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keynote speakers
 Yank D. Coble, Jr, MD
Director and Distinguished Professor of the Center for Global Health and Medical Diplomacy
University of North
Florida
Dr. Yank Coble is Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Global Health and Medical Diplomacy, University of North Florida and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Florida. He is former Chair of the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, and Professor of Medicine and Family Medicine, University of Florida. Dr. Coble is Past President of The World Medical Association (WMA), Chair and Editor of the WMA Caring Physicians of the World Initiative. Over the past two years, he has chaired Regional Meetings of National Medical Associations on their most pressing health issues in Johannesburg, Santiago, Shanghai, Chennai, Bangkok, Prague, Amelia Island, FL and Tokyo. Since 2002, Dr. Coble has been a member of the USA and WMA Delegations to the World Health Assembly.
Presently Dr. Coble serves on the boards of Research!America and the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research and Medicine, the Campaign for Public Health, and the National Osteoporosis Foundation. He is President Emeritus of the American College of Physicians and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and is former President of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Endocrinology.
Dr. Coble and his wife Shereth reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. They have five children and eleven grandchildren.
 James C. Greenwood
President & CEO
Biotechnology Industry Organization
James C. Greenwood is President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington, D.C., which represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the annual BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.
Since his appointment in January of 2005, he has markedly enhanced the trade association’s capacity – increasing both its staff and budget by nearly fifty percent. BIO is now a world class advocacy organization playing a leading role in shaping public policy on a variety of fronts critical to the success of the biotechnology industry at the state and national levels as well as internationally.
Mr. Greenwood represented Pennsylvania's Eighth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 1993 through January 2005. A senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he was widely viewed as a leader on health care and the environment.
From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Greenwood served as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation with oversight authority over issues in the full Committee's vast jurisdiction. He led hard-hitting investigations into corporate governance at Enron, Global Crossing and WorldCom; terrorist threats to our nation's infrastructure; and waste and fraud in federal government agencies.
Prior to his election to Congress, Mr. Greenwood served six years in the Pennsylvania General Assembly (1980-86) and six years in the Pennsylvania Senate (1986-1993).
Mr. Greenwood graduated from Dickinson College in 1973 with a BA in Sociology. From 1977 until 1980, he worked as a caseworker with abused and neglected children at the Bucks County Children and Youth Social Service Agency.
Mr. Greenwood resides in Upper Makefield, Pennsylvania with his wife and three children.
 Bob Ingram
Vice-Chairman, Pharmaceuticals
GlaxoSmithKline
Bob Ingram is a thirty-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. He began his career as a sales representative and over the years advanced into upper management at companies such as Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals and Merck. He joined Glaxo, Inc. in 1990 and ultimately became CEO and Chairman of Glaxo Wellcome. Bob now serves as Vice-Chairman, Pharmaceuticals GlaxoSmithKline. Throughout his career, Bob has earned a reputation for excellence in leadership, and is recognized as one of the pharmaceutical industry’s best ambassadors. That excellence in leadership is what inspired friend and former President George H.W. Bush to ask Bob to form the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, for which Bob now serves as Vice Chair.
Now “retired”, Bob continues to offer his expertise on a number of boards and organizations, including the Board of Directors for Wachovia Corporation and Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Allergan Inc., Edwards Lifesciences Corporation. He is also Chairman of OSI Pharmaceuticals, and Lead Director of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute.
Bob is a devoted husband, father and grandfather, and enjoys collecting and restoring Porsches.
 Stephen N. Oesterle, MD
Senior Vice President for Medicine and Technology
Medtronic
Stephen Oesterle joined the company in 2002, after serving as Associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard University Medical School and Director of Invasive Cardiology Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. In his position as Senior Vice President for Medicine and Technology, Stephen provides executive leadership for Medtronic scientific research, formation of technological strategies and continued development of strong cooperative relationships with the world's medical communities. A teacher and innovator in the field of cardiac catheterization, Stephen developed and directed interventional cardiology programs at Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles from 1986 to 1991; at Georgetown University in 1991 and 1992 and at Stanford University from 1992-98. While at Stanford, Stephen established the
University
Medical
Center's first endovascular device laboratory. Subsequently, he founded a similar medical device development laboratory at
Massachusetts General
Hospital where he and his colleagues sought unique, minimally invasive methods for treating coronary disease, valvular disease, rhythm disturbances and heart failure.
Stephen was born
March 3, 1951 in
LaGrande,
OR. He is a 1973 summa cum laude graduate of
Harvard
College and received his medical doctorate from
Yale
University in 1977. His internship and residency years were at
Massachusetts General
Hospital from 1977-80 and he served a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Stanford from 1981 to 1983.
 Mayor John Peyton
City of
Jacksonville
John Peyton was sworn in as
Jacksonville’s Mayor on
July 1, 2003, only the second Republican in 100 years to be elected to that office. Now in his second term, Mayor Peyton’s accomplishments include successfully hosting the city’s first-ever Super Bowl, cultivating multi-million-dollar economic development, streamlining government operations and launching a nationally-recognized early literacy program. Mayor Peyton continues to work with business and community leaders to bring more jobs to
Jacksonville. In October 2007, in conjunction with Jacksonville Port Authority officials, the mayor signed an agreement with Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd. of
South Korea to develop a $360 million container terminal in
Jacksonville. The operation is expected to generate at least $1 billion in local economic activity, as well as more employment opportunities.
Mayor Peyton is an alumnus of
Mercer
University and the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, as well as a graduate of both Leadership Jacksonville and Leadership Florida. He and his wife,
Jacksonville physician Kathryn Pearson Peyton, are members of
St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral. They are the proud parents of two sons, John Connor Peyton and Kent Thomas Peyton.
 Senate President Ken Pruitt
BIO 2008 State Legislator of the Year
Ken Pruitt was elected to the House of Representatives in November, 1990, after his first campaign for public office. During his first six years in the House of Representatives, he served in the minority party. Ken Pruitt was able to reach across the isle to accomplish significant education and environmental reforms. In 1996, Republicans became the majority party in the House of Representatives, and Ken Pruitt quickly rose to key leadership roles including serving as the House Appropriations Chairman from 1998-2000.
November 2000, Ken Pruitt was elected to Florida Senate District 28, representing Martin, Indian River, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. During the past 7 years, Senator Pruitt has held significant leadership roles including Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee (2002–2004) and Chairman for the Rules Committee (2004-2006). In 2006, Ken Pruitt was chosen by the unanimous vote of his colleagues to serve as President of the Florida Senate.
Senator Pruitt's legislative accomplishments include championing and protecting Bright Future’s Scholarships; sponsoring the Bert Harris Property Rights Act, which protects the sanctity of an individual's property rights; and shepherding the landmark Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan, which earmarks tens of millions of dollars to the restoration and protection of Lake Okeechobee, St Lucie River, and Indian River Lagoon.
Locally, Senator Pruitt has spearheaded the effort to establish the Treasure Coast as a premier Education, Research and Technology region in Florida. Senator Pruitt helped organize a regional commission called the “Committee for a Sustainable Treasure Coast.” The committee’s main objective is to provide local governments with the tools to plan for and create incentives for responsible and sustainable growth in the Treasure Coast region.
Senator Pruitt and his wife, Aileen, live in Port St. Lucie. They are the proud parents of five children: Kenneth, Jr. (deceased), Steven, Ashley, Michelle, and Mark; and grandparents to beautiful Chloe. |
