Jim Kovach, CEO of JKCG & Athleticode, Joins ABL Organization

Santa Ana, CA — April 12, 2011 — Jim Kovach, CEO of the James Kovach Consulting Group, and Founder and CEO of Athleticode Inc., has joined the Adaptive Business Leaders Organization (ABL). As part of California’s leading vertical-industry Chief Executives’ Organization, ABL Members provide one another with executive leadership coaching through its confidential, professionally-facilitated, peer-CEO Advisory Board Round Tables, executive learning workshops, network of CEO peers, and expert resources.

The James Kovach Consulting Group (JKCG) is a healthcare consulting company that provides assistance to healthcare entities, physician groups, and technology companies seeking to expand markets, improve the quality of care and lower costs, using patient-centric and preventative strategies. Athleticode Inc. provides athletes with DNA testing services to identify soft tissue injury risks and pre-habilitation training recommendations to reduce the chance of injury and enhance athletic performance.

Previously, Jim was President of the Buck Institute for Age Research, an independent research institute and national center of excellence conducting research on the biological process of aging and its connection to chronic disease. While at the Buck Institute, he worked with leading direct-to-consumer genetic company 23andMe to conduct the first genome-wide association study involving professional football players. The insights gained during the project inspired him to launch Athleticode.

Jim received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky while concurrently a starting middle linebacker in the National Football League. Following a seven-year NFL career, he entered Stanford Law School. After graduation, he worked as a corporate and intellectual property attorney with Cooley LLP in Palo Alto, CA. He has also served as Director of Technology Transfer at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has held executive positions at NetGenics, Inc., a venture-backed bioinformatics company, and Athersys, Inc., a leading biotechnology company developing stem cell therapeutics.

Today, to stay in shape, Jim and his family enjoy functional training and outdoor activities in Marin County. Jim is an adjunct professor at Dominican University in San Rafael, California, and Cha University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, and serves on the National Football League Committee on Concussions.

About the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization
ABL supports the needs of its Member CEOs by providing a place for top-level executives to draw on the experience, knowledge and skill sets of their peers in a vertical industry, personal advisory board – “multi-coach approach” – setting.

The core component of the CEO Membership experience is the group Round Table meeting. Members meet once a month for a half-day with a group of peer CEOs, Presidents, COOs and Division General Managers from non-competing companies, all from the same industry (healthcare, technology or life sciences), in a trusted and confidential board room-like setting, which allows ABL Members to tackle topics and enhance their decision making and business performance. Topics include: developing and honing new business strategies and best practices, new lines of business, “A-players” on the management team, and an effective board of directors, as well as understanding trends in new markets, mergers and acquisitions, compensation, and other “hot” topics brought to the Round Tables by the Members themselves.

ABL Members also gather several times a year at workshops and conferences to exchange ideas and connect with other chief executives beyond their own CEO peer groups. In effect, ABL Members serve as one another’s business coaches within the Round Tables and are encouraged to connect and leverage their co-Member peers’ particular skills and expertise for additional leadership coaching, one-on-one, outside of their monthly group meeting. In addition, each Round Table’s facilitator also serves as an objective business advisor, offering executive and industry insights and advice.

 ABL's Chief Executive Leadership Development Round Table program is currently offered in California's Greater Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco County areas. More information about the ABL Organization can be found at http://www.abl.org .