Campus Connection

Citizens State Bank lecture series kicks off with health care emphasis

The vice president of a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary will kick off the Citizens State Bank First Friday Lecture Series at UW-La Crosse. Gary Kimm, area vice president of sales in Texas for Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will speak on “The Business of Johnson & Johnson: A look at the healthcare sector through the lens of the industry’s largest company” at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, in Stzrelczyk Great Hall in the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center, 615 East Ave. N. The presentation is free and is part of the College of Business Administration series that provides scholarly dialogue about business management and leadership directly from today’s business leaders. A reception follows the lecture. The Medical Device Industry leader will discuss what it is like to work at the world’s largest healthcare conglomerate, Johnson & Johnson. Kimm, a UWL graduate, is a 25-year veteran of J&J and a leader for the Ethicon franchise that specializes in minimally invasive surgery, Advanced Energy, Bio-Surgical and Wound Closure medical devices. He leads a team of eight division sales managers and 70 sales professionals with revenue over $310 million. Kimm’s previous roles include Group Director of Marketing, and Director of Development Asia Pacific with responsibility for new product development, commercial operations management, leadership training, acquisition integration and demand generation. The recipient of numerous J&J Standards of Leadership Awards, one of his current projects is U.S. commercial lead on a Google and J&J joint venture preparing for the launch of J&J’s surgical robotic platform, Verb Surgical. During his presentation, Kimm will discuss the opportunities of working for a multinational corporation with tips for enhancing careers and developing future leaders. Kimm holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UWL in 1983 and an MBA in marketing from Cleveland State University in 1989. The lecture series continues this spring with two presentations:

• Friday, March 2, Michael Pellegrino, president and chief growth officer at Sargento Foods Inc.
• Friday, April 6, Amy Kerwin, vice president of community investments at Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp.

Both are at 3:30 p.m. in the Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall, 308 N. 16th St. The series is free and open to the public. If you go— What: Citizens State Bank First Friday Lecture Series Who: Gary Kimm, area vice president of sales in Texas for Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson   When: 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 Where: Stzrelczyk Great Hall, UWL Cleary Alumni & Friends Center, 615 East Ave. N.      Admission: Free.