Depending on the needs of each specific client, PSS assembles a team that draws upon the expertise of experienced professionals, including:

• Eric Gilbert, President
  1. Eric Gilbert is the founder of PSS. Mr. Gilbert is a seasoned strategic executive with extensive technology development, strategy consulting, advisory and operations experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, information technology, and services industries. Mr. Gilbert has direct experience developing large-scale data sets containing linked, de-identified person level data from a number of sources. During his career, Mr. Gilbert has founded and served as chief executive of health care information technology start-ups and a disease-specific mail order pharmacy company. In addition, Mr. Gilbert has managed a consulting and advisory practice for leading managed care organizations, healthcare service providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, including Caremark, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and Chase Manhattan Bank. Beginning with McKinsey & Company, Mr. Gilbert has gained over fifteen years of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, with a particular focus on information technology. Mr. Gilbert holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA from Stanford University.
• Theresa Menders, Managing Director
  1. Theresa Menders is a senior strategic executive with over 15 years of in-depth financial, operating and strategic consulting experience. Ms. Menders has led or participated in a significant number of complex, multi-faceted advisory engagements, with senior management roles in both global institutions and start-up platforms. She has provided strategic and operational advisory services to global pharmaceutical companies, hospital systems, and leading medical device manufacturers. She was directly involved in business strategy and operational development for a high-growth technology firm providing project and resource management services to the healthcare industry, and implemented and monitored process and performance improvements for major hospitals in the U.S. She has advised Fortune 500 companies, a broad range of international conglomerates, and governmental authorities in the United States, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Ms. Menders was a former consultant with Mercer Management Consulting and, prior to that, was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch. She holds an MBA from The University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, an MA from Johns Hopkins University and a BA Magna cum Laude from Dartmouth College.
• Sarah Maloney, Senior Associate
  1. Sarah Maloney is an experienced strategy consultant who has spent the past eight years advising senior managers how to improve their companies' valuations and shareholder returns. She has worked on projects ranging from improving capital allocation decisions, to evaluating potential mergers and acquisitions to using data driven analytics to improve cash flow within a business unit. Prior to joining PSS, Ms. Maloney worked for Versa Capital, a turnaround private equity fund, as an associate in investment banking with Credit Suisse, and as a strategy consultant with Accenture. She is an expert in financial analysis, valuation, and understanding return on investment across a variety of industries and corporate structures. Ms. Maloney graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Economics and International Studies.
• Nicole Papadimos, Research Project Director
  1. Nicole Papadimos is a seasoned market research professional with almost five years experience in conducting both quantitative and qualitative research. She has managed a number of research projects in a variety of industries, including education, publishing, and professional licensure and certification. Nicole attended Whitworth College for her undergraduate work and New York University for her graduate studies, attaining degrees in Sociology and Psychology. Her work experience and education have each played a role in helping her to develop strong analytical skills and an understanding of the nuances of marketing research.
• Wei Zhang, Director
  1. Wei Zhang has 12 years of work experience throughout market research, sales analytics and sales operations for top pharmaceutical companies. Recently working for Contracted Sales Organization as Director in Sales Operations in charge of sales report automation, customer master, call planning and sales planning, reps training, territory alignment, sales analytics, secondary market search, statistical modeling and sales forecasting. Mr. Zhang has extensive experience with top 5 and midsized pharmaceutical manufacturers, has managed the sales analytics and data management for a leading Contract Sales Organization, has provided technical services and designed/implemented sales force sizing, alignment and call planning projects. Mr. Zhang holds a Master's Degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
• James Arvesen, Ph.D, Senior Advisor
  1. Jim Arvesen has over 30 years experience as an executive in and consultant to the global pharmaceutical industry with extensive experience in managed care contracting, reporting and data management. In addition to being an executive at Pfizer , he built and ran his own company for four years before selling that entity to Quintiles. Dr. Arvesen spent over twenty years in senior staff management roles at Pfizer, Inc. While at Pfizer, Dr. Arvesen pioneered the use of doctor-level prescribing data, in-house sales targeting and alignment services, conjoint analyses for positioning of Pfizer products, and aggressive ROI analyses that enabled Pfizer to optimize its industry-leading promotional spend. Dr. Arvesen has a Ph.D. in statistics from Stanford University. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught for several years at Purdue University. He is a frequent speaker at the Pharmaceutical Management Science Association and the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group.
• Julian Bene, Managing Director
  1. Julian Bene is a seasoned strategy and organization consultant with 25 years of experience in biotech / pharma, hospitals and other industries, evaluating businesses and products for investment / divestment and recommending process improvements. Mr. Bene's extensive work with one core client, a leading biotech company, has encompassed R&D, mostly in product strategy, Sales & Marketing, Government Affairs and Operations. Mr. Bene has also advised GE and a major electric utility on acquisitions and divestments. Earlier Mr. Bene worked as a regional strategy vice president for the hospital chain AMI (now Tenet). His consulting career began with 5 years at McKinsey. Mr. Bene has an MBA from Harvard with Distinction and a BA in Economics and Politics from Oxford. Prior to business school he worked for the British government and the French oil company, Total.
• Lisa Bjerknes, M.D., Senior Advisor (Medical Practice)
  1. Lisa Bjerknes, M.D. is a qualified strategy consultant working on a number of expansion initiatives including assessment of opportunities for new clinical services for a large medical center and development of treatment technology for nervous system disorders. Dr. Bjerknes has also provided a number of functions for a medical technology start-up company in business planning, business model selection, scenario analysis and primary and secondary competitor research. Additionally, Dr. Bjerknes was the Director of Strategy Development and Business Development for Omneuron, a specialized technology company developing MRI approaches. Dr. Bjerknes has an MBA from Wharton with Distinction and an MD from Stanford. Prior to business and medical school, Dr. Bjerknes worked in health care management and policy research. Dr. Bjerknes holds a BA in Neurobiology from the University of California at Berkeley.
• Mary Franz, Senior Advisor
  1. Mary Franz is an experienced health care executive that most recently was COO of Connecture. She has over 20 years of experience leading the growth of professional services, software and technology businesses in the healthcare market. Previously, she was an Executive Vice President and Officer of First Consulting Group (FCG), where she positioned the company as a leader in healthcare consulting and systems integration services. At FCG, Mary managed a staff of 600 professionals. Before FCG, Mary was a lead partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers health care practice where she brought large-scale IT transformation services to the managed care market. She began her career as a Systems Analyst and Consultant where she grew through management positions in sales, software, implementations, business process engineering, continuous improvement and operations. Mary received her MBA in Operations Research from Purdue University and her bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Indiana University.
• Matthew Holt, Vice President of Research
  1. Mr. Holt is an industry expert in health care, specifically new technologies and pharmaceuticals with extensive experience conducting primary and secondary market research. Mr. Holt previously held positions with a data analysis and Internet tools provider, Harris Interactive, the leading health care research and survey company, and The Institute for the Future, the leading forecasting think tank, where he ran the health care information technology practice. Mr. Holt holds an MS in Health Services Research from Stanford University, an MA in Political Science from Stanford University and a BA (Honors), Social and Political Science from Cambridge University, England.
• Kenneth Kern, Senior Advisor
  1. Kenneth Kern is a seasoned pharmaceutical technology operations executive with experience directing the design, development, implementation and support services for a number of data warehousing, sales and marketing effectiveness packages. Most recently, Kenneth helped Teradata initiate a data warehousing solution for the pharmaceutical/life sciences industry. Earlier in his career, he served as VP of Business Operations/Solutions Delivery for Software Associates International Inc. (SAI) and, following SAI’s acquisition, held senior management positions with Dendrite International (now Cegedim Dendrite). While at SAI and Dendrite, Kenneth managed projects that involved SFA, sample management and other systems integration. Mr. Kern holds a BA from Thomas Edison State College.
• Thomas Lytle, Senior Advisor
  1. Tom Lytle entered the health care industry when he joined Pfizer, and during more than 20 years with the company, he gained a broad range of industry experience in a series of sales, marketing and marketing management positions across several therapeutic categories. At Amgen, Tom served as VP, New Products and VP, Strategic Marketing and Business Development, where he had responsibility for shaping markets and products for launch, and for developing plans for the commercialization of early stage new products. Currently, he serves on several boards and is an Adjunct Professor, teaching graduate level courses in Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing and Competitive Intelligence. Mr. Lytle has a degree in Marketing at Western Michigan University and a graduate degree in business at LaSalle University in Philadelphia.
• William Ashton, Senior Advisor
  1. Bill Ashton brings seventeen years of experience in Biotechnology management. He is recognized for building and developing professional organizations and key relationships with government agencies. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management Program at a notable university. Previously, he was a Vice President of Commercial Affairs & Reimbursement and Business Unit Vice President/General Manager at Amgen. Mr. Ashton earned a B.S. from California University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. from University of Pittsburgh.
• Terry Burkoth, Ph.D, Senior Advisor
  1. A scientist executive with more than 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, including formulation & development, drug delivery systems, commercialization through all phases of development, including the government regulatory process. Currently serves as a Board-level Director, Scientific Advisory Board member and advisor to a number of early stage companies. Formerly, SVP, Science and Technology of Powderject Pharmaceuticals and VP, Product Development and Principal Scientist with Alza Corporation. Author of ~30 patents and ~40 published patents. Ph.D., Chemistry, Stanford University.
• Terry Cater, R.Ph., Senior Advisor
  1. Terry Cater is an experienced pharmacy and healthcare consultant and a veteran of the pharmacy industry. A former Director of Pharmacy at Safeway and Save Mart, he was also a Vice President at both Cardinal Health and McKesson Corporation. While VP of National Accounts with Cardinal Health from August 2002 to October 2004, Mr. Cater was involved with the effort to help Pyxis to leverage its experience in the hospital setting to expand into the retail pharmacy business. Over the past two decades, Mr. Cater has provided operational and strategic advice to pharmacy operators, pharmacy data companies, drug wholesalers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy/healthcare technology companies. Terry is a frequent speaker at industry meetings. Mr. Cater holds an MBA from St. Mary's College of California and a BS in Pharmacy from the University of the Pacific.
• Kelly McCrann, Senior Advisor
  1. Kelly McCrann is a senior healthcare executive with extensive experience in board governance, strategic leadership, P&L management, team formation and development, venture development and M&A transactions. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of DaVita Inc., the nation's second largest dialysis provider, was responsible for all alternative modalities that represented approximately $650 million in revenues. As President and CEO of PacifiCare Dental and Vision, he was responsible for all strategic and operating aspects of PacifiCare's dental and vision product lines with $185 million in revenue. Other positions include serving as Operating Partner for Bessemer Venture Partners, Executive Vice President and President of the Lithotripsy Division for Coram Healthcare Corp., American Medical International and McKinsey & Co. Mr. McCrann holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA from the University of California at Los Angeles.
• Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, Senior Advisor
  1. Jane Sarasohn-Kahn has worked with health care stakeholders in the U.S., Europe and Asia for over twenty years. She has assisted every segment of the health care industry throughout her career. As an affiliate of the Institute for the Future and other prestigious organizations, she has developed extensive experience with scenario planning, stakeholder analysis and regulatory/policy assessments. She is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and is a Fellow of the Institute of Health Services Management (U.K.). She holds a BA, MA and Master of Health Services Administration in Public Health Policy and Administration from the University of Michigan.
• Edward Thwaite, Senior Advisor
  1. An industry consultant with over 35 years of generic and branded experience. With Zenith Laboratories, Ed was involved in the launch of 12 generic products and with the sales & marketing of over 100 products. Prior to Zenith, Ed spent 17 years with Hoffman-La Roche, where he was involved in the launches of Accutane and Zantac, and gained experience managing for patent expiration and pending generic competition for Valium and Dalmane.
• Jim Wermert,Senior Advisor
  1. Jim Wermert is a seasoned health care industry executive with over twenty years of experience establishing, managing and maintaining physician relationships, and has an acute understanding of health plan's relationship with employers, customer service processes and marketing/customer retention strategies. Mr. Wermert has provided business development, strategy consulting, organizational design and development services to a number of health plans, IDNs and other healthcare companies. Over a twenty year period, Mr. Wermert has served as a Partner with APM (acquired by CSC), a founder of Healthspring, Inc. (acquired by United Healthcare), President of Healthplan Management Services, Inc. (a subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services), a Regional Vice President of American Medical International (now Tenet), and a Principal with Kurt Salmon Associates. Mr. Wermert holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA from Cornell University.
• Michael Widlitz, M.D., Senior Advisor
  1. Michael Widlitz brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medical device industries. Dr. Widlitz served as a Vice President of US Medical-Specialty Markets at Pfizer, a portfolio with US product sales of $6.6 billion. At Pfizer, Dr. Widlitz managed a product portfolio of 27 brands, a staff of 75, including MDs, PhDs, PharmDs and others, an operational and clinical budget of $86 million. Currently, he is a board member of National Board of CancerCare (NYC) and American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians. He earned his B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan and an M.D. from George Washington University of School of Medicine.
• Jason Hazel, Industry Expert
  1. Jason Hazel is an experienced recruiter who worked with Humana as Lead Recruiter to manage and lead a regional expansion of Humana's Medicare Sales Division. Mr. Hazel was responsible for filling over 400 sales representative and sales management positions – and managed internal and external resources to sourcing candidates, prescreening candidates against suitability criteria and managing internal communications. In this role, he was also responsible for managing internal communications and coordinating with Regulatory/Legal to ensure that there were no problems with state-specific licensing requirements.
• Mona Lynch, Industry Expert
  1. Mona Lynch is a senior executive with sales and service experience across a full set of supplemental insurance offerings and affiliation-based membership programs. Most recently, she worked with senior management of the largest global emergency medical assistance services organization to build brand recognition and sales. Ms. Lynch has extensive background in commercial insurance marketing and client management and broad knowledge of all lines of property, casualty and employee benefits coverage. Over a fifteen year career, she has held positions with Alexander & Alexander, Marsh & McLennan, J.D. Power Clubs, and Assist America. Ms. Lynch holds a BA, English Literature, Cum Laude, Wellesley College.
• Ruth Suter, Industry Expert
  1. Nancy Ruth Suter is an experienced executive with more than fifteen years of experience in pharmaceutical product and health care services marketing, sales and management. For the past ten years, she has worked in the biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical arenas with a particular expertise in business planning and product commercialization. Ms. Suter has served as Vice President and Senior Analyst at Acumen Sciences where she helped clients evaluate key reimbursement, pricing and managed care issues. Previously, she served as Director of Managed Care Strategy & Policy for Genentech, Inc where she oversaw development and execution of managed care and reimbursement strategies for biopharmaceutical product lines. Ms. Suter previously held positions with Pfizer, Blue Shield of California and American Medical International. Ms. Suter holds an MBA from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania and a BS from Case Western Reserve University.
• Roy Taub, Industry Expert
  1. In the course of a 35-year career with Standard & Poor's, Roy Taub had success in a wide range of roles and made a major contribution to the rapid growth of the company's market-leading ratings and risk analysis business. He was the Executive Managing Director and Head of S&P Strategic Development where he managed process for development of S&P strategic plan as well as the internal process for acquisitions and divestitures. His strategic capabilities include developing new businesses for the company where in 1986, he built an insurance ratings unit, expanding S&P's rating services beyond the debt markets it traditionally served and created an additional source of revenues and profits for the company. Mr. Taub holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Pennsylvania State University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He also holds a B.A. in Economics from City College of New York.