Dean's Advisory Council

Rene Lewin
(Retired) Senior Vice President - Human Resources
Wyeth

Rene is currently President of RRLCapital, LLC. a venture capital company which invests in business startups. He also serves on the executive committee of the Tamiami Angel Fund located in Naples, Florida which invests in business startups.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Wellbox and SafeKeeping two of the nearly 30 companies where he has invested.

Rene retired as Senior Vice President -Human Resources for Wyeth in 2008. Wyeth has 55,000 employees worldwide and is in the prescription pharmaceutical business, over the counter pharmaceuticals, and animal health products business with annual revenue in 2008 exceeding $24 billion.  As the Chief Human Resource Officer, he was responsible for the planning and implementation of worldwide employee policies and programs. Rene served on the executive management, operations, finance, law/regulatory, human resources benefits, retirement, and savings plan committees of the corporation. Rene worked closely with Wyeth’s Board of Directors on executive succession and compensation, and corporate governance practices.

Prior to joining Wyeth in 1994, Rene was employed by Eli Lilly and Company for 24 years where he held a variety of executive positions including President of Eli Lilly Canada, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs, and Executive Director of Human Resources for Eli Lilly’s pharmaceutical business.

Rene was a visiting professor at Purdue’s School of Management, where he taught in the MBA program following his retirement from Wyeth.

Mr. Lewin graduated from Purdue with a BS in Industrial Management and received his MBA from Butler University.

Rene and his wife Karen are trustees of the Rene and Karen Lewin Charitable Fund from which they direct their philanthropy particularly focused on education and hunger relief.  They have endowed the Rene and Karen Leadership Scholarship at Purdue University’s School of Management which has supported 3 to 5 scholarships a year to students attending the School of Management and have supported the Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program for underrepresented minorities attending Purdue University's School of Management.

Rene and Karen live in Zionsville, Indiana and Naples, Florida.  They have nine grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.