St. Paul Brands - Executive Biographies

Executive Biographies

Tracy Nguyen (pronounced “win”)
Founder and CEO, AQP (Affordable Quality Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
A native of Vietnam, Nguyen’s history is significantly dissimilar to that of her peers in the pharmaceutical industry. In the twenty-five years she has resided in the United States, Nguyen’s professional path has taken many varied turns. While she attributes much of her success to a series of mentors who recognized her ability and set her on her current course, it is her innate business acumen and science background that have enabled her to become a successful pharmaceutical executive. AQP was recognized as one of the top 500 woman-owned businesses in the U.S. by DiversityBusiness.com.

Henry J. Smith, Ph.D., Vice President, Research & Development
With over 30 years experience in the healthcare industry, Dr. Smith established a specialized reference laboratory, Associated Reference Laboratories, and a biotechnology company, Allied Biotechnology International. Prior to establishing both companies, Dr. Smith held senior management positions at several large reference laboratories, including Bio-Science Laboratories and Specialty Labs.

Earning his Ph.D. in Cancer Immunology from the University of Leeds – School of Medicine, in Leeds, England, Dr. Smith specialized in immunological techniques. Dr. Smith developed a variety of immunological assays, including rapid assays, ELISA, fluorescent assays, and RIA. His prestige and experience led to several publications in international scientific journals.

Hieu Huynh, M.S., Vice President, Quality Assurance
Prior to joining the company in 2002, Mr. Huynh accrued over twenty-five years of experience in design engineering and management with Hydro-Quebec, Canada - in the areas of system studies, electrical apparatus, HVDC, static var compensators and equipment maintenance. Through his experience, Mr. Huynh implemented total quality systems, including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Richard Needham, Advisor, Regulatory Affairs
By educational background and employment history, Mr. Needham is exceptionally well positioned to liaison between the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry, and to bring firms to a high state of cGMP compliance. He holds Masters Degrees from Yale University (Nuclear Chemistry) and Northeastern University (Radiopharmaceutical Science), and has 32 years of experience with the FDA as a drug analytical chemist, drug laboratory supervisor, and inspector of pharmaceutical plants worldwide. He has published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and Analytical Chemistry, and presented research findings at analytical chemistry conferences such as The Pittsburgh Conference while employed with FDA. He presented 2 days of training to the Chinese pharmaceutical industry at a conference in Jinan, China in 2005. For the last 14 years, he has been involved in interpreting and recording chemistry textbooks for blind and dyslexic students in his spare time.