Jim O'Neill

Deputy Secretary O’Neill previously served at HHS from 2002 to 2008. As the Principal Associate Deputy Secretary from 2007 to 2008 he led reforms at FDA to overhaul food safety regulations and implemented the FDA Amendments Act to improve drug and medical device safety. He helped design and launch HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to lead the health response to emergencies and disasters. After serving at HHS, O’Neill became a managing director of Clarium Capital, a global macro investment fund. As chief executive officer of the Thiel Foundation, O’Neill funded innovative nonprofits that promote technology and freedom. As co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship, he helped launch the careers of young entrepreneurs who founded science and tech companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars. More recently, O’Neill served as CEO of SENS Research Foundation where he led efforts to research and develop regenerative medicine solutions for age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease. Under his leadership, SENS Research Foundation made progress toward rejuvenating the immune system, eliminating senescent cells, rejuvenating the neocortex, and obviating mitochondrial mutations. O’Neill holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Chicago and has three children.