Mr. Cheesman possesses more than 28 years of experience in corporate finance and accounting management, including previously serving as Vice President, Finance; Chief Financial Officer; and Treasurer for a publicly traded site management organization and as Vice President - Corporate Controller and a member of the senior management team for a publicly traded U.S. property and casualty insurance provider.
Mr. Cheesman holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Dayton. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, The Ohio Society of CPAs and Financial Executives International.
Jarrod B. Pontius
As Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Mr. Pontius provides executive oversight and global leadership for all legal services, corporate governance and general corporate legal matters for Kendle.
Mr. Pontius served as Corporate Counsel and Senior Corporate Counsel for Kendle from 2002 through 2007. He rejoined the Company in June 2009 after serving as Assistant General Counsel for General Cable Corporation, a Fortune 500 publicly traded supplier of wire and cable products.
In all, Mr. Pontius brings more than a decade of experience in corporate law, including extensive work in mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, public company reporting and securities compliance, corporate financing activities and corporate governance.
Mr. Pontius is a member of both the Cincinnati and Ohio Bar Associations and the Association of Corporate Counsel and is a graduate of the Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers. He received his Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from Indiana University.
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