Richard Pilnik is Chairman of the Board of Diamedica, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of diabetes.

A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Pilnik’s 30-plus year career has been truly global in scope, holding various management positions in Brazil, Venezuela, the UK and U.S. He retired earlier this year from Quintiles Transnational, a global leader in outsourcing services to the pharmaceutical industry, where he had served for five years.

Prior to that, Pilnik worked at Eli Lilly and Company for 25 years. He retired in 2008 with the title of Group Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

Pilnik holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University and earned his MBA in marketing and strategic planning from Northwestern University. He is past Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers Association’s Latin America Committee and the European Executive Committee and member of the Council of America’s Advisory Board. He was also a board member for Elan Biopharmaceuticals until its recent acquisition by Perrigo.

He currently serves on the Board of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.