Healthcare Entrepreneurship Forum
Supporting Kellogg Healthcare Entrepreneurs
The Kellogg Healthcare Entrepreneurship Initiative is a new effort to further strengthen Kellogg's leadership position in healthcare combining the strength of Healthcare at Kellogg (HCAK) and the Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice. The forum will connect and nurture Kellogg alumni with interested students, through a series of panels on the entrepreneurial challenges in biopharma, med-tech and digital health, along with in-depth discussions about founding, financing and building a healthcare company. Networking and dinner will follow.
2026 Panels and speakers
Welcome and introduction:
Pete McNerney, Director of Kellogg Healthcare Entrepreneurship Initiative & Adjunct Professor and Katie Arnold, `02 MBA, Founder & CEO, SPRIG Consulting & Adjunct FacultyPanel discussion:
Digital Health - Impact of AI: Provider efficiency, medical documentation, back-office, RCM
Featuring Kaveh Safavi, `82 MBA, Senior Managing Director, Global Healthcare, Accenture; Martha Wofford, `01 MBA, President & CEO, BCBS of Rhode Island; Robbie Tindall, VP, Provider Process Network Operations, Humana
Moderated by Connor Workman, ’27 MD/MBA
Panel discussion:
How to Position your Company for Acquisition
Featuring Lisa Earnhardt, `96 MBA, Executive Vice President and Group President, Medical Devices, Abbott; , Chief Science Officer, Exact Sciences; Whit Bernard, MBA `13, CEO, Metsera; Alexei Mlodinow, `16 MBA, MD, Venture Partner, SPRIG Equity
Moderated by Josh Engel, `26 MBA
Panel discussion:
Medtech - Impact of AI: Challenges of Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)
Panelists include Sean Salmon, `00 MBA, Advior, PwC; Ben Andrew, Vice President of Strategy, Intuitive; Samir Abboud, Chief of Emergency Radiology, Northwestern Medicine
Moderated by Nithya Sridhar, `27 MBA
Panel discussion:
State of the Healthcare Venture Capital Market
Featuring Steven Elms, Managing Partner, Aisling Capital; Marc Galletti, `97 MBA, Managing Director & Founder, Longitude Capital; Scott Minick, `81 MBA, Former Venture Partner, ARCH Venture Partner; Liridon Rrushaj, Director of Venture Investing, OSF VenturesModerated by Patrick Passatempo, `26 MBA
Panel discussion:
BioPharma: Impact of AI: Drug Discovery and Development
Panelists include Maneesh Arora, MBA `00, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Elephas Martin Babler, `98 cKSM, Founder & CEO, Alumis; Barbara Goodman, President & CEO, Cures Within Reach
Moderated by Nathan Buchwald, '26 MBA
Panel discussion:
Impact of Social Media
Featuring Tim Calkins, Associate Chair of Marketing, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management; Tyler Wanke, `15 MBA, CEO and Co-founder, Madison Scientific; Adwaiy Manerikar, MD, Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident, Northwestern University and Founder, Primed Health
Moderated by Bella Maramica, `26 MBA
Previous Healthcare Entrepreneurship Forums
2025
Welcome and introduction:
Pete McNerney and Katie Arnold
Panel discussion:
Biopharma: The Promise of Synthetic Biology
Featuring Danielle Tullman-Ercek Co-Director, Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University; Jenny Rooke, Managing Director, Genoa Ventures; Jay Rosanelli, CEO, Syenex. Moderated by Paul O'Malley '25 MBA
Panel discussion:
Lessons Learned from Failure that Helped Achieve Success
Featuring Andrew Cittadine, COO Monopar Therapeutics; Konstantin Kostov, Scientist, Investor, Entrepreneur; Gabriele G. Niederauer, Ph.D., CEO and Co-founder, Freyya. Moderated by Talia Krainc, MD Feinberg, 2023
Panel discussion:
Using Digital Technology to Address Mental & Behavioral Health
Featuring Ademola (Dayo) Popoola '21 MBA, CTO-CIO Thresholds; Andrea Graham Ph.D., Co-Director, Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies, Northwestern University; Rich Gengler, CEO, Prevail Health
Moderated by Naoka Gunawardena '25 MBA
Panel discussion:
Raising Capital from Family Offices
Featuring Mike Burrows, CEO, Walder Capital; Gerrit Adams, Henry Crown & Co.; Jonathan Jonas, JVC Investments
Moderated by Patrick Sloan '25 MBA.
Panel discussion:
MedTech: Reinventing Medtech with AI
Featuring Carson Thomas, Ph.D., COO, Third Coast Dynamics; Amit Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO, Cardiosense; Diane Gomez-Thinnes, Corporate Vice President, Edwards Lifesciences.
Moderated by Daniel Medina '24 MBA.
Panel discussion:
Can Innovation Help Deliver Healthcare to Underserved Populations
Featuring Mahomed Ouedraogo, CEO Access Community Health - FQHC; Kara Palamountain, Research Professor Kellogg School of Management; Sahar Jamal '19 MBA, CEO and Founder, Maziwa.
Moderated by Ben Joslin '26 MBA.
2024
Welcome and introduction:
Pete McNerney and Katie Arnold
Panel discussion:
Digital Health: Connecting with the Health Care Consumer
Featuring Jeff Bennett '00 MBA, CEO, Higi, Patty Riskind '97 MBA, CEO, Orbita, and Chris Michalak '98 MBA, CEO Virgin Pulse. Moderated by Alison Cerny '24 MBA.
Panel discussion:
Balancing Entrepreneurship with Family and Financial Pressures
Featuring Morgan Clyburn Evans '16 MBA, CEO, Agitated Solutions, Harry Rowland, CEO, Endotronics, Inc., and Andrew Cittadine '98 MBA, COO, Monopar Therapeutics. Moderated by Blair Matthews, JD Pritzker '22.
Panel discussion:
Biopharma: Precision Medicine
Treating the right patient with the right medicines. Featuring Tassos Gianankakos, CEO, Prolaio & Former CEO, MyoKardia, Maneesh Arora '00 MBA, CEO, Elephas, and Kara Werner '17 MBA, VP Business Operations, Tempus. Moderated by Pam Divak '24 MBA.
Panel discussion:
Building a Team and Creating the Right Culture
Featuring Ted Davis '97 MBA, CEO, BioTissue, Paul Edick, CEO, Xeris Pharmaceuticals, and Anna Lisa Somera, CEO, Rhaeos. Moderated by Prashanth Somu '23 MBA.
Panel discussion:
MedTech: Challenges of Commercialization
Featuring Vince Wong '09 MBA, CCO, Geneoscopy, Todd Cruikshank, ‘17 MBA, GM, SIA (acquired by Integra LifeSciences), and Ariel Sutton '04 MBA, EVP, Imperative Care. Moderated by Swarun Kulasekaran '23 MBA.
Panel discussion:
Exits: What is Right for Your Company and How to Prepare
Featuring Eric Larson, CEO, Tilla Holdings, Daniel Wolf, SVP Strategy & Corporate Development, Baxter International, and Peter Day '00 MBA, Global Group Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Piper Sandler. Moderated by Christie Keller '24 MBA.