Jake Weiss
Coachability Consultants
Jake Weiss, Ph.D. is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, and the President & CEO of Coachability Consultants, Inc., a management consulting firm focused on maximizing coaching investments, practices, effectiveness, and cultures by addressing the "missing piece" of the coaching equation - employees' and leaders' coachability.
Prior to his current role, he served as a Senior Consultant and the Research Lead at Inteflex, Inc., where he conducted innovative research to inform the development of its advanced managerial coaching development and sales force effectiveness workshops for Fortune 100 and 500 companies across the Health Sciences, BioPharma, and Biotech industries.
Before – and during – his tenure at Inteflex, Jake worked on multiple NASA-funded initiatives to uncover optimal crew composition and team processes and dynamics necessary for success in long-duration space exploration (LDSE), in effort to inform and maximize the Mission to Mars.
Passionate about bridging the scientist-practitioner gap and bringing best-in-class, evidence-based engagements to clients, his current research focuses on coaching, employee coachability, and organizational cultures. Jake and his team at Coachability Consultants regularly publish peer-reviewed research on these topics to advance the literature on these topics in the management science literature.
Jake earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he also played Division 1 soccer for four years. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, specializing in organizational coaching and coachability, from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
Coachability Consultants recently launched itas Coachability@Work Certification Program, which equips coaches, consultants, and organizational leaders to leverage the first and only scientifically-validated Coachability@Work Assessment and Coachability development tools with their clients and organizations.
Ed Molitor
The Molitor Group
Ed is a coach down to the very smallest molecule of his DNA.
Whether he's a husband and father at home or working with a client in the business world, he is an energized, passionate, and near-obsessive coach who is fully invested in showing up with all he's got to help you show up with all you've got. His approach is one that insists on presence. He knows no other way to catalyze change except by getting on the court with you, playing side-by-side, and encouraging you to keep pushing, especially when the going gets tough.
In the last 29 years, Ed has developed his leadership skills in both athletics and business. From working as an NCAA Basketball coach at Texas A&M, DePaul NIU, and Lewis University to becoming the Vice President of a national recruiting firm, Ed Molitor has experienced the potential and pitfalls of leadership at every level.
As the founder and CEO of The Molitor Group, today Ed guides emerging and established leaders across biopharma and biotech to apply the proven lessons of coaching in their pursuit of inspiring and driving their team’s performance.
Through personalized training, workshops, keynote speeches, his writing, and as a podcast host, Ed seeks to empower individuals and their organizations to achieve victory through a focus on transformation, fundamentals, compassion, mental toughness, and vision.
Ed graduated from St. Ambrose University with a B.S. in Business Administration and a minor in Economics where he was a member of the Men’s Basketball team serving as the co-captain his Senior year. Before St. Ambrose, he studied business at Creighton University where he played on the Men’s Basketball teams which included a 1989 MVC Regular Season and Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament, and a 1990 NIT Tournament.
Dr. Erik Korem
AIM7
Whether fueling the feats of NCAA athletes or the U.S. Dept. of Defense, implementing one of the NFL's first sports science programs, or coaching Olympic gold medalists, Dr. Erik Korem has always been driven by a relentless pursuit of high performance. As time progressed, that drive became a new purpose — to translate the science-enabling elite performers into actionable recommendations for anyone with a desire to improve.
Fueled by a deep-rooted desire to help others live a more fulfilled and healthy life, Dr. Erik Korem is an applied performance scientist that leaves every person or place he interacts with better than he found it. During the nearly 20 years he spent working with establishments like the NFL, NCAA, Nike, and U.S. Dept of Defense, it’s easy to see he didn’t let a single day go to waste.
Similarly, as a Presidential Leadership Scholar that holds a doctorate in exercise science with a research emphasis on sleep and stress resilience, he’s leveraged his education and platform to provide others with tangible health insights by writing for media outlets like Inc. and conducting impactful interviews with notable experts and athletes on his podcast The BluePrint.
While Erik’s relentless pursuit of high performance has come with its fair share of obstacles, it was also preparing him for his biggest challenge to date; entrepreneurship.
He became the Founder and CEO of AIM7 in 2020, pouring his expertise into an app that analyzes users' data and provides custom recommendations for enhancing the mind, body, and recovery process. Leveraging the science of adaptive capacity, Erik and his team are unlocking a new level of human performance for anyone with a wearable device — so they can be their best without burning out.
Matt Rysavy
Verona Pharma
Matt Rysavy has been a pharma leader for nearly 20 years. His roles have ranged from Training Manager, to National Account Executive, to Executive Director, Market Access and Trade (and nearly every leadership position in between). Emerging leaders can use Matt’s career trajectory and leadership style as a guide for navigating their own path.
Matt is now the Vice President, Market Access and Trade for Verona Pharma. Verona Pharma is a clinical‑stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative prescription medicines. They’re focused on treating respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs, such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and asthma.
Matt is also an accomplished athlete. As a 3-year Football Letterman at Iowa State as a Tight End, he earned a scholarship as a walk-on in the 1996 season. His work ethic, coachability, and willingness to invest 100% in a cause were a big part of his success as an athlete, and also his success in pharma leadership. Matt’s is primarily focused on developing driven people within his teams.
His people-first approach gets results, too. Because of his deep respect for ethics, relationships, and hard work, his career has shot upward and forward. Many of his proteges are now in C-Suites and boardrooms spread across the industry, standing as a testament to his success as a leader.
Advancing your career in pharma can be challenging. Success isn’t always up to you. But Matt provides insight on how to build your career and your team in the face of unique challenges and opportunities that present themselves.