Lisa Conte – Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc

Ms. Conte is responsible for strategy development, partnerships, recruitment, fund-raising, and investor and public relations at Napo and has been its Chief Executive Officer since its founding. Prior to founding Napo, she founded Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a natural product pharmaceutical company, in 1989. As CEO of several companies, she has raised over US$220 million (including leading an IPO). From 1987 to 1989 Ms. Conte was a Vice President at Technology Funding, Inc., a venture capital firm where she was responsible for the analysis and management of health care industry investments. From 1985 to 1987 she conducted risk and strategy audits for start-up healthcare companies at Strategic Decisions Group, a management consulting firm. While studying for her MBA, Ms. Conte interned at Eli Lilly & Company, where she worked with their internal venture capital group to identify promising new biotechnology companies. Ms. Conte received her AB in Biochemistry from Dartmouth College, her MS in Physiology/Pharmacology from the University of California at San Diego and her MBA from the Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College. She is the recipient of several entrepreneurship awards, including the 1994 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and has sat on several industry boards.