Vice Presidents And Principals

Tunnell is comprised of exceptionally qualified life sciences consultants that not only know the industry inside and out, but also truly understand your business and what it takes to be successful. We offer a deep and broad level of expertise, and regularly share our experiences at conferences, trade shows, seminars, and other events. Our principals are actively involved with industry affiliations, associations, and boards, and provide guidance and support through various types of publications and speaking engagements. We are dedicated to delivering high quality results and client satisfaction.

Robert Johnson
Group Vice President, Life Sciences
Over the past 30 years, Bob Johnson has led and advised multinational companies and helped them achieve record sales and profits through the implementation of business development and operational excellence programs. He has worked with global organizations, turn-arounds, startup companies and private equity firms, and for the past 10 years has focused on pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device organizations. His areas of expertise include sales process improvement, operational strategy, lean manufacturing, performance and compliance improvement, organizational effectiveness, change management, and strategic outsourcing. In the course of his career, he has held key roles at a number of leading consulting companies, including Celerant, Sapient, and EDS. He has also held a variety of roles with high tech, systems integration, and computer consulting companies, including Ampro, Data General, and Wang Laboratories.
David Afzali
Vice President, Business Development
To the role of Vice President, Business Development, for Tunnell, David Afzali brings 19 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical devices industries. He has extensive expertise in opening new markets, introducing new product offerings, and enabling businesses to gain significant competitive advantage and market share. He is also adept at designing and delivering training, tools, and guidance to field sales representatives and consultants to facilitate long-term, mutually beneficial client engagements and relationships. Prior to joining Tunnell, he was an Associate Partner and the Americas Sales Leader for IBM Global Business Services, where he was responsible for providing the overall vision and strategic direction for the company’s life sciences business, drawing on his in-depth understanding of customer, competitive and market trends, and evolving industry dynamics. Previously, he was a Managing Partner for LECG, one of the world’s largest litigation service firms. He also headed the Life Sciences Practice for PA Consulting, served as Associate Director for National Business Development for Ernst & Young, and directed Sales and Business Development for Capgemini. Previously, he held executive sales positions at Merck KGaA/Calbiochem/Oncogene Research Products and at Endogen, a Cambridge, MA-based reagent distributor.
Philippe Cini Ph.D.
Vice President, Operational & Process Improvement Practice
With extensive expertise in developing business consulting teams and capabilities that provide world-class support to large-scale organizations, Philippe leads Tunnell’s Operational and Process Improvement Practice. He brings more than 20 years of experience across a wide range of areas that are critical for pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, including: R&D, operations management, Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and change management. He is also an expert in Quality by Design (QbD). Prior to joining Tunnell Philippe was a Principal in the Life Sciences Practice at Capgemini Consulting with a particular focus on supply chain management. He was also a Partner in the Life Sciences Practice of IBM where he was responsible for supply chain solutions.
Stephen J Brown
Principal
Steve Brown brings 15 years of experience providing strategic, technical and tactical consulting services and solutions to major, mid-tier and emerging pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, medical device and life science services companies and contract organizations. His expertise includes developing and overseeing the delivery of consulting solutions focused on manufacturing, laboratory and operational process improvement and quality and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Tunnell, he worked at Dell in the computer company’s then newly created life sciences vertical team, tasked with delivering IT solutions specific to the industry. Previously, at Taratec Development Corporation (now Patni Life Sciences), he managed custom consulting solutions aimed at facilitating business process improvement, providing demonstrable ROI and reducing regulatory risk in functional areas like drug safety and pharmacovigilance, R&D and QC laboratories, manufacturing, regulatory, quality and compliance. At Refinery, Inc. (now G2 Interactive), he helped develop the company’s growing consulting presence in life sciences relative to web strategy, branding and digital marketing services. In addition, his experience includes life science industry focused roles at IT-centric consultancies Ciber, Inc. and Coretech Consulting.
James S Fitzgerald
Principal
With over 25 years' experience, Jim Fitzgerald has successfully directed and led hundreds of cross-functional improvement projects designed to deliver top-line growth and bottom-line benefits. He has created strategic and operational plans, identified growth strategies, revitalized product development, and streamlined the supply chain. Prior to joining to Tunnell, he was Vice President of Strategy Deployment and Operations at Dun & Bradstreet, where he drove high-impact strategic initiatives for capital-efficient, profitable growth. Previously, he was Strategy Management and Continuous Improvement Consultant for Strategic Leadership Resources. Prior to that, he was Corporate Director of Continuous Improvement at medical technology company Becton, Dickinson. In addition, he has held several critical positions at Johnson & Johnson, including Worldwide Director of Strategy Management and Process Excellence and Worldwide Director of Compliance and Process Excellence. Jim was also on the management board for the Johnson & Johnson/Merck joint venture. He also has 14 years of experience in the U.S. Air Force as a Strategic Management and Manpower Consultant and Supply Specialist. He is a certified Master Black Belt in Six Sigma and certified Air Force Total Quality Management Advisor and Master Instructor.
Christopher J McKenna
Principal
With over 25 years as a senior executive in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and petroleum industries, and with international, start-up and turnaround expertise, Chris has an excellent track record of securing results for his clients. His broad-based knowledge in project management, product development, strategic planning, sales, marketing, and finance has enabled him to bring his unique know-how into manufacturing, distribution, laboratory and business operations, leading to innovative solutions that respond to unique client demands. A Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and a Registered Corporate Coach, Chris has served as Director, Product Development for Smithkline Beecham Clinical Trials, Director, Business Development, for Omnicare Clinical Research, and has held numerous positions for British Petroleum.
Alfred J Riles
Principal
Al Riles brings to Tunnell more than 35 years of experience in creating and implementing global HR processes. His expertise includes leadership training, organizational development, change management, employee relations, and global recruiting and staffing – all firmly anchored in business-case analysis. Prior to joining Tunnell, he held a variety of positions at the Johnson & Johnson family of companies where he led and managed detailed process mapping at the global level for the training process that impacted 120,000 employees. As Worldwide Vice President, Human Resources, Johnson & Johnson-Merck, he directed all aspects of HR policies for employees in the U.S. and Europe and trained J&J executives on four continents. Previously, he served in a number of key positions in Human Resources for McNeil Consumer Healthcare, addressing succession planning, performance management, organizational development strategies, and other critical HR issues.
John S Ross
Principal
John Ross has more than 20 years’ experience building and leading high performance teams, leading acquisitions, entering new markets, developing new product and service offerings, driving operational excellence, and achieving double digit organic growth. He has worked extensively in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and medical devices industries, and he brings functional expertise in marketing and sales, manufacturing and distribution, and global sourcing and supply chain. In addition, he is experienced in organization development, product commercialization, and process improvement. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Contract Pharmaceuticals Limited, a provider of outsourced third-party contract development, manufacturing and testing of pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for ensuring FDA/Health Canada/EU compliant operation. Prior to that, he was a Senior Consultant, Consumer and Industrial Products, for PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consultants. He has also held a variety of roles at Eli Lilly Canada and Canada Life Assurance.
Robert Spector
Principal
Robert Spector has more than 17 years of management consulting experience with a proven track record of generating sustainable value for clients utilizing his expertise in Lean / Six Sigma, operations excellence, supply chain strategy, business process design, and information systems. Prior to joining Tunnell, he served in multiple leadership roles for several leading management consulting firms, including two of the "Big Four." Robert's focus has been on strategically growing revenue and profits for clients via process and operational improvements and leading organizational change. He has published and presented widely on Lean/Six Sigma and continuous improvement and is a certified Lean/Six Sigma black belt.
Felicia Stallings Au.D.
Principal
In addition to being an accomplished medical professional, Felicia Stallings has a broad and deep range of expertise, from strategic development planning to benefits tracking to supply chain management. Prior to joining Tunnell, she was an associate clinical neurophysiologist with SpecialtyCare and, prior to that, performed audiometric diagnostics at the Pennsylvania Ear Institute. As a consultant with PriceWaterhousCoopers and Gemini Consulting and as an independent consultant, she has worked with major global pharmaceutical companies in operations, manufacturing, and ERP, as well as with major industrial, high technology, and chemical companies. With international experience that includes North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific, she is adept at managing cross-border and global projects designed to achieve cost savings, streamline operations, improve business processes, increase customer satisfaction, and produce sustainable transformation.
Steven Walton
Principal
Steven Walton has more than 25 years of international pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality experience. Steve's forte is launching then driving Operational Excellence programs at a site, region and global levels; leveraging Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and other quality techniques to reduce defects, improve cycle times, cut costs, and increase performance. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, change management, quality program management, and training. Prior to joining Tunnell, following Merck’s merger with Schering Plough, he was responsible for developing strategies to optimize integration, acceptance, and cultural change activities at former Schering Plough facilities. Prior to that, he served as Global Supply Chain Process Excellence Director for Schering Plough. Previously, he held numerous roles at GlaxoSmithKline, where he fostered continuous process improvement, trained management teams in quality principles, and spearheaded supply chain and manufacturing improvement initiatives.
Jared J Welsh II
Principal
Jared “Jay” Welsh specializes in global supply chain, manufacturing and R&D operations, generating significant cost savings and promoting innovative solutions in complex environments. Prior to joining Tunnell, he was a management consultant and principal at Abaco Advisory services, where he developed and delivered analytics, supply chain, manufacturing and product development solutions for clients across multiple industries. Previously, he spent 20 years with Accenture, becoming a partner in the firm’s Health & Life Sciences practice. He also grew and managed Accenture’s global Pharmaceutical & Medical Products supply chain consulting practice focused on strategic and operational consulting, systems integration and both IT and business process outsourcing. A thought leader in supply chain, he publishes frequently in the field and speaks at major industry conferences.

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