Please save the date for Thursday, February 2, 2023, when Women & Hi Tech will host our OperationAll panel of male allies to share their perspectives on STEM inclusion.
When men and women work together as allies, they will build more innovative and fulfilling workplaces. This journey begins through intentional interaction between women and men as friends, colleagues, mentors, and sponsors.
Our experienced panel of male STEM professionals will hold a robust discussion, delivering actionable strategies for successful male allyship for all genders. Register to join our panel in exploring active advocacy for gender equity, public sponsorship, and building diverse networks. You will walk away with a plan that uses proven strategies to support positive change where you live, work, volunteer, and everywhere you interact with others.
Panelists:
- Prasanna Parthasarathy, CEO, Medvantx
Prasanna Parthasarathy serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Medvantx, Inc., a non-commercial dispensing pharmacy licensed in all 50 states. Mr. Parthasarathy has led the charge in his tenure at Medvantx to streamline complex pharmacy operations to help patients get the prescriptions they need. Prior to joining Medvantx, Mr. Parthasarathy served as an Operating partner with Windrose Health Investors to combine his 20+ years of healthcare technology and services leadership with Windrose’s unrivaled track record in healthcare investments. He led various investment opportunities across the medication management sector and is a director on the board of Terrapin specialty pharmacy and VTM diagnostic technologies. Mr. Parthasarathy spent 13 years with Becton Dickinson and CareFusion in various executive and leadership roles across hospital, retail and LTC medication and supply chain management solutions including, leading the $1B+ Dispensing businesses globally. Prior to joining BD, Mr. Parthasarathy spent eight years at GE Healthcare across Healthcare IT, Monitoring Solutions and Diagnostic Imaging businesses.
Prasanna holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from University of Madras, India and a Master’s in Computer Engineering from Marquette University. He also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from University of Chicago.
- Dan Byrne, Associate Vice President, Market Access Diabetes Incretins, Eli Lilly & Company
Dan has been at Eli Lilly for nearly 20 years with a wide range of promotional and non-promotional roles. Like many, he started as an individual contributor for the first several years of his career before moving into leadership roles. In many of his first leadership roles, he was able to lead via technical expertise. That has changed significantly in recent years as his purvey has grown and he’s had responsibilities outside his areas of experience. That change, along with long conversations with his dynamic and successful wife, have pushed him to find other ways to lead. Starting with the creation of Lilly’s Men as Allies program in 2015 and culminating in partnership with IWL as a board member and active participant in the Male ally advisory group. Self-reflection and honesty have helped him connect with many of his male colleagues. By sharing his own challenges (both in the past and today) and being honest that allyship is a journey and not a destination, he’s been able to help grow the Male Allies network at Lilly over 500 active members. He continues to strive to be better each day. And by sharing his journey he hopes he can provide a smoother path for both allies and marginalized colleagues alike.
- Darrick Hooker, Partner, Intellectual Property Counselor and Litigator, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
With a reputation for having an in-depth understanding of his client’s businesses and their technologies, Darrick Hooker is a counselor and a litigator who routinely advises clients on a variety of intellectual property issues, with a focus on patents. He also helps protect clients’ trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights and has a thriving commercial litigation and entertainment law practice. He is skilled in conducting initial case evaluation and assessment, developing case and trial strategy and settlement options, managing all phases of discovery, as well as with Markman hearings, trial, and post-trial proceedings and appeal.
As a commercial litigator, Darrick represents clients in matters involving complex cybersecurity, product liability and premises liability, along with breach of commercial agreements. In the entertainment sphere, he advises on intellectual property, licensing and other contract rights, publishing rights, rights of publicity, and branding issues.
- Moderator: Ben Phillips, Director, Audit and Assurance Services Group, Katz, Sapper & Miller; Treasurer, Women & Hi Tech
Ben Phillips is a director in Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Audit & Assurance Services Group and a member of the firm’s SOC Services Group. Ben works with clients to identify, assess, improve, test, and report on their internal controls. He is well versed in a variety of standards and frameworks, including those issued by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Ben is primarily responsible for the planning, execution, and delivery of SOC reporting engagements, cybersecurity assessments, and internal controls consulting projects to meet clients’ various compliance needs and service commitments. He is a frequent presenter and author on topics related to cybersecurity risk management and SOC.
Ben started his career with KSM in 2011 and rejoined the firm in 2020. Prior to returning to KSM, Ben most recently served as an IT assurance senior manager for a large public accounting, consulting, and technology firm.
Ben received Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting and management from Purdue University. He has earned the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation issued by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) as well as the Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) designation issued by the AICPA.
Ben is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Indiana CPA Society, where he is a graduate of the Leadership Council. Ben serves on the board and as the treasurer of the Beta Phi Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, the Central Indiana Chapter of ISACA, and Women & Hi Tech
