The Black Book

	A Heavy Hitter In The Line-up Dan Getman goes to bat for life sciences research in the two-state region
Dan Getman
	Here’s one measure of Dan Getman’s ability to get things done: Since agreeing to become president of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute earlier this year, Getman has … sold his home. That’s right: Staring into the maw of the toughest housing market in generations, Getman has sold his St. Louis residence and is buying while the market is near a bottom. If that kind of golden touch rubs off on life sciences initiatives here, big things may be in store for the region. Getman assumed the duties of president at the institute in April, working through a transition time with Bill Duncan, who had been in that role since the institute’s inception nearly a decade ago. Now, as he moves full-steam into life sciences advocacy, Getman has had a chance to do an early survey of the region’s assets. He likes what he sees. “I was really impressed with the people of Kansas City,” he said, “and by the commitment from the community to expand life sciences here. With what they had in place, I thought I could bring a lot to the game.” Spend a few minutes with Getman, and you’ll likely hear things couched in baseball analogies. He’s just shy of rabid about the sport, and as a long-time resident of St. Louis, is still coming to grips with that little World Series dust-up with the Royals back in ’85. Getman, 53, wrapped up a 27-year career with Pfizer in October. He retired after serving as site director for 1,200 workers at the pharmaceutical giant’s St. Louis facility. He gained a reputation there for breaking a large organization down into small work groups, using those forums to get all the company oars pulling in one direction. That power of persuasion is what he plans to put to work in Kansas City. “I want to create a way for people to participate in the life sciences community at whatever level they want,” he said. To do that, he’ll hold plenty of meetings to articulate the mission of the institute and its members. “It’s really important for the region to appreciate all the progress that’s been made to date and where we want to go with it,” Getman said.	Dan Getman •Title President, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute •Education Bachelor of Science in chemistry, SUNY-Buffalo; Ph.D. in organic chemistry, the University of Minnesota •Family He and his wife, Kathy have two daughters - Kim, 23 and Becky, 21
		So he’ll spread that gospel to others in the business community — in the life sciences field or not. He believes every resident of the region should recognize the benefits derived from a vibrant research sector. And the importance of a unified community approach to life-sciences development can easily be measured in dollars — hundreds of millions of them. In the institute’s first five years, research spending by the original stakeholder groups soared from $104 million to $24o million. That list included research luminaries like Children’s Mercy Hospital, the KU Medical Center and Lawrence ecampus, and the Midwest Research Institute. The research muscle of Kansas State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia joined the lineup in 2005, as overall spending again more than doubled to $531 million in 2007. Most any leader of a non-profit in Kansas City can speak volumes about the difficulties of unifying a community bisected by a state line. More than that, there is the challenge of molding consensus out of such various (and at times, competing) interests among private-sector business and public institutions — federal, state and local — that cover wide-ranging disciplines of education, regulation and economic development, to name but a few. Moving from a position of authority — albeit one where he was known as a unifier and motivator — into this requires someone with a deft touch. But the institute may have found exactly that. Put Getman to the ultimate Missouri baseball test—“Royals or Cardinals, Dr. Getman?”—and you’ll hear the master at work. “I am,” he says, smiling, and with a perfectly timed pause for diplomatic effect, “a baseball fan.”