Jonah Shacknai

Shacknai earned his BS from Colgate University[4] and his JD from Georgetown University Law Center.[2][5][6]

From 1977 until the end of 1982 Shacknai worked as the Chief Aide to the committee on health policy in the US House of Representatives. As such, he wrote key legislation on health care, environmental and consumer protection, and science policy.[7] He also served on the Commission on the Federal Drug Approval Process and the National Council on Drugs.[4][8][9]

Shacknai served on two federal cabinet-appointed positions; he was a member of the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council and on the US-Israel Science and Technology Commission.[4][10][11]

He was a senior partner at the law firm Royer, Shacknai and Mehle from 1982 until 1988. The firm represented multinational pharmaceutical companies, medical device makers and four major industry trade associations.[4]

Shacknai founded Medicis Pharmaceuticals in 1988.[12] In 2012 he left his positions as CEO and chairman when Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchased Medicis for $2.6 billion.[13]

He serves as executive Chairman of DermaForce Partners. He held an executive position at Key Pharmaceuticals Inc and served on the Listed Company Advisory Committee to the New York Stock Exchange (LCAC)[4]

Shacknai was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters by NYCPM, an affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.[14] He received the “National Award” from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, and the “President’s Award” from the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. He also has several “Lifetime Achievement” Awards from dermatological societies.[15] In 1997 he received the Arizona Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[4] In January 2000 he was selected as Entrepreneurial Fellow at the Karl Eller Center of the University of Arizona.[14][16]

He was a director of Delta Society, an organization that promotes animal-human bonds, and a director of the Whispering Hope Ranch a foundation that promotes animal-assisted therapy for children and adults with special needs. Shacknai was a director of the Southwest Autism Research Center and is on the Board of Trustees of the National Public Radio Foundation.[12] He served as co-chairman of the foundation board of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and president of the MaxInMotion Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that assists economically challenged students and student athletes with disabilities.[5][16]

Shacknai is remarried, and is the father of five children, including Max, who died in July 2011 shortly after Shacknai's then-girlfriend Rebecca Zahau.[17]