MPI Research names Oakley as President and COO

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, October 17, 2013

D. Thomas "Tom" Oakley has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer at MPI Research, the largest single-site preclinical and early clinical contract research organization worldwide.

Oakley recently joined the company as Executive Vice President of Preclinical Operations. He has more than 30 years of domestic and international strategic and operational leadership experience in major contract research organizations, industrial and consumer product businesses, and the United States Army.

He most recently was President and CEO of ChanTest Corporation, a privately held global contract research organization that specializes in safety pharmacology and drug discovery services.

Prior to ChanTest, Oakley was the President and CEO of Bridge Laboratories, a multinational contract research organization with operations in the United States and China. In addition to leading a turnaround at the Maryland division, he established the first Western-quality Good Laboratory Practice preclinical facility in China.

Oakley also held leadership positions with DTO Associates, the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Covance, Air Liquide America Corporation, Neodata Services Inc., Pepsico Inc., Container Corporation of America, and the United States Army, from which he was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.

Oakley is a cum laude graduate of Ripon College where he received a BA degree in economics. He holds an MBA in management, finance, and accounting from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

"Tom Oakley has been a leader his entire career in both the private and public sectors," says MPI Research Chairman and CEO William U. Parfet. "His proven strength in business process redesign, performance improvement, and strategic planning and implementation will serve MPI Research well as we scale our operations and expand our presence globally. Our company will benefit from his industry knowledge, financial expertise, and business prowess, and we are excited about Tom’s expanded role on our leadership team."

MPI Research, with global headquarters in Mattawan provides safety evaluation, discovery, bioanalytical, and analytical services, and early clinical services and solutions to the biopharmaceutical, medical device, animal health, and chemical industries.

Source: MPI