Nancy Lurker, President & CEO, pSivida
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Upper Gwinn Commons

"Life as a Pharma CEO: The Good, the Bad and the Amazing"

The annual Burton and Ralene Walls Distinguished Speaker Series Luncheon will feature Nancy Lurker, President & CEO of pSivida on Tuesday, March 6.  This is our 17th year of introducing outstanding business leaders to our students. 

Nancy, a veteran in the biopharmaceutical industry, joined pSivida in September  2016 as President and Chief Executive Officer and is a member of the company’s Board of Directors.  Ms. Lurker has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical services industries.  Prior to joining pSivida, Ms. Lurker was President and CEO at PDI a leading commercialization and contract sales company that commercialized hundreds of pharmaceutical drugs, devices, OTC and diagnostic tests in collaboration with their business partners through PDI’s 1100 sales representatives.  In 2015, Nancy led the sale of PDI’s contract sales division to Publicis Touchpoint Solutions.  

Prior to joining PDI, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation where she oversaw a $6 billion product portfolio in multiple therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, CNS, respiratory and anti-infectives. 

Ms. Lurker was also President and CEO of ImpactRx, a private equity backed market research firm servicing the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to ImpactRx she was Group Vice President – Global Primary Care Products for Pharmacia Corporation, and a member of Pharmacia’s US Executive Management Committee.. She began her career at Bristol Myers Squibb, where she quickly rose from Senior Medical Representative to Senior Director of Worldwide Cardiovascular Franchise Management where she oversaw the global launch of Plavix, along with many other successful drug launches.  

Ms. Lurker graduated magna cum laude with a BS in biology from Seattle Pacific University, and holds an MBA from the University of Evansville (Evansville, IN).

Nancy also serves on the Board of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, a multi-billion dollar private cancer treatment hospital system, is Chair of X4 Pharmaceuticals, a private backed immuno-oncology company and is a member of the Novo Advisory Group, which advises on large investments for Novo Foundation, Denmark. 

SPONSORSHIP PROVIDED BY THE BURTON AND RALENE WALLS DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES ENDOWMENT
This endowment was established with Seattle Pacific University in 2013 to further the entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge of SPU students. Burton is an alumnus of SPU with a major in business. His uncle, Paul Walls, served SPU as a member of the Board of Trustees for 31 years. His father, F. Wesley Walls, also served SPU with distinction for 38 years in various capacities, including founding director of the School of Business. Burton and Ralene are longtime supporters of SPU. Their hope is that this endowment will assist SPU in its mission of engaging the culture and changing the world.

See past speakers.