The Hepatitis B Foundation has invited engineer and business owner Craig Esterly, and pharmaceutical industry executive Wayne Yetter to join the Board of Directors. Esterly and Yetter will assist the Foundation with its mission, as the U.S.’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B, as well as to ameliorate patients’ quality of life, by supporting research, education and advocacy.
“We are proud to welcome two new additions to our board of directors who bring with them broad and deep experience in the healthcare arena,” stated the president of the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, Timothy Block. “Craig and Wayne are a great fit for the Hepatitis B Foundation and we are glad to have them join us at a time when even more promising research into hepatitis B therapies is on the near horizon.”
With a career of 30 years in the pharmaceutical field, Yetter has already served in executive positions at Pfizer, Merck, Astra Merck (now named Astra Zeneca), and Novartis. After getting an undergraduate degree in biology from Wilkes University, and an MBA from Bryant University, Yetter worked as vice president Merck, founding CEO of Astra Merck, and President and CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Other positions held by the executive include being COO of healthcare market research company, IMS Health, and chairman and CEO of Synavant, Inc.
This not the first time Yetter has been chosen to join the Board of a health-related organization, as he already worked as chairman of the Board and lead director of several public biotech and healthcare companies. He is also a member of the Boards of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, and the National Pharmaceutical Council. Yetter has also been invited to be part of the board of trustees for Wilkes University, and served as director of the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at the Wharton School.
Esterly, completed an undergraduate degree in mineral engineering at Pennsylvania State University, and an MBA at the University of Pittsburgh. His major career achievement was the co-founding of the SD Asset Group, LLC, which is a holding company dedicated to assisting in the construction and investment decisions of other companies.
His career started with positions of turnaround chief executive for both public and private businesses. Esterly is currently a member of the board of directors of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Presbyterian Shadyside Hospitals and Shadyside Hospital Foundation, and mental health advocacy group, LEAD Pittsburgh. He has served on the boards of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, East Liberty Family Health Care Center, Pittsburgh Presbyterian Foundation and Social Venture Partners Pittsburgh.