Dr. John O. Agwunobi, Senior Vice President and President of Professional Services for Wal-Mart Inc. Dr. Agwunobi oversees the company’s health and wellness business unit, including pharmacies, vision centers, and health care clinics. He joined the company in September 2007.
Prior to joining Wal-Mart, he was the Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and an Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. As Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Agwunobi’s served as the Secretary's primary advisor on matters involving the nation's public health. His responsibilities included disease prevention, health promotion, women’s and minority health, the reduction of health disparities, fight against HIV/AIDS, pandemic influenza planning, and vaccine preventable diseases. He was actively involved in the push for improvements in research and enhanced access to quality health care. Before becoming the Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Agwunobi served as Florida’s Secretary of Health. In that role, he confronted many public health challenges, including leading the state’s public health and medical response to the unprecedented four major hurricanes that struck Florida in 2004. Dr. Agwunobi led the state’s response to the nation’s first-ever intentional anthrax attack of 2001. He subsequently guided Florida’s nationally recognized efforts to protect the state against bioterrorism. As Secretary, Dr. Agwunobi led the call for a healthier Florida, advocating for improved nutrition and exercise in an effort to address the state's epidemic of overweight and obesity. His Department's many successes included responses to West Nile, SARS, and numerous other infectious disease outbreaks; efforts to decrease the state's infant mortality rate; lowering tobacco use among young Floridians; addressing racial and ethnic health disparities; and improving overall access to medical and dental care. As a pediatrician, Dr. Agwunobi dedicated himself to working with underserved populations.

Dr. ShaAvhrée Buckman is the Director of the Office of Translational Sciences (OTS), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  OTS is comprised of the Office of Biostatistics, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, and provides oversight to CDER research involving human subjects as well as CDER regulatory science research.  OTS is responsible for providing coordination for Critical Path initiatives across CDER in partnership with individual CDER offices. Prior to serving as Director of OTS, Dr. Buckman served as Deputy Director for OTS and as medical team leader in the Division of Pediatric Drug Development, Office of Counter Terrorism and Pediatric Drug Development, CDER. Dr. Buckman received her MD and PhD degrees with an emphasis on molecular cell biology from Washington University School of Medicine.  Dr. Buckman completed Pediatric specialty training at Baylor College of Medicine. She is a board-certified Pediatrician, who has had a career-long interest in medications for children.

Dr. Linus Igwemezie is currently Vice President & Global Head, New Products Strategy, at Novartis Oncology, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA where he has responsibility for over 20 Oncology development programs. Dr. Igwemezie has 16 years of Industry experience from 3 major pharmaceutical companies (Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb & Novartis). His broad experience spans Biopharmaceutics & Clinical Pharmacology; Regulatory Affairs & Marketing. He has been involved in the development and launch of a number of important drugs, including the anti-AIDs drug, Zerit, and anti-cancer agents, Taxol and Glivec.

Dr. Igwemezie holds a B.Sc, M.Sc & Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is currently a Managing Director of the World Bank. She was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C from September 2006 to November 2007. Prior to that she was Finance Minister of Nigeria for three years and briefly Minister of Foreign Affairs. As Minister of Finance, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the cancellation of US$18 billion or 60 percent of Nigeria’s external debt. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a member or chair of numerous boards and advisory groups, including ONE Campaign, the World Resources Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, the African Institutes of Science and Technology as well as the Center for Global Development (CGD). She has served on the advisory board of the Clinton Global Initiative and as adviser to several international investment groups working in emerging markets. She has lectured extensively all over the world on development issues especially on Africa. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was the founder of the first ever indigenous opinion research organization in Nigeria (NOI-Gallup Polls). She was co-founder of the Makeda Fund, a US$50 million private equity fund that invests in women-owned small and medium enterprises in Africa. She founded the Center for the Study of Economies of Africa (C-SEA), a development research think-tank based in Abuja, Nigeria. She was recently named a member of the Danish-Government led Commission on Africa and a member of the World Economic Forum Global Leadership Council on Transparency and Corruption. She is also a member of the renowned Commission on World Growth led by Nobel Prize winner, Professor Michael Spence.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Harvard University and has a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Honorary Doctorates from Trinity College, Dublin Brown University and Amherst University, USA, among others. She is the recipient of Time Magazine’s European Hero of the Year Award, 2004, for her work on economic reform in Nigeria, Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year, 2005, Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister of the year 2005, This Day (Nigeria’s premier newspaper) Minister of the Year award 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she was named by Forbes Magazine as one of 100 most powerful women in the world. She has been profiled in the Conde Nast International Business Intelligence Magazine Portfolio as one of 73 “Brilliant” business influencers in the world.p>

Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa (MON) is the President/Chief Executive Officer, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc., Nigeria; Chairman, Worldwide Health Care Ltd., Red Star Communications Ltd., Masta Services Company Ltd., Multimesh Communications Ltd., Arochukwu MicroFinance Bank Ltd., Fairway Insurance Brokers Ltd., Innochris and Life Drug World Ltd., Nigeria. He obtained his B. Pharm from University of Ife, Nigeria and completed his postgraduate studies at Columbia University, New York, USA and Lagos Business School, Nigeria. Mazi Ohuabunwa is a Fellow of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN), West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (FPC Pharm), Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM), National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (FNIMN), Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (FNIPR), Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC), and Institute of Quality Assurance of Nigeria (FIQAN). As a prolific writer, he has published numerous books with titles including Taking the Bull the Horn; Service to My People; Economic Empowerment for God’s People – The 21st Century Challenge; Transforming Ideas into Reality; Achieving Results through People; Preventing Business Failures; Wealth Creation: Migrating from the Informal to the Formal Sector; and Nigeria @ 50: Time for the Evolution of a New Nation.

Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili (OFR), the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), is an internationally renowned Pharmacist, Pharmacologist, Erudite Scholar, Seasoned Administrator, and a visionary leader. Prior to her present appointment, she was a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Pharmacologist in the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka (U.N.N.), Enugu Campus. Prof. Akunyili obtained her B.Pharm (Hons) in 1978 and P.hD in 1985, both at University of Nigeria Nsukka (U.N.N.). Prof. Akunyili won the best student award in the school of Pharmacy in her very first year in the school and the Vice Chancellor’s Postgraduate and Research Leadership prize in Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences for 1984/85 and 1985/86 academic Sessions. Prof. Akunyili started her working career as a Hospital Pharmacist in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (U.N.T.H) Enugu in 1978. In 1981, she ventured into Academics as a Graduate Assistant (Research Fellow) in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, U.N.N. In the University system, she made a steady progress from lecturer I in 1986 until she was made Senior Lecturer in 1990.

She transferred to College of Medicine, U.N.N. in 1992 and became a Consultant Pharmacologist in 1996. She was promoted to the rank of a Professor in October, 2000 by the same University. From 1992 to 1994, Prof. Akunyili served as a member of Anambra State’s Hospitals Management Board and State Advisory Council for Women Commission, and was appointed Supervisory Councilor for Agriculture in Anaocha Local Government of Anambra State, Nigeria from 1994 – 1996 Prof. Dora Akunyili was appointed Zonal Secretary of Petroleum Special Trust Fund (P.T.F.), coordinating all projects in the five South Eastern States of Nigeria from 1996 - 2000.

As a Scientist and a Scholar, she has presented 20 papers in various Local and International Scientific Conferences, published two books and 33 Journal Articles. She also supervised PhD and Masters candidates, and is currently supervising six Postgraduate students in the College of Medicine U.N.N.