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Connie Collingsworth is an experienced board member with expertise in governance, risk management, executive compensation and complex investments for publicly traded companies, private companies, and private equity funds. Her board experience includes leadership positions as Board Chair, Compensation Committee Chair, and Nominating and Governance Committee Chair, as well as serving as a member of Audit, Risk, and Investment Committees on both public and private company boards as well as a number of nonprofit corporations.  

Connie’s current board roles include Banner Corporation, a publicly traded bank holding company with $16.8B in assets, operating 130 branches throughout U.S. West Coast, where she Chairs the Governance & Nominating Committee, and Axxes Capital, a private market platform supporting accredited investors to democratize private equity through expanding access to a range of private equity assets. She also serves as a Board Advisor to Planet First Partners, a $500M European private equity fund based in London focused on investments aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals and Europe’s Green Deal, and as a Strategic Advisor to LoudCapital, a venture fund focused on fueling innovations that drive equitable access to high-quality, people-centered healthcare, including MedTech, Alternative Care Models, Healthcare Infrastructure and IT.

Connie is the former COO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest foundation in the world with approximately $60B in assets, distributing over $8.3B annually. During her 22-year tenure she was responsible for managing and scaling the foundation’s business operations throughout the world, including in India, China, Africa, and Europe. She also held the title of Chief Legal Officer, which involved advising trustees, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, on governance, including creating the foundation’s new Governing Board. She was the architect of the foundation’s philosophy known as “Global Access,” and led the foundation’s work in collaborating with for-profit companies, including big pharma and the biotech and ed-tech sectors.  

Connie currently is a board member and audit committee member of the National Philanthropic Trust, the largest nonprofit administrator of donor advised funds, with $30B of assets under management. She serves an Executive Sponsor of the Bank of America Enterprise Executive Development Program for high potential leaders, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Foster School of Business teaching the class “CEO and Board Leadership; an Insiders’ View of Corporate Governance.”

Connie holds an LL.M. in International Business Studies from the University of Exeter, England, a J.D. from the University of Nebraska, and a B.A. from Andrews University.

William (Bill) Heath, Ph.D. is a pharmaceutical leader with 36 years of broad experience across discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines in multiple therapeutic areas on a global basis. Over that time, he has demonstrated the ability to lead a variety of collaborations with academic, biotech, CRO/CMO and pharma partners.

Bill received his Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University in biochemistry and performed postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School prior to joining Eli Lilly in 1988. During his time at Lilly, he served in both technical and leadership roles where he established a reputation for innovation and strategic thinking across multiple parts of the business.

He was a founding leader of Lilly’s biotherapeutics effort and subsequently led the creation of a strategic platform across discovery, development, and manufacturing, leading to the launch of multiple medicines. Similarly, he was a key leader of Lilly’s effort to streamline and accelerate research and development approaches, making the company an industry leader.

Prior to his retirement from Lilly, Bill was a Group Vice President at Lilly Research Laboratories leading a multi-site global team focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecules, peptides, biologics, and genetic medicines supporting all therapeutic areas.

As a scientist by training with a broad background in biology, chemistry, and drug development, he has a passion for science and its use to create new medicines that improve the lives of patients around the world. He is also committed to creating an environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and he enjoys coaching and mentoring students, early career professionals, and helping individuals achieve their best throughout their career. He has a strong history of identification and development of top technical and leadership talent.