Fred Eshelman is the founder and chairman of Furiex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FURX). Previously he was the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Pharmaceutical Product Development (NASDAQ: PPDI) prior to its sale to private equity in 2011. PPD provided drug discovery and development services to biopharmaceutical and government organizations.

His career has also included positions as senior vice president of development and board member of the former Glaxo Inc., as well as various management positions with Beecham Laboratories and Boehringer Mannheim Pharmaceuticals.

Eshelman has served on the executive committee of the Medical Foundation of North Carolina and currently serves on a number of industry boards. He chairs the board of visitors for the School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina, his alma mater, and serves as an adjunct professor. One of the top pharmacy programs in the United States, in May 2008 the school was named the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in recognition of his many contributions to the school and the pharmacy profession. Eshelman is also a member of the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors.

He has received many awards including the Davie and distinguished service awards from UNC, and outstanding alumnus from both the UNC and University of Cincinnati schools of pharmacy.

Eshelman received a doctor of pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati and a B.S. in pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a graduate of the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.