Sam joined SCBIO in Spring 2017 as its President/CEO, focused on aggressively scaling-up and leading the innovative statewide economic development organization and industry association in its mission to build, advance, innovate and grow South Carolina’s $11.4 billion life sciences industry which is comprised of over 600 companies. 

Prior to his role with SCBIO, Sam served as Executive Director of the Greenville Health Research Development Corporation as part of a 12-year affiliation with the Greenville Health System in various strategic roles, and was the founding President/CEO of Upstate SC Alliance along with other leadership positions with the SC Department of Commerce and Germany-based Alfmeier Corporation. He is also the founder and principal of SK Strategies, LLC - a consulting firm specializing in economic development, innovation, public-private partnerships, integrated marketing and business development strategies.

A licensed attorney since 1989, he is a member of numerous business and industry boards, including current roles serving on the SC Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee & Board, Southeast Life Sciences Association Board of Directors, SCRA Business & Science Advisory Board, SCBIO Board of Directors, South State Bank Greenville Advisory Board, and Palmetto Conservation Foundation Board.  He is the past board chair of the Cancer Society of Greenville County, past board vice chair of the Upstate SC Red Cross, has been designated as a Knowledge Economist by SCRA, and was awarded The Order of the Palmetto in 2018 – SC’s highest civilian award.

Lou Kennedy is President, Chief Executive Officer and Owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. She joined Nephron Pharmaceuticals in 2001, and accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2007. Having held a variety of marketing and operational roles during her career; one notable achievement at Nephron was creating a national sales force, a rarity in the pharmaceutical industry. In the years following, this helped Nephron Pharmaceuticals grow by 300% and increased shipped product to one billion doses each of the last seven years.

Nephron recently built a state of the art manufacturing facility in West Columbia, South Carolina. Mrs. Kennedy was at the forefront of this expansion, which opened in June 2014. Lou is always seeking to enhance and grow her business. She started a 503B Outsourcing division of Nephron in 2016. Production for that division began in January 2017 and is rapidly increasing.

Along with her husband Bill, Mrs. Kennedy helped establish the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in conjunction with the USC School of Pharmacy. She serves on a variety of business and civic boards, including but not limited to, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the National Bank of South Carolina Board, a division of Synovus, Columbia College Board of Trustees, South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance as well as the USC Athletic Department Board. Lou and Bill Kennedy were named Ambassadors of the Year by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce in 2013. They also received the Lexington County Ambassador for Economic Development award in 2014. A graduate of the University of South Carolina’s College of Journalism with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Mrs. Kennedy never shies from the opportunity to cheer on the Gamecocks!

Thornton Kirby is President and CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association, a role he has held since 2005.

Under Thornton’s leadership SCHA has been an advocate for patients as well as hospitals, earning a national reputation for statewide improvements in quality and safety. South Carolina was the first state to establish “Certified Zero Harm Awards,” which are given annually to hospitals that can demonstrate at least 12 consecutive months without certain types of harm.

Thornton attended the University of Virginia, where he studied government and interned for Senator Strom Thurmond.  He studied law at the University of South Carolina and began his professional career as a healthcare attorney with the Nexsen Pruet law firm. After advising hospitals for several years, Thornton served as a hospital executive and later as a senior executive for Clemson University.

Dan serves as Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Business Technology for Charles River Laboratories.  

In that role, he is responsible for working closely across the Microbial Solutions leadership to shape global business growth strategies, evaluate and support the prioritization of critical business initiatives, and oversee and manage a portfolio of growth projects key to achieving the business’s 5-year plan. He also continues to serve as the Business Technology Partner for IT and act as the primary liaison between IT and Microbial business leadership on strategic initiatives. 

Caroline Brown is the director of the Office of External Affairs for the Medical University of South Carolina and MUSC Health. Before that, she oversaw external affairs and strategic engagement for MUSC’s Office of the President. In that capacity, she assisted MUSC President David Cole, M.D., and MUSC leadership in crafting a corporate engagement strategy which led to community support for MUSC as well as commercial partnerships.

In her expanded role, Brown’s responsibilities encompass both the academic and clinical operations of the MUSC enterprise, working to establish new strategic partnerships and overseeing the organization’s corporate affairs and economic development work.  She continues to serve in an advisory role as a special assistant to President Cole.

Prior to joining MUSC, Brown was a campaign and financial strategist for federal political candidates. She also served as U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s national deputy finance director and state deputy finance director and spent time in Washington working on Capitol Hill. During her time in politics and government, she successfully built relationships with business and industry leaders across the country and led record breaking fundraising strategies and campaigns, garnering the skills necessary for navigating complex environments and solving problems.

Brown, a Charleston native, earned her undergraduate degree in public relations from the University of South Carolina and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.

Dr. Cull is VP of Academic Development for Prisma Health and Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education for the University of South Carolina School of Medicine - Greenville.  He serves as senior advisor to the Prisma Health Chief Executive Academic Officer and USC Schools of Medicine Deans, among others, and oversees all Upstate graduate medical education programs.  Dr. Cull is a professor in the Department of Surgery and an adjunct professor at the Clemson University School of Health Research.  He holds numerous patents for vascular access and wound management devices and has launched two start-up companies.  He received his B.S. in biology from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, and his MBA from University of Massachusetts.  He also served 12 years in the Air Force Medical Corps.

Michael J. Graney leads the CRDA's comprehensive, strategic global business development efforts focused on five industry clusters - Aerospace, Automotive, Information Technology, Life Sciences and Advanced Logistics. Mike joined the CRDA after successfully managing the Business Development program at the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts for more than eight years. Mike’s focus is on inward investment to Charleston, with a particular emphasis on European FDI. Mike is active with our Investor Relations program, engaging public and private sector investors and allies to support our business attraction strategy.

Mike has had an eclectic career, working in industries as varied as economic development, commercial development, and sports and entertainment. Mike has spent his entire career on the East Coast, primarily in New England.

Mike was born in upstate New York and received his B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He currently resides in Charleston and enjoys living 5 minutes from the beach.

Shea Harrelson is an experienced clinician and entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working in the medical and biotech industry. After graduating from the Medical University of South Carolina with her Physician Assistant degree, she practiced in the field of Cardiology for nine years. She then joined St. Jude Medical where she specialized in the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division.

Shea began her entrepreneurial career in 2013 with building a national sales commercialization and worked with several start-up companies to bring new diagnostic products to market. While always passionate about the medical field, Shea is specifically driven to develop modalities to help combat the global epidemic of antibiotic resistance, which led her to Vikor Scientific.

Shea manages the internal operations, employees and resources of Vikor. She is responsible for the initial and ongoing development of the diagnostic panels and testing algorithms and the overall planning, implementation, and integration of the company’s strategies.

Dr. Stephen J. Cutler serves as the dean of the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.  He has been a pharmacy educator for more than 25 years.  In addition, he is a broadly trained medicinal chemist and behavioral pharmacologist whose research focuses on the design, synthesis, discovery and development of drugs to treat various disorders, including those of the central nervous system (CNS).  During his career, Dr. Cutler has received more than $30,000,000 from various federal agencies including the NIH, NSF, DoD, CDC, NASA, and the USDA.  He is the author or co-author of more than 45 patents (US and international), 120 peer-reviewed publications, 3 books, 20 book chapters, 39 published abstracts, and 62 invited presentations.

Jeff Stover’s practice covers the spectrum of intellectual property rights, including patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition and related matters for clients operating in a wide range of technologies, including manufacturers, technology companies and startups. He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and helps his clients secure, protect and defend their intellectual property rights. 

Jeff represents clients in litigated matters involving the assertion of intellectual property rights, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret litigation.  As part of that representation, Jeff handles post-grant patentability matters in front of the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board, such as inter partes review proceedings. Outside of litigation, Jeff assists his clients in securing intellectual property rights, including the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, trademarks and copyrights in a wide range of business areas.

In addition to intellectual property matters, Jeff has litigation experience in a wide range of substantive areas, including general business disputes, shareholder disputes, fraud and misrepresentation claims, fiduciary duty claims, insurance coverage and bad faith disputes and other types of disputes, on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, and draws upon this experience when counseling his clients. Jeff provides counsel in association with the protection of trade secrets and negotiates licenses, assignments and related documents associated with intellectual property rights.

Before beginning his legal career, Jeff worked as an engineer on the development of projects including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Jeff brings the attention to detail needed to succeed as an engineer to the practice of law.

Rich joined the leadership team at Medpoint following a distinguished and varied 23-year career with a Fortune 100 multinational medical device and pharmaceutical company. Rich brings executive-level leadership experience and technical knowledge in Operations, Quality Assurance, Compliance, and Regulatory Affairs. As Chief Operating Officer of Medpoint, Rich has direct responsibility for all aspects of day-to-day operations and quality assurance.

Scotty Branch has been an executive, entrepreneur and founder for multiple organizations from the corporate pharmaceutical world to the diagnostics and lab industry. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he held multiple positions with large pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Roche. These positions ranged from sales representation to corporate management.

As a Co-Founder of Vikor Scientific, he manages the business relations of Vikor, which includes the management of the Sales Division and Area Vice Presidents, C-Suite relationships with healthcare institutions and commercial partners, payor relations, and other facets of the business growth, including the new WestEdge project.

Mandy Brawley serves as Deputy Director of Global Business Development division for the South Carolina Department of Commerce. She is active in the recruitment of new business and the expansion of existing businesses in the state. In Mrs. Brawley’s time at the Department of Commerce, she has managed projects that produced over 11,000 jobs and more than $2 billion dollars in capital investments in our state.

Prior to this position, she was a pharmaceutical representative covering South Carolina and parts of Georgia. Mrs. Brawley moved to South Carolina from her hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi, where she began her economic development career at the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce. She is married to William Brawley, II, a native of Irmo, South Carolina. They have two daughters, Stella and Bette.

Mrs. Brawley has earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. She has also attended the Basic Economic Development course from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

As head of Nexsen Pruet’s economic development group and a key member of the its public finance group, Tushar works to negotiate and implement financial transactions aimed at sparking new success, or bolstering established success, for his clients. Tushar has represented a diverse group of companies, both domestic and international, in industries including heavy and light manufacturing, pharmaceutical and life sciences, warehouse and distribution, research and development, alternative energy, and real estate development.  He is highly active in numerous community and business organizations.  Tushar is a Member of the Bar in North Carolina and South Carolina.  He holds his J.D. from the Wake Forest University School of Law, and his B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of South Carolina. 

Experienced executive in all aspects of the clinical trial space. Co-founded multiple research entities ultimately managing all clinical operations within VitaLink Research, a wholly owned, private equity backed network of clinical trial sites. VitaLink Research is the growth platform (through tuck-in acquisition and de novo) headquartered out of Greenville, SC. Clinically trained as a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and having spent 20 years owning/operating clinical trial sites Steve is helping to create one of the largest network of privately held clinical trial sites in the United States.

Matthew Couvillion focuses his practice on transactional matters, with an emphasis on corporate law, tax, and non-profit organizations.  He has experience advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, tax matters, and corporate governance. 

Matthew received an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.  He earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law where he was the Managing Editor of the South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a B.A. in History.

From the instant South Carolina Power Team was introduced to James he knew his career path had prepared him to lead the organization as President and CEO. His ability to develop and maintain relationships and his track-record of success of maximizing opportunities for developing rural areas and mid-sized communities, were necessities for moving this organization forward.

A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, James graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Science. Having received his college degree in Childhood Development, James began his career at a local children’s hospital. Call it chance or fate, when a friend presented an opportunity for him to work in economic development with the Chamber of Commerce in Leadville, Colorado, it changed his course and began his 20-year career in economic development. Following, James worked in various executive leadership capacities for economic development organizations in both Georgia and Tennessee.

Upon joining the South Carolina Power Team in the fall of 2013, James ventured out to personally meet with over 130 stakeholders within his first six months. From his one-on-one conversations emerged the framework for a new strategy that enables South Carolina Power Team to become a leading economic development resource in South Carolina. With James at the helm, backed by a fully supportive board, a Strategic Blueprint was adopted in January 2014. Essential to the overall growth and future of the organization, James is charged with the strategy’s implementation.

“The establishment of a new industry that brings better job opportunities, for many, may mean a family member having their first well-paying job.”

 While James may not be a South Carolina native, in his new role he has absorbed and traveled the 46-county state becoming a quick-study. James’ hands-on approach has enabled him to become fully entrenched in what the electric cooperatives offer for local economic development organizations, their stakeholders and South Carolina. “Changing family trees” is what the Power Team system does as a whole.

James, an avid fisherman of both fresh and saltwater, lives on Lake Murray with his wife, Stevie. Together, they have two adolescent children, two adult children, and two grandchildren. He and his wife love International food and travel.

J.J. currently serves as Director State Government Affairs for Johnson & Johnson, which he joined in 2011.  Previously he served as President at Tallon Darby Communications and as a registered lobbyist with The Palmetto Policy Group.  He holds a B.S. in International Studies and Economics from the University of South Carolina.

A South Carolina native and graduate of Clemson University with BS and MS degrees in Management, Bob is a 35 year employee of AVX. He started in Marketing, then became the General Manager of a capacitor facility in Maine in 1994.  He and the team there developed a high reliability value proposition for the business, whose primary customer base would be companies manufacturing implantable medical devices.  In 2014, Bob was appointed Vice President of the Medical Division, a new position in AVX dedicated to developing products for the medical industry and expanding the AVX footprint in medical devices. In that capacity, he continued his involvement in developing, manufacturing and marketing capacitors and other AVX components for pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and other life-saving and enhancing products.  Through these efforts, AVX components are used in most of the implantable life support devices made in the world, and the company is expanding its passive component, interconnect, sensor and antenna product portfolio to serve other segments of the medical electronics industry.

Alissa advises national, regional and local healthcare providers on a broad range of legal issues. As both an attorney and a registered nurse, she uses her first-hand experience to understand and strategically address some of her clients’ biggest industry challenges.

Alissa’s clients include large hospital systems as well as long term care facilities, home health agencies, pharmacies, and healthcare professionals. Her counsel touches on almost every aspect of health care operations including regulatory compliance; operations and risk management; certification; reimbursement and Medicare and Medicaid repayment audits and voluntary repayments; investigations and disclosures under the CMS and OIG self-disclosure protocols involving potential violations of the Fraud and Abuse Anti-kickback Statute; confidentiality of medical information and HIPAA; facility licensing; certification of need; scope of practice and other healthcare issues involving both the state and federal law.

On the healthcare litigation side, Alissa handles litigation at the trial and appellate levels, including jury and non-jury trials and hearings on behalf of hospitals, physicians, long term care facilities, home health and hospice providers, pharmacies, and other healthcare professionals in claims ranging from medical malpractice, disciplinary proceedings, repayment, and qui tam whistleblower actions.

In addition to her healthcare practice, Alissa counsels and represents public and private employers on employment issues. She concentrates her employment practice on healthcare providers and represents clients in all aspects of employment litigation, including matters involving discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII, ADEA, FMLA, ADA and state employment laws.

Chad Hardaway is Associate Director of the University of South Carolina (USC) Office of Economic Engagement and the Director of the Technology Commercialization Office.  As Associate Director of the USC Office of Economic Engagement, Chad works to align USC assets with outside corporate and government partners.  As Director of the USC Office of Technology Commercialization, Chad oversees a portfolio of over 500 university technologies and is responsible for moving those technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. 

Chad also works with University Technology Startups and South Carolina Technology Companies to form partnerships, find capital, explore research opportunities, develop new markets, and ultimately move products into the hands of consumers.  Prior to joining the University of South Carolina in 2005, Chad was a Process Engineer with Eastman Chemical Company.  These past positions and experiences provide a broad understanding of the early stage technology development cycle and how it can connect with existing corporate market and technology development.  Chad has a BS in Chemical Engineering, MBA, and a Juris Doctor all from the University of South Carolina.

Dr. Harms is Vice President for Medical Affairs at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina (BCBSSC), responsible for the assessment of new and evolving technology for the purpose of determining coverage.  Prior to joining BCBSSC five years ago, Dr. Harms had a similar role with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.  Dr. Harms currently serves on both the Medical Policy Panel and the Executive Committee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), and previously served on the Technology Evaluation Center Medical Advisory Panel of BCBSA.  He has experience consulting with venture capital organizations regarding new technology and currently frequently consults with evolving technology vendors regarding evidence gaps in their clinical trials.  Dr. Harms represents BCBSSC on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, and Palmetto Care Connection.

Anthony loves promoting innovative cultures, believing that to grow innovative cultures there must be innovative leaders. As the founding executive director for Furman Innovation and Entrepreneurship, he champions development of innovative and entrepreneurially-minded leaders, growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Furman, and contributing to the local and national entrepreneurial ecosystem.  Rated by U.S. News & World Reports as the #5 Most Innovative College, Furman Innovation and Entrepreneurship exists to develop innovative and entrepreneurially-minded leaders who are equipped to transform our communities and the world through social and entrepreneurial ventures. Past roles include time in executive development and leadership succession with Toyota and SMU.  

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Founder and CEO of EDTS (1999) and EDTS Cyber (2017) - both companies were acquired (March 2019) by private equity firm Inverness Graham and are now part of their national technology platform - Corsica Technologies.

25 years working with businesses and organizations of all sizes - securing their networks, defending their operations, and protecting their data from outside and insider threats. 

Ms. Leidinger, who earned her bachelor’s degree from Clemson, joined the university as executive director of governmental affairs in 2002 and assumed additional duties as executive secretary to the Clemson board of trustees in 2008.  She has primary responsibility for directing Clemson’s government relations activity at both the state and federal levels, and works with industry and developing strategic partnerships to strengthen the university’s economic and industry engagement. In addition, she serves as executive secretary to the board of trustees. In that role, she serves as the liaison between the university and its board of trustees, facilitating relationships and information sharing between the board and university administration, faculty, staff and students.

Marc Metcalf is a Business Recruitment Officer for the Upstate SC Alliance, providing support to companies that are considering expansion of their business in the U.S.  In his role, Marc works with the Alliance’s public and private sector investors in executing recruitment strategies focused on making the Upstate an ideal location for business expansion opportunities.

Prior to joining the Upstate SC Alliance, Marc was a business developer with a manufacturing focused credit union and was responsible for relationship development and company growth while serving hundreds of South Carolina manufacturers and their employees.  Most recently, Marc was the Employer Services Manager with Greenville Technical College, serving as the college’s liaison to the business community and implementing customized training and workforce development solutions for area manufacturers.  Marc has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from North Greenville University.  Marc currently represents the Alliance on the boards of SCBIO and the SC Automotive Council and is a board member of the City of Greer Recreation Association. 

.A higher education professional with more than 20 years’ experience focused on enrollment management and advancement at small private and mid-size public institutions. I work with colleagues to provide an exceptional education to students who seek to be well-rounded and prepared for their career and community. I also have the great fortune of working with generous individuals who invest in our students. 

Will Williams is a native of Georgetown, SC and a graduate of The Citadel with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. Will has more than 20 years of economic development experience in various capacities. Will is a member of several organizations such as, The SC Economic Developers Association, The Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, and the Aiken Technical College Foundation. Will is currently the 2nd Vice Chairman of the Southern Economic Development Council and President of The Rotary Club of Aiken.

Will has been recognized for his work in economic development with the 2017 SCEDA Local Developer of the Year and the W. D. Workman Buffalo Hunter Award. He also has the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer by the State of South Carolina.

Will enjoys playing golf, hunting, and fishing along with long distance running. He is married to Ellen, a native of Columbia, SC. They have two sons, one who attends The Citadel and one who attends Aiken County Public Schools.

Dr. Cynthia Young joined Clemson University in August 2017 as the Founding Dean for the College of Science.  Through her leadership over the past year, the College has made great progress including building an innovative leadership structure and diverse team, developing an ambitious strategic plan called SciForward, engaging in strategic outreach opportunities to increase awareness of SCIENCE throughout South Carolina, creating a new hiring process that elevates “T” shaped researchers who can integrate across many disciplines and industries, engaging with new global partners that are at the forefront of scientific research, and converging the collective power of the life, physical and mathematical sciences to tackle tomorrow’s scientific challenges and prepare the next generation of scientist.  Prior to joining Clemson, Dr. Young spent 20 years at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. During that time, she was a nationally recognized scholar, co-founded UCF’s EXCEL program that raised STEM graduation rates by 40%, and served in many leadership roles including associate dean of the College of Science and Vice Provost for faculty excellence and UCF Global.