The Wharton Club of Northern California and the Wharton Healthcare Management Alumni Association are pleased to present Ray Gilmartin, former CEO of Merck and Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School in our next Faculty Conference Call. On Thursday, May 15th at 12:00pm PDT / 3:00pm EDT, Prof. Gilmartin will discuss:
- Competitive strategy in healthcare
- Operations strategy for health care delivery
- Healthcare insurance
- The potential for disruptive innovation.
These topics will be framed within the context of the successful Medicare prescription drug benefit, which in turn is based on the principles of competition and choice.
The problem with healthcare in America is not the quality of healthcare. It's the availability and the affordability. And that has to do with a dramatic increase in the cost of healthcare.
Many of our attendees will recognize this quote as a recent one from presidential candidate John McCain. Our discussion with Prof. Gilmartin is a timely one, and it will address this and other current issues. Attendance on this call will be limited--reserve your seat today!
Register Online When: Thursday, May 15th, 2008
Time: 12:00pm west coast time
Where: Via Conference Call (
Dial-in and pass code to be provided the day before the event by e-mail.)
Registration: No charge for current WCNC members. WCNC members and Wharton Healthcare Management Alumni Association members only for this event. Registration closes at 1:00pm Wednesday, May 14th. (Note: although there is no event registration fee for WCNC members, "seating" will be limited at this event--please register only if you are confident you'll be able to attend.)
This talk is the next in an event series designed to allow cutting-edge faculty to share their thoughts on current topics and keep Wharton alumni up to date on the biggest trends in various industries. Our conference call--modeled after the analyst calls that investment banks do with their investors--will be part lecture (the first 15-20 minutes) followed by a Q&A session and a lively discussion with Prof. Gilmartin.
Raymond V. Gilmartin Ray Gilmartin is the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Merck & Co., Inc., a global research-driven pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets innovative vaccines and medicines. Prior to joining Merck, Gilmartin served as Chairman, President and CEO of Becton Dickinson, a global company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices and diagnostic products. Upon his retirement in 2006, Gilmartin joined the HBS Technology and Operations unit as a Professor of Management Practice.
Ray Gilmartin has been involved in global and economic policy issues that concern the pharmaceutical industry. During his tenure as CEO, Merck created a successful partnership with the Gates Foundation and the government of Botswana to combat HIV/AIDS with a comprehensive program that covered the spectrum from prevention to treatment. Botswana is now viewed as a model for how the developing world might respond to the AIDS pandemic. Working with Harvard University, Gilmartin began, and Merck supported, the Harvard Program for Health System Improvement, an interfaculty initiative to do original research in health policy.
Gilmartin is currently Co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. He is a past chair of the Healthcare Leadership Council and was a board member of the Alliance for Healthcare Reform. In addition, he is a past chair of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and a past president of the International Federation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations.
Gilmartin received a BS in electrical engineering from Union College in 1963 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1968.
