Leadership
Executive team
Cornelia Hentzsch, President
William B. Jeffery, Executive Vice President, Marketing
Chris E. Kostka, Vice President, Sales
Jacqueline Le Saux, Vice President, Legal
Brian E. Lockwood, Executive Vice President, Finance
Kenneth J. Michalko, Vice President, Scientific Affairs
Marguerite O’Neal, Vice President, Human Resources
David J. Mayers, Director, Manufacturing Operations
Cornelia Hentzsch
President
Dr. Cornelia L. Hentzsch is the President of Purdue Pharma Canada and responsible for the company’s overall strategy and performance.
Appointed to the position in 2009, Cornelia joined Purdue Pharma Canada from Mundipharma Australia. Since joining the Purdue/Mundipharma/Napp group of independently associated companies in 1998, Cornelia has established associated companies in Australia and New Zealand.
Cornelia holds degrees in pharmacy and pharmacology. She began her pharmaceutical industry career in 1986 in Germany with international marketing and licensing responsibilities for Henning Berlin (now part of Sanofi-Aventis). Cornelia has also held business development and sales and marketing management positions with Pharmacia and Abbott in Australia. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
William B. Jeffery
Executive Vice President, Marketing
William B. Jeffery is the Executive Vice President, Marketing at Purdue Pharma Canada and responsible for marketing, market research, continuing health education (CHE), new product planning and business development.
Since joining the company in 1992, Bill has directed the launch of several novel products in a variety of therapeutic areas while contributing to the strong growth of the established portfolio of products. He has also been responsible for the development and execution of new training programs and department process initiatives.
Bill joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1980, working in a number of progressive sales and marketing positions with several multi-national companies in Canada before joining Purdue Pharma Canada.
Chris E. Kostka
Vice President, Sales
Chris E. Kostka is Vice President, Sales for Purdue Pharma Canada and manages the company’s sales team.
Joining Purdue Pharma Canada in 1999, Chris has introduced several new business processes that have improved sales force efficiency and effectiveness resulting in significant revenue growth to the company's product portfolio. In addition, his compelling approach to leadership has led to the development of a high performance sales organization.
With more than 27 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Chris held a number of senior roles specializing in sales, marketing and training before bringing his expertise to Purdue Pharma Canada.
Jacqueline Le Saux
Vice President, Legal
Jacqueline Le Saux is Vice President, Legal at Purdue Pharma Canada and manages the company’s legal, corporate policy and compliance functions.
Before joining the company in 2009, Jacqueline spent 17 years in leadership positions with a number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, where she focused on value-enhancing strategic initiatives, including business and product acquisitions and dispositions, capital formation and corporate development. Prior to her career in the pharmaceutical industry, Jacqueline was a partner at McCarthy Tétrault where she specialized in corporate and securities law.
Jacqueline is currently a member of the Board of Directors of MaRS Innovation, a unique partnership of 14 world class Toronto research institutions, designed to advance the commercialization of the exceptional research carried out by these institutions through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.
Brian E. Lockwood
Executive Vice President, Finance
Brian E. Lockwood is Executive Vice President, Finance at Purdue Pharma Canada, overseeing Accounting, Treasury, Information Technology and Customer Service functions of the business.
Joining the company in 1990, Brian brought extensive and diverse experience to the organization.
An honours graduate of the Carleton University School of Commerce, Brian articled with Clarkson Gordon and Co. (Ernst & Young) where he received his Chartered Accountancy designation. Following a two year international consulting assignment with Ernst and Young, Brian accepted a senior financial position in the international oil and gas trading and shipping industry. In 1984, Brian joined the Purdue/Napp/ Mundipharma International Group as Managing Director of Mundipharma International Ltd - one of the group's global, licensing, trading and export operations.
Kenneth J. Michalko
Vice President, Scientific Affairs
Dr. Kenneth J. Michalko is Vice President, Scientific Affairs at Purdue Pharma Canada and is responsible for clinical research; biostatics and data management; regulatory affairs; drug information and pharmacovigilance.
Ken joined Purdue Pharma Canada in 2006, bringing regulatory affairs and clinical research expertise from the pharmaceutical industry and Health Canada. While with the federal government, he held positions of increasing responsibility through to Division Chief for the review of Submissions on Prescription Drugs. Prior to this Ken was a practicing pharmacist and Department Head in university teaching hospitals.
He continues to maintain memberships with various professional and scientific organizations including licensure with the Ontario College of Pharmacists and certification by the Canadian College of Health Service Executives.
Marguerite O’Neal
Vice President, Human Resources
Marguerite O’Neal is the Vice President, Human Resources at Purdue Pharma Canada and is responsible for the overall strategic direction of human resources (HR) at the company. She also serves as the Chief Privacy Officer for the company.
Joining the company in 2010, Marguerite brings extensive expertise in HR management and a specialization in leadership development, performance coaching and change management. In addition to her HR experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, Marguerite has also worked in the insurance, financial service and information technology sectors, and is an award-winning recipient for her work in change management.
Currently pursuing the MA (leadership) program at the University of Guelph, Marguerite is a graduate of the Executive Leadership in Human Resources Program, the Advanced Program in Leading Change Program and the Advanced Program in Human Resources Management at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Marguerite also holds the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation.
David J. Mayers
Director, Manufacturing Operations
As Director, Manufacturing Operations, David J. Mayers oversees Quality, Materials Management, Manufacturing and Plant Operations at Purdue Pharma Canada.
David joined Purdue Pharma Canada in 2003 as Director, Quality after serving in a number of progressive positions in Quality, R&D and Manufacturing with SmithKline Beecham, BDH (Merck KGaA) and Apotex.
David maintains a strategic focus on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance, cost-effectiveness, and the development of employee and manufacturing-related capacity to support the company's worldwide growth.
David earned an Honours B.Sc. in Biological Science from the University of Guelph and an MBA from the University of Toronto.
