NPA Announces Speaking Slots for FTC Official Richard Cleland and Former FDA Official Robert Durkin
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Natural Products Association (NPA) today announced that the current top regulator for the dietary supplement industry at the Federal Trade Commission, Richard Cleland, will speak at The Big Natural. Cleland will be joined by former Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Dietary Supplement Office, Robert Durkin.
“We know that people have questions about how the next Administration and new Congress is going to impact their business, and that’s why we are bringing together the most influential and insightful people in the world of natural products,” said Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., NPA President and CEO. “We have a great program in place, and we are confident that attendees are still engaged and have the same access to the world’s leading experts in the natural products industry. This is also an excellent opportunity for the industry to make a direct investment back into the industry, with 100 percent of profit going directly to education and advocacy initiatives.”
Richard Cleland serves as Assistant Director of the Division of Advertising Practices at the FTC. Previously he was appointed as the Assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection and later as the Assistant Director of the Division of Service Industry Practices. Cleland’s area of expertise is in the advertising and marketing of health-related products, and he supervises many of the Commission’s health fraud and weight-loss product and service law enforcement initiatives.
Robert Durkin is the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Durkin also served as Acting Director of CFSAN’s Food Defense Staff and in the Commissioner’s office and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). As of Counsel for Arnall, Golden, and Gregory, brings extensive experience he gained at the FDA where he was responsible for performing policy analysis and evaluations related to all aspects of the agency’s dietary supplement programs while also providing skillful advice on compliance and enforcement issues (such as Warning Letters, seizures, injunctions, import detention/refusal, etc.).
The Big Natural
November 30-December 1
Offering two days of industry-driven, educational sessions, workshop programming, case studies and interactive discussions. Plus, there will be ample time for networking and benchmarking. The Big Natural will bring together industry leaders, innovators and government officials who will share insights that will educate, empower and spark innovative ideas to drive the industry forward.
- Industry-specific educational sessions developed by you to address your most pressing business and regulatory concerns as an industry such as probiotic regulatory hurdles with Amy Smith from DuPont Nutrition.
- Executive-level speakers who will provide in-depth discussion of real-world challenges/issues as well as practical lessons you can take back to your company and implement across your operations after hearing presentations from Rich Cleland of FTC and Robert Durkin from AGG, but formerly Deputy Director of FDA’s ODSP.
- Focus on business innovation, finance, investment and global market opportunities relevant to the natural products space with David Thibodeau from Wellvest Capital.
- Breakout sessions that will explore discrete issues faced by business unit and department heads spanning regulatory, compliance, legal, marketing and business functions.
Open to both NPA Members and Non-Members, The Big Natural will attract a diverse cross-section of senior executives spanning the C-suite as well as department leadership within the Retail, CPG, Natural, Health Foods, Supplements and Investment sectors with budget and/or human capital responsibility in the following areas:
- Strategy & Product Development
- Legal, Regulatory & Compliance
- Digital Initiatives, Branding, Marketing and Advertising
- Merchandising, Distribution & E-Commerce
- Analytics and Big Data
- Customer Experience and Customer Service
- Business Development & Finance
- Quality & Scientific Affairs
- Probiotics and Novel Ingredients
- Medical/Functional Foods
- Sports Nutrition
- Defining Natural
