OC LIFe (Lifesciences Innovators Forum) – Changing Investment Landscape Since COVID-19

Laura Beken is a business consultant with SBDC @ UCI Beall Applied Innovation where she works with high tech high growth startups. She is a Chief Strategy Officer at the Archetype Mobility, a company providing digital tools and AI for researchers to enable next generation clinical trials. In her prior roles she managed CHOC Children’s Hospital Medical Intelligence and Innovation Institute, she was an editor for the Physicians News Network, she had her own digital startup in the online video space, worked as a software engineer, a designer for the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and she was a figure skating coach for a number of years. Laura has degrees in Psychology, in Visual Arts/Media and a Healthcare MBA.

As a businessman and executive for technology, software, cloud, and service companies, David is passionate about helping companies increase their value, improve customer loyalty and build a success culture that makes employees enjoy working in that environment. As an executive or on a consulting project, he develops and executes market, strategy, and product plans with tactical growth programs, increasing top line revenue and margins. He does this through a combination of tools and techniques that he has developed in his career, one of which is called “customer jujitsu.” while helping companies bridge technology and business into an innovation mindset.

Greg Buchert, MD, MPH is the CEO of GSB Health Management Solutions, a boutique consulting firm. He recently retired as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Shield of California’s Promise Health Plan that serves 500,000 members in Medi-Cal, Medicare and Dual Eligible programs in California. He formerly worked with Centene as the Chief Executive Officer that launched the company’s first Medicaid Managed Care Plan in California and later as Chief Medical Officer of HealthNet. His previous positions include work as a Principal Consultant with Health Management Associates, a national healthcare consulting firm, and as the Chief Operating Officer and Medical Director for CalOptima, a public managed care company for which he was a founding executive. Greg started his career as a Pediatric Emergency Physician serving in leadership positions at two children’s hospitals and as administrative director of a medical group.