Former North Carolina Biotechnology Center president joins College of Management

September 12, 2007 – Raleigh, N.C. – Leslie Alexandre has been appointed director of corporate relations for health care and life sciences at the North Carolina State University College of Management, effective August 16, 2007. 

Alexandre previously was president and chief executive officer of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, from August 2002 through January 2007. She also had recently served as adjunct professor in the College of Management’s Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE).

In her new role, Alexandre will work to build strategic partnerships with health care and life science companies on behalf of the College of Management, emphasizing opportunities available through the college’s BioPharma Management Initiative (BPMI) and national Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS). She also will work closely with BPMI’s Executive Director Richard Kouri and Co-Director Sam Straight to more fully develop this high growth initiative with new course offerings and greater industry involvement.

“We are very pleased to welcome Leslie to our faculty,” said Ira R. Weiss, dean of the college. “Her depth of experience and knowledge of the health care and life sciences industries complements the work of our faculty in our MIE department and particularly in our BPMI and CIMS. She is joining us at an ideal time, as we continue to expand our research and academic programs in these vital areas, for North Carolina’s economy and beyond.”

“NC State and its College of Management not only talk the talk, but they also walk the walk when it comes to valuing industry engagement and public-private partnerships,” Alexandre said. “I am thrilled to be joining the faculty of this outstanding academic institution, where my health care and life sciences expertise and relationships can be put to good use on behalf of students, faculty and the community at large.”

With Alexandre at the helm, state funding for the Biotechnology Center nearly tripled and North Carolina moved up in national rankings to become the third leading state for biotechnology based on number of companies. In 2003, at the request of Governor Easley, Alexandre led the development of “New Jobs across North Carolina: a Strategic Plan to Grow the Economy Statewide through Biotechnology” and the subsequent execution of many of the plan’s 54 strategies, including the opening of Biotechnology Center regional offices in Asheville, Charlotte, Greenville, Winston Salem and Wilmington. She was actively engaged in the recruitment of numerous life science companies to North Carolina during her tenure, including Merck and Novartis, and routinely traveled nationally and internationally to educate corporate, academic and government leaders about North Carolina’s dynamic life sciences community.

Prior to joining the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Alexandre was assistant director for industrial relations at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, the first person to hold this position. In this role, Alexandre was responsible for building relationships with the private sector and facilitating the development of scientific collaborations with industry to accelerate progress in cancer research.

From 1995 to 1998, Alexandre was vice president of corporate affairs and marketing for Oncormed, Inc., a leading provider of cancer-related genetic testing services, in Gaithersburg, Md. Previously she served in senior health policy positions for two U.S. senators and as the primary liaison between Electronic Data Systems and the Washington, D.C., health policy community. She spent the first half of her career consulting to Fortune 500 employers and other major health care payers on matters related to medical spending and utilization.

Alexandre earned a bachelor's degree from the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Davis and a master's degree and a doctorate from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. She serves on numerous boards, including the North Carolina Biosciences Organization, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and the Advisory Council for the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. She is a founding member of the Research Triangle Park Chapter of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and a member of its advisory board.

Alexandre is a recipient of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of North Carolina’s 2006 Woman of Achievement Award, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s 2005 Chairman’s Service Award, the Triangle Business Journal’s 2004 Women in Business Award and the Business Leader’s 2003 Women Extraordinaire Award. She was inducted into the Triangle YWCA Academy of Women in the category of Science and Technology in 2005.

About the College of Management

The North Carolina State University College of Management offers graduate and undergraduate programs in accounting, business management and economics. Its MBA program offers eight concentrations of study: biopharma management, entrepreneurship technology commercialization, financial management, information technology management, innovation management, marketing management, services management, and supply chain management. The college includes six centers and initiatives, including the BioPharma Management Initiative (BPMI) and the Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS).

The BPMI was established in 2006 to provide management education and resources for professionals working in all the industries impacted by biotechnology. It is building curricula that provide technology and business students the skill sets they will need to manage effectively in this critical set of industries. The BioPharma Management Initiative (BPMI) also supports the Annual BioPharma Forums. These meetings provide a venue where key industry leaders discuss management issues with students, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and relevant support personnel. The Third Annual BioPharma Forum will be held on Friday, October 26, 2007 at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

CIMS is a university-industry cooperative research center that studies the management of innovation and technology. CIMS was founded in 1984 at Lehigh University and in 2000 moved to NC State's College of Management. It has a network of over 100 researchers located at 55 universities across the country. Industry members include: Air Products and Chemicals, Armstrong World Industries, BP, Corning Incorporated, E&J Gallo Winery, IBM Corporation, MeadWestvaco Corporation, Novozymes, and Xerox Corporation.