Larry Downey
Chair of the Board
Larry Downey has over 40 years of experience serving in senior roles in the pharmaceutical industry. He previously held the position of President – North America Specialty Medicines at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Teva Neuroscience Inc. Larry was an executive at Hoechst Marion Roussel and its predecessor companies, Marion Merrell Dow and Marion Laboratories. His career included management positions in pharmaceutical finance, marketing and business management, specializing in partnerships and business development. Larry received a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
While at Teva, Larry created a people-focused work environment and culture that motivated people to consistently achieve uncommon results, improving the lives of tens of millions of people while earning awards for “Best Places to Work”, “Top Companies”, “Champions of Business”, “Best Companies to Work For” and “Spirit at Work”. Currently, Larry is providing consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry. He is a member of Insignia Strategies, LLC, whose prime focus is to helpcompanies obtain the greatest value for their pharmaceutical portfolios.
Bob Lambrechts
Secretary
Bob Lambrechts is a partner with the Kansas City, Missouri law firm of Lathrop GPM, practicing intellectual property law focusing on patent prosecution in the mechanical arts. Bob also has a background in environmental law having formerly served as a special counsel to the Regional Administrator to Region 7 EPA. He has served 22 years as an adjunct faculty member in the Schools of Law and Engineering for the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) and prior to his law career, Bob served as a robotics engineer with the Allied-Signal Corporation. Bob has served as a Navy Reserve Officer for the past 24 years and is the Campus Liaison Officer at UMKC where he recruits officer candidates for various programs within the Navy. Bob received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Missouri at Columbia and his law degree from St. Louis University School of Law.
Denise Lynch
Treasurer
Denise Lynch has over 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Denise began her career with Marion Laboratories and gained considerable experience in her management roles in Accounting/Finance. Supply Chain, Procurement, Compensation/Benefits, ERP and Commercial assignments while working at Hoechst Marion Roussel and Aventis. She spent the next chapter of her career with Teva where she was responsible for building and directing the Patient Services and Solutions program that included a Call Center, which provided patient education and support, Clinical Nurse Educator (CNE) program, Pharmacy, Benefits Investigation/Patient Financial Assistance programs and REMS.
Denise has an undergraduate in Business Administration and an MA in Economics from the University of Central Missouri. She currently provides Consulting Services focusing on improving patient outcomes through education and support services.
Jim Mitchum
Board Member
James (Jim) Mitchum, CEO of RegaloRx and former CEO of Heart to Heart International, is an experienced senior executive. Jim began his pharmaceutical career with Eli Lilly & Co, spent 20 years with Kansas City based Marion Laboratories and its successor companies. He served as Corporate Controller for Hoechst Marion Roussel in Germany, before becoming the Chief Executive of Aventis UK-Ireland, and later President and CEO of Sanofi-Aventis Japan. On return to the U.S., Jim ran two successful pharmaceutical companies before becoming the CEO of Heart to Heart International in 2014. He holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee and has a background in service-oriented work, having spent some of his youth living in Ethiopia.
Although Jim has lived and worked around the U.S. and the world, he and his wife consider Kansas City to be home, having raised their family and established roots in the KC Metro.
Betsy Braham
Board Member
Kim Carroll
Board Member
Kim Carroll serves Heart to Heart International as its Chief Executive Officer. She initially joined HHI in 2016 as President of PowrServ.
Kim established a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, beginning with Marion Laboratories in 1984. Her experience includes general management and commercial leadership roles at Aventis, The Medicines Company, EUSA Pharma and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Kim is a graduate of Mercer University and holds an MBA from Troy State University.
Art Chaudry
Board Member
As President and CEO of Community Builders of Kansas City, Art Chaudry focuses the community development organization on comprehensive efforts to redevelop the social and physical infrastructures of urban communities through residential, commercial and retail development. Chaudry joined CB-KC as the Chief Operating Officer in 2010 to oversee its operations of real estate and community development assets and portfolio in excess of $100 Million.
He has also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Union Station in Kansas City; Chief Administrative Officer of Jackson County, Missouri; Vice President of Strategy and Tax Product Development at H&R Block; Senior Vice President of the Kansas City Royals; and Vice President of Global R&D Finance at Hoechst Marion Roussel.
Chaudry holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Logistics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Loyola.
Chris Gumbs
Board Member
Chris Gumbs is a Director at Teva Pharmaceuticals and has over 10 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Chris has extensive management experience in mergers & acquisitions, market research, forecasting, marketing, patient services and new product launch for both brand and generic products.
Chris received his BSBA. in Finance & Economics from Rockhurst University and a MBA with emphasis in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing from St. Joseph’s University.
Heather Lyons-Burney, Pharm.D.
Board Member
Heather Lyons-Burney serves as a Clinical Associate Professor for the UMKC School of Pharmacy’s satellite site at MSU in Springfield, Missouri with an ambulatory care practice site at Faith Community Health clinic. Throughout her career she has promoted the profession of pharmacy and has encouraged the development of team-based patient-centered care and innovative services, as well as the importance of community engagement. Following residency, her career began as an inpatient clinical pharmacist with Cox Health Systems, followed by community pharmacy ownership of three pharmacies. In 2010, Heather and other community leaders opened Faith Community Health clinic, an affordable and comprehensive primary care clinic for the uninsured and under-insured population surrounding Branson, Missouri. Locally, Heather has continued to serve on the clinic’s Board, as well as co-Chairs both the Taney and Greene county coalitions focused on prevention of substance misuse – receiving the Generation Rx Champions Award in 2012, and a Southwest Missouri Jefferson Award in 2018.
In November 2018, she received the ACT Missouri’s Champion of Change for Prevention statewide award for her continuous prevention efforts. In 2010, she served as president of the Missouri Pharmacy Association, and received the UMKC School of Pharmacy Alumni Achievement Award in 2017.
Rick Heise
Board Member
Rick joined Commerce Bank in 2017, serving as the Director of Specialty Healthcare Solutions. In his role, Rick leads cross-functional teams in developing and delivering solutions to national healthcare clients with a focus on cash acceleration, cost reduction and an enhanced patient financial experience.
Rick brings more than 25 years of experience working with healthcare organizations on their clinical and financial automation strategies. His career includes 17 years in various domestic and international roles at Cerner Corporation. Most recently providing executive leadership for strategy and execution for Cerner’s healthcare finance division. Prior to joining Cerner, he enjoyed eight years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., serving in various roles from health administration to internal audit and quality assurance.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa and is a Certified Public Accountant.