Pennington Biomedical Hires First Chief Business Development Officer

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Dr. David Winwood Will Work to Take Local Discoveries to the Global Marketplace
Released: Monday, July 28, 2014

BATON ROUGE, LA - David Winwood, PhD has been named Pennington Biomedical Research Center's first Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO), underscoring the importance of moving research discoveries focusing on health, prevention and treatment of chronic diseases into the global marketplace.

"With this investment in Dr. Winwood and the team and resources he will assemble, we are growing our business model to meet today's research challenges.  Research centers across the country are facing the realities of limited national funding, changes in health care delivery and constrained state budgets.  We must be proactive and strive to be at the forefront of innovation," said William T. Cefalu, executive director of Pennington Biomedical. "Dave brings vast experience in cultivating new business initiatives and opportunities for commercialized technologies to the Pennington Biomedical team, which will contribute to sustaining and growing the research infrastructure that's expected from a vibrant Center like ours."

Pennington Biomedical is a national and international leader in nutrition research and education.  Through independent and sponsored activities our research affords collaborations with experts, governments, and corporations around the world on nutrition and wellness, as well as efforts to combat chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and dementia. Given that reach, Pennington Biomedical conducted a national search to locate the ideal candidate for the new CBDO position. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation generously provided grant support for the creation of this business development initiative.

"Pennington Biomedical has a grand vision to lead the world in eliminating chronic diseases. Strong community support for efforts underway here, along with the Center's expertise and capabilities, make us an attractive partner for organizations around the world," said Dr. Winwood. "By building and strengthening relationships with those organizations we should move closer to developing treatments and approaches to solving chronic diseases that will benefit many people. As Pennington Biomedical's first CBDO, I am honored to have the opportunity to help bring this vision closer to fruition by working with these world-class scientists and clinicians." 

Dr. Winwood brings more than 20 years of experience in technology transfer and commercialization to Pennington Biomedical.  As CBDO, he will lead externally facing outreach in pursuit of new business initiatives, strategic partnerships and sponsored research, and the development of commercialized technologies.

He joins Pennington Biomedical from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he held the dual roles of senior associate vice-president for economic development and innovation alliances and chief executive officer of the research foundation. He also spent time at North Carolina State University on commercialization ventures and worked in the Research Triangle and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He began his career in start-up companies where he had the opportunity to work on the drug development process for a drug that is still on the market today. 

Dr. Winwood holds leadership roles in a number of organizations:

• He serves as vice-president for advocacy for the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) - an international technology transfer group.  He is also a member of the group's executive committee.
• He is a member of the executive committee for the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) - a group consisting of 190 research universities and member institutions with the mission of fostering strong working relationships with federal agencies and their representatives.   
• He is a member of the executive committee for South East Bio (SEBIO) - a group that works to grow the life sciences industry in the southeastern U.S. by promoting entrepreneurship and bringing together the key stakeholders active in the development of the industry. 

Dr. Winwood's appointment with Pennington Biomedical is effective immediately.

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The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 80 faculty and more than 25 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.