Who We Are

Jerry Acuff, CEO and founder of Delta Point, has over twenty years of experience in speaking and consulting extensively on the issues of sales and marketing excellence. Jerry’s breadth and depth of experience and expertise has led the White House to share his views on health care reform and to his position as Executive in Residence at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Jerry has been featured in numerous business magazines (Fortune, Fast Company, Selling Power, etc.) and on MSNBC. Jerry began his career as a sales representative and quickly rose to become VP and General Manager at Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals. Jerry is the author of three best-selling business books: The Relationship Edge, The Relationship Edge in Business, and Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer.

Cathy Geddes, Senior Vice President, is a Marketing and Sales professional with over 20 years of Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industry experience working in large, mid-size and start-up operations. Cathy began her healthcare career in Marketing at start-up biotechnology company where she led the launch of an oncology product. She then spent 12 years at Roche Laboratories in various Sales and Account Management roles including Business Unit Manager, Division Sales Manager, Regional Account Manager, National Account Manager, Regional Sales Director and several years leading the hepatology specialty sales force as National Sales Director. While at Roche she earned numerous awards, successfully launched eight products and gained experience promoting retail, hospital, and specialty products in the following categories: anti-inflammatory, anesthesia, pain, anti-infective, transplant, oncology, allergy, cardiology, weight management, antiviral, HIV, dermatology, psychiatry, and hepatology. Cathy joined Wyeth in 2007 when she was recruited to lead the vaccine specialty sales team for several years as Vice President of Sales. After the Pfizer acquisition of Wyeth, she was asked to lead the Marketing team in the launch of Prevnar 13, a “buy & bill” specialty care pneumococcal vaccine, which under her leadership became the #1 product in first year sales in pharmaceutical history with over $2B in US revenue. In this role she was responsible for the products’ positioning and brand identity, pricing strategy, the phased launch plan, managing the development of the HCP, Consumer, and Payer campaigns, chairing the internal Promotion Review Committee, effectively collaborating with government and professional associations, product lifecycle management, managing commercial supply/demand/packaging, and building alignment with internal partners. Cathy has a B.A. from Temple University and a M.B.A. from St. Joseph’s University.

Michael Hickey, Vice President. During his five years as VP Sales at AstraZeneca in the US, Michael Hickey led the successful sales launch of megabrands such as Nexium, Seroquel and Crestor and also a number of oncology brands. His innovative and creative approach led to the introduction of a new AZ selling model in the US and also in the Netherlands (where he was President) and to the introduction of a comprehensive SFE (Sales Force Effectiveness) program. Michael worked in AZ for 24 years in senior global and local marketing roles and in general management. He championed the introduction of the Balanced Scorecard approach to the management of the US business and also pioneered a comprehensive Leadership program across the entire US sales organization. Following his time with AZ, Michael became President of IBA Molecular, North America, a leading radiopharmaceutical company

Matt Murphy, Vice President, brings to Delta Point a proven track record of driving sales growth and profitability as demonstrated through his extensive sales and training leadership experience across multiple therapeutic areas (cardiovascular, respiratory, neuropsychology, and metabolic disorders). Since joining AstraZeneca as a sales specialist in 1994, Matt has demonstrated his sales and leadership skills, excelling in leading teams to identify, leverage, and optimize sales opportunities with both new and established accounts and products. Murphy’s ability to lead his sales district from the bottom 10% to the top 20% nationally has led to career opportunities in the design, implementation and development of professional sales training. Most recently, Murphy had responsibility for leading the development and execution of the training curriculum for the 2,000 plus member sales/sales leadership team in the cardiovascular business unit. Murphy has earned recognition for shaping regional brand strategy, creating alignment and optimizing resources based on his successful cross-company collaborative training development and successful launching of three brands.

Ed Weimer, Vice President, has gained recognition and earned numerous awards for his ability to highly motivate, develop and inspire his teams to attain personal excellence while providing the strategic vision to contribute to the organization’s goals. Ed began his career as a sales representative for Boehringer Mannheim Corporation Therapeutics Division. After winning awards in selling, he rapidly rose to positions in sales operations and sales management. Joining Centocor OrthoBiotech, Inc, (a Johnson & Johnson company) in 1998 as a district manager, Weimer honed his leadership skills managing and leading teams in account management, marketing, customer relationship management, business and analytics, and academic and specialty training. His leadership expertise led to his assignment as the US Director responsible for sales and sales/marketing integration for the commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 2008-2010, followed by his position as the Director of Immunology Training at Centocor OrthoBiotech.

Debra Horner, Executive Account Director, began her career as a sales representative at Ortho-Biotech, spending most of her 15 year pharmaceutical career with Takeda Pharmaceuticals in roles of increasing responsibility including sales representative, trainer, district manager, senior brand manager and regional sales director. Most recently, Debra worked for Novo Nordisk in the commercialization of two pre-launch products. Her expertise lies in the development of brand strategy, product messaging and launch planning. Debra has led the development of training programs, brand message platforms, creative campaigns, and strategic plans for multiple product launches working on both the marketing and sales side. Debra has earned recognition for her contributions with multiple leadership and sales performance awards.

Mark Cohen, MD, FACOG, joined Delta Point as our Medical Director and provides the unique insight of a physician’s perspective as well as his medical knowledge and expertise as a practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology physician. Dr. Cohen is a Fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, due to his passion for helping to improve healthcare for children and adults with special needs. Because of his work in the non-profit sector, Dr. Cohen was honored as the 2005 Healthcare Hero in the Outreach Category by the Birmingham Business Journal. In 2007 Mark was honored by the Alabama Pediatric Dentistry Association for his work in providing dental care to children and adults with special needs.

Joan Altemose, Senior Director of Customer Excellence, combines her talents of writing and research with her passion for Delta Point philosophies and tenets, leveraging her liberal arts undergraduate degree with her MBA from California Polytechnic State University. Joan’s contributions are built on her diversity of experiences: as a certified teacher of secondary school and community colleges, a contributing writer for a business magazine, systems programmer, software marketing representative, and trainer. She joined the Pharma industry in 1992, achieving recognition as a sales representative, which led to more awards as a manager and becoming head of Promotional Policy and the electronic funding system for Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Charlie Carr, Senior Consultant, leverages his experiences in leadership training and coaching, sales and account management, sales leadership, brand marketing and marketing operations. During his career, Charlie has been a sales representative and account manager, district and regional sales manager, project manager, brand marketing director, as well as leadership training manager. As the Senior Training & Development Leader at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, he developed and delivered leadership skills programs supporting middle and senior level management from Sales and other Commercial business divisions. Charlie specializes in working with pharmaceutical sales and marketing professionals who seek to improve their performance through more authentic engagement and a customer focused business approach.

Linda Iarussi, Project Manager, has worked in the advertising and pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years. She began her career at CommonHealth where she served as Director, Traffic Coordination and VP, Client Support Services. She joined Novartis Pharmaceuticals in 1997 and held the positions of Senior Manager, Marketing Communications and Associate Director, Customer Marketing. While at Novartis, Linda earned Business Excellence awards for her focus on project management and streamlining processes.

Kendell Kole, Project Account Manager, has worked in the advertising and pharmaceutical industry for over 15 years. She began her career at CommonHealth/Noesis where she served as Senior Account Executive Director, primarily working with the Novartis Cardiovascular account. She joined Novartis Pharmaceuticals in 2001 as Marketing Communications Manager within the Cardiovascular Franchise and progressed into the position of Associate Director Sales/Marketing Operations for the Infectious Disease and Transplant business unit supporting the Transplant and Infectious Disease units as well as new product marketing and sales teams.

Bruce Kraus, Director Managed Markets/Government, brings to Delta Point over 30 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry, including 20 years at Bayer. Throughout his career, Bruce has gained experience in a broad range of therapeutic areas and in a variety of segments such as managed care, strategic development, and new product launches, earning recognition as an inspiring and motivating builder of high performing teams. Due to his proven track record of success, Bruce quickly progressed in increasing roles of responsibility in sales, sales operations, and training, including VP of Sales. Most recently, Bruce was the National Director, Sales, Marketing and Business Development at DaVita Rx where he was responsible for the rollout of the DaVita Rx Pharmacy service nationwide, helping to grow the business from its inception to $72 million in revenue in less than three years. Bruce was responsible for the creation and implementation of all performance metrics, reporting tools, sales training programs, incentive program and marketing plans.

Richard Limbacher, Senior Consultant, began his sales career at Roche Laboratories in 1995 and served as Product Trainer and Business Unit Manager. He joined Reliant Pharmaceuticals as a District Manager and progressed into the roles of Product Manager and Manager/Director of Training and Development. He was able to transfer those skills in similar positions at Reckitt Benckiser and Enzon Pharmaceuticals.

Rob McCune, Senior Consultant, began his career as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative when Takeda first started commercial operations in the US. He quickly earned multiple sales and leadership awards in this role which led to roles of increasing responsibility that spanned sales management, marketing, and continuing education/leadership development. Prior to joining Delta Point, Rob received a MBA from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.

Deanna Meloro, Senior Consultant. Deanna’s passion and success in sales, marketing and sales training led her to join Delta Point in 2012, the culmination of 15 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. Deanna began her career in biotech at Centocor in marketing before becoming a sales representative for Johnson & Johnson. Her success in selling led to joining Novartis, where she expanded her sales base focusing on specialists and launching a first in class therapy in the GI/digestive therapeutic area. Five years later, Deanna was promoted to the Regional Training Manager responsible for multiple therapeutic areas including GI, Cardiovascular and Neurology and then continued her sales training career at AstraZeneca US headquarters. She further developed her leadership skills as a successful District Sales Manager and Marketing Manager for their diabetes franchise.

Carol Richards, Senior Consultant, earned her law degree and began her career as an Assistant District Attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. Carol worked for six years prosecuting a myriad of different cases and served as an Assistant Bureau Chief. Carol then began her career in pharmaceuticals at AstraZeneca, with roles in sales, training, and finally as a District Sales Manager. During her fifteen years in the pharmaceutical industry, she earned numerous sales awards (including President’s Circle of Excellence), and gained expertise in the field of PhRMA Compliance.

John Royer is an award winning learning and technology strategist with more than 15 years experience in various leadership roles across the Pharmaceutical, Financial Services, Technology, and Telecommunications industries. Prior to joining Delta Point, John was the Director of global sales training strategy at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals where he led the integration of the sales training function across seventeen global markets.

Dan Snyder, Senior Consultant, has nearly 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry, working in start-up organizations, mid-size specialty, and traditional big Pharma companies primarily in the sales and sales leadership arena. Choosing sales as a career, he started as a representative for Amfax America, and then joined the Pharma business at Astra and quickly progressed through the ranks from sales representative to District Sales Manager to Regional Director, gaining experience in training, marketing, sales operations and leadership development. His dedication to a positive reinforcement management style led to numerous awards and recognition, including Business Executive of the Year and President’s Club member. Dan’s success in product launches and ability to drive sales results is matched by his successful leadership development, mentoring, and ability to inspire others to higher levels of achievement.

Kristina Duke Wechsler, Senior Consultant, was a nurse before she joined Pharmacia/Pfizer as a sales specialist. After becoming a District Manager, Kristina gained global experience in training, residing in Bangkok, Thailand. Returning to the US, Kristina’s leadership abilities were demonstrated as she progressed through management roles in sales, account management, marketing, sales training, culminating with sales and marketing operations.

Debbie Wilson, Senior Consultant, brings more than 15 years of healthcare and pharmaceutical industry experience to Delta Point. Beginning her career in nursing, Debbie joined Roche Pharmaceuticals in 1997, and progressed through positions in sales, sales management, training and leadership development, earning multiple special achievement awards. Debbie’s expertise is in training, having earned advanced certification in Designing Learning and certification in “Insights Discovery”. Prior to joining Delta Point, she developed and implemented new hire training programs for start-up companies as the owner of InnerPath Ltd, where her working relationship with Delta Point began over 10 years ago.