2024 AdvaMed CEO Summit

Peter J. Arduini is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GE HealthCare, an $18.3 billion leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator. At GE HealthCare, Peter leads an organization of 50,000 colleagues dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services and data analytics that make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier.  

Early in his career, Peter spent 15 years with GE HealthCare in a variety of senior leadership roles for domestic and global businesses, including general manager for the global Imaging business. Peter returned to GE HealthCare in 2022 after nearly 16 years in roles of increasing responsibility at other companies.   

Peter was president and CEO of Integra LifeSciences from 2012 – 2022, a medical device company specializing in skin regeneration, neurosurgery, reconstructive and general surgery. He joined Integra in 2010 as president and chief operating officer.   

Before joining Integra, Peter was corporate vice president and president of Medication Delivery, Baxter Healthcare. He was responsible for a $4.8 billion global division of Baxter focused on inpatient pharmaceuticals and devices. He began his career in sales and marketing at Procter and Gamble before his first tour at GE HealthCare.   

Peter serves on several boards, including GE HealthCare, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) as Chair of the Board, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and the National Italian American Foundation. 

David Axelrod is a preeminent American political strategist and commentator and the former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Axelrod was the founding director of the University of Chicago’s non-partisan Institute of Politics. He currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Chicago and as a senior political commentator for CNN. He is the host of The Axe Files, a top-rated podcast featuring in-depth conversations with public figures across the political spectrum. A former political writer for the Chicago Tribune, Axelrod produced media strategy and advertising for 150 campaigns across the U.S., culminating in President Obama’s historic elections. Axelrod is also the author of The New York Times best-selling memoir, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. 

Michael “Mick” Farrell was appointed ResMed’s CEO and has served as a director since March 2013. In January 2023, he was appointed chair of our board of directors. Mick joined the company in 2000, serving as president of the Americas region from 2011 to 2013, senior vice president of the global sleep apnea business unit from 2007 to 2011, and various senior roles in marketing and business development.  

Before joining ResMed, Mick worked in management consulting, biotechnology, chemicals and metals manufacturing at companies including Arthur D. Little, Sanofi Genzyme, Dow Chemical, and BHP.  

Mick serves on the board of directors of ResMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH), a multibillion dollar public company that provides implantable musculoskeletal medical devices for patients globally. He is also a member of two committees at Zimmer Biomet: the compensation and management development committee, as well as the quality, regulatory & technology committee, where he also serves as Chair. Mick also volunteers as a trustee for non-profit organizations: UC San Diego Foundation, Rady Children’s Hospital, and Father Joe’s Villages’ project for the homeless in San Diego, California.  

Mick holds a bachelor of engineering with first-class honors from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management.  

Vincent A. Forlenza serves as Chairman of the Board at Moody’s Corporation. He is a member of the Compensation & Human Resources, Governance & Nominating and Executive Committees of the Board of Directors. He served as executive chairman of the board of directors of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology company headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey after serving as its CEO. Forlenza led the transformation of the company from a manufacturer of medical supplies to a top 5 medical device, diagnostic and life science company. Under his leadership the market capitalization more than tripled.   

During his nearly 40-year career with BD, Mr. Forlenza held several executive leadership positions globally, in the United States and Europe. He was named president of BD in January 2009, assumed additional responsibility as chief operating officer in July 2010, became chief executive officer (CEO) in October 2011 and chairman of the board in July 2012. Previous appointments include leadership roles as senior vice president of Technology, Strategy and Development; president of BD Biosciences; and executive vice president and president of BD Diagnostics. He lived in Grenoble France from 1986 to 1990 while running Strategic Planning for BD Europe and then becoming general manager of the BD Europe Hypodermic Business. Forlenza retired from his role as CEO in January 2020.  

Mr. Forlenza served as chairman of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Board of Directors from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he significantly advanced the association’s innovation agenda, collaborating with policymakers and industry partners to reinvigorate the innovation ecosystem and promote the value of medical technology in extending and improving patients’ lives, enhancing population health and supporting economically sound health systems. Forlenza was the chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Valley Health System and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Quest Autism Foundation. He currently serves as a chairman of the Board of Trustees of Lehigh University since rejoining the Board in July 2020 after previously serving from 2011 to 2017. Forlenza has also served as a director of MaraBio Systems Inc., a private startup company developing a diagnostic test for autism since August 2021 and a director of MNHI, a startup company developing a device to improve maternal and neonatal health since September 2022.   

Mr. Forlenza earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in 1975, and a master’s degree in business administration from Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980.  

Robert E. Lighthizer served as the 18th United States Trade Representative (USTR) from 2017 to 2020. An experienced trade negotiator and litigator, Ambassador Lighthizer spearheaded several historic trade agreements as USTR, ushering in a new era of fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade for U.S. workers, producers, and businesses. Chief among these accomplishments, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) promises to update and rebalance trade in North America, expand U.S. market access, protect workers and the environment, and incentivize manufacturing in the United States. Additional agreements he reached with South Korea and Japan significantly expanded U.S. trade opportunities in those countries and established a groundbreaking paradigm for digital trade. After confronting China on its abusive trade practices, Ambassador Lighthizer also secured the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement, a fully enforceable agreement that addresses China’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. companies, intellectual property theft, and currency manipulation, while maintaining tariffs on key Chinese products and increasing China’s purchases of U.S. goods and services by at least $200 billion over two years. Additionally, he brought attention to systemic issues and outdated, ineffective rules at the World Trade Organization (WTO), placing unprecedented pressure on the WTO’s activist Appellate Body and working with our trade partners on wider reforms.

At the time he was chosen by President Trump to serve as USTR, Ambassador Lighthizer had been a partner at an international law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for over 30 years. Before that, Ambassador Lighthizer served as Deputy USTR for President Ronald Reagan and negotiated over two dozen bilateral international agreements, including agreements on steel, automobiles, and agricultural products. As Deputy USTR, he also served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Prior to becoming Deputy USTR, Ambassador Lighthizer was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance under Chairman Bob Dole. In this position, he was a key player in enacting the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 – the most significant tax reform in decades – and other elements of the Reagan economic program. Ambassador Lighthizer earned a bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a native of Ashtabula, Ohio and has two children. He is the author of “No Trade Is Free”, a best-selling book on trade policy. He writes often for major publications and is a frequent speaker on trade, politics, and American history.

Martina Navratilova is, in the words of Billie Jean-King “the greatest singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player who’s ever lived”. She took women’s tennis to a new level with her fitness, speed, determination and agility. After losing the US Open semi-final in 1975 she walked into the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service in New York City and informed them she wanted to defect from Soviet controlled communist Czechoslovakia, Martina was 18 years old. 

Martina is the only tennis player to have spent more than 200 weeks as world number one in both singles and doubles. She holds the record of nine Wimbledon singles titles, half of her 18 Grand Slam singles titles. In women’s doubles she won 31 Grand Slam titles complemented by 10 mixed doubles titles. Martina is one of only three women to win singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at each of the four Grand Slams Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open. Her last Grand Slam victory was in the 2006 US Open mixed doubles, a month shy of her 50th  birthday. In her 33-year professional tennis career Martina won 354 titles, 167 of them in singles.  Martina has made a number of television appearances including I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, Dancing with the Stars, the Netflix series The Politician, Will and Grace and in a 1983 episode of Hart to Hart. 

Martina now spends her time between being at home and broadcasting as a presenter/commentator for the BBC, Tennis Channel and Amazon Prime Video. She also travels the world extensively giving speaking engagements on a variety of issues and taking part in other corporate activities. As well as her autobiography, Martina Navratilova: Being Myself, Martina has written Tennis My Way, an instruction guide in tennis for women and Shape Your Self: My 6-Step Diet and Fitness Plan to Achieve the Best Shape of Your Life. She has written about the mental health of gay American teenagers in Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America. Martina has also written three mystery thrillers featuring fictional former tennis champion Jordan Myles, The Total Zone, Killer Instinct and Breaking Point. 

Martina was named Women’s Tennis Association Player of the Year seven times, International Tennis Federation World Champion six times and Associated Press Female Athlete of the year twice.  For her campaigning activism Martina was the recipient of the national Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the United States.  

In 2003 she was presented with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2006 was given the Czech Sport Legend Award. In 2009 Martina was awarded the International Tennis Federation’s highest accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award, for her contributions to tennis both on and off the court. 

In 2016 Martina was made an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge. Martina lives on a small family farm in Florida with her wife and their two daughters. 

Karl Rove, an iconic political strategist and one of the most sought-after political pundits of our time, is best known for his provocative and robust knowledge of major political issues. 

Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House, he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process. He was the architect of President Bush’s 2008 and 2004 White House victories. 

Before the White House, he ran Rove + Co. a Texas based public affairs firm that consulted on over 75 GOP campaigns for Senator, Governor, Congress and statewide offices in 24 states. 

Rove was described by author and columnist Michael Barone as “…unique…no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Broder wrote that Rove was a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term…and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match.” Conservative editor and columnist Fred Barnes, called him “the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation… He knows history, understands the moods of the public and is a visionary on matters of public policy.” 

Mr. Rove writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, appears frequently on the Fox News Channel, and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Courage and Consequence. His latest book is The Triumph of William McKinley. A Colorado native, Rove lives in Austin, Texas where he teaches at the University of Texas and serves on the Texas State History Museum and McDonald Observatory boards. 

Scott Whitaker is President and CEO of AdvaMed, the world’s largest medical technology association. AdvaMed members make the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments, to help people live longer, healthier lives. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. 

As CEO of AdvaMed, Whitaker is the voice of the medical technology industry. He is widely recognized as a top health care advocate and policy expert with experience across multiple health policy sectors, having worked successfully with diverse stakeholder groups – including hospital, patient and physician groups, regulators, public and private payers, and global trade organizations – to advance medical technology innovation and timely patient access to next-generation treatments and cures. 

Prior to AdvaMed, Whitaker was chief operating officer of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, and president of the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotech conference. Having served as COO of BIO since 2005, Whitaker brings a deep knowledge of the medical technology innovation ecosystem, a wealth of health care advocacy expertise, and strong working relationships with patient groups and other industry stakeholders. 

Whitaker also previously served as chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) – a cabinet agency with 67,000 employees and a budget of $550 billion – from 2003 to 2005. As HHS chief of staff, Whitaker managed the day-to-day operations of the department; led the department’s activities on all major policy and management issues and initiatives; and served as the top liaison to the White House on policy, management and political matters. He also served as assistant secretary for legislation at HHS from 2001 to 2003. Whitaker began his Washington career on Capitol Hill, where he worked for U.S. Senator Don Nickles (R-Okla.). 

Whitaker holds a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University and a degree in political science from Palm Beach Atlantic University. 

Mark M. Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research. Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp., is a leading provider of economic research, data and analytical tools. Dr. Zandi is a cofounder of Economy.com, which Moody’s purchased in 2005. Dr. Zandi is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest private mortgage insurance company, and is the lead director of Reinvestment Fund, one of the nation’s largest community development financial institutions, which makes investments in underserved communities.

He is a trusted adviser to policymakers and an influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists and the public. Dr. Zandi frequently testifies before Congress and conducts regular briefings on the economy for corporate boards, trade associations, and policymakers at all levels. He is often quoted in national and global publications and interviewed by major news media outlets, and is a frequent guest on CNBC, NPR, Meet the Press, CNN, and various other national networks and news programs.

Dr. Zandi is the author of Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, which provides an assessment of the monetary and fiscal policy response to the Great Recession. His other book, Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, is described by the New York Times as the “clearest guide” to the financial crisis.

Dr. Zandi earned his BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania