James J. Piacentino is a serial entrepreneur, healthcare executive, and thought leader who speaks on leadership, execution, and decision-making in high-stakes environments where the cost of waiting is real and quarterly performance and human outcomes matter. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Thrive Genetics, a precision-health company translating validated academic addiction research into real-world clinical and operational use, where his focus is not academic research but commercialization, execution, and system adoption—bridging science, leadership, and healthcare operations inside complex organizations where innovation often stalls. Previously, James served as Corporate Strategist in the Office of the CEO at SAP and advised Fortune 50 companies on strategy execution, often stepping in when initiatives lost alignment and outcomes were at risk.

James has delivered keynotes, AI panels, and executive talks at leading healthcare, life sciences, and innovation forums including Opal Group (NYC), BioNJ, and Northwestern Kellogg, speaking to CEOs, founders, physician-leaders, operators, investors, and policymakers. He is a Northwestern Kellogg MBA alum, a three-time Harvard Business Review contributor, and has been featured in Forbes, with perspectives sought across healthcare and executive innovation platforms. On stage, James is candid, grounded, and practical—distilling complexity around innovation, leadership pressure, AI, and risk into clear, usable frameworks that give audiences shared execution language and a concrete plan.