SESSIONS & SPEAKERS
LEADERSHIP REMARKS & EMCEE
AI Advisor clinic: walk-in experience
TUESDAY, AUG. 25
9:00am - 3:00pm
Curious about AI but not sure where to start? Already using AI and looking to take your capabilities to the next level? Exploring how AI can help you scale your business? Visit the AI Advisor Clinic, an interactive walk-in experience designed to help conference participants explore practical, real-world applications of artificial intelligence.
During the clinic, cutting edge AI advisors from Silicon Valley will be available for one-on-one or/and group conversations, live demonstrations, and personalized guidance. Whether you are an individual looking to strengthen your professional productivity and skills, a business owner exploring AI solutions to improve operations and support growth, or simply interested in better understanding the rapidly evolving AI landscape, the clinic is designed to meet you where you are.
Bring your questions, discuss your business challenges, explore emerging AI capabilities and, and leave with practical ideas, tools, and resources you can begin applying immediately.
No appointment is required, and no prior AI experience is necessary.
FEDERAL SMALL BUSINESS OUTLOOK: HHS Priorities and What’s Ahead
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26
9:15am - 9:45am
As the federal small business landscape continues to evolve, agency priorities are shaping opportunity, expectations, and engagement across the broader health and life sciences ecosystem. Opening the conference, the Executive Director of the HHS Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization will provide a strategic perspective on the Department’s current priorities, emerging areas of focus, and the developments most likely to influence the contracting environment in the year ahead.
Through an engaging dialogue with Ben Skyles, Founder and CEO of ProSource360 and an experienced federal small business leader, the session will connect the agency perspective with the practical realities, opportunities, and challenges facing small businesses in the federal marketplace.
The conversation will explore how HHS priorities are informing subcontracting expectations, supplier engagement, and broader participation across the federal healthcare ecosystem. It will also offer insight into where opportunity is emerging, what strong supplier readiness looks like in the current environment, and how organizations across the value chain can respond strategically as federal priorities continue to shift.
This session will set the tone for the conference by offering a forward-looking view of what lies ahead and what it will take to strengthen participation, partnership, and performance in an increasingly competitive federal marketplace.
Featured Speaker: Mr. Shannon Jackson, Executive Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
In Conversation With: Ben Skyles, Founder and CEO, ProSource360
What Drives Decisions
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26
9:45am - 10:30am
What truly influences buying, partnership, and sourcing decisions across an organization? In this dynamic main-stage session, leaders from key business and procurement functions will share the priorities and criteria that shape how they decide what suppliers they want to partner with.
Each segment will spotlight a different function; Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Marketing – offering candid insight into what matters most, from strategic alignment and business need to innovation, capability, and execution.
Attendees will gain a practical perspective on how to effectively articulate their value proposition, align with functional priorities, and build stronger, more relevant partnerships across the enterprise.
Host:
- Wade Colclough
Research & Development:
- Haley Thoma, MBA - Sr. Director LRL Procurement – Eli Lilly and Company
- Fitzroy Brown - Strategic Procurement Manager & Business Partner Global Medical - Takeda
Manufacturing:
- Maureen Driessen - VWR
- Ryan Hazelton - Sr. Manager of Direct Procurement - Dexcom
Marketing:
- Jose Bravo – Sourcing Manager – Dexcom
- Angel Sokolnicki - Creative Director - AMI
AI WITH CONFIDENCE
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26
10:30am - 11:20am
AI is moving quickly from experimentation into real business use across pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations – and the companies moving fastest are the ones who understand the legal and risk landscape well enough to navigate it with confidence.
In this session, legal and insurance leaders will offer a practical view of what that landscape looks like today, and how organizations of every size can engage with AI on solid footing.
The discussion will span the evolving regulatory environment across the U.S. and EU, data privacy and intellectual property, vendor and supplier contracting, liability and risk allocation, and what effective AI governance looks like in practice.
Attention will be given to insurance – including technology, cyber, and emerging AI liability coverage – an area that is easy to overlook and increasingly central to how organizations protect themselves and demonstrate credibility to their partners. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of where the real exposures sit, what questions to ask of their suppliers and their own operations, and how strong legal and risk practices can become a genuine differentiator rather than a barrier.
Moderator:
- Cindy Towers - Co-Founder, President & CEO, JuriSolutions
Panelists:
- Emmi Ensign - Owner, Broker & President, Golden Benchmark Insurance Services
- Charlyn Ho - CEO & Managing Member, Rikka Law Group
- Louise Leduc Kennedy - Founding Attorney, West Hill Technology Counsel
UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND TIER 1
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26
11:20am - 12:00pm
Business opportunities for small businesses often exist well beyond direct corporate contracts. Tier 1 Suppliers serve as critical gateways to new customers, markets, and opportunities across Procurement, Staffing, R&D, Clinical, Laboratory, Logistics, Technology, Facilities, and Professional Services – while helping corporations expand access, foster innovation, and build more resilient supply chains.
In this session, leaders from pharmaceutical and life sciences companies and major Tier 1 organizations will share how suppliers can position themselves for success, what they look for in prospective partners, how they identify and develop supplier relationships, and what makes a business ready to compete within complex life sciences supply chains.
The discussion will deliver actionable guidance for suppliers seeking to navigate Tier 2 opportunities, and for corporations looking to create stronger, more effective pathways for supplier participation and growth.
Moderator:
- Joyce Eggers – Global Lead, Supplier Diversity, Takeda
Panelists:
- Brad Sibbald - Vice President, Enterprise Solutions — Kelly Science, Engineering, Technology & Telecom
- Cheryl Hofmeister - Supplier Relationship Management Lead, Organon
- Andrea Arce - Senior Specialist, Merck
- Heather Vono - Director, Small & Specialty Supplier Program, Thermo Fisher Scientific
For the first time patient voices take center stage at DA4S
VOICES OF HEALTHCARE PATIENTS
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26
1:10pm - 1:40pm
Behind every healthcare strategy, scientific breakthrough, procurement decision, and business partnership is a patient
whose life may be shaped by the choices we make. This powerful fireside conversation will bring together two entrepreneurs
whose personal journeys through the healthcare system led them to build, advocate, and create change.
Moderated by Vanessa Best, Founder and CEO of Precision Healthcare Consultants, the session will share two deeply
personal perspectives. The healthcare system failed Cheryl. One physician chose to listen-and that changed everything.
Then Manoj will share a journey shaped by the life-changing impact of healthcare innovation reaching him when he
needed it most.
One story reflects what happens when the system falls short. The other demonstrates what is possible when science,
innovation, and access come together. Both remind us why the work of the healthcare and life sciences community matters.
This session will challenge every participant to look beyond processes, policies, and performance measures and consider
the people ultimately affected by the decisions that they make.
The question for everyone in the room is simple but powerful: whose voice is informing the way you lead, innovate, partner, and deliver?
Moderator:
- Vanessa Best - Founder & CEO, Precision Healthcare Consultants
Speakers:
- Cheryl McCants - President & CEO, Impact Consulting
- Manoj Shinde - Founder & CEO, tCognition
NAVIGATING THE FEDERAL CONTRACTING SHIFT
THURSDAY, AUG. 27
10:00am - 10:35am
As federal acquisition priorities, policies, and requirements continue to evolve, organizations must be prepared to translate changing direction into practical action. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across federal contracting, procurement policy, acquisition rulemaking, and small business compliance, Jarreau A. “Jāv” Vieira will provide an implementation-focused perspective on what these shifts mean for organizations seeking to compete, partner, and perform successfully in the federal marketplace.
Moving from strategy to execution, this session will explore what pharma and life science companies, prime contractors, and small businesses need to understand about evolving acquisition expectations, small business participation, subcontracting, documentation, and organizational readiness.
It will examine how companies can anticipate requirements earlier, strengthen coordination across business development, procurement, legal, compliance, and program teams, and avoid common gaps that can affect competitiveness or contract performance.
Building on the broader federal outlook, this session will help attendees connect policy developments to the decisions, processes, and partnerships needed to execute effectively. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to assess the impact of federal acquisition changes, strengthen internal preparedness, and position their organizations for opportunity in a shifting contracting environment.
SPEAKER
Jarreau A. “Jāv” Vieira, Supervisory Procurement Analyst and Acquisition Regulations Branch Chief, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
