Our Team

Jerry has 40+ years of management experience in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and health care service industries. For the past 14 years he has focused on the field of executive search, having successfully completed numerous assignments across North America in the life sciences sector.

Prior to joining Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover, Ltd., Jerry held senior level health care management positions including COO of Pharmco LSR; President/CEO of Cibus Pharmaceuticals and Corporate Vice President and General Manager at Burroughs Wellcome Company. In these assignments, Jerry effectively managed all primary functions within the industry as well as being an active member of the Research and Development Committee at Burroughs Wellcome.

He has an MBA degree from Suffolk University in Boston and an AB, BS from Merrimack College in Andover, Massachusetts. Additionally, he has an advanced Management Certificate from the Graduate School of Business Administration, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jeff joined Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover in 1998 following a 27 year career in the life sciences industry in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Since joining the firm, he has established a very successful biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive search practice. He is focused on C-level and board of director positions as well as senior level research & development, commercial operations and business development assignments. Jeff has established himself as one of the premier life sciences executive search professionals.

Prior to entering the executive search profession, Jeff worked with Eli Lilly (sales & marketing management), American Cyanamid (Managing Director, Cyanamid Philippines; Managing Director, Cyanamid UK; Vice President, Lederle International; President, Davis & Geck) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (President, Zimmer Europe).

Jeff received his BSc from McGill University in Montreal and his MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Oliver joined Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover, Ltd. in 2006, after a 30 year career in corporate human resources. He brings a flexible, multi-industry perspective to his clients and his approach to search. Since joining the firm he has established a broad pharmaceutical practice that focuses on life sciences companies including generics and specialty firms. Oliver’s search practice focuses on the recruitment of high-impact, seasoned executives at the director, vice president and senior officer level across all functions, i.e., commercial, research & development, medical, operations and finance.

With clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to medium & small public and private companies, Oliver has access to a well-established and broad network of industry leaders in critical life sciences functions. By partnering with clients in a focused, diligent and hands-on manner, he is able to deliver high quality candidates who can be successful in the client’s unique cultural setting.

Prior to his last role as Vice President of Human resources for the Sandoz Division of Novartis, he served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Schein Pharmaceutical. In these roles, he was responsible for talent management and succession planning. He has built multiple, winning management teams and brings that experience to his search practice.

Oliver received his B.S. in from Cornell University.

John entered the search profession in 2003 when he joined Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover to head up the firm’s Medical Device practice. Over the past six years he’s established himself as one of the top search leaders in the device / diagnostic sector, both in number of searches and clients served. John’s professional, “hands on” approach to his search practice resulted in the recruitment of over 100 professionals in the past three years, with placements split almost evenly between C-level, technical-research and commercial leadership roles. Although the majority of his work is with emerging venture-backed companies, he has also worked with many of the industry’s large-cap leaders. As one of SAAG’s Managing Partners, John has been instrumental in leading the emergence of SAAG as one of the largest retained recruiting firms in the life sciences sector.

During his 22 years in medical devices, John held senior management / executive positions with Ethicon-Johnson and Johnson, Baxter Healthcare, GE Medical Systems, Acuson-Siemens, and Sulzer Carbomedics, where as President he helped lead the successful divestiture of the business. His experience in leadership roles with five of the unquestioned leaders in the device sector has afforded him unmatched contacts as well as exposure to these cultures, resulting in a unique industry “peer to peer” network that is immeasurably valuable in executive recruiting.

John graduated from Virginia Tech where as a scholarship football athlete he earned a double major in Marketing and Management. He serves as a member of Tech’s Pamplin College of Business Management Advisory Board and currently heads up the Development Committee for the College. As a reflection of his status and respect within the commercial device community, John has served as an industry guest speaker, acquisition team member and Talent Acquisition Advisory Board member for various notable entities.

Steve brings over 20 years of global experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, drug delivery, and medical device industries to Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover, Ltd. As a biomedical executive, he has recruited executives in finance, general management, legal, research and development, regulatory and medical affairs, manufacturing, business development, sales, and marketing.

Prior to joining the firm, Steve held various health care management positions, including President/CEO of Pepgen, President/CEO of Target Protein, President/COO of Yamanouchi Pharma, President of Cygnus Drug Delivery and various business development, sales, marketing, and management positions at Biogenex and SmithKline Beckman.

Steve received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry from Harvard University, his MBA from Pepperdine University, and an Ed.D. in Organization Change and Transformational Leadership from Pepperdine University.

David has over 34 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. He has recruited and managed executives in general management, finance, research and development, regulatory and medical affairs, manufacturing, sales, marketing and investor relations.

Prior to joining Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover, Ltd., David held various health care management positions, including President/CEO of Argus Pharmaceuticals; President/CEO, Houston Biotechnology; Vice President, Davis & Geck, Division of American Cyanamid; President, Cyanamid Nordiska and various marketing, sales and general management positions with Sterling Drug.

He received his BA in Business Administration/Political Science from the University of Colorado and a Master of International Business degree from the American Graduate School of International Management.

Connie joined Strawn Arnold Ashpitz Groover, Ltd. in 2002 following a 25 year career in education and corporate recruiting. Since joining the firm, she has served as the partner in charge of recruiting operations overseeing research, candidate identification and selection for searches conducted in research and development, medical/clinical/scientific affairs, commercial, and general administration in the Life Sciences industry.

Prior to entering the executive search profession, Connie directed large-scale recruiting operations for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Aetna, and E-Systems, a division of Raytheon. She also held faculty and staff positions at the University of Connecticut and the University of Arkansas.

Connie earned an M.A. in Communication and an Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas.

Trevor has over 25 years of line management and leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Since 2002, Trevor brings his healthcare leadership experience to executive search, where he has successfully completed multiple retained engagements in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and med-tech sectors across all senior functional levels of responsibility.

Prior to executive search, Trevor was President at Mentor Corporation, at the time a publicly traded medical devices company. He also held positions of Executive Vice President of International Sales & Marketing and Executive Vice President for Business Development and Strategic Planning for Sherwood/Davis & Geck, a $1 billion medical devices company that was a Division of Wyeth. Trevor began his career at American Cyanamid and then with Wyeth, leading to various executive management roles in both headquarters and overseas locations.

Trevor received his BSc. in Economics from Seton Hall University and his MBA from Columbia University.

Chris’ practice is well established and spans the medical device & technology, diagnostics and healthcare IT sectors. He specializes in senior executive searches for C-level and VP level business leaders across all functions including commercial, research & development, operations, finance and medical affairs. With clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to medium & small public and private companies to early stage venture backed organizations, Chris has a well established and broad network with industry leaders. By partnering with clients in a focused, diligent and hands-on manner, he is widely recognized and has significant experience in evaluating succession planning and in leadership transformation.

Prior to entering executive search, Chris spent 17 years in various operating executive roles with medical technology companies GE Healthcare and Sorin/CarboMedics, and then as President of HealthTronics (NASDAQ: HTRN) where he successfully launched the innovative anatomical pathology start-up ClariPath Laboratories. His broad therapeutic and technology industry experience in cardiovascular, implantable device, imaging, oncology, pathology, healthcare IT and physician services sectors has built the foundation for an unparalleled network of industry contacts which provides immense value as an executive recruiter.

Chris received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas and his MBA from Southern Methodist University. He serves as an industry advisor to The University of Texas’ School of Biomedical Engineering.