Nancy Tawil

Chief Scientific Officer

Phagelux

Nancy Tawil, Mcb.A, M. Eng, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Phagelux Inc. and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal where she oversees scientific research, product development, and clinical strategy.  Her research focuses on the development of novel heterofunctional materials and anti-infective treatments for multi-drug resistant infections. Her expertise and interests include drug delivery, phage science, polymer chemistry, and novel combination devices. Dr. Tawil has over 15 years in phage research experience and is named inventor on multiple patents that aim to bridge the gap between phage science and technology.

Ana Henriques

Global Vice President, Non-Alcoholic Beverages

AB InBev

Courtney Dorne

President of Brands

Vertical Wellness

• A Southern California girl at heart, Courtney grew up in her family’s restaurants for the first 14 years of her life. In the service industry, she learned nights, weekends, and holidays were just more opportunities to work a half day (12 hours) and to contribute to the family business. As a teenager, her first career in product telemarketing sales taught her the life lessons of rejection, the art of a good close, motivation, and knowing that each “No” she received just put her closer to the “Yes” she wanted.  Following that path, Courtney moved across the country to run sales, marketing, and management for a chain of retail stores.  She honed her talents over many trade shows and industry events, and after spending years building someone else’s empire, Courtney decided to take a leap. She agreed to an equity position to return to the business she helped start on her living room floor back in high school.  
• Fresh and Ready Foods became a fresh food manufacturer and distributor with more than 12,000 customers across the western US.  With 120,000 sq ft of FDA and USDA regulated kitchens running 24/7, and 70 daily truck routes from four distribution centers, the company grew to nearly 500 employees by servicing airlines, airports, hospitals, universities, the US Military, hotels, convention centers, convenience stores, and many others.  In fact, if you've been west of Texas or bought a pre-made sandwich in the past 20 years, there's a good chance Courtney had something to do with it. 
• After selling the food company in late 2015, Courtney left in June of 2016 to take some time off and relax with her family. She clearly did not know what that meant, because in July of 2016, she joined The Vertical Companies in Agoura Hills as President of Brands.  One of the largest Cannabis Management Companies in the US, Vertical has roughly 1.5m sq ft of cultivation and manufacturing facilities, and manages large scale licensing, development, manufacturing, extraction, and distribution operations in the industry, along with retail and consumer brands.  Under Courtney's leadership, the company is launching multiple, unique brands across the US.
• Her leadership continues as a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) Hollywood chapter.  She began in 2010 in the Las Vegas Chapter and has held multiple leadership roles including Chair of WBN (Women's Business Network) and is on her chapter's leadership ladder. When not working or networking, Courtney enjoys spending her free time with her two inspiring children. She is also passionate about working to feed hungry children and is an avid supporter of multiple cancer organizations.