During his 32 years in the life sciences industry, he has spent 20 years in senior management positions with three major pharmaceutical companies: Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Searle/Monsanto. In this capacity, he lived and worked extensively in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

During the last 12 years, Rosen has been president and CEO of a number of European and U.S. biotech companies including DOR BioPharma (a drug/vaccine delivery company developing new cancer drugs) and its predecessor company Endorex Corporation, PharmaMar (a European biotech company) and Barbeau Pharma (a specialty pharma company).

Rosen founded his own company, Rosen Bioscience Management, to provide CEO services to university start-up companies such as Renovar (a University of Wisconsin diagnostics company developing biomarkers for kidney disease), Immune Cell Therapy (a University of Illinois-based company developing new cancer vaccines) and LCR Woundcare (a Michael Reese Hospital-based company).

Rosen is a founder and board member (and former vice chairman) of the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization . In addition to iBIO, Rosen is a member of the board of the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Chicago.

He is a member of the industry advisory board for the master's in biotech program at Northwestern University. He is a professor of international management and international marketing at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

He received his bachelor's in sociology and international relations from Beloit College and his M.B.A. in international business from the University of Miami. He has undertaken post-graduate courses at Northwestern University and Sophia University in Tokyo. He has lived in Japan, Spain, the U.K., Italy, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
rosenmichaels@aol.com

In addition, Jacobsohn enthusiastically shares resources with his sizable network through his e-mail newsletter, “Network Your Way to Success,” and Jacobsohn.com, a comprehensive business and networking resources Web site. Further, he shares an additional perspective through his Networking Insight blog. Lastly, Jacobsohn enjoys speaking about networking and has talked before groups such as the DePaul Young Alumni Association, the Great Chicago Networking Extravaganza, LaSalle Bank and the Lincoln Park Leads Club.

In addition to Jacobsohn’s networking activities, he is an entrepreneurial business professional with expertise in strategy, due diligence, research and relationship management. He currently is a business advisor with the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC). Prior to the CEC, Jacobsohn was a senior business analyst with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), an associate with Vcapital, a financial analyst with Equity Office Properties and a senior consultant with Realogic Analytics. Jacobsohn received his M.B.A. from DePaul University and his B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
jason@jacobsohn.com

He serves on the boards of four non-profit associations and has spent 12 years working for high-tech firms. Muth has big-company experience with Xerox, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and AC Nielsen Marketing Research and small-business experience on his own for six years with Gata.

In the public sector, professor Muth has taught international marketing and management at Chicago State University and has worked in information technolgy business development for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade in Chicago. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in international economics from the University of Michigan and his master of international management degree from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management.
muth@midwestbusiness.com

Leveraging 15 years of experience within the manufacturing, high-tech, legal and professional services industries, he helps to build stronger bridges between corporate vision, marketing aspirations and sales execution by using the voice of the customer to guide his work.

He is currently writing a book on the topic of Building Buy-In, which will help professionals first learn how to motivate themselves to act and then persuade others within their organizations to follow. Trout is a syndicated columnist on the topic. Building Buy-In also appears in nearly 50 association and trade magazines.

He received his M.B.A. in marketing and information systems from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in 1999. He also received a bachelor’s in urban studies and planning from the University of California at San Diego in 1991.
paul@akina.biz

His experience broadly ranges from Fortune 500 marketing programs and regional economic development to national investor relations and children victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

Snyder’s national and regional work has captured awards for everything from NAFTA business impact to near-impossible media relations. Before founding The MEK Group in 2001, Snyder was a vice president with MARC USA, a $400 million national advertising, PR and interactive agency.

His professional technology and interactive experience includes such clients as Conseco, Electricore, Eli Lilly (Elanco), Escient Technologies, The Finish Line, General Motors (the Allison Transmission division), the Indiana Technology Partnership (now TechPoint), MASCO, the NCAA and RCA.

Snyder holds an M.B.A. in marketing from California State University, Los Angeles and has achieved professional accreditation by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

He has been a featured speaker at several national conventions and seminars including presentations for the American Marketing Association and PRSA. He has served on the business adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University, the University of Indianapolis and Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). He can be reached at 317-805-4870.
msnyder@themekgroup.com

His primary mission has been to offer to start-up and bootstrapping enterprises the same type of strategic business counsel and creative pathways to success that are enjoyed by blue chip corporations. In addition to The Katsantonis Group, he serves as a senior vice president with Northstar Counselors, which is the Minneapolis-based founding member of Pinnacle Worldwide.

His reputation has been built by providing tactical marketing, PR services, creative copy and news writing, publicity and the development of compelling special events for the widest range of consumer and B2B clients.

His successes in the entertainment industry range from launching independent film projects to original musical composition. Interviews with artists include Dave Brubeck and The Ramones and public performances include members of such influential musical groups as The Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan and Supertramp.

A Chicago native, Katsantonis holds a bachelor's of arts in political science and journalism from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. He served as legislative co-chairman of the Dallas chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and as a board member of the Dallas-Ft. Worth chapters of the Business Marketing Association (BMA) and the American Marketing Association (AMA). His dedication to the public good includes chairing the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in Texas.
jkatt@ix.netcom.com

On the clinical side, he earned his master’s degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. He then completed his surgical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital with a joint appointment as clinical fellow in surgery at Harvard Medical School. As a health care technology expert and futurist, Gurel has been a frequent conference speaker worldwide. His particular focus has been on convergent medical technologies including medical nanotechnology. In addition to MidwestBusiness.com, his commentaries have been published in the Wall Street Journal. His regular blog on life sciences, business and investment can be found here.
ogan@midwestbusiness.com