Board of Directors
Chuck Scheper, Chairman
Chuck Scheper is the chairman the board of Bexion Pharmaceuticals. Until his retirement
on December 31, 2010, Chuck served as the chief operating officer at Great American
Financial Resources (GAFRI), a $13 billion life and annuity services company based
in Cincinnati, Ohio. Before joining GAFRI in 1997, Chuck was president and chief
executive officer of Manhattan National Life Insurance Company and president of
Pioneer Financial Services. He began his career in the insurance industry as vice
president and controller at Union Central Life Insurance Company and before that
was an audit manager at Price Waterhouse.
Chuck has been involved with numerous volunteer efforts in the community over the
years. He currently is a member of the Regional Stewardship Council of Northern
Kentucky’s Vision 2015, Vice Chair of the Catalytic Development Funding Corporation
of Northern Kentucky, and he is a member of the World President’s Organization.
Chuck is a cancer survivor and his journey to wellness led him to become active
in various causes related to cancer, including the Cancer Support Community, where
he now serves as the National Board Co-Chairperson. Additionally, he works to advance
cancer research through clinical trials, and also provides personal coaching and
support to other cancer patients.
Chuck is a graduate of Thomas More College and currently resides in Covington, Kentucky
with his wife of 33 years, Julie Geisen Scheper.
William P. Butler
William P. Butler currently serves as Chairman of the Corporex Companies. He continues
to set strategy and provide vision as he has done since 1965. Mr. Butler's efforts
have grown Corporex from a one-man construction shop to a diversified real estate
company with more than $1 billion of real estate assets. Additionally, Mr. Butler
sponsored the formation of Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust where he was Chairman
of the Board from inception in 2004 through the sale of the company in 2007.
Mr. Butler is dedicated to community service and fiduciary responsibility for shareholders.
He founded The Butler Foundation and Life Learning Center, which provide community
services in Northern Kentucky. Presently, he serves on the Board of Directors for
the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the Dan Beard Council of the Boy Scouts of
America and the Marvin Lewis Community Fund. Additionally, Mr. Butler serves on
the Board of Trustees for the Fine Arts Fund.
Mr. Butler is a graduate of The University
of Cincinnati.
Dr. Lester Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Dr. Crawford has had a distinguished career in the public and private sectors, as
well as academia. He has served as FDA commissioner and as administrator of the
Food Safety & Inspection Service at USDA. He has worked for the National Food Processors
Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.
In the academic world, Dr. Crawford served in various capacities at the University
of Georgia, including chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. At
Georgetown University, he was director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy.
Additionally, he has served as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization,
the Singapore FDA and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He also served on the
Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science.
Dr. Crawford is a Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom, and a
Fellow of the International Society of Food Science and Technology. He is the author
of more than 100 scientific publications and is the co-author of four books.
Dr. Crawford has a veterinary degree from Auburn University, an honorary doctorate
from Budapest University, and a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Georgia
Dr. Cameron Durrant
Dr. Cameron Durrant is the Founder of PediatRx Inc. Dr. Durrant is also the Executive
Chairman of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (AVXL:OB) a publicly traded drug development
company with programs in central nervous systems disorders and cancer. He has deep
experience in healthcare and pharmaceuticals and served most recently as Worldwide
Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing, Infectious Diseases for Johnson & Johnson.
Prior to that position he was President and CEO of Spherics, Inc. and President
and CEO of PediaMed Pharmaceuticals, a private pediatrics-focused specialty pharmaceutical
company. Dr. Durrant has also held executive positions with Merck & Co, Glaxo Smith
Kline PLC and Pharmacia Corporation (now part of Pfizer Inc.) where he was the Global
Vice President for Infectious Diseases, before taking a senior staff position.
Dr. Durrant has previously served on several public and private company boards,
is an advisor to Pilgrim Software and to Saxa Private Equity Partners. Dr. Durrant
holds an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from Henley Management College
at Oxford and a MB and BCh (the UK equivalent to an American MD degree) from the
Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff, U.K. as well as several post-graduate
medical qualifications, including DRCOG (Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists), DipCH (Diploma of Clinical and Medical Hypnotherapy) and MRCGP
(Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners).
He was a regional winner and national finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur
of the Year award in 2005. He has also been nominated by peers and colleagues as
one of the 100 most inspiring people in the pharmaceutical industry in 2005, 2006,
2007 and 2010. He is a regular contributor to pharmaceutical and biotech industry
issues and debates and a sought after public speaker.
Ray Takigiku, Ph.D.
Previously was Director of Discovery Core Technologies, Analytical and Bioanalytical
for Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, and also Interim co-Director of the Genome
Research Institute (now Metabolic Diseases Institute) of the College of Medicine,
University of Cincinnati. Dr. Takigiku has extensive experience in leading and leveraging
multifunctional teams for developing and implementing new technologies to discover,
develop and provide technical support for pipeline and marketed drugs. He was part
of the leadership team behind the blockbuster drug Actonel®. At P&G, Dr. Takigiku
worked with global business units inside and outside of healthcare, testing and
developing new models of innovation.
In addition to being a Director at Bexion, Dr. Takigiku serves on a number of Boards,
including Health Source of Ohio. Dr. Takigiku received his undergraduate degrees
from the University of Colorado, and Ph.D. from Indiana University.