Biographies of Industry Leaders From Different Backgrounds
“Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.”
—Jacqueline Woodson
True Diversity is a book that talks about the importance of proper representation of minorities in organizations. This tells the honest stories of people from varied ethnicities, religions, gender, and the likes who have experienced challenges in their endeavors in the workplace. Read about some of the industry leaders that have served as an inspiration for this book.
Jesus Leal
Jesus is a Cuban immigrant who is proud to be an American and the father of 3 amazing daughters - Desiree, Lauren and Sarah. Jesus is a registered pharmacist and an ex-Pharmaceutical Industry Executive. Jesus has launched many products in multiple therapeutic areas such as Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Cardiology, Respiratory and Dermatology. Jesus has deployed some of the most diverse teams in the history of the pharmaceutical industry to overtake entrenched competitors in a matter of months - such as the launch of Pegasys for the treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C.
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> Jesus has hired, promoted and mentored hundreds of minorities and females throughout his 37 year career. He shares the saying, "a nosotros nos mastican pero no nos tragan" which translates to "they will chew on us but not swallow" with every minority. Then he says, "make them swallow - by being the best teachers, chefs, doctors.
Nathan Hale Williams
Nathan Hale Williams is President and CEO of iN-Hale Entertainment LLC. He is a multi-hyphenated entertainment professional who is an award-winning filmmaker, a bestselling and award-winning author, and entertainment attorney.
His latest film, 90 DAYS, which he wrote, directed, and executive produced screened at over thirty top festivals receiving multiple "Best" awards, including an African Movie Academy Award and the Cannes Diversity Showcase - Overall Winner. His other film credits include: NAACP image award & GLAAD Media Award nominated, Dirty Laundry (fox); The Ski Trip (MTV), Love for Passion, and Blackbird (RLJ Ent.).
His television credits include: MY Model Looks Better Than Your Model (BET); Leading Women (Centric); The American Candidate (Showtime); The Kimchi Chronicles (PBS); and Girls Who Like Boys (Sundance Channel). In 2018, a dream came true when Nathan Hale Williams was hired to direct and produce live action films for Sesame Street's 49th Season.
A proud native of Chicago, Nathan Hale Williams has authored four books and is an honor graduate of George Washington University Law School and the University of Illinois and Urbana Champaign. He is a board member of the LA Outfest LGBT Film Festival and founding board member of a native son.
Sherice Torres
Sherice Torres is an inspirational leader with over 25 years of experience in marketing, brand management, strategic planning, and change management. Sherice Torres currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing for F2 (Facebook Financial), where she is responsible for all aspects of global marketing across Facebook’s payments products including Facebook Pay and Novi.
Previously, Sherice served in a variety of brand and product marketing roles at Google and Nickelodeon, including social responsibility, kids and family products, and inclusion. Sherice graduated Magna cum laude from Harvard and earned her MBA at Stanford.
Fleur Lee
Fleur Lee is a passionate public health advocate for the LGS community, which is abundantly evident through her drive, passion, and overall dedication to her work. She has focused on identifying new growth opportunities to ensure that healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers can realize the full benefits of her product.
Prior to her current role leading marketing efforts at her current company, Fleur Lee amassed over 19 years of industry experience with a unique background across many therapeutic areas.
She started her career at Pfizer, working on a range of award-winning and highly recognized brands including Celebrex, Lipitor, Exubera, Caduet, Torcetrapib (CETP inhibitor), Eliquis, and Chantix, among others. Following her time at Pfizer, Fleur Lee joined the specialty biotech company Trius Therapeutics, where she led the US commercial launch for Sivextro, an antibiotic.
Fleur Lee has a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and a bachelor of science in sociology from the University of Illinois. Fleur Lee has visited over 40 countries, camped in the wilderness of Africa for over a month, and consistently brings a can-do attitude and an incredible sense of humor to everything she does.
Ruben King-Shaw
Rubén King-Shaw joined Steward Health Care System in June of 2018 as Chief Strategy Officer. He was named President of Steward Health Care Network (SHCN) in October of that year.
SHCN manages risk-bearing Accountable Care Organizations in nine states, operates Medicaid and D-SNP MCO in Utah, and has a population health MSO. The company deploys tech-enabled services that support high-quality clinical outcomes and optimize total medical expense.
Over the course of 2019, Rubén led a team of operators, clinicians, attorneys, technologists and finance executives through a 12-month process to turn around Steward’s Arizona health plan (Steward Health Choice Arizona) culminating in its sale to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona at a record high valuation.
Rubén returned to his role of Chief Strategy Officer in February of 2020 and is currently focused on Stewards expansion into Latin America as well as growth and innovation in the Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payer markets.
Prior to joining the executive management team, Rubén had served as a member of Steward Health Care System’s board of directors since its inception in 2010. Rubén is the former Lead Director at Athenahealth and served on the board of directors including Cotiviti Holdings and WellCare Health Plans.
Throughout his career, Rubén has spent considerable time in public service leading both state and federal government health care benefit programs. Under Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Mr. King-Shaw was the Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
He then served as Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2001 to 2003 during the administration of President George W. Bush. He was also senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, where he led the Administration's Health Coverage Tax Credit policies to finance coverage for the uninsured.
In 2011, Mr. King-Shaw was appointed to the Obama Administration's Program Advisory and Oversight Committee to monitor and provide guidance to Medicare’s value-based purchasing program.
Antonious Porch
Antonious Porch is the General Counsel at SoundCloud, the world’s largest open audio platform. In his role, Porch is responsible for the company’s legal affairs and public policy strategy and the management of its global team of legal experts in content licensing, copyright, data protection and privacy, and corporate matters.
Antonious Porch joined SoundCloud from Shazam, a London-based mobile entertainment company where he served as General Counsel. Prior to Shazam, Porch spent over a decade at global media company Viacom as Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Nickelodeon, and Vice President, Senior Counsel of Technology & Kids Compliance in Viacom’s corporate office.
Earlier in his career, he held roles at Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics, part of NBCUniversal) and the law firms of Latham & Watkins and Morrison & Foerster.
A Chicago native, Antonious Porch is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School and also successfully completed a cable executive management program at Harvard Business School. He serves on the board of the IRTS Foundation and lives in New York City.
Shideh Sedgh Bina
Shideh Sedgh Bina is a founding partner of Insigniam and the Editor-In-Chief of IQ Insigniam_Quarterly®. She is responsible for the firm’s business development and marketing; Shideh Sedgh Bina has over 30 years of experience in management and consulting.
She possesses expertise in working with CEOs and other C-Suite executives to generate and execute enterprise-wide transformation in an array of industries, such as health care delivery, life-sciences, retail, media, and fast-moving consumer goods.
PharmaVOICE named Shideh Sedgh Bina one of the 100 Most Inspiring People in Life-Sciences in 2016, and in 2014 the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association named her Woman of the Year.
She has been a speaker at numerous executive conferences for Fortune 500 companies and she was an adjunct faculty member at St. Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business.
She has authored dozens of articles and her work has been featured in Fortune and Reuters.
Shideh Sedgh Bina is a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development—a_ nonprofit, nonpartisan, business-led, public policy organization—and a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.
In 1990, Shideh Sedgh Bina co-founded High Performance Consulting, which merged with the Rosenberg Group in 2005 to create Insigniam. Prior to her work in management consulting, Shideh Sedgh Bina conceived, owned, and managed a profitable upscale retail business before selling it to her employees. She then led and managed the New England region for an international training and development firm.
She holds a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Juan Mejia
Juan Mejia, M.P.H., is Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. In this role, he manages day-to-day operations, oversees operating and capital budgets, and implements clinical strategy.
Since joining New York-Presbyterian in 2003, Mr. Mejia has served in several roles including Revenue Manager and Director of Clinical Operations at NYP Milstein, Director of the Gastrointestinal Service Line at NYP/Columbia, and Vice President of Operations at NYP Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.
Most recently, he served a Vice President, Operations for NYP/Weill Cornell Hospital. Prior to joining New York Presbyterian, he was a consultant for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where he worked closely with community-based organizations to reduce infant mortality.
Mr. Mejia earned his Master of Public Health from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and his Bachelor's in Physiological Science from the University of California Los Angeles.
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