BIOS

JENNIFER BEDDINGFIELD

Jennifer Blossom Beddingfield is the Director of HR & Sustainability for Xavier Creative House (XCH), a sustainable healthcare marketing agency, specializing in Pharma, Biotech, and Medical Device. With 15 years of experience in HR and eleven years as an entrepreneur, she oversees the strategic development and administration of XCH People Operations. Jennifer focuses on integrating the SDGs into company culture, enhancing the candidate and employee experience through sustainable HR management.

A growth-oriented individual, Jennifer led the agency to a 22% increase in its CSR score in less than two years, achieving EcoVadis Platinum status. Proving the power of small business sustainability, Jennifer took the agency from a standard donation to CarbonFund.org to offsetting 421% of its GHC emissions through additional relationships with ClimateHero and Aclymate.

Her leadership and achievements made XCH a role model for small business sustainability resulting in Jennifer’s appointment as XCH’s Sustainability Executive in November of 2022

KRISTIN BENTSEN

Kristin Bentsen is responsible for the management of Amgen’s Supplier Diversity and Supplier Sustainability programs. In this role, Kristin partners with internal stakeholders to execute strategies for these programs that are aligned with Amgen’s intent to support economic development efforts, entrepreneurship and positively impact the communities and environments in which Amgen operates. In addition to her passion for driving the Supplier Diversity and Supplier Sustainability programs within Amgen. Kristin is a board member on the West Region Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBEC) and serves on various committees with local, national and global advocacy organizations committed to supplier outreach and development.

Prior to joining Amgen in 2012, Kristin worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), Home Box Office Inc. (HBO), and Warner Bros. She received a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from University of San Francisco (USF).

DEVIN CARSDALE

Devin Carsdale is the Associate Director of Sustainability of Bristol Myer Squibb’s Strategic Sourcing & Procurement organization where he translates companywide sustainability initiatives into procurement specific goals and objectives. He manages the framework for how categories and suppliers participate in sustainability related initiatives and establishes functional targets in collaboration with Business Partnering and Category Strategy teams to ensure sustainability is embedded into ways of working. Devin also leads sustainable supply chain programs including the Responsible Sourcing Program (EcoVadis), CDP Supply Chain, Energize, M2030’s Project Activate, among others. Devin was a Sustainability Compliance Auditor within IKEA Purchasing Services where he led sustainability activities, securing EHS&S norms were in place, as part of the global purchasing and supply chain objectives. He received a Corporate Sustainability Certificate from NYU in the Spring of 2019. Previously, Devin worked at the American Council on Renewable Energy and the China Environment Forum and is published in clean energy development and sustainability.

JOYCE EGGERS

Joyce Eggers is a passionate Supplier Diversity expert with over 20 years of experience in the Life Sciences industry. As the global Supplier Diversity Lead for Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a top 10 pharmaceutical company with 50,000 employees in nearly 80 countries, Joyce is responsible for providing the leadership for Takeda to grow and develop a sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion program for suppliers.

Supported by and aligned with Takeda’s overall DE&I strategy, her expertise and passion for fostering an inclusive and innovative supply chain drive positive impact in the communities in which our patients, employees, and customers live and work.

In her role, Joyce also serves as an advocate, mentor, and coach for small and diverse suppliers and is actively involved with numerous advocacy groups focusing on supplier mentoring, development, and diversity.

Takeda is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to discovering and delivering life-transforming treatments, guided by our commitment to patients, our people, and the planet.

Her leadership and achievements made XCH a role model for small business sustainability resulting in Jennifer’s appointment as XCH’s Sustainability Executive in November of 2022

Mary Fehlig

Mary founded The Fehlig Group with the belief that sustainable practices are as individual as the values that define each client. For almost three decades, she has helped companies engage in sustainability practices aligned with their business goals. She brings a business perspective to her work grounded in experience in business development and systems implementation for Xerox and IBM. A recognized “founder” of corporate responsibility/sustainability, Mary has served on a range of boards and initiatives that advance the field. She was elected to serve on the board of directors of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), served as a practitioner advisor for Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communications, and worked with Green America, Points of Light Foundation, Net Impact and the Sustainable Business Network.

Bridget Ferrari

Bridget is the Director of Supplier Sustainability at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. She’s been with Takeda for 5 years, responsible for development and implementation of Takeda’s Net Zero strategy for Scope 3 and Takeda’s supply chain. Bridget is also the co-lead for the PSCI Scope 3 Topic Team and has held various roles within PSCI since joining Takeda.

Bridget has over 20 years of experience in sourcing and supply chain management, with the past 10 years focused on supply chain sustainability. She graduated with her bachelors degree from Arizona State University, and an MBA with a Finance concentration from Bentley University and a masters in International Relations from Northeastern University.

Bridget lives north of Boston with her four kids and husband. When she’s not working on sustainability and climate change issues, she can be found running, volunteering at school or attending games/recitals on the weekends.

Jimmy Fleming

Jimmy Fleming is a Supplier Relationship Director at Amgen. Drawn to the complexity of the biologics supply chain, he joined Amgen’s External Supply organization, where he oversees the category strategy and supplier relationship across 4 strategic accounts and more 70 suppliers in the raw materials domain. Most recently, he took on expanded scope as the lead for Amgen’s Scope 3 Supplier Engagement strategy for all suppliers supporting Amgen Operations.

Fueled by a passion for dramatically improving the lives of patients, Jimmy previously spent more than a decade leading a variety of Manufacturing teams through the successful start-up, licensure and multi-product transformation of Amgen’s largest drug substance facility.

Jimmy received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish through the International Engineering Program at the University of Rhode Island. He later completed his Master of Business Administration at Babson College.

Barry Kull

A forward thinking and transformational leader, Barry has a focused career in procurement where he has been able to organizations of various sizes and industry through all stages of change in an effort to create a more efficient environment where cost savings are realized in parallel with an increase in the quality of the experience, results and supplier relationships.

Having worked as both a consultant and directly in the healthcare industry for over 20 years, he has gained a deep perspective on spend categories across the indirect space including marketing & sales, professional services and IT and how they enable organizations. He has developed a passion for supplier diversity as an untapped competitive advantage for companies that not only does the right thing, it drives savings and innovation for all involved.

Rohit Mahajan

Rohit is an experienced entrepreneur and leader with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and software industry. He has been providing innovative Data and Analytics solutions and products to clients in Digital Health, Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, Automotive, Manufacturing and other industry segments . He is skilled in business and IT strategy, M&A, Sales & Marketing and Global Delivery. He has worked with Wipro and IBM. He is the Co-Founder and President at Citadel Discovery, Co-Founder and President at CarTwin, Managing Partner at C2R Tech and Founder at BetterLungs.

Rohit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. He is a Wharton School Fellow and Harvard Business School graduate. He has participated in executive education programs in AI in Business and Healthcare from MIT Sloan, MIT CSAIL and Harvard School of Public Health. He has completed the Global Healthcare Leadership Program from Harvard Medical School.

Rohit is currently a managing partner with BigR.io, a technology consulting firm empowering data to drive innovation and advanced analytics. BigR.io specializes in Machine Learning, Big Data, Natural Language Processing and Custom Software strategy, analysis, architecture and implementation solutions and also serves as a an incubator for AI startups leveraging these types of solutions.

With thirty years of experience in IT, Rohit has had a front-row seat to the emergence of of AI technologies and has been at the forefront of realizing its many applications in improving healthcare. Known for his thorough grasp over the various nuances of the AI world and his incisive comments on the latest cutting-edge technologies, Rohit is regularly invited to conferences and conventions to deliver speeches and take part in discussions.

He is a TiE Boston Charter Member and also an active Angel investor. He has been the Treasurer at the Diversity Alliance for Science Nonprofit organization and has served on their Board.

LINN PARRISH

Linn Parrish is a seasoned Corporate Responsibility executive with deep expertise in developing and leading partnerships that benefit patients, companies and society. For the last 15+ years, she has been instrumental in advancing how organizations leverage their missions and core competencies for the broader good, focusing the last nine years in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Currently, Linn is the Head of Health Equity Alliances and Partnerships for Takeda’s Center for Health Equity and Patient Affairs. She is responsible for developing long-term alliances with external partners. The goal of the Center is to enable Takeda to create a more inclusive ecosystem and strengthen trust with communities and patients so that everyone, everywhere can fulfill their full health potential. Our Center strives to embed health equity principles into the work we do across our global organization.

Outside the biopharmaceutical industry, Linn led Corporate Responsibility at Panera Bread focusing on addressing food insecurity. Prior to that time, she held senior leadership roles at several global communications firms supporting clients in a wide array of sectors.

AMEDEO PINETA

Amedeo Pineta, Sr. Director Global Procurement – Center of Excellence

With approximately 25yrs of experience in supporting Source to Pay functions, Amedeo has a deep knowledge of what it takes to have a successful partnership across the supply chain. At his current role at Teva Pharmaceuticals he manages the Procurement Center of Excellence which is made up of S2P Process & Performance Excellence, Learning & Development, S2P Programs, Procurement Compliance & Risk Management, Sustainability and Supplier Diversity. Prior to Teva he was at MorganStanley as the IT Business Partner for Procurement, Finance and Market Data. He has also held various S2P roles at Pfizer, Merrill Lynch and Deloitte Consulting.

NICOLE PLATZER

Nicole Platzer is Global External Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) Lead at AstraZeneca. In this role, she builds, maintains, and supports relationships between key external stakeholders and thought leaders, including external companies, councils, policy makers, diverse suppliers, and patients to develop solutions that support AstraZeneca’s I&D Contribution to Society priorities. She is responsible for developing a sustainable strategy for external I&D impact and advancing ways to preserve and amplify ‘employer of choice brand reputation’ through appropriate reporting, measurement, and external release of I&D data, metrics, KPIs, programs, and efforts. Prior to AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in 2021, Ms. Platzer spearheaded the operationalization of Alexion’s global Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DI&B) strategy that focused on end-to-end diversity efforts touching all stakeholders with a unique, innovation driven lens. Before the creation of Alexion’s DI&B function, Ms. Platzer held roles of increasing responsibility in Alexion’s Human Resource function where she operationalized enterprise capability builds in Leadership and Innovation, and provided process and system design support in People Operations. Prior to joining Alexion, Ms. Platzer supported biotechnology patent prosecution and litigation in the Intellectual Property division at Cooley LLP. Ms. Platzer also held patient support roles at both Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she executed projects related to understanding health disparities. Ms. Platzer holds a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Communications from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.

XAVIOR ROBINSON

Xavior Robinson, MHSA brings a depth of experience at the nexus of population health, service delivery operations, and public health financing. As the Director of Health Equity Partnership and Operations at Merck, Xavior leads efforts to partner at the community-level to address health equity imperatives across the U.S. Prior to Merck, Xavior served as Chief Operating Officer of Pathways to Housing PA – a housing-first integrated homeless services nonprofit based in Philadelphia. In this role he provided leadership to all clinical, housing, advocacy, medical, SDOH, IT, and outreach services. During his tenure a Pathways, Xavior led COVID-19 response, a 20% increase in service revenue, and increases in housing stabilization metrics.

Prior to Pathways, Xavior provided consulting and capacity-building technical assistance to local, state, and public health constituencies while serving in roles at Health Management Associates, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, and Unity Health Care. In these roles, his work focused on services delivery redesign, data integration, and financing strategies for vulnerable to serve communities.

Xavior holds a Master of Health Services Administration from the George Washington University.

Brigid Siegel

Brigid Siegel (She/Her) is a global leader in R&D procurement and supplier management with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Her strength as a thought leader, coupled with her deep knowledge of science and technology, has made her a relied-upon resource in the field.

Currently, Brigid is the Vice President and Global Head for R&D Procurement at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Prior this this she served as Head of Procurement for Clinical and Patient Services at Montefiore Health System, Executive Director, Global Head Clinical Development Sourcing & Procurement at Merck.

Innovative in approach, Brigid is an early adopter of new technologies and was among the first to explore applying blockchain solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. She initiated the sourcing strategy and implemented the artificial intelligence (AI) center of excellence (COE) for data management and safety analytics at Merck. Brigid has also held significant roles at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation and Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., where her contributions were recognized with increasing levels of accountability via promotion.

Brigid received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Nebraska and completed the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme at Oxford University/Saïd Business School to advance her knowledge. She is bilingual in German and English and has completed leadership and negotiation programs with Harvard School of Business, California Technical Institute, and London School of Business. Brigid is an activist supporting the LGBTQ+ community in a variety of charities and political causes. With her ability to manage and mentor culturally diverse cross-functional teams, Brigid Siegel is a proven leader in the industry.

James Smith

James Smith currently serves as Director, Marketing at AstraZeneca, working in the rare disease space and is a member of the company’s ACT on Health Equity Council. During his career in the pharmaceutical industry he has held marketing positions supporting several therapeutic areas, across both HCP and Consumer audiences. Over the course of these roles James has developed a passion for helping patients, using their authentic language to create impactful campaigns, and working on innovative partnerships to meet customer needs. During his time at AstraZeneca he helped launch Survivors Have Heart, a campaign aimed at empowering heart attack survivors to embrace a proactive role in their heart health. Over the past few years James has worked to infuse health equity into the Brand planning process and has been an advocate for more diversity in market research efforts to drive strong insights.

James is a graduate of Villanova University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Sociology.

Raul Suarez-Rodriguez

Raul Suarez-Rodriguez currently serves as Director, Global Economic Inclusion and Supplier Diversity at Merck. In this role, Raul is responsible to drive diverse supplier inclusion, innovation and economic growth through lens of the company mission by partnering with internal business leaders and external advocacy groups to grow mutual value, and create a lasting impact on the business and communities where we live and work.

Raul joined Merck in 2018 from CVS Health, where he led their Supplier Diversity Program to Best In Class by being inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable and winning several top awards including National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Corporation of the Year for Innovation, DiversityInc Top Companies (No.1) for Supplier Diversity, and Americas Top Corporation for Women Business Enterprises.

Raul is recognized for his creative and innovative thinking and transformation efforts in Supplier Diversity. Most recently, he was recognized as the Supplier Diversity Program Leader of the Year by Diversity Alliance for Science and Supply Chain Advocate of the Year by Disability: IN for his work around Disability Owned Business Enterprises where he serves as the Procurement Council Co-Chair. Also, the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) recognized Raul as Advocate of the Year and Shining Star. Raul is an active member of the Helix Pharma Industry Group) driving change and strategy while advocating for diverse businesses to become strategic partners in the global economy for major bio-pharmaceutical companies. Raul serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the WEConnect International and member of the executive committee at the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

Raul holds a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University.

Shirin Swanson

Shirin Swanson is Commercial Director at NUCO Logistics. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Prior to joining NUCO, Shirin held the position of Operation Manger at Allied Pickford in Melbourne, Australia. She lived in Melbourne for 15 years and in 2015 she moved to the US and joined NUCO as Commercial Director. In this role, not only does she oversee the commercial department and procurement of NUCO Logistics, but she is responsible for Sustainability and Compliance activities of the company. NUCO was awarded Silver Medal by EcoVadis in 2022.

Rehbar H. Tayyabkhan

Reb Tayyabkhan is the Head of R&D Sourcing and Procurement at Merck based in Rahway, N.J., where he leads a team of sourcing professionals supporting all MRL business areas including Discovery, Pre-Clinical, Clinical, Regulatory, Medical Affairs and Observational Research.

Prior to joining Merck he was the Head of Research & Global Development Sourcing at Regeneron. His 32-year career has also included progressive roles in Bristol-Myers Squibb leading a variety of Global Clinical Operations functions including Data Management, Regional Clinical Operations and Vendor & Outsourcing Management; consulting roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers and WCI Consulting; and commenced in as an engineer in manufacturing at Merck.

Reb has been very actively engaged with industry consortia such as TransCelerate where he was the lead for the Risk Based Monitoring workstream as well as the liaison for the CRO Forum.

Reb completed his Bachelor of Arts-Chemistry and MBA at New York University and a Master of Chemical Engineering at Cornell University.

Corey Thompson

Corey Thompson is the Chief Executive Officer of CarTwin and Chief Technology Officer at BigR.io. He brings over 20 years of executive experience in the operation, management, development and delivery of advanced technology to some of the most demanding locations on earth. Corey’s global experience spans multiple industries including Defense, Automotive, Manufacturing, Construction, Engineering, Energy, Nuclear, Maritime Operations, Offshore Drilling, and Medical Services.

Corey is also the founder and owner of C2RTEch, a successful technology startup focused on the construction and engineering sector. Prior to this, Corey was the Chief Information Officer for Pacific Drilling as well as Chief Information Officer Chicago Bridge & Iron.

Corey is a retired Submarine Officer following a successful 23-year career in the Navy.

Corey holds a bachelor’s in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Idaho and a master’s in Financial Management from the Naval Postgraduate School where he graduated with distinction as a Conrad Scholar. Corey is a board certified Naval Nuclear and he is a graduate of the Stanford “Innovative CIO” program as well as the “Disruptive Innovation Strategy” program from Harvard University.