Company Leadership
ICON has assembled a leadership team with unrivaled vision and experience.
ICON Late Phase & Outcomes Research
Ms. Elizabeth Thiele, President
Elizabeth Thiele is President of Late Phase Services & Outcomes Research. Since joining ICON in 2002 she has held positions of progressing responsibility within the realm of business development including sales, proposals, contract management and business information.
Elizabeth has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and pharmaceutical research, including business development and operations. Prior to joining ICON, she held various positions with contract research firms, public health entities, and educational institutions. She has extensive experience in developing strategic relationships between pharmaceutical companies and external providers such as CROs.
Elizabeth received both her Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees in Consumer Education with an emphasis in Health Sciences from Southeast Missouri State University.
Ms. Debra Nichols, VP Business Development
Deb Nichols is a Business Development expert with more than twenty years experience in clinical research including late phase and outcomes research. Deb joined ICON in 2001 with a focus on building the biotechnology market segment for ICON’s Clinical Research Division on the East Coast advancing to building and managing a sales team.
Throughout her career at ICON, Deb held various positions with increasing responsibilities in sales and management which included leadership in the growth of ICON's strategic relationships with active participation in a variety of ICON-Sponsor Committees, along with training and management oversight of he US sales team. Her current role as Vice President Business Development, ICON Late Phase and Outcomes Research, is instrumental in continuing to grow and strengthen the depth of ICON’s global service offerings in this specialised area.
Prior to joining ICON, Deb held various sales related positions across a variety of spectrums including Payor, Prescriber and Clinical Research Recruitment and Investigators. In these positions Deb focused on epidemiology and outcomes research services supporting the development of standardised quality of life instruments as well as patient recruitment services in support of clinical trials. Deb earned her BS degree in Marketing at the University of New Haven, CT
Throughout her career at ICON, Deb held various positions with increasing responsibilities in sales and management which included leadership in the growth of ICON's strategic relationships with active participation in a variety of ICON-Sponsor Committees, along with training and management oversight of he US sales team. Her current role as Vice President Business Development, ICON Late Phase and Outcomes Research, is instrumental in continuing to grow and strengthen the depth of ICON’s global service offerings in this specialised area.
Prior to joining ICON, Deb held various sales related positions across a variety of spectrums including Payor, Prescriber and Clinical Research Recruitment and Investigators. In these positions Deb focused on epidemiology and outcomes research services supporting the development of standardised quality of life instruments as well as patient recruitment services in support of clinical trials. Deb earned her BS degree in Marketing at the University of New Haven, CT
Mr. Michael Minor, Snr. VP Strategic Planning and Proposals
Michael is Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Proposals at ICON Late Phase & Outcomes Research in NY.
This is a global role incorporating business development, operational integration, strategic planning and preparation of responses to client inquiries regarding functional and transformational change. Mike has more than 30 years of clinical research experience in a variety of Sponsor and CRO leadership and operational roles representing Phase I through IV. Mike has participated as an outsourcing professional in pharma companies and CROs giving him a balanced perspective of sponsor and provider roles.
Prior to joining ICON, Mike’s experience includes: Director, Outsourcing with Pfizer CDO; VP, Strategic Accounts with Kendle; President of ACER/Excel; Project Management at Ayerst and Whitehall divisions of American Home Products; and study coordinator at Raritan Bay Medical Center. Mike holds a BS in Biological Sciences from Syracuse University.
This is a global role incorporating business development, operational integration, strategic planning and preparation of responses to client inquiries regarding functional and transformational change. Mike has more than 30 years of clinical research experience in a variety of Sponsor and CRO leadership and operational roles representing Phase I through IV. Mike has participated as an outsourcing professional in pharma companies and CROs giving him a balanced perspective of sponsor and provider roles.
Prior to joining ICON, Mike’s experience includes: Director, Outsourcing with Pfizer CDO; VP, Strategic Accounts with Kendle; President of ACER/Excel; Project Management at Ayerst and Whitehall divisions of American Home Products; and study coordinator at Raritan Bay Medical Center. Mike holds a BS in Biological Sciences from Syracuse University.
Ms. Diane Wild, MSc. VP, Translation and eCOA
Diane has a BSc in Psychology and a MSc in Health. She has over 20 years of experience in health outcomes research.
She was one of the founders of Oxford Outcomes where she specialised in PRO research and linguistic validation. She is currently Vice President of eCOA and Translations at ICON Late Phase & Outcomes Research, managing the eCOA group, a translation group and a linguistic validation group.
She was one of the founders of Oxford Outcomes where she specialised in PRO research and linguistic validation. She is currently Vice President of eCOA and Translations at ICON Late Phase & Outcomes Research, managing the eCOA group, a translation group and a linguistic validation group.
Mr. Nigel Gregson, EVP Scientific Integration and Planning
Nigel is a leading expert in pricing and market access strategy, and specialises in designing analytical frameworks and approaches to guide product development and commercialisation. In his role as EVP, Scientific Integration and Planning, Nigel is building the architecture and leading the initiative to connect multiple scientific and commercial disciplines in an integrated approach to value-driven product development.
Nigel joined ICON with the acquisition of PriceSpective, where he was a co-founding partner. Prior to forming PriceSpective, he had 13 years’ experience in top tier pharmaceutical companies, principally focused on pricing and reimbursement strategy development. During this tenure, culminating as Group Director, Global Pricing and Reimbursement Strategy for GlaxoSmithKline, he developed and managed pricing and reimbursement strategy for a significant number of products. Additional previous roles include Global Product Director and Associate Director of Strategic Planning.
Nigel is primary author of the widely acclaimed 2005 Nature article, “Pricing Medicines: Theory and Practice, Challenges and Opportunities”.
Nigel has a BA (Hons) in Business Administration with French from Loughborough University in England, and has post-graduate qualifications as both a UK Chartered Accountant and a US Certified Public Accountant. He received a certificate in Health Economics from the University of Aberdeen, and has accreditation in pricing.
Mr. Steve Slovick, President, PriceSpective LLC.
Steve joined ICON in early 2012 as the President of PriceSpective LLC. Over his past 12 years working as a health care consultant Steve held executive roles at PriceSpective, IMS Health and Cambridge Pharma Consultancy. During this time, Steve and his teams successfully completed over 400 projects spanning every important therapeutic area and geography.
Prior to his work in consulting, Steve’s tenure includes 12 years of pharmaceutical industry roles that included sales, market research, brand management and international operations with Eli Lilly, Merck and Pharmacia. He was also the leader of several international product launch teams.
Steve graduated with B.S Degrees in Marketing and International Business from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado. He has also secured a Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, Graziado school of Business and Management.
Brian Harrigan, Vice President Operations
Brian is Vice President Operations for ICON Late Phase & Outcomes Research. Brian was Chief Operating Officer of Oxford Outcomes for 7 years prior to its acquisition by ICON in January 2011. In this capacity, Brian was responsible for all operations of the company in North America, including financial performance, market growth, strategy and planning. Prior to joining Oxford Outcomes Brian was the Director of Operations and Administration for the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver. The Centre is a HIV/AIDS dedicated teaching and research organization that also bought and distributed all the HIV/AIDS drugs for the province of British Columbia.
Brian has a degree in Political Science, and diploma in Health Services Administration, and a Healthier Communities Fellowship
Ted Sweeney, Partner, PriceSpective
Ted joined ICON as a Partner at PriceSpective, following ICON’s acquisition of PriceSpective in February 2012. Ted had spent the previous 15 years working in the rapidly evolving field of global biopharmaceutical commercial analysis and strategy, with a focus on pricing and reimbursement, market access, and competitive opportunity assessment. With the experience of hundreds of consulting engagements, he has helped develop commercial strategies for products that range from treatments for the largest primary and specialty therapy areas, to novel and highly targeted agents for ultra-orphan diseases.
Ted joined PriceSpective in 2006 to help drive the firm’s expansion of content and geographic capabilities, in order to focus on his core pricing and reimbursement competencies. Prior to this, he founded and was Director of IMS Emerging Biopharma, where he provided strategic and tactical assistance to development-stage biopharmaceutical companies in support of their commercialisation and valuation processes. Previously, Ted was Vice President, IMS Management Consulting, US West, helping lead a team of consultants in a broad range of commercial strategy engagements. Before accepting that position, he had been Vice President with Cambridge Pharma Consultancy in both New York and San Francisco, focusing on value proposition development and US and global and pricing and reimbursement strategy.
Before joining IMS, Ted worked as an internal consultant in issues analysis for Pfizer’s Corporate Affairs department, on topics including Medicare reform, international pricing policy, and corporate branding. He then moved into Pfizer’s business intelligence function, focusing on the strategic positions of key in-line and pipeline products.
Ted has a BA from Middlebury College, an MA in International Public Policy from Tufts University, and MALD from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a member of the Academy for Investment Management Research and the New York Society of Security Analysts.
