Executive Profiles

C. Lee Jones
President and Chief Executive Officer

C. Lee Jones is President & Chief Executive Officer of Essential Group, Inc. located in the Chicago metropolitan area. Lee has extensive experience in the diverse fields of pharmaceutical clinical research and development, information technology, healthcare/medicine, and business management. Lee holds a BS in Physiology and an MBA.

Before joining Essential Group in 2000, Lee spent 23 years in the pharmaceutical industry with his last role as Divisional VP of Information Management and Technology for the global Pharmaceutical Product business for Abbott Laboratories. He has also held positions as Executive Director, Clinical Services, Pharmaceutical Development. Before joining Abbott, Lee spent thirteen years with The Upjohn Company, with his last role being Associate Director of Clinical Research.

Lee's uniquely broad background in science, medicine, business and technology combined with his extensive global experience have made him a noted speaker, and cross-industry consultant. Lee has served on the boards of an international corporations, and serves as an advisor to several other global corporations. He is a member of the United States General Accountability Office Executive Counsel on Information Management and Technology (ECIMT) that provides advisory input to Congress.

Dennis N. Cavender
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Dennis Cavender comes to Essential with over 30 years of broad experience in financial and operating positions. Mr. Cavender is also a partner with Tatum CFO Partners with expertise in SEC reporting, Wall Street, international finance and operations, Internet electronic commerce, management reporting, treasury, risk management and merger and acquisition activity. He has an extensive background with service, manufacturing and distribution companies, in pharmaceutical, medical device, computer, telecommunications, and biotechnology companies.

Mr. Cavender holds a Master's in Business Administration in International Business from the University of Santa Clara, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Northern Colorado. Prior to Tatum, he served as Vice President, M&A Integration of Interland Corporation, the largest Web hosting services company in North America targeting small and medium size businesses. In addition, he has held executive positions at CyberCash, Inc., an Internet payment services company, Promega Corporation, a privately held biotechnology company, Amdahl Corporation, a Fortune 500 computer manufacturing company, and Syntex Corporation, a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical multinational company.

Mr. Cavender is a member of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) and is an active member of the national Committee for Finance and Information Technology for FEI.

Julie A. Ross
Executive Vice President

Since joining Essential™ in 1994, Julie A. Ross has played an active role in the development and ultimately the success of the Research Division. Ms. Ross oversees the Patient Recruitment and CRO Operating units of Essential Group, Inc. She currently serves as President of Essential Patient Recruitment and Executive Vice President of Essential CRO.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse with a bachelor's degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology, Ms. Ross has been in the clinical research industry for over twenty years. She began her research career working with radiopharmaceuticals and later transferred to pharmaceutical research. She has held a number of crucial positions at Essential™ allowing her to gain comprehensive knowledge in all facets of Clinical Research. She is a leader in the areas of patient recruitment, business development, operations, project management, and regulatory support. Prior to joining Essential™, Ms. Ross was program director for the School of Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Ultrasound at St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.