Mr. Costa’s experience includes senior operating management responsibility for a major international business service provider and senior counsel and staff management responsibility for a major international pharmaceutical company – both during periods of explosive growth. 

Mr. Costa joined Quintiles Transnational Corp. as President and Chief Operating Officer in April 1994 at the time of its initial public offering (IPO).  He was named Vice Chairman in December 1999 and held that position until May 2001.  He was a Senior Consulting Executive at Quintiles through December 2002.

As President and Chief Operating Officer of Quintiles, Mr. Costa had responsibility for all operating divisions, as well as worldwide business development.  During his nearly six years in this role, the corporation’s annual revenues rose from approximately $90 million to $1.7 billion, and net income rose from approximately $6.7 million to $109 million, compounded annual growth rates of 80% and 81% respectively.  During the same period, Quintiles Transnational Corp. became a member of the Fortune 1000, the NASDAQ 100 and in November 1999 it joined the S&P 500.

In his tenure as President, the Company was transformed from a contract research organization to a fully integrated worldwide service company and became the market leader in providing a full range of product development, commercialization and information solutions, and health care policy consulting to the pharmaceutical and device industries and to governmental agencies; it also became the market leader in providing electronic transaction processing to the health care industry.  Quintiles fueled its growth through a combination of internal growth and acquisitions as Mr. Costa oversaw the successful integration of over 40 acquisitions ranging in value up to $1.7 billion.  At the same time, the Company’s employee base increased from approximately 1,000 to 20,000 worldwide and from 17 offices in 9 countries to more than 135 offices in 31 countries.

Prior to joining Quintiles Transnational Corp, Mr. Costa spent 23 years in the pharmaceutical industry.  Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, Administration and General Counsel of Glaxo Inc. where he sat on the company’s Board of Directors and was deeply involved in managing Glaxo’s growth from $600 million in annual revenues in 1986 to nearly $3 billion in annual revenues in 1993.  Prior to joining Glaxo, Mr. Costa was U.S. area counsel for Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals.  Mr. Costa started his career as food and drug counsel for Norwich/Eaton Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Costa is Of Counsel to the law firm Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan.

Mr. Costa sits on the Board of Directors, CV Therapeutics, OSI Pharmaceuticals, DigiScripts and is Chairman of LaboPharm Inc. Mr. Costa is an adjunct professor in the clinical research program at the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. He also sits on The Duke Brain Tumor Advisory Committee, the Duke University Medical Center Board of Visitors and the board of advisors to the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.  He has lectured on food and drug law issues and a wide variety of other legal and policy issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry.  He is well versed in crisis management, having chaired several corporate crisis management committees. He also chaired the law section of the then Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association and has been involved in far-ranging legislative issues at both the state and federal level.

Mr. Costa is the author of the book Humanity at Work: Encouraging Spirit, Achievement & Truth to Flourish in the Workplace (2008).

Mr. Costa received his B.S. in pharmacy and his Juris Doctor degrees from St. John’s University in 1968 and 1971 respectively.  In 1998, he was the recipient of the St. John’s University Alumni Outstanding Achievement Medal.  He had been licensed to practice pharmacy in New York and Rhode Island and is licensed to practice law in the states of New York, Ohio, and North Carolina.

Mr. Costa is married with three children.  His wife, Jean, is also an alumna of St. John’s University, from which she graduated in 1968 with a B.S. in mathematics.  In 1996 Jean received an MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.