SUMMIT
SPEAKERS
Rich Kaeser is the Vice President of Global Brand Protection at Johnson & Johnson. He leads
Johnson & Johnson’s enterprise-level brand protection function, with responsibility for
combatting illicit trade across all Johnson & Johnson business segments—pharmaceutical,
medical device and consumer—and operating companies worldwide. In his 25-year career with
Johnson & Johnson, Rich has served in various leadership roles within their medical device
segment, including most recently as Vice President of US Sales for Cordis, a maker of
interventional cardiovascular and endovascular devices. Other prior commercial roles have
included Vice President of Strategic Customer Development for Johnson & Johnson Health Care
Systems, and Director of Sales and Marketing for CardioVations, a division of Ethicon. Mr. Kaeser
also led Ethicon’s renowned Endo-Surgery Institute for two years. In his current role, Rich applies
his extensive commercial go-to-market and strategic planning experience toward developing
and implementing effective brand protection programs for Johnson & Johnson’s patients,
consumers and brands. Mr. Kaeser is also the recipient of numerous leadership awards from
Johnson & Johnson and has served on several boards, including the American Society for
Bariatric Surgery and the Society for Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology. He currently
serves on the Board of Directors of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC).
Ahmet Kirca is an Associate Professor of International Business and Marketing at the
Department of Marketing, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University (MSU). He
received his Ph.D. degree in International Business from the University of South Carolina,
Columbia. Prior to joining MSU in 2006, he worked at the George Washington University in
Washington, DC. His research focuses on international business and marketing strategy with a
special emphasis on firm internationalization, innovation and organizational culture. He has
several published or forthcoming articles in top academic journals including the Academy of
Management Journal, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,
Journal of Management, and Journal of World Business, among others. Currently, Professor Kirca
serves as the Director of the Doctoral Program in Marketing. He also teaches international
business/marketing, marketing research and marketing strategy courses in various
undergraduate and graduate programs. He also had extensive industry experience in textile and
tourism industries in Turkey before joining the academia. A native of Turkey, Kirca fluently speaks
English, French, and Italian languages. He also has working knowledge of Spanish and Japanese.
William Mansfield is the Director of Intellectual Property for ABRO Industries, Inc. headquartered
in South Bend, Indiana. ABRO exports a wide variety of household, automotive and light
industrial goods such as glues, tapes and oils from the United States under the ABRO brand to
individuals in developing nations worldwide. While virtually unknown in Western Europe and the
United States, ABRO is a major brand name in countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Kosovo. As
Director of Intellectual Property, Mr. Mansfield is in charge of protecting the over 2,000
trademarks ABRO has registered in over 175 countries. Mr. Mansfield has himself traveled to 55
foreign countries and handled matters in over 160. This involves coordinating the actions of
attorneys, investigators, and government officials on six continents (and he is hoping for a case
in Antarctica to arise one day as well). Mr. Mansfield earned his J.D. from Indiana University
School of Law and also has a B.A. in Psychology from Purdue University and is currently working
on an M.B.A. at Indiana University. He has been in the field of intellectual property protection for
over 20 years, first as an undercover investigator and then as an attorney. He previously served
with the U.S. Army in both active and reserve capacities. Mr. Mansfield has recently started a
consulting business under the name Emergent IP Consulting where he assists with brand
protection in China and the developing world.
Tara Steketee is the Director of Global Product Integrity, Global Security for Merck & Co., Inc. Tara
focuses on protecting patients from global supply chain threats with intelligence-led
investigations and the development of proactive risk methodologies that can be employed to
protect patients. Awareness campaigns, advocacy and engagement with policymakers and law
enforcement to further better protection for patients are also key areas of focus for Tara. She is
frequently called upon as a subject matter expert on counterfeit pharmaceuticals as well as the
overall ecosystem that supports illegal drug sellers and the threat this activity poses on patients,
worldwide.
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