Health Care Experts Work With DSC On Industry Challenges

DSC Logistics has announced the creation of a Health Care Strategy Board (HCSB) to support DSC’s increasing involvement as supply chain partner to manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and health care supplies. DSC already has more than 20 years of experience with health care and life sciences companies and has identified the sector as an area of special expertise. DSC also works with leading companies, including several Fortune 500 firms, in a number of other fields, such as grocery, consumer goods, electronics, paper products, and musical instruments.

The first members of the HCSB all have an extensive background in the health care industry. They are: Nicholas LaHowchic, Dwight Mater, Ellen Rudnick, and Donna Williamson. The HCSB will meet quarterly to consult on topics that include industry trends and challenges, capabilities development and improvement, and regulatory compliance and management.

DSC CEO Ann Drake said, “Our experience tells us that health care and life sciences companies face an environment of almost unprecedented change. We understand that the supply chain will play an increasing role in strategies used to address complex challenges and leverage competitive advantages.

“DSC’s culture and capabilities are especially well suited to provide companies with the flexibility, quality and leadership they need from a supply chain partner. We are looking to the board to bring state-of-the-art thinking to our growth and development in this area. Each of these individuals brings a strong background and unique type of knowledge to the HCSB,” she continued.

Nick Lahowchic’s extensive background as a health care supply chain leader includes experience as president, Supply Chain Services, for Becton Dickinson, , the $4 billion medical technology company with products manufactured in 85 facilities globally and distributed in more than 70 countries. He also served as president & CEO of Limited Logistics Services for Limited Brands. He is a past trustee of the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA). He is the co-author of Start Pulling Your Supply Chain: Leading Responsive Supply Chain Transformation (with Dr. Donald Bowersox). Widely recognized as one of the supply chain’s most innovative leaders Nick was the recipient of DSC Logistics 2011 “Thinkers & Movers” Award. He is the founder and president of Diannic LLC. a management consulting firm. Nick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Farleigh Dickinson University and an MBA from Pace University.

Dwight Mater has more than 25 years of experience in the health care industry, including executive positions with Cardinal Health, Ross Health Services, and Baxter International. For these companies, he has carried out diverse responsibilities in areas such as finance, strategy, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, business development, process improvement, competitive and market analysis, and marketing and corporate communications. While at Cardinal Health, Dwight developed and implemented strategy, including pursuing acquisitions for the $79 billion pharmaceutical and medical supply chain business. He also led process improvements via Lean Six Sigma for the $8.5 billion medical business. He received a BBA in Business from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and earned his MBA from the University of Michigan.

Ellen Rudnick is the executive director and clinical professor of the Michael P. Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. She co-founded and served as chairman of Pacific Biometrics, a medical diagnostics company; was president of HCIA and CEO of its predecessor company, Healthcare Knowledge Resources, both health care information service companies; and held the positions of corporate vice president of Baxter Healthcare, president and founder of Baxter Management Services Division, and director of strategic planning for Baxter. In addition to other business ventures, Ellen serves on the boards of Liberty Mutual Insurance, Patterson Companies, and Health Management Systems. She was named one of the top 50 women in U.S. business by Business Week in 1987. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Donna Williamson brings more than two decades of experience in the health care industry. A sixteen-year veteran of Baxter International, she was chairman, CEO and president of its surgical products subsidiary, OmniSurgical, Inc. For eight of those 16 years, Donna was responsible for the strategy and P&L of the Health Cost Management group of six divisions, including mail-order drugs, physical therapy clinics, physician office management software, health care data and analysis, and managed care businesses. Subsequent to her career at Baxter, she served as a founding officer and senior vice president for Caremark International a multi-billion dollar health care services business. She most recently served as managing director in ABN Amro’s Private Equity Group, where she led equity investments in health care growth companies. She has an SC.B degree in Applied Mathematics from Brown University and a graduate degree from MIT.