Time to be empowered!
China Connection Executive staff
Ruth Lycke, President and Chief Executive Officer 
Ruth Lycke founded China Connection Global Healthcare in 2005 and today serves at its President and CEO. She is a veteran in the healthcare industry and a pioneer in the field of Destination HealthCare™. She also brings a unique personal and professional experience to her role, having been on both sides of the patient’s bedside, first as a surgical technician, paramedic and nurse and later as the first American stroke survivor to seek destination medical care in China.
The company began as a result of Lycke’s personal experience following a severe stroke in 2001. She became determined to overcome the physical obstacles that were limiting her ability to lead a normal life including mobility problems, total numbness on her right side, loss of fine motor skills, double vision and cognitive problems. However, she was also frustrated with the limited treatment success she experienced in the U.S. and the inadequacy of insurance benefits. At the suggestion of a friend, Lycke sought out alternative forms of medicine in China. During her five month stay in the country, she achieved a full recovery, largely resulting from a comprehensive rehabilitation program that employed a combination of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicines. She credits that treatment in China for changing her life.
Committed to helping others in similar situations, Lycke incorporated China Connection in 2006. Her personal and professional experience enabled her to develop exclusive relationships with a network of world-class hospitals in China. Her first-hand experience as a patient provides an immediate connection with others who can benefit from CCGH’s destination healthcare alternatives. She has enabled hundreds of people from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Japan to travel to China for medical treatment at world-class care facilities and has provided them with the true experience of hope, help and healing.
Today, Lycke is a prominent speaker on Traditional Chinese Medicine for stroke and other conditions and a published author. She is widely sought out as an authority on destination healthcare and testified before the California State Legislature as well as other radio and TV appearances. Her comments have most recently appeared in Business Week and she has shared her experience with audiences across America. Her books Out of the Darkness and into the Light and Hope, Help and Healing: Traveling for Treatment in China are actively utilized as reference material for patients seeking alternatives to treatment in the U.S.
Lycke, the mother of three grown children, received her BS from Iowa State University in1981. Her past accomplishments include; Clinic manager at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital, Corporate trainer in IT, Member in good standing of the National Speakers Association, and Founding member of the Iowa Speakers Association, to name a few. In addition to the CCGH Board, Lycke also currently serves as Chairman of AH Consultants LTD (A Chinese corporation), on the American Heart Association Advocacy Committee and numerous other local organizations.
David Mair, Chief Operating Officer 
David Mair joined China Connection Global Healthcare as its Chief Operating Officer in January 2009. A 20 year veteran of international risk management, benefits and insurance, David is a proven executive in business performance, team development and continuous process improvement.
Prior to joining China Connection Global Healthcare, David was Chief Risk Officer and Director of Client Relations for MEDEX Global Group. MEDEX is a premier provider of emergency medical and security-related services for international corporate and individual travelers. Under his leadership, the MEDEX client relations group achieved organic sales growth of 18% or greater in each of his three years with the company. Formerly, Director of Risk Management for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), Mr. Mair also served as a risk management consultant to the USOC’s member organizations and its Olympic Games-related subsidiaries. Following his departure from the USOC in July 2002, Mair was President of Risk Excellence, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy with an emphasis on governmental and nonprofit entities.
David Mair is a Former President of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, having served as the Society's 43rd President from 2001-2002. First elected to the RIMS Executive Council in 1998, he also served as First Vice President (2000-2001), Vice President - treasurer (1998-1999) and three terms as Vice President for International Development. During his tenure on the Executive Council, he guided development of RIMS multi-year budget process, established sponsorship programs, and initiated activities leading to new international chapters and continuing leadership roles for RIMS with IFRIMA.
Mr. Mair also served two terms as president and 7 years on the Board of Directors of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NORMAC). NORMAC, located in Washington, DC, provides risk management education and support services to over 20,000 nonprofit and small public entities nationwide.
Mr. Mair is a widely sought out speaker and authority on strategic and international business risks. He has testified before Congress, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and over a dozen state legislatures, and his comments have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Business Insurance, Forbes, CFO Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, and on National Public Radio. He has spoken in over two dozen countries on risk management issues. He is a regular presenter at national and regional conferences on a wide range of subjects, and is a published author.
Mr. Mair received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1980 and a Master of Science degree in Sports Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1987.
Rick Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer
Rick Gallagher serves China Connection Global Healthcare as its Chief Financial Officer. With fifteen years senior management experience including 10 years in C-level positions, Mr. Gallagher is a proven leader with a proficiency for guiding teams and organizations to achieve their financial and operational objectives.
Prior to joining China Connections Global Healthcare, Mr. Gallagher founded GuideSource, a consulting practice, developing and delivering financial management strategies for businesses. Prior to GuideSource, Mr. Gallagher served as the CEO at Advanced Data Systems, a data and document management company. Under Mr. Gallagher’s leadership, Advanced Data Systems achieved triple-digit organic growth in revenue and profit for four consecutive years. Advanced Data Systems serves needs of the finance areas inside Fortune 1000 retailers through direct and indirect relationships with companies including Wal-Mart, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, Supervalu, and Kohl’s. Eight years after its launch, Mr. Gallagher sold Advanced Data Systems in 2008 to private investors.
Mr. Gallagher has also served in leadership roles implementing high growth and hyper growth inside larger public and private companies. At FYI Image, Mr. Gallagher led his team to implement 20X growth in eight months exceeding EBIT goals at a business process outsourcing facility. At a second FYI Image location, he oversaw the turnaround of a facility established to stage large data projects for offshoring. At Lifetouch, Mr. Gallagher was instrumental in leveraging digital imagining technology to revolutionize the match of photographed subjects’ identity to their image. The identity match created a competitive advantage used to fuel organic growth and leverage negotiations for the acquisition of competitors including Olan Mills and Jostens.
Mr. Gallagher earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis on Industrial Engineering which included a curriculum track inside the Carlson School of Management. He also holds Six Sigma certification.
Wen Mei Hong, Senior Vice President of Patient Affairs 
Wen Mei Hong was the first employee of China Connection in 2006 and today serves as the Senior Vice President of Patient Affairs. She is a veteran in the China healthcare industry and has become an integral part of the development and growth of China Connection Global Healthcare. Her role began as a China manager and she used her skills and contacts to help CCGH expand its role and development of Destination HealthCare™. She also brings both personal and professional experience to her role, having been at the patient’s bedside, as a nurse in both the western and eastern style hospitals in China.
As an integral part of CCGH since its inception she has had unparalleled experience in dealing and communicating with the American and Chinese medical community. She was introduced to Ruth Lycke as her personal nurse in 2004. She overcame language issues and working with Ruth has expanded her medical vocabulary to include both English and Chinese. Uniquely qualified as only one of a dozen specialists working at the highest level of care in Traditional Chinese and Western Medicines she combines that working experiential knowledge with her skill in business. The result is a well honed professional with a heart for the people she represents and serves.
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