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We are excited to welcome a new group of cancer fighters to our ranks. This year, the BOV will welcome nine first-time members to the board as well as several new faces to our executive team. We're grateful for your commitment to helping us advance the fight to end cancer. Each and every one of you brings incredible expertise and new ideas to the table, and we're looking forward to a wonderful year ahead.

Our new BOV Officer's Leadership team:

Chair: Jim Mulva
Chair-elect: Marsha Shields
Vice Chair: Don Evans
Immediate Past Chair: Mel Klein

Our new members include:
 

• Richard H. Anderson: Richard was CEO of Delta Air Lines, Inc. from 2007 to 2016 and recently served as executive chairman of Delta. Previously, he was executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated from 2004 to 2007, serving as president for the Commercial Services Group. Prior to that, Richard was the CEO of Northwest Airlines Corporation. He currently is the lead director for Medtronic, Inc. and serves on the board of directors of Cargill, Inc. His background includes serving as a staff vice president and deputy general counsel at Continental Airlines, Inc., as an assistant district attorney under John B. Holmes, Jr. in Harris County and as chief counsel to the Harris County Criminal Courts at Law Judges. Richard resides in Houston.
  
  
• James B. Archer: James serves as the president and CEO of KJ Energy, MV2 Entertainment and the JL Bar Ranch & Resort. He has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. In 1993, James founded Multi-Chem Group, which grew under his leadership from a small West Texas production chemical company into the third largest specialty production chemical company in the world, before selling it to Halliburton in 2011. James also is heavily involved in many philanthropic activities. In 2011, he established the James B. & Lois R. Archer Charitable Foundation, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations, including MD Anderson, and currently serves as chairman of the board. James resides in San Angelo, Texas.
  
  
• Alan R. Batkin: Alan is the chairman and CEO of Converse Associates Inc., a strategic advisory firm. From March 2007 to December 2012, he served as vice chairman of Eton Park Capital Management, L.P., a global, multi-disciplinary investment firm. Prior to joining Eton Park, he was vice chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., a geopolitical consulting company which advises multi-national companies on business and political issues around the world, from 1990 to 2007. Alan is on the board of directors of Omnicom Group, Inc.; Hasbro, Inc.; Pattern Energy Group, Inc. and Cantel Medical Corp. He also is on the international advisory board of Discovery Group, a South Africa-based health insurance and financial services company, and serves as chairman emeritus of the International Rescue Committee. Additionally, Alan is chairman of the advisory board of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health; a member of the board of overseers of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and on the board of the MJHS Hospice and the Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care. He resides in Greenwich, Conn.
  
  
• William M. (Bill) Daley: William is a managing partner and head of U.S. Operations for Argenti¨¨re Capital. Prior to joining Argenti¨¨re in 2014, he served as President Obama's Chief of Staff from January 2011 to January 2012 and was involved in all aspects and issues faced by the President and the administration, both foreign and domestic. William was vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase, Inc. and chairman of the Midwest Region of the U.S. from 2004 to 2011, serving on the firm's operating committee and as the head of JPMorgan Chase's office of corporate responsibility. He also served as president of SBC Communications, coordinated the effort for permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and chaired Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. William earned his LL.B. from John Marshall Law School and his bachelor's from Loyola University in Chicago. He resides in Chicago, Ill.
  
  
• Christopher D. Damico: Christopher was born and raised in Pennsylvania and began his career in New York with Swiss Bank in 1988, focusing on leveraged corporate finance. In 1992, he was transferred to London where he extended his banking experience into mergers and acquisitions and high yield. In 1998, Christopher joined Morgan Stanley and was promoted to managing director in 2000. In 2002, he co-founded Alcentra, an asset management firm with offices in London and Los Angeles, serving as CEO until BNY Mellon acquired Alcentra in 2005. Christopher continued to serve as CEO after the acquisition until 2008, when he sold his remaining interests to focus on family and personal investments. Chris resides in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
  
  
• Douglas R. (Doug) Deason: Doug serves as president of Deason Capital Services LLC, (DCS), managing family assets including a large holding of Xerox Corporation shares, municipal bonds, a majority holding in FUNimation Entertainment and 1200 Media, a substantial holding in oil and gas operating company Foreland Resources, LLC and a large holding in global tax services firm Ryan, LLC. Prior to joining the family office, he was CEO of Precept Builders Inc., a nationwide commercial builder, and co-managing partner of Dallas-based Evergreen Realty Partners. Doug serves on several boards and committees including the advisory board of Valesco Industries; the executive board of the Bobby Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University; the finance committee of the Dallas County Republican Party and the executive committee for the West Texas Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He resides in Dallas.
  
  
• Susan Zane Epstein, M.D.: Susan is a family physician and serves on several committees and boards for Dell Children's Medical Center, the Texas Child Study Center, The Seton Breast Care Center and the Jewish Federation of Austin. She is a graduate of Â鶹ӳ»­ at Austin and earned her medical degree from Â鶹ӳ»­ Health Science Center in San Antonio. Susan has been a philanthropic leader in her community for more than 20 years, founding the Jewish Foundation of Austin and Central Texas and serving on the inaugural Circuit of the Americas Host Committee for the Formula 1 Austin Grand Prix. She and her husband Bobby have received numerous community honors including the Austin Jewish Community Center's LBJ Humanitarian Award and the Anti-Defamation League's Torch of Liberty Award. She resides in Austin.
  
  
• Lawrence H. (Larry) Hayward: Larry serves as chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Leslie's Poolmart, Inc., the world's largest retailer of swimming pool supplies with nearly 900 stores operating in 35 states across the U.S. Prior to joining Leslie's, he served as the president of ABCO Desert Markets, a leading food and drug retailer located in Arizona, as well as president and CEO of Carr Gottstein Foods Co. Larry serves on the board of directors of Sletten Companies and Petco Animal supplies as well as on the advisory board of directors for the Paradigm Project and on the executive committee and board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix. He resides in Phoenix, Ariz.
  
  
• Ebru Ozdemir: Ebru is the founder and chairperson of Limak Investments, the investment arm of Limak Group Companies, whose portfolio includes airports, ports, energy generation, distribution and trading assets. She received her bachelor's of science in Civil Engineering from Bogazici University and her masters in International Business and Finance from Fordham University. Ebru has more than 15 years of experience in project development, finance and PPP projects. She serves on several boards including YASED (International Investors Association), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Public-Private Partnerships (UNECE PPP) Business Advisory Board and the Young Society Leader of The American Turkish Society among many others. Ebru also carries out Limak Investment's social responsibility projects, including Turkey's Engineer Girls, which aims to promote engineering among female high school students. She resides in Istanbul, Turkey.