The world of medicine and pharmaceuticals is filled with great minds constantly making new and exciting discoveries. Among these great minds is University alumnus Joe Herring, CEO of Covance.Herring was named the 2009 North American Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology CEO of the Year by Frost and Sullivan, a growth consulting company. He is the first CEO of a contract research organization to receive the award.”I was humbled by the selection,” Herring said. “It gives me a tremendous sense of pride for the company. This award really isn’t about the CEO but the company as a whole.”Covance is a drug development services company. Herring said the company’s main focus is to make sure new prescription drugs are safe and are used as intended.Herring graduated from the University in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.”I came to school to be an accountant,” Herring said. “But after taking quantitative statistics, I knew it wasn’t the right career for me.”Herring said his time at the University helped him prepare for life in the business world. He even interviewed for a job with American Hospital Supply Corporation in Thomas Boyd Hall before graduating. After graduation, Herring worked for American Hospital Supply Corporation, Baxter International and Caremark International before beginning work at Covance. He started at Covance in 1996 as corporate vice president and general manager of North America Early Development. He became CEO in 2005. Herring said working for Covance has been a wonderful experience, and it has been exciting to watch the company grow. Herring said the company has gone from about 3,000 employees to more than 8,900, and its revenue has grown tremendously. Since he started working with the company, he said they have invested $1 billion in prescription drugs.Herring said the company has overseen many new drugs, including some for cancer and cardiovascular disease.As CEO of the company, Herring has many responsibilities, including setting the budget and acting as a spokesman on Wall Street.”My role is ultimately to oversee the growth and prosperity of the company,” Herring said.Covance isn’t a stranger to success. During recent years the company has won multiple awards. World Pharmaceutical Frontiers recently honored Herring, naming him No. 17 on their list of the 40 most influential people in the pharmaceutical industry. Covance made it onto the Forbes Top 100 companies list four years in a row.Herring said it’s very exciting to see a company have such great success in the life sciences.”It’s one of the largest industries with some of the best scientific minds, so it is very humbling to be chosen for the award,” Herring said. —-Contact Nichole Oden at [email protected]