Kathy Giusti
Kathy Giusti (born 1958) is an American business leader who is recognized as a healthcare disrupter. She is a cancer patient and is the Founder and Chief Mission Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (the MMRF). She co-chairs the Harvard Business School (HBS) Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator, which she helped found, as a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School. Kathy is recognized as a pioneer in precision medicine, having seen its vast potential in oncology and other diseases. She uses her patient experience and business acumen to drive science faster with innovative business models across registries , big data, clinical trials, and venture. Kathy is a champion of patient engagement, encouraging each patient take initiative to optimize their own care. Kathy has been named one of "Time" magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the world. and ranked #19 on "Fortune"'s list of Worlds' 50 Greatest Leaders. Diagnosis. In 1996, Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. When diagnosed, Giusti was 37 years old and was given three years to live. At the time of her diagnosis, there were no new treatments in the pipeline for multiple myeloma. Career. Early career. Kathy  held executive positions with increasing responsibility in consumer marketing with Gillette/Procter & Gamble and in the pharmaceutical sector of the healthcare industry with Merck & Co. and G.D. Searle & Company (now Pfizer), where she was Executive Director of the Worldwide Arthritis Franchise. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. In 1998, with her identical twin sister Karen Andrews, Kathy Founded the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (the MMRF). The MMRF’s mission is to accelerate a cure for each and every multiple myeloma patient. As Founder, CEO, and Chief Mission Officer Kathy has led the MMRF in establishing partnerships and collaborative research models in  precision medicine including the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), the MMRF CoMMpass™ study, CureCloud, the Right Track, and the Myeloma Investment Fund. Under Giusti the MMRF has raised more than $500 million to fund research, 15 drugs have been approved to treat multiple myeloma, and many clinical trials are underway. These efforts have accelerated the pace at which treatments are brought to patients and more than tripled patients' survival. Harvard Business School (HBS). Giusti joined the Harvard Business School faculty as Senior Fellow, Co-Chairing the HBS Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator, a $20 million endowed program provided  by Robert Kraft and the Kraft Family Foundation. The Kraft Accelerator has convened more than 300 leaders from throughout the healthcare and precision medicine ecosystem, from different disease states, and from the investment community. The Kraft Accelerator has identified and published best practices for accelerating cures and created The Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator Playbook for Cures. Giusti has co-led the formation of the Kraft Accelerator Leadership Forum, a group of CEOs from disease-focused foundations working together to address the most important challenges, share best practices, and accelerate precision medicine models.   Appointments. Kathy has been appointed to multiple positions  and advisory boards, all with a focus on developing cures for cancer. These include: Recognition. Giusti has received numerous awards for her leadership:   In the Press. Kathy has been featured in multiple business, healthcare, and mainstream publications: Podcasts. Kathy has been invited to participate in multiple business, healthcare, and patient-focused podcasts: Publications. Kathy has authored or co-authored multiple articles in business, consumer, and scientific publications: