Executive Forum continues with presentations from biotechnology entrepreneur, innovator Jamie Grooms

MACON / ATLANTA – Mercer University Executive Forum, presented by Truist, continues its 42nd year on Jan. 27 with presentations from biotech entrepreneur and innovator Jamie Grooms in Atlanta and Macon.

Grooms, a regenerative medicine visionary who has created businesses and innovations that have improved the health of thousands of people, will give a presentation for the noon lunch at the Capital City Club in downtown Atlanta and a presentation for the dinner at 6.30 p.m. in the dining room of the presidents on the Mâcon campus.

After receiving his BSc in Biology from Old Dominion University, Grooms began his career in tissue banking. Progressing from procurement to operations, he has developed cGMP medical processing and manufacturing systems, as well as other technological innovations. He has held various executive positions with Virginia Tissue Bank (now LifeNet Health Inc.), Osteotech Inc., CryoLife Inc., and was Director of the University of Florida Tissue Bank from 1992 to 1995.

He used his extensive research and development, laboratory and manufacturing experience to become Founding CEO and Chairman of the Board of Regeneration Technologies Inc. from 1998 to 2002, where he co-invented key value-added technologies that formed the basis of the company’s product line of precision-machined allograft and xenograft implants.

Grooms co-founded a second biomedical startup, Axogen Inc., providing surgeons with allograft products to repair and regenerate peripheral nerves. He was CEO from 2002-2010, Chairman of the Board from 2002-2019, and currently sits on its Scientific Advisory Board. Pursuing his dream in regenerative medicine, he co-founded NeXtGen Biologics Inc., a medical device company specializing in extracellular matrix manufacturing, as Chairman of the Board in 2015. In addition, he is a co-founder of Regenx Science Inc. and has served as Chairman of its Board of Directors since 2015.

Grooms was CEO of the Florida Institute for Commercialization of Florida Technology from 2012 to 2016, spearheading the institute’s mission to identify, support and fund companies engaged in the commercialization of technologies supported by public research funds. His latest company is Seaventure Clam, where he has served as Executive Chairman since October 2017, is committed to producing the highest quality sustainable shellfish aquaculture grown in the United States. Long-term goals for the company include supporting the ecological restoration of Florida’s waterways.

Grooms lives in Middleburg, Florida with his wife, Lisa Wasshausen. Their daughter, Riley, graduated in 2021 from the Mercer’s School of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Biomedical Engineering. She is on track to complete her MSc in Biomedical Engineering at Mercer this spring.

The Executive Forum was founded in 1979 as a business outreach program for Mercer and its School of Business and has quickly become an invaluable resource to the business community and professionals across Georgia through the presentation of seminars from high quality management and leadership on hot topics.

Mercer alumnus William H. Anderson II, then president Dr R. Kirby Godsey and founding dean of the business school Dr Charles H. Andrews worked with the Office of University Advancement to plan, develop and implement the Forum in order to establish a closer relationship with the business world.

Over the course of the Executive Forum’s more than four decades, countless students and faculty have benefited from exposure to practitioners, and in turn, Forum members have benefited from a relationship with academia. These benefits include business networking opportunities, employee development skills, and knowledge of current business trends.

Truist, formerly BB&T, is celebrating its 14th year as presenting sponsor of the Forum. This year’s co-sponsors include The 1842 Inn, Sheridan Construction, Cox Communications, Synovus, Georgia CEO and Georgia Trend.

The Executive Forum is a membership organization made up of businesses, organizations and individuals. Events are by invitation only for members. For more information on membership, call (800) 837-2911 or (478) 301-4169, or visit forum.mercer.edu/adhesion.

About the Executive Forum, presented by Truist

The Executive Forum is a business outreach program of the Stetson-Hatcher School of Business at Mercer University and the Office of Academic Advancement. The Executive Forum offers business professionals the opportunity to hear nationally recognized speakers while networking with other business leaders. For more information, call the Mercer’s Office of University Advancement at (800) 837-2911 or (478) 301-4169, or visit forum.mercer.edu.