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Seven San Diego Directors to Be Honored at This Year’ s Director of the Year Awards

Seven of San Diego’s top boardroom directors will be honored in a virtual ceremony on December 2, 2020 at the Corporate Directors Forum’s 29th annual Director of the Year Awards. Each honoree, nominated by their peers for outstanding work in the boardroom and behind the scenes, will be recognized in distinct categories. While several nominees serve on more than one organization’s board, they are being recognized for their work on specific boards, as highlighted below.

Maureen Breakiron-Evans, Corporate Governance

Serving as independent director and member of the Audit and Compliance and Technology Strategy Committees for Cubic Corporation, Maureen Breakiron-Evans is this year’s nominee for Corporate Governance. Not only does she have extensive leadership, technology, financial, risk and corporate governance experience, but her pandemic planning experience has proven extremely important this year as Cubic navigates the disruptions presented by COVID-19. “Drawing on her deep knowledge from many years of pandemic planning, risk management and oversight, she enabled Cubic to not only be well-prepared in advance to face the impact of COVID-19, but also address the situation in a proactive, thoughtful and effective manner… Since joining Cubic’s board in 2017, Ms. Breakiron-Evans has played a pivotal role in creating long-term value for Cubic’s shareholders and ensuring the company continues to flourish in a competitive landscape.”

Kim D. Blickenstaff, Enhancement of Economic Value

Tandem Diabetes’ Chairman and former CEO, Mr. Kim D. Blickenstaff, is the 2020 honoree for Enhancement of Economic Value. Mr. Blickenstaff is recognized for pulling off the incredible feat of leading the company from the brink of bankruptcy to regaining its status as the number two insulin pump company in the world in less than two years, while growing the market cap from $20 million to $5 billion. This was accomplished “thanks to Kim’s leadership and his unwavering faith in what Tandem was doing.” His leadership not only yielded incredible financial rewards, but also helped to establish an employee-centric organization which gives back, values mentorship and puts faith in its people. The company culture created by his leadership and example has made Tandem a sought-after organization for employment.

Michael “Mick” Farrell, Emerging Board Leader

For his role as CEO and Director at ResMed, Inc., Michael “Mick” Farrell is this year’s honoree for Emerging Board Leader. Long before California’s Senate Bill 826 demanded more women on boards, Mr. Farrell recognized the value of having more women serve both on boards and in leadership roles, and he has been instrumental in creating greater gender parity across all levels at ResMed. Mr. Farrell’s strong ability to lead has been highlighted during the year’s COVID-19 pandemic, where ResMed has been in a unique position to help those compromised by the virus. “ResMed immediately began ramping up production of its bilevel devices, ventilators, and ventilation masks…During the quarter ending March 31, 2020, ResMed’s bilevel and ventilator production increased more than three times and the production of ventilation masks increased tenfold.”

Carol G. Gallagher, Pharm.D., Companies in Transition

While relatively new to ChromaCode Inc.’s board, Carol Gallagher’s already significant contributions have made her this year’s Companies in Transition nominee. The company’s vision of connecting “patients to the right treatment through smarter and more affordable diagnostics,” has become particularly important this year with the COVID-19 pandemic. In June of this year, the FDA “granted Emergency Use Authorization of ChromaCode’s HDPCR™ SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time PCR Assay.” In addition to this emergency related diagnostic, ChromaCode has developed several panels for research purposes and is in the process of developing others. Carol’s experience with venture-stage companies, along with her energy, insights and wisdom, “help management to assess and balance various financing and transaction alternatives…[and] helps people walk through how to analyze the issues they are facing…She is always part of the solution, not the problem.”

Jennie Brooks, Corporate Governance: Not-for-Profit

As Vice Chair of the Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation Advisory Board and Director at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, Jennie Brooks is this year’s Corporate Governance: Not-for-Profit honoree. In addition to her role in “developing, accepting and recognizing philanthropy in support of Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego,” Ms. Brooks “has used her skills to address cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), military and defense affairs, inclusive growth, STEM talent initiatives for women and minorities, housing, childcare, and several other community needs.” Moving beyond formal roles, Ms. Brooks has also contributed enormously to the Rady School of Management’s ASCEND forum and Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders (SIEML), which serves “undergraduate students currently enrolled in their sophomore or junior year at an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) or HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution).”

Henry (Hank) L. Nordhoff, Lifetime Achievement

Henry (Hank) Nordhoff’s career, spanning over half a century in life sciences, makes him the ideal honoree for this year’s Lifetime Achievement award. In 2004, while serving as Chairman and CEO at Gen-Probe, Mr. Nordhoff was awarded the National Medal of Technology in Medicine. Five years later, he was awarded the Herb Klein Civic Leadership Award “for his many contributions in the San Diego region.” Mr. Nordhoff remains extremely active in the life sciences arena, serving as Executive Chairman and CEO of Banyan Biomarkers, “a pioneer in developing biomarkers for traumatic brain injury.” While his previous for-profit and non-profit roles are too many to list, he currently serves on the board of The Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the Moores Cancer Center of UCSD, The Jacobs School of Engineering of UCSD, School of Global Policy and Strategy International Advisory Board of UCSD, The Rady Children’s Hospital, The Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Kyoto Prize Symposium.

Dr. Warren Kessler, Lifetime Legacy

For his several decades of passionate and devoted service on the San Diego Symphony Orchestra (SDSO) board, Warren Kessler, immediate past chair, is this year’s honoree for Lifetime Legacy. During his tenure, Dr. Kessler chaired search committees for the symphony’s last three CEO’s and music directors. His major contributions to the financial management of SDSO, both past and present, are helping to better position them for the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. His legacy with SDSO will be remembered both visually and auditorily, as San Diego will reap the benefits of his leadership with the beautiful new performance venue on the Embarcadero for summer concerts. And as stated by SDSO’s CEO, “I think what sets Warren Kessler apart in this role is that he did all of this with great care, love, and joy. Even on the tough days, and with the tough subjects, one knew that it was his absolute pleasure to lead the institution’s board.”

Join Us in Celebrating These Fantastic Directors

At the Corporate Directors Forum, we believe good governance is worth celebrating. The ripple effect it creates in the community benefits us all. Don’t miss your opportunity to celebrate the significant achievements of seven of San Diego’s greatest business talents. To join us and be a part of this memorable evening, purchase your individual tickets or a virtual table for the event at http://bit.ly/DOY2020Tickets. Tickets will include a “Gala Gift Package” that will be mailed to registrants to enjoy during and after the event. We hope to see you there!

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