As Chairman and CEO, Candace Kendle has provided the overall vision and strategy to grow Kendle into a leading, global clinical research organization (CRO). Under her leadership, the company has advanced to become one of the largest providers of early- to late-stage clinical development solutions for the world's biopharmaceutical industry, with operations across North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Africa.
In a market growing at 13-15.6% annually, Dr. Kendle's focus has been on positioning the company to compete at the highest level for large global clinical development programs. In support of this effort, she led Kendle through a strategic transformation in 2006 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 leading global players in the CRO industry. The successful integration, completed in 2007, has provided Kendle with much greater scale and competitiveness in conducting "megatrials" the fastest-growing segment of the market. Demonstrating the company's enhanced ability to deliver against customer needs, Kendle was named "Top CRO to Work With" in the Thomson CenterWatch 2007 Survey of U.S. Investigative Sites and "Best Contract Research Organization" in both 2006 and 2007 by an independent panel for Scrip World Pharmaceutical News.
Dr. Kendle is a recognized leader in the CRO industry. She is a founding member and Past Chair (2006) 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 Harvard Business School Alumni Association Board and a member of the Committee of 200, an organization of preeminent women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. She has received numerous civic, financial and pharmaceutical industry leadership awards.
Prior to founding the company, Dr. Kendle held senior faculty positions in the pharmaceutical programs of several leading institutions. More recently, she has played a key role in the development of the Master of Science program in global drug development at the University of Cincinnati.
Christopher C. Bergen, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Christopher Bergen co-founded Kendle in 1981 and served as a Director and as President and Chief Operating Officer since its incorporation in 1997.
As COO, Mr. Bergen is leading our infrastructure expansion to support the company's projected future growth and drive improved global connectivity. Currently he provides leadership for the company's global Enterprise Resource Planning initiative, Project Management Office and Commercial Operations.
Prior to Kendle, Mr. Bergen served in various capacities at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, ending his tenure as Associate Vice President.
Simon S. Higginbotham
President
As President, Simon Higginbotham provides global leadership for worldwide customer and business expansion, including strategic customer relations and new market opportunities. He served as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the company from January 2004 until April 2008 and has been a key member of its executive team since joining the company in 2004. During his tenure, Kendle has consistently 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 has more than 25 years of experience and success in senior leadership positions in the CRO and biopharmaceutical industries. He currently represents Kendle on the Board of Directors of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO).
Alan Boyce
Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Alan Boyce provides global leadership for Kendle's new business development and marketing initiatives. He rejoined Kendle in 2008 from Synexus, a multinational clinical study recruitment management firm, where he served as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Boyce brings extensive senior-level sales and marketing experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Kendle and previously was Vice President Europe and Africa for the company from 2003 until 2007.
Prior to joining Kendle in 2003, Mr. Boyce spent 18 years in senior-level sales and marketing positions with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, most recently as Commercial Director for P&GP in the United Kingdom and Ireland. While at P&GP, his leadership in building strategic partnerships with several leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide resulted in the successful launch and promotion of several new medicines, including a blockbuster osteoporosis drug.
Karl 'Buzz' Brenkert III, MBA
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
Karl 'Buzz' Brenkert joined Kendle in 2002 and was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2003. In this role, he oversees all of Kendle's financial operations, including finance, accounting, treasury, budgeting, taxes, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations and financial planning.
Mr. Brenkert has a background in public accounting and more than 23 years of experience in corporate finance, gained primarily during his tenure at Ryder System Inc., a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's most well-known transportation services organizations. While at Ryder System, he was instrumental in developing the Public Transportation division, guiding it to national prominence and sustained financial growth and profitability.
Martha R. Feller, PhD
Senior Vice President, Global Clinical Development
As Senior Vice President, Global Clinical Development, Martha Feller provides executive leadership for Kendle's Phase II-III operations across five regions, including North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Africa. Her expertise spans all phases of drug development for both prescription and over-the-counter products across multiple therapeutic areas. Under her leadership, Kendle's clinical development operations have delivered consistent and significant growth.
Dr. Feller brings nearly 30 years of CRO and pharmaceutical industry experience to Kendle. She joined the company from Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, where she led global development and regulatory approval efforts for a new female testosterone patch therapy.
Melanie A. Bruno, PhD, MBA
Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Melanie Bruno provides executive leadership and direction to position Kendle's Regulatory Affairs brand as a global market leader. In this capacity, she leads teams of specialists with global expertise in regulatory consulting and submissions, pharmacovigilance/safety, medical writing and clinical quality assurance.
Having worked previously at Eli Lilly and Company and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Bruno specializes in providing strategic regulatory guidance on development projects for new prescription and marketed products. She currently serves on the Board of Editors for Regulatory Affairs Focus, the professional journal of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society.
Sylva H. Collins, PhD
Vice President, Global Biometrics
As Vice President, Global Biometrics, Dr. Collins provides leadership for Kendle's global Biometrics brand, which includes Clinical Data Management, Biostatistics and Scientific Programming services. She oversees Kendle's data centers worldwide, located in the United States, Europe, Australia and Mexico.
In addition to her scientific and management expertise, Dr. Collins is a recognized thought leader in the Electronic Data Capture (EDC) field. She joined Kendle from Novartis Corporation, where she served most recently as Vice President, Global Advanced Clinical Systems, and Vice President, Global Electronic Data Management. In these positions, she implemented and led the global data management operations for more than 400 EDC studies involving approximately 130,000 patients and 16,000 investigator sites on six continents.
Karen L. Crone
Vice President, Global Human Resources
As Vice President, Global Human Resources, Karen Crone provides leadership and strategic direction to the global Human Resources function to support the worldwide resourcing needs of Kendle's growing Phase I-IV clinical development business. She leads organizational planning, global workforce planning (including recruitment and retention), associate relations and compensation and benefits administration for the company's associates worldwide.
Prior to joining Kendle, Ms. Crone spent 17 years with Convergys Corporation, a global leader in providing customer care, human resources and billing services. She served in a variety of Human Resources positions, including Director, Organization Development; Director, Recruiting; Senior Director, Human Resources Operations; and Vice President, Human Resources. As Vice President, she led the human resource operations in the Asia/Pacific region and the training and quality functions for the 60,000-person customer contact business.
Anthony L. Forcellini
Vice President, Strategic Development and Corporate Treasurer
In his role as Vice President, Strategic Development and Corporate Treasurer, Tony Forcellini is responsible for leading Kendle's strategic business expansion and diversification efforts. In addition to his responsibilities as Vice President, Strategic Development, he also serves as Corporate Treasurer.
Mr. Forcellini joined Kendle in 1996 as Director, Mergers & Acquisitions and was promoted to Executive Director, M&A in 1999. In this capacity, he was instrumental in the identification, acquisition and integration of multiple companies that have contributed to Kendle's growth and development.
Prior to joining Kendle, Mr. Forcellini spent seven years at drug chain Hook-SupeRx Inc, most recently as Vice President/Treasurer where he played a key role in assisting the company with its initial public offering (IPO).
Patricia A. Steigerwald, MS, RN
Vice President, Global Late Phase
As Vice President, Global Late Phase, Patricia Steigerwald provides executive leadership to drive continued growth in Kendle's Global Late Phase brand, with a focus on the design and conduct of Phase IIIB/IV clinical trials, health economics and outcomes research and product/disease registries.
Ms. Steigerwald has more than 20 years of CRO and clinical experience. Prior to joining Kendle, she spent seven years with a leading CRO in a variety of positions in the late stage trials division, serving most recently as Executive Director. In this position, she had overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the division and the development of goals, systems and procedures to ensure timely delivery of Phase IIIB/IV trials. Her experience also includes providing strategic guidance and oversight in the conduct of one of the world's largest global cardiovascular medical outcomes trials ever conducted. She has extensive experience in the oncology therapeutic area, including a variety of studies involving melanoma, small cell lung cancer and colon cancer.
Gary M. Wedig, MBA
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
With more than 25 years of experience in developing and managing information technologies in growing pharmaceutical R&D organizations, Gary Wedig is responsible for the development and implementation of the Kendle information technology strategy, including strategic and tactical planning, budgeting and general and technical management of the global IT function and staff.
Mr. Wedig joined Kendle in 1995 from Hoechst Marion Roussel Inc (now Sanofi-Aventis). During his 18 years there, he was responsible for their expanding IT in R&D, ending his tenure as the Director of Information Systems Services.