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Advisory Board

Ryan Bartock

Vice President and Head of Process Engineering, Technical & Digital
Spark Therapeutics

Biography

Ryan Bartock is Vice President and Head of Process Engineering, Technical & Digital at Spark Therapeutics, a fully integrated gene therapy company and member of the Roche group.

Ryan joined Spark Therapeutics as Head of Supply Chain and Network Strategy in 2017 where he established Spark’s Supply Chain function and launched the first ever FDA approved Gene Therapy, LUXTURNATM. Additionally, Ryan has held interim roles as the Head of Technical Development, overseeing Process and Analytical development, Automation and Pre-Clinical Manufacturing as well as the Head of Quality Assurance.

He is currently responsible for all things process and data related at Spark including MSAT, CMC Program Management, Engineering, Automation, & Digital Transformation. 

Ryan holds B.Sc. in Engineering and Business from Drexel University.  His 20 years of experience spans process & analytical development, manufacturing operations, supply chain, QA, CMC, product strategy and new product launches in vaccines, consumer health, biologics and gene therapy.

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Dr. Anthony DeSimone

Vice President of Enterprise Engineering, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS)

Biography

Dr. Anthony (Tony) DeSimone is the Vice President of Enterprise Engineering at Lockheed Martin Corporation responsible for engineering execution across the 44,000 engineers within the Lockheed Martin business areas and Enterprise Operations. In this role, he is focused on implementing a model-based enterprise with new and common processes to advance Engineering & Technology (E&T) excellence in support of 21st Century Security strategic imperatives.

Previously, Dr. DeSimone served as the vice president of E&T at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS). As the principal technical leader for the RMS business area and its more than 14,000 engineers and scientists, Dr. DeSimone focused his team on creating an all-digital development environment, advancing disruptive technologies, driving superior program performance, and delivering innovative solutions that exceed customer and company expectations.

Throughout his 25 plus years of experience, Dr. DeSimone has been recognized for his leadership and technical excellence efforts through numerous awards from Lockheed Martin and government agencies including Operation Burnt Frost and the LRDR program. Dr. DeSimone is also one of the select industry recipients of the MDA’s prestigious Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Pathfinder Award (2016). 

He is an industry advisor to Drexel University for the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a member of the Drexel President’s Leadership Council.

Dr. DeSimone received his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees focused on Theoretical Physics from Drexel University in Philadelphia. He received his Master of Business Administration from William and Mary University in Virginia.

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Amy Ellixson

Vice President, Finance, North America Hospital Medical Devices 
Johnson & Johnson

Biography

Amy Ellixson assumed the role of Vice President, Finance for the North America Medical Devices segment at Johnson and Johnson in August 2018.  Over the past two years, she was Vice President, Finance for the Medical Device Global Supply Chain in June of 2016.  In this role, she provided financial leadership across three global franchises of Ethicon, Interventional Solutions and DePuy Synthes as well as newly formed Supply Chain councils within the EMEA, LATAM and APAC regions.  Her main areas of focus were providing increased transparency and improvement to gross profit, inventory, capital and continuing the journey of Medical Device Supply Chain Transformation.  She transitioned from Consumer Supply Chain where she spent four years as Vice President, Finance for Consumer Global Supply Chain, partnering with the organization driving significant improvement in cost competitiveness supporting the growth agenda and return of US over-the-counter (OTC) products to the market.  Prior to that role, Amy spent one year as, Vice President, Finance for US OTCs, WW Nutritionals and Wellness & Prevention.

Amy also spent four years in the Pharmaceuticals segment as a Senior Finance Director for the Global Pharmaceutical R&D organization, providing financial and strategic leadership across all five therapeutic areas and the Global Medical organization. The first 15 years of her career were spent with the Consumer Segment where she held numerous positions of increasing responsibility with McNeil Consumer Healthcare. Before moving to Pharmaceuticals, she was an OTC Marketing and Sales Finance Director and served on the McNeil OTC Board.

Amy earned her MBA from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance and Accounting from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Amy and her husband Jim have three children, Tyler, Mckenna and Meghan.

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Michael A. Innocenzo

President and CEO
PECO

Biography

Michael Innocenzo is responsible for leadership of PECO’s overall performance associated with service reliability, customer satisfaction, financial management, and regulatory and external affairs. 

Based in Philadelphia, PECO is Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility.  The company employs about 2,600 people, owns $10 billion in assets, and generates approximately $2.8 billion in annual revenues.  A subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, the nation’s largest competitive energy provider, PECO serves 1.6 million electric and more than 520,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.

Michael Innocenzo previously served as senior vice president and chief operating officer, where he was responsible for leadership of PECO’s overall performance associated with operations, safety, service reliability, customer satisfaction and financial management. 

Prior to this position, he served as vice president, Distribution System Operations and Advanced Grid and Meter Technology, where he was responsible for the operation of the company’s electric and natural gas distribution systems as well as the design and deployment of PECO’s new metering technology system.  Innocenzo also served as the director of Gas Operations, Quality Services and Performance Improvement.  He also served as a regional director in Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties, as well as a regional engineering manager for Chester and Delaware counties.  Innocenzo also was the emergency services supervisor in Philadelphia and a project engineer in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties. 

Michael Innocenzo serves on the boards of the Philadelphia Free Library, the Philadelphia Police Athletic League, the Southeastern Electric Exchange, the American Gas Association, the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.  Innocenzo also led special projects with the Edison Electric Institute and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Michael Innocenzo holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Widener University and an MBA from Villanova University.

Robert Mankowski, P.E.

SVP, Engineering Applications
Bentley Systems’ 

Biography

Robert leads Bentley Systems’ Engineering Applications product division, which provides a comprehensive, innovative, and open portfolio of applications and cloud services for infrastructure design and engineering, which helps organizations boost efficiency, improve project outcomes, reduce costs, and increase competitiveness in this rapidly evolving industry. Robert has over 20 years’ experience in software development and is a co-inventor of seven patented technologies. He joined Bentley Systems in 2004 as part of the acquisition of Haestad Methods, a pioneer in object-oriented hydraulic analysis software, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. Robert earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Drexel University and is a licensed professional engineer.

Bill Strahan

Executive Vice President, Human Resources
Comcast

Biography

Bill Strahan leads the Human Resources function for Comcast Cable.  He has responsibility for all aspects of Human Resources including talent, compensation, benefits, learning, employee, and labor relations.

Bill Strahan has been involved in various aspects of Human Resources work for almost 30 years.  He began his career with over a decade of work at Macy’s Department Stores and Riggs National Bank.  The second decade of Bill’s work included practicing law in Washington, D.C. in the area of Compensation and Benefits – mostly in the context of mergers and acquisitions and in initial public offerings.  For nine years, Bill was a consultant and manager at Mercer HR Consulting.

Bill holds a B.A. in Religion from Villanova University; a Certificate in Employee Benefit Administration from Georgetown University; and a Juris Doctorate from the George Mason University School of Law.  He is an Active Member of the Virginia State Bar.

Along with his wife and two sons, Bill resides in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.  He serves as chair of the board of Philadelphia Works, an organization that connects employers to a skilled workforce and helps individuals develop the skills needed to thrive in the workplace.

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​Nicole Tranchitella

Senior Managing Director
Accenture

Biography

Nicole Tranchitella is a Senior Managing Director within Accenture’s Products Consulting practice and is the Global Client Account Lead for a Fortune 50 corporation. With over 25 years of consulting experience, Nicole's primary expertise is enabling business transformation programs which she has done across multiple industries including Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture, Chemicals, and Energy. 

Nicole is also the Philadelphia Office Managing Director for Accenture focusing on our market and community presence and supporting our 2300+ Accenture personnel.  She is member of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the CEO Council for Growth.  Nicole is a past recipient of the 40 Under 40 award, YWCA Women of Distinction and the Tech Impact Founders award. 

Nicole is married with three children and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs.  A lifelong resident in the area, she is an avid Philly sports fan and enjoys spending time with her family (and dog) particularly at the shore, reading, and recently completed her first triathlon in August of last year.

April E. Walker

Strategic Advisor, Technology Executive & Board Member

Biography

April E. Walker is a distinguished global leader in the tech industry, with over 30 years of successful experience. She has held executive roles at top Fortune 100 tech and enterprise companies, including Microsoft, MetLife, NBCUniversal, and most recently as SVP of Customer Success at Salesforce. April’s extensive experience spans helping global leaders across large enterprises, commercial, mid-market, SMB, and government entities transform into digital and intelligent businesses.

Currently, April leverages her passion for innovation and her rich background in technology, business strategy, customer experience, financial, and operational expertise to guide C-Suite executives and their ecosystems in navigating the new world of AI. She holds an MBA and specialized Executive Certifications in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science & Machine Learning (ML) from MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, respectively, as well as an MS in Engineering Management from The George Washington University.

April serves as a board director for a Nasdaq-listed publicly traded company and several non-profit organizations, including the Philadelphia Works organization. She is also a speaker, educator, published author, and writes a quarterly column, “Technology & Enterprise with April Walker,” for Black Enterprise magazine.

April resides in the suburbs of Philadelphia and is the proud ‘Auntie’ of three nieces and a nephew.