Dr. Bear exemplifies one of his favorite quotations, paraphrased from T.S. Eliot, “If you do not go too far, you will never know how far you can go.” David is a Professor of Psychiatry, Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; founder of four companies; and a patent holder for several medical and technology devices. He pioneered and developed the largest telepsychiatry program in the U.S. and is a consultant to a large narcotics treatment program. His professional passions include the prevention of opioid addiction; novel treatment of depression; restless legs syndrome; and impulsive compulsive disorders.

With Covectra since 2008, David was previously the Chair of Psychiatry at UMASS-Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He attended Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, receiving an MD Magna cum Laude. The recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, Dr. Bear was named a Lifetime Distinguished Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association. David is married to Laurie Hammer, an MD and Psychiatrist. They have two sons, Daniel, a computational neuroscientist and Adam, a cognitive neuroscientist. David’s hobbies lean toward music and audio reproduction activities, although he has interests as well in philosophy and physics.

Steve Wood served as Covectra’s President & CEO for 14 years before retiring in 2022. His expertise is with general management in engineering-oriented companies and includes working with a variety of small businesses in automated packaging, recordable media production, and engineering services. He has also served as CEO of a drug development company. Prior to his career in business, Steve was with the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Steve earned his Bachelor of Science degree at United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He earned his MBA from Yale University and holds a Russian language degree from the Defense Language Institute. Steve was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and a Navy Unit Commendation. He has served on a number of boards, including the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (Chairman), Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony. He is, by his own admission, an outdoors guy with a love for running, biking, swimming, and boating. He and wife Gail have three children and seven grandchildren.

Ron has had an illustrative career that spans more than 40 years of experience in various management positions including Global Brand Protection and Supply Chain Integrity, product marketing, new business development, IT and general management. Retired from Johnson & Johnson, Ron joined Covectra in 2013 where his expertise in marketing, business development, and supply chain integrity is of vital importance to our core products. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Rutgers University and a Master of Science degree in Management Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Engineering. He is an advisor, volunteer, and former Board of Directors member for Operation Smile, an international organization that helps children receive the life-changing surgery they need to repair a cleft lip or cleft palate. Ron has been recognized for his contributions to Import Safety by the Secretary of HHS in Washington, DC. He lives in Monmouth County, NJ and is married with two children and three grandchildren. Ron added, “I am grateful to my family, friends, and co-workers for their support during a long and enjoyable career in the healthcare industry.”

Renaat brings to the Covectra Board of Directors over 35 years of global operating experience in the healthcare industry, with specific expertise in consumer pharmaceuticals, medical devices and supplies/services for the pharmaceutical industry. He has held various senior leadership positions, as CEO and board member of Temptime Corporation and as President and CEO of a public startup healthcare company that developed and sold innovative wound care products. He has enjoyed a 20-year career with Johnson & Johnson, serving the latter time there as President of the J&J-Merck consumer pharmaceuticals joint venture worldwide. Renaat has also been involved for almost 20 years with the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation where he has served on the Board of Trustees and chaired multiple strategic committees supporting the CEO. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from VLEKHO and a Masters degree from the Vlerick School of Management at the University of Ghent, Belgium. Renaat is married and has two grown boys who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs after they moved from Europe in 2001. He is an avid cyclist and enjoys a round of golf and music concert as well.

Steve Wood served as Covectra’s President & CEO for 14 years before retiring in 2022. His expertise is with general management in engineering-oriented companies and includes working with a variety of small businesses in automated packaging, recordable media production, and engineering services. He has also served as CEO of a drug development company. Prior to his career in business, Steve was with the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Steve earned his Bachelor of Science degree at United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He earned his MBA from Yale University and holds a Russian language degree from the Defense Language Institute. Steve was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and a Navy Unit Commendation. He has served on a number of boards, including the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (Chairman), Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony. He is, by his own admission, an outdoors guy with a love for running, biking, swimming, and boating. He and wife Gail have three children and seven grandchildren.

With a career of 36-plus years in packaging – ranging from package machinery design to packaging line implementation – Rich Smith has been primarily focused in the pharmaceutical industry creating effective solutions to difficult packaging problems. Rich provides insight to regulatory requirements and has expertise in the implementation of solid dose and liquid packaging line systems. He was instrumental in the integration of tamper evident packaging into Johnson & Johnson and other pharmaceutical companies. His team developed state-of-the-art prototype and production equipment for the disposable contact lens business that transformed the industry.

Formerly the co-founder and vice president of Luciano Packaging Technologies, Rich’s most recent accomplishments include the successful development of a revolutionary high-speed laser drilling technology for time-release tablets (which resulted in 100% increase in production among several benefits). In 2006, Rich joined Secure Symbology as Director of Engineering to address the growing number of counterfeit pharmaceutical products in the US. He assembled a team of engineers to develop a product to address the US ePedigree requirements for tracking and tracing pharmaceutical products through the supply chain.

Rich Smith joined Covectra in 2012 to continue with the implementation of serialization and product traceability across all industries. Educated at RETS Electronics Institute, Rich has a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. He is a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). A frequent lecturer at packaging seminars and symposia, including Interphex, Secure Pharma, and the California and Nevada Boards of Pharmacy, Rich currently resides in Pennsylvania.

Ron will lead the marketing, sales and overall new business development worldwide for Covectra’s security barcode labeling solution as well as the growing number of product offerings in brand protection, serialization and track and trace. Ron brings his unique experience in the marketing and technical development of label materials and management of large-scale projects. Prior to joining Covectra, Ron worked for nearly 40 years at FLEXcon in a variety of technical, marketing and product management positions.  He most recently was Market Development Manager for the FLEXcon’s durable and digital products and was instrumental in procuring three U. S. patents for its products. Ron holds a BSBA from Nichols College and an MBA from Suffolk University.

With Covectra since 2011, Terry is responsible for creating long-term value for organizations by focusing on customers, markets, and relationships. His area of expertise includes risk evaluation, program management, and brand protection. Prior to joining Covectra, Terry was a principal consultant with Blue Fin Group, a premier management and technology consulting firm focused on healthcare commerce. Before that, he was vice president and director of Global Security, State Street Bank. Based in London UK, Terry designed the strategic development and tactical delivery of new security solutions across the eastern hemisphere. At Aventis Pharmaceuticals, he helped found and chaired the North America Brand Protection Program that improved knowledge management, improved business processes, and uncovered criminal activity. While working at Xerox, Terry was an investigations manager who led a staff that examined all forms company and criminal violations. Raised and educated in Rochester, New York, Terry holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. In addition, he was selected and completed leadership programs at Xerox, Aventis (Columbia Business School), and State Street’s Expatriated Program.

Andre is our Director of Business Development in Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare. His career includes over 15 years’ experience in various SaaS solutions with a focus on Life Sciences. Throughout his career, Andre has worked on various projects ranging from ERP implementation, Electronic Data Interchange, KOL Management and Market Intelligence.

Most recently, his primary focus has been on DSCSA compliance. Since the inception of the federal legislation in 2015, Andre has participated in multiple track-and-trace projects with the largest pharmaceutical distributors in the US, Europe, and Latin America.

Andre holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Central Florida in Orlando – magna cum laude. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and enjoys outdoors activities with his family, including tennis, basketball, and coaching soccer at the Orlando City Youth Soccer Club.

Abhijeet is our expert in Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) Compliance, Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS), and Software Development on Microsoft technologies stack. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from RGPV University in Bhopal, MP, India and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Mississippi. Prior to living and working in Massachusetts, Abhijeet was a software engineer in India at InfoBeans, Inc. He joined Covectra in 2011 and is an active member of Global Standards One (GS1) and DSCSA workgroups as well as the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA). Abhijeet has been recognized by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for academic excellence and is also a member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society in the computing and information disciplines.