Judges

Kenneth A. Freirich ’90
President, Health Monitor Network
A seasoned entrepreneur and executive, Ken Freirich has successfully started, built, operated, and grown a variety of world-class organizations. Since 2006 he has been president of Health Monitor Network, the largest patient education publishing and technology platform in the U.S., reaching more than 200,000
physician offices and tens of millions of patients. Previously Freirich was the founder and CEO of TransLocal Health Corp., a leading multimedia health information provider to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Prior to that venture, he was president of InteliHealth, initially a joint venture between Aetna U.S. Healthcare and Johns Hopkins, a leading consumer and professional health information, technology, and commerce provider. Freirich also was an executive with Thomson/Medical Economics and founder/publisher of The Collegian Magazine. He plays drums in a rock and roll band called MedROCK.

Andrew Eifler '07
Vice President of Product Management at AppNexus
As VP for product management at AppNexus, the world’s leading independent advertising technology company, Eifler oversees the concept, development, and commercialization of advertising technology products used by global Fortune 100 marketers, ad agencies, and ad tech companies. Prior to joining AppNexus, Eifler led digital media analytics for DraftFCB New York (Now FCB) where he was responsible for the company’s analytics, attribution strategy, and media mix modeling. Eifler holds a B.S., magna cum laude, in management and business from Skidmore (with a minor in studio art) and earned the Seymour and Sylvia Goldman Memorial Prize awarded to the top student in management and business. He authors a blog on product management, behavioral economics, and business strategy at andreweifler.com and is a frequent guest speaker at Skidmore College and New York University.

Molly Dyson-Schwery '04
Director, Dyson Foundation, and Business Executive, Dyson-Kissner-Moran
Molly Dyson-Schwery is a licensed social worker, life coach, entrepreneur, and real estate investor. She serves as a board member for Dyson Kissner-Moran, a private investment firm, as well as for the Dyson Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization that has supported myriad community organizations and social causes for decades. Through her work with the Dyson Foundation, Dyson-Schwery seeks to improve the quality of life in the region, strengthen resources available to economically disadvantaged individuals and families, and to strengthen the nonprofit sector. Dyson-Schwery graduated from Skidmore summa cum laude with degrees in psychology and Spanish.

Rich Laxer '83
(Retired) Chairman and CEO, GE Capital, SVP GE
Rich Laxer recently retired after a 34-year career at GE. As chairman and CEO of GE Capital, he oversaw the completion of the GE Capital Disposition Program ($200B of asset and business sales) and led the development and implementation of Capital’s new strategy to support GE industrial equipment sales growth. Prior to his last role, he spent more than 25 years running global financial service businesses for GE in the U.S., Asia, and Europe. Laxer was a member of GE’s corporate executive council and a senior vice president of GE. He has extensive board experience and recently was nominated to join the Leone Board (Swiss-based Structured Products Fin Tech). Laxer received his degree at Skidmore in management and business.

Guy Mastrion
F. William Harder Chair in Management and Business, Skidmore College
In his first year as Harder Chair in the Department of Management and Business, Mastrion is the founder and chief creative officer of Brandforming, a multidisciplinary creative organization with expertise in design, campaign, and digital works dedicated to the creation and transformation of brands for a connected world. Mastrion was one of the founders of Palio Communications and chief global creative officer in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with offices and affiliates around the globe. Prior to founding Palio, he held senior creative leadership positions with Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann Erickson, Dancer Fitzgerald & Sample, Bates, and McCaffery McCall Partners.

Rich Wartel ’91
CEO and Founder, Two Labs Marketing
With more than 140 product launches in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, Two Labs Pharma Services has a national reputation for product launch, life-cycle management, pricing, and payer strategy. Wartel serves as CEO of the private-equity backed company, which just completed its first acquisition in January of 2018. Prior to starting Two Labs in 2003, he served as vice president of business development for Cardinal Health Pharmaceutical Distribution, focused on brand and generic pharmaceutical launches. Before joining Cardinal, Wartel joined several partners in developing and commercializing the home health care superstore concept with their company American Health Superstore, which they sold in 1997. Wartel graduated from Skidmore with a degree in management and business specializing in accounting. He also holds a masters in accounting from George Mason University.

Ceci Zak '87
COO and Principal of Batten & Co (An Omnicom Company)
Ceci Zak is the COO and principal of Batten & Co., a boutique strategic agency that focuses on helping senior leaders define their strategic ambition for their company and create a purpose-driven blueprint to live into the future. Prior to Batten, Zak was the COO of HealthCare, Omnicom. In 2017, she was recognized by the Healthcare Business Woman’s (HBA) association as the STAR, awarded each year to a volunteer who has contributed to the strategic transformation of the HBA. Zak recently launched a nonprofit, OurBrainBank, focused on turning glioblastoma (a deadly form of brain cancer) from terminal to treatable–for patients, powered by patients. She is also on the board of HealthRight International, a global nonprofit that focuses on delivering health rights to marginal populations. Zak is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and graduated from Skidmore with a degree in management and business specializing in finance and marketing.