James Hlavenka, Head of U.S. Ethics and Business Integrity
James Hlavenka is Head of U.S. Ethics and Business Integrity where he oversees the design, implementation, and effectiveness of the Ethics and Compliance program in the U.S., ensuring alignment with legal, regulatory, and ethical standards. As a member of the U.S. Leadership Team and Chair of the U.S. Compliance Committee, Jim partners across the organization to foster an environment of sustainable growth by promoting ethical and compliant ways of working, strengthening governance, and mitigating risk.
With 15 years in the industry spanning legal and commercial roles, Jim draws upon a holistic and diverse set of experiences to identify opportunities in our culture and practices to increase patient impact, manage risk, and enable teams for success. Prior to his current role, Jim served as a member of the U.S. Epilepsy & Rare Syndromes Leadership Team as Head of Strategy and Operations where he established, implemented, and communicated the strategic direction of the portfolio to deliver patient value. In this capacity, Jim spearheaded numerous critical go-to-market initiatives that significantly contributed to growth of the portfolio, inclusive of two organizational transformations, a rare disease product launch, and successful loss of exclusivity transition. Prior to this role, Jim served as a field-based Ecosystem Lead where he led a cross-functional team of commercial and medical field representatives in the development and execution strategic goals in the Gulf Coast area, in addition to serving as Head of Internal Operations where he helped design, operationalize, and lead an Eye-for-Pharma award-winning cross-functional agile transformation within the commercial business unit.
Prior to his commercial roles, Jim served in various capacities within the U.S. Legal Affairs team as the lead product attorney to the U.S. Neurology and Immunology Sales, Marketing, and Medical Affairs teams, during which he had the privilege of enabling numerous strategic projects, including the launch of the VIMPAT® monotherapy indication and CIMZIA® CIMplicity Nurse Navigator program. Prior to joining UCB, Jim served as a Food and Drug Law Associate Attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC where he counseled pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on compliant marketing and sales initiatives, fraud and abuse laws, and federal and state aggregate spend disclosure reporting. Before his time at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Jim served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Clarkson S. Fisher, JR in the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.
Outside of UCB, Jim serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia where he works with the Board of Directors to help guide the Foundation in benefiting more than 110,000 individuals living with epilepsy and other seizure disorders in Georgia. Jim earned his J.D. with a Certificate in Health Law from Seton Hall University School of Law, and a B.A. in Psychology and Government and Law from Lafayette College. He is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.