Human Capital & Corporate Culture: Strategic Elements of Business Success
9:45am – 11:00am

Managing human capital and creating cultures where expensive talent can contribute its best work is a critical strategy in building company success. Companies that succeed in managing their talent effectively have a competitive edge over those that do not foster an environment that cultivates this critical resource. Building an effective board and enabling the board to perform as a team is another side of business success. This session will review what some Bay Area companies are doing to develop effective cultures and manage their human capital, and instruct in how to take a leading role in forging active, productive partnerships with senior management in order to enhance the overall performance of their organizations.

Panel Moderator:

Glen Sato
Partner, Cooley Godward LLP

Panel Speakers:

Robert Chess
Executive Chairman, Acting President & CEO, Nektar Therapeutics

John Hamer
Chief Executive Officer and President, Arête Therapeutics Inc.
Managing Director, Burrill & Company

Jennie Mather
Chief Executive Officer, Raven biotechnologies, inc.

Lupe Rivera
Vice President of Human Resources, Exelixis

American Dream: Recruiting, Hiring and Retaining Foreign Talent in a Competitive Global Marketplace
11:15am – 12:30pm

Industry leaders in the Bay Area continue to cite that to remain competitive in the global economy, we need to revamp our education systems, renew investments in research and development, and succeed in attracting & retaining the best and the brightest workers. As greater numbers of talented foreign workers make the decision to return to lucrative careers in their homelands and more stringent immigration limits apply to foreign professionals, companies must develop strategies to remain competitive and secure an ongoing leadership position in the life science marketplace. This session will arm the audience with an understanding of the global talent pool; identify some of common problems in recruiting, hiring, and retaining foreign employees; and offer solutions to the address immigration legal hurdles.

Panel Moderator:

Stephen Fischel
Partner, Fischel Mohar & Fanning Law Group

Panel Speakers:

Howard Simon
Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Services, Associate General Counsel, InterMune

Jürgen Weber, Ph.D., MBA
Founding Partner, Bioquest, Inc.

Staying Competitive with Your Compensation Programs
2:00pm – 3:15pm

More biotech companies compete for talent in Northern California than in any other place in the world. The demand for stellar employees and growing pressure from other US & global biotechnology clusters places a premium on competitive, attractive and distinctive compensation programs.

The session will include an overview of compensation best practices and how to measure your own company's competitiveness, the role compensation plays in recruiting and retention strategies, a CFO's point of view on equity and the impact on operating profits, the compensation differentials found in the Bay Area and finally, a lively Q&A session.

The session will also review current executive compensation trends in life science industry, based on a Pre-IPO survey that compares data on biotech and medical device companies.

Panel Speakers:

John Radford
Senior Vice President, Radford Surveys + Consulting

Jody K. Thelander
J.Thelander Associates

Chutes and Ladders: Current Trends in Executive Transition
3:30pm – 4:45pm

This panel of experts will focus on rapidly-changing trends in executive recruiting within the life sciences sector. The economic climate has forced biotech companies to seek highly experienced CEO talent at a much earlier stage with experience in going public and in the negotiation of highly successful mergers & acquisition strategies. In addition, the burden of Sarbanes Oxley has resulted in ever-increasing pressures on CEO's to have real-world corporate governance experience and requires CFOs who can succeed in navigating a company through the stringent, heavily regulated accounting environment. The panel will conduct a dynamic, real-world discussion of both existing senior management recruitment challenges and future challenges that will emerge as the sector matures.

Panel Moderator:

Christos Richards
Partner and President, Levin & Company, Inc.

Panel Speakers:

Patrick Enright
Managing Director, Healthcare, Pequot Capitol

Ronald W. Eastman
Chief Executive Officer, Rinat Neuroscience

Dorian Rinella
Vice President, Human Resources, Corgentech, Inc.

Camille Samuels
Managing Director, Versant Ventures