co-CEO and Board Director, True
In 2012, Brad Stadler co-founded True with the mission to disrupt outdated practices in the executive search industry. Since then, True has become the leader in efficient, forward-thinking talent management. The firm has grown quickly, becoming the 7th largest in North America (by revenue) with 14 offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Brad helps set and oversee True’s strategic direction; drive innovation and growth initiatives; and ensure the firm is operationally aligned with its short and long term business goals. As co-CEO Brad has also co-founded a collection of companies within the True platform including talent management technology Thrive, leadership assessment flagship Synthesis, and AboveBoard, a startup that focuses on both connecting underrepresented executives with top companies, and on helping companies recruit and hire more diverse leadership teams. Brad serves as a non-executive Board Director for AboveBoard.
Prior to founding True, Brad co-founded and built IronHill Partners alongside Joe Riggione, a national retained search firm acquired by Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ: HSII) in 2008. In October 2020, Brad joined the Board of Directors of The College Diabetes Network.
Scott Whyte is a Partner at Health Enterprise Partners (HEP), a New York-based growth equity firm focused on health services and information technology companies whose primary customers are hospital systems or health plans.
Prior to HEP, Scott was Chief Digital Officer of AeroSafe Global, a pharmaceutical cold chain provider. Prior to working for AeroSafe Global, Scott was Chief Strategy Officer for ClearDATA, a healthcare cloud security and compliance company. He also served as IT Vice President at Dignity Health, the fifth largest not for profit hospital system in the nation with annual revenue of over $12 billion. Prior to Dignity Health, Scott was Vice President and CIO at the nationally ranked Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Previously, he spent over 17 years helping build the healthcare practices at Ernst & Young, Siemens Healthcare and Capgemini serving hospitals, health insurers and life sciences companies. Scott has spoken at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ONC Annual Conference and nationally on topics including accountable care, cloud, health information exchanges, portals and genomics. He testified before the ONC HIT Policy Committee and the ONC Privacy & Security Tiger Team, and he served as the Co-Chair of the California state HIE, Cal eConnect, Technology Advisory Group. He founded and served as Co-Chairman of the HL7 Clinical Genomics Special Interest Group. Additionally, Scott actively advises early stage health technology companies and investors on health technology. Scott is a member of the Board of Directors of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Arizona Chapter. Scott earned his B.S. Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona and his B.A. in Economics from the University of Arizona. He and his wife have four children, three of whom have type 1 diabetes.
President, Frasier Capital LLC
Phillip Cagnassola is the founder of Frasier Capital LLC, a private investment firm committed to building great companies through organic growth and operational transformation. He is a proven investor and active in the diabetes community. Previously, he was a senior partner at a leading middle-marketing private equity firm where he acquired, developed, and sold several companies by identifying strategic niche markets capable of being leveraged through the infusion of human and financial capital. Phillip was also the CFO and manager of business planning for two companies that identified unusual problems and applied tools of the digital age to unlock extraordinary value for consumers and business. Most notably, one of those companies, Walker Digital, used its “name your own price” innovation to found priceline.com. Phillip began his career at Ernst & Young and is a graduate of Fairfield University where he currently serves as its Investor-In-Residence. He is a current or past director of several companies including MEGTEC Holdings, Davis-Standard LLC, The Fitzpatrick Company, and Paramount Aviation.
John L. Brooks III is the President at Nutritech Therapeutics.
Mr. Brooks is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center, a Boston based diabetes research, clinical care, and education organization. Mr. Brooks is a well-known life sciences executive. He has co-founded seven life sciences companies, including Insulet (PODD), a disruptive insulin delivery company. He was a co-founder of Prism Venture Partners, a $1.25B venture capital firm. Previously, Mr. Brooks was the Emerging Business Group General Manager at Pfizer/Valleylab, where he was responsible for Pfizer’s Hospital Products Group’s minimally invasive surgery and new medical technologies businesses. As President/General Manager at Pfizer/Strato, he led the growth of a rapidly evolving vascular access medical device business.
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Ardan Equity
Michael Weintraub is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ardan Equity, a healthcare enterprise software private equity firm. Michael is Founding Chair of Phreesia (NYSE: PHR). Previously, he was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Optum Ventures. Michael was Co-Founder and CEO of Humedica, a pioneer and leader in the field of population health management and big data. Following Humedica’s acquisition by UnitedHealth Group (UHG), he broadened his role within UHG as President and CEO of Optum Analytics. Prior to launching Humedica, Michael was a Senior Managing Director at Leerink Partners (now SVB Leerink). He also was CEO of PharMetrics, which was acquired by IMS Health (now IQVIA). Michael is an investor, director, and advisor to a portfolio of market leading companies in digital health both in the US and globally. He is a Director of The College Diabetes Network (CDN), and also focuses on healthcare innovation as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School, and an Advisory Board member of the Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator at Boston Children’s Hospital. Michael received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Brandeis University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Chief Medical Officer · Seraxis
Paul Strumph, MD has served on the Board of Directors of the College Diabetes Network since 2016 and the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America since 2020. At the latter he is the volunteer lead for the MGFA Registry, Chairs the Governance & Nominating Committee and received the 2022 Impact Award which recognizes a volunteer who has changed the trajectory of the MGFA. The winner of this ward has made an extraordinary impact on the organization through exceptional leadership, collaboration, innovation, and dedication to the MGFA
Previous positions include: Chief Medical Officer at Metavant Sciences; Vice President, Clinical Development at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, where he led global clinical development from early phase 2 work through successful NDA and MAA filings achieving EU approval of sotagliflozin, a first in class dual SGLT1 and SGLT2 inhibitor developed as an oral adjunct to insulin in type 1 diabetes; North American Regional Chief Medical Officer at Quintiles (now IQVIA), where he was also founder and Chair of the Diabetes Center of Excellence and served as Therapeutic Strategy Head for the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Therapy Area; and Chief Medical Officer at the non-profit Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Earlier in his career, Paul held roles of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline, Merck KGaA/EMD, and Bristol Myers Squibb & Co.
He is Chief Medical Officer at Seraxis and has over 25 years of experience in the field. Paul received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University, his M.D. with distinction in research from the University of Rochester and completed residency training in Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Emory University. After completing two fellowships in Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology, he practiced adult and pediatric endocrinology for 6 years in Asheville, NC and served as a Clinical Associate Professor at UNC in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Paul is one of only a handful of endocrinologists to be a diplomate of 2 specialty, and 2 subspecialty boards. Paul and Fran (Carroll) Strumph have been married since 1983 and live in Virginia. They have 2 children and two granddaughters. Paul has personal experience with chronic autoimmune diseases, as he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1966, and myasthenia gravis in 2019.
VP Global Brand Marketing, Champion Brand at Hanesbrands Inc.
John Shumate is an executive marketing leader with achievements driving double-digit sales growth, exceeding revenue and profitability goals for industry leaders in Retail, CPG, E-Commerce, Digital, Footwear/Apparel, Food & Beverage, Hospitality, Sports and Entertainment arenas. Blending creative vision, marketing expertise, media savvy and a passion for innovative excellence, developed and implemented winning marketing strategy and product launches across digital/social media and traditional marketing channels for major brands, including Hanes Brands International, Pepsico, Gatorade, MGM Resorts Intl, Foot Locker Inc., Miami Dolphins and Orlando Magic.
Shumate is known as a growth minded revenue driver and brand builder for world-class corporations. He is an impact driver with glistening track record of leadership success. He has a proven ability to mentor and develop as well as build consensus that consistently creates momentum to implement strategic initiatives. He has developed and managed partner alliances with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, and Live Nation properties as well as celebrities, athletes and entertainers. His essential value is his talent for defining vision, drive growth strategy, and infusing the team with game-changing ideas.
Shumate obtained his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and currently serves on their Board of Directors. He later earned his MBA from Florida Atlantic University. Shumate is married to his lovely wife Shana and they are the proud parents of twin boys Jackson and Chase.
CEO of Chronicles Health
Marie is a senior healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience in product innovation and development, commercial strategy and operational management in the fields of chronic disease management, medical devices and diagnostics, and digital health. Much of Marie’s career has been focused on driving product innovation in diabetes. In 2021, Marie co-founded Chronicles Health with a vision of creating a closed loop system in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). She is currently serving as CEO of Chronicles.
Previously, Marie served as Vice President, Connected Care and Insulin Product Development and Site Head, Cambridge Innovation Center at Eli Lilly. Prior to joining Lilly, Marie spent 15 years at Health Advances as a managing director responsible for building and leading the drug delivery, diabetes and connected care practices and overseeing operations for the overall business. During this time, Marie also co-founded the T1D Exchange, the largest US type 1 diabetes registry funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. Prior to Health Advances, Marie held technical roles at ArQule and Gel Sciences.
Marie earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Vermont. Marie’s career has in large part been motivated by her own 40-year journey with type 1 diabetes. Marie and her husband, Matt, have two children, Addie and Hannah.
Corporate Vice President at CCS Fundraising
Life Sciences Attorney & Consultant
Serafina Raskin is a life sciences attorney and consultant helping companies advance their technologies clinically and commercially. Serafina is passionate about supporting people living with type 1 diabetes—including her own son Max (diagnosed at age 7) and her husband Ed (diagnosed at age 38), as well as advancing the role of women and other underrepresented groups in the life sciences.
From 2015 to 2021, Serafina was cofounder, general counsel, corporate secretary, and head of human resources at Beta Bionics, an automated glucose control company. While at Beta Bionics, she managed all aspects of the company’s technology licensing, pharmaceutical partnerships, intellectual property, corporate governance, and corporate financing matters. Prior to co-founding Beta Bionics, Serafina was in private law practice as a managing partner of a boutique law practice focused on serving health care industry clients with ranging from small physician groups to large in-patient hospital facilities with thousands of employees.
Serafina received a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine.
Entrepreneur
Katama’s 15 month old daughter, Merrill, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the fall of 2004, plunging Katama into the world of research, advocacy, investing, and prevention. She joined the board of the New York/Long Island chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in 2004 and served as the chapter president from 2016-2019. Katama chaired the JDRF Children’s Congress, which brings over 165 children ages 4-18,to lobby senators and congressmen on the Hill for diabetes research funding. She and her husband, Jay, co-chair the advisory board of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, and were early investors and sponsors in the T1D Fund, a first-ever venture philanthropy fund dedicated to investing in diabetes related businesses. Katama graduated from Williams College and had a career in fashion as a retail buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, and Ralph Lauren in London, UK. Katama and her husband, along with two other families, recently bought, renovated, and reopened a historic inn and restaurant in Peru, Vermont, called Johnny Seesaw’s. She is also a yoga instructor, photographer and mother of four—Merrill, Jack, Oliver, and Otis.
President and CEO, Conley Search Group
Kevin is an entrepreneur and has run his own search firm for over 14 years. Mr. Conley began his recruiting career in 1985 with Russell Reynolds Associates and has lived and worked as a recruiter in New York, London and Boston. He was on the Executive Committee at Korn Ferry International, the largest search firm in the world, where he ran the New England Region, as well as the institutional Asset Management and Wealth Management practices. Mr. Conley earned a BA from Yale University and was Captain of Men's Ice Hockey.
Mr. Conley donates 25% of his profits to diabetes research. From 2004 to 2010, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Joslin Diabetes Center, the largest independent diabetes center in the world and an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. He remains very active with diabetes fundraising serving as Co-Chair of the 2014 Joslin Diabetes Center Gala. Currently, Mr. Conley also serves on the Board of the Joslin Foundation.
Co-Founder of AMASS
Abby is a seasoned CPG executive and entrepreneur in foodtech. She is the Co-Founder of AMASS.
Previously, Abby was the CEO of Territory Foods, a chef-crafted, prepared meal service for intentional eaters. Abby joined Territory after leading ecommerce and marketing at an Amazon subsidiary called Quidsi. Prior to Amazon, Abby was a brand leader at Kraft Foods and Mondelez International, leading teams in the US and China. Abby's first food venture was a catering company she founded after working for Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group.
Abby earned her BA from Yale University and her MBA from NYU Stern. She has two daughters ages 3 and 6, and the family eats (mostly) plants.
VP, Customer Success - Thrivable
Manny is a health advocate that thrives at the intersection of social impact, culture, and inclusion, helping organizations create people-centric solutions. He has lived with diabetes since 2002. Prior to joining Thrivable, he was VP of People and Culture at Tidepool. Between 2015 and 2020, he was one of the early executives in Livongo, helping the company grow from 50 to 600+ employees, going through 2 acquisitions, and an IPO. Before Livongo, he headed the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF), a nonprofit he co-founded. Under his leadership, DHF became a global leader in diabetes social media and advocacy, with an annual reach of 3 million people through TuDiabetes.org and EsTuDiabetes.org.
Born in Venezuela, he currently resides in Orlando, and serves on the National Advocacy Committee for the American Diabetes Association. He spends his spare time reading and writing (he’s currently working on a novel).
CEO and Co-Founder, New York Stem Cell Foundation
Susan was the Co-Founder and CEO of NYSCF, a non-profit organization established in 2005 to accelerate cures through stem cell research.
A longtime health-care advocate, Ms. Solomon was a founding member and current President of NYAMR (New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research), was on the Executive and Nominating Committee for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Plan Association of NY, and she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, New York Chapter. Ms. Solomon was also a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Empire State Stem Cell Board and was on the Board of Directors for the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine. In March 2008, Ms. Solomon received a New York State Women of Excellence Award from the Governor of New York. In September 2008, she received the Triumph Award from the Brooke Ellison Foundation for her work in establishing NYSCF and in December 2012, she received the Stem Cell Action Leadership Award from the Genetics Policy Institute.
Prior to founding NYSCF, Ms. Solomon, an attorney and entrepreneur, spent much of her career building businesses. She established and ran Solomon Partners LLC to provide strategic management consulting to corporations, cultural institutions, foundations and non-profit organizations, and was the founding Chief Executive Officer of Sothebys.com. She has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lancit Media Productions, an Emmy award-winning children’s television production company, and as the President of Sony Worldwide Networks. Ms. Solomon had also held executive positions at MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings and MMG Patricof and Co., and began her career as an attorney with Debevoise & Plimpton.
She received her BA from New York University and her JD from Rutgers University School of Law. She had three sons and was married to Paul Goldberger, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer on architecture.
