Life Sciences Power Breakfast

Patrik Jonsson (he/him/his) is executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Company, president of Lilly Diabetes and Obesity, and president of Lilly USA.

Patrik previously served as executive vice president and president of Lilly Immunology, Lilly Bio-Medicines and general manager of Lilly Sweden, Scandinavia, Italy and Japan. Since joining Lilly in 1990 as a sales representative, Patrik has held a number of positions in sales, marketing and general management. He served as European marketing director for Zyprexa and the neuroscience customer group, as managing director of Sweden and later of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark), and as president and general manager of Eli Lilly Italia, adding responsibilities for countries in central and southeastern Europe in 2012. In 2014, he became president and general manager of Lilly Japan.

Patrik is a business graduate from Lund University School of Economics and Management in Sweden.

He is the past chair of the Japan-based executive committee of PhRMA and served on the board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

Alan Palkowitz, PhD, joined the Indiana Bioscience Research Institute (IBRI) as President and CEO in September 2020. Dr. Palkowitz has more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery and development in both industry and academia. At the IBRI, he is building a world-class organization that catalyzes translational research activities across the life sciences ecosystem. In addition to his role at the IBRI, Dr. Palkowitz is a senior research professor of medicine at the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine, where he directs the IUSM-Purdue TaRget Enablement to Accelerate Therapy Development for Alzheimer’s Disease (TREAT-AD) Center. Prior to joining the faculty at the IU School of Medicine, Dr. Palkowitz served as the vice president of Discovery Chemistry Research and Technologies at Eli Lilly and Company, where he worked for 28 years. Additionally, Dr. Palkowitz has served on several prominent advisory committees, including most recently the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Advisory Council. He has published numerous research articles and is an inventor on 60 US patents. Dr. Palkowitz obtained his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Latha Ramchand was named inaugural chancellor of IU Indianapolis, and executive vice president of Indiana University, effective February 12, 2024. In addition to her executive leadership role, Chancellor Ramchand will serve on the Indianapolis faculty of the Kelley School of Business as professor of finance. She joins the campus at a pivotal time in its history and brings the energy and vision that will help launch IU Indianapolis as one of the nation’s premier urban research universities. 

Most recently, she served as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri, a role she had held since 2018, and prior to that she had been dean of the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston since 2011. In both of those leadership positions, she focused on student success, strengthened the research enterprise, and advanced strategic initiatives that increased enrollment and created partnerships on campus and with the community.

An expert on international and corporate finance, Ramchand has been recognized for her leadership, scholarship, and outstanding teaching over the course of her career. She has published extensively and has presented her work at national and international conferences. She received her doctorate in finance from Northwestern University and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics from the University of Mumbai.

Kristin Sherman is the CEO of Kovina Therapeutics, an early-stage biotech company focused on developing antiviral therapeutics to treat infections and cancers caused by human papillomavirus.

Prior to Kovina, Kristin served as the COO of VMS BioMarketing, a healthcare marketing firm focused on improving patient outcomes. Her prior experience includes serving as chief financial officer for private biotech companies such as Calibrium LLC until its acquisition by Novo Nordisk in 2015, and Marcadia Biotech, which was purchased by Roche in 2010. Kristin also worked as the vice president and treasurer for Guidant Corporation and served as the company’s first financial director for the emerging markets region located in Belgium. In addition, she served as Guidant’s assistant treasurer during the company’s spinoff from Eli Lilly and Company. Kristin began her career in finance with Eli Lilly and Company.

Kristin earned her Bachelor of Arts in economics from DePauw University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Kristin is the chair of the Community Health Network board of directors and is the past chair of the Audit, Compliance and Finance Committee.

Wendy leads the Biotechnology organization for Corteva Agriscience. In this role, she is responsible for the discovery and development of Corteva’s Biotechnology and Gene-edited product pipeline, global genotyping, and genomics to accelerate breeding, and novel enabling technologies. She and her team lead the Biotechnology strategy, execution, science, capability development, scientists, laureates, and facilities including laboratories, greenhouse, and controlled environments. Wendy earned her B.S. degree in Crop and Soil Science at Michigan State University, an M.S. degree in Weed Science from Virginia Tech, and her Ph.D. in Crop Science from North Carolina State University. She spent the first 7 years of her career in Europe (United Kingdom and Italy) before returning to the US. Wendy has 2 granted US patents and 24 external publications. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Board of Directors for the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute. Wendy developed a passion for agricultural research growing up on her family’s farm in Michigan. She enjoys gardening, volunteering, running, travelling, and being with her four children and husband.

Robert E. (Bob) Vitoux, Jr. joined OrthoWorx as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 2022. Mr. Vitoux previously served in finance and management positions with Zimmer, Biomet, DePuy Synthes, and most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Commercial Officer for Dovetail Brands LLC, a unit of Fort Wayne-based Ambassador Enterprises.

In addition to his experience in the Indiana-based medical device cluster, Mr. Vitoux has served in a number of varied management roles, including President and CEO of Warsaw-based Seymour Midwest; Global Finance Director for Lifescan, a Johnson & Johnson business based in Scotland; and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Steinway Musical Instruments, based in New York City.

Mr. Vitoux graduated from Manchester University (formerly Manchester College) with a degree in accounting and has completed executive programs at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and the University of Notre Dame.

He and his wife Debbie were married back in 1987 and they have two kids, Austin and Ashlyn. They are active members in the church and their community, including Bob’s participation on several nonprofit boards over the years.