The Institute for American Leadership announced Mr. Samuel Eberts III will serve as the new Interim Chair of the Board of Directors, following his recent election. Sam succeeds Daniel Suarez, who served as the founding interim board chair until May 2026.
As an accomplished executive, board leader, and strategic advisor, Sam brings to the Institute more than thirty years of experience across healthcare, business, public policy, and nonprofit leadership.
Sam possesses extensive management experience and has worked with Fortune 500 companies, startups and mission-driven organizations. His expertise includes ensuring mission alignment, navigating public and private capital markets, guiding regulatory and payer strategies, ensuring compliance, facilitating product design, and managing government relations, communications strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and exit strategies. Sam works with business leaders to help define strategies and actionable plans to drive growth.
As Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary, and Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs at LabCorp (NYSE: LH), Sam held enterprise-wide responsibility for the global Legal, Compliance, Corporate Secretary, Public Policy, Communications, Privacy, and Security functions. He represented LabCorp on various issues before the FDA, CMS, and other agencies, as well as on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Sam retired from LabCorp in 2019 and began leading Aquyre Biosciences. He led a reorganization and recapitalization of the company, restructuring research and development, manufacturing, and sales to prepare for the launch of its next-generation system, enhanced with artificial intelligence and improved imaging technologies. After successfully completing the restructuring/recapitalization and implementing a CEO succession plan, Sam retired from Aquyre.
Sam brings strong leadership to the Institute, having dedicated many years to organizations across education, healthcare, and tech. Currently, Sam is a Senior Advisor to investment bank Invescore Ltd. and a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Law. He also serves as a Trustee of Endicott College and holds board leadership roles with VetPet, Next Wave: The International Center for Children and Global Security, Action in Africa, and Mary Crane Center. Over the course of his career, Sam has advised early-stage companies and small businesses nationwide and has served in leadership and advisory capacities with organizations including the National Small Business Association, World Policy Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and Phillips Companies Ltd. He has also founded Daerter Group, an advisory firm focused on startups in healthcare.
A frequent speaker on healthcare, leadership, entrepreneurship, and governance, Sam has guest lectured at leading academic institutions including Harvard University, Duke University, Wake Forest University, Baylor College of Medicine, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, and previously served as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health.
“It is an honor to serve as Board Chair of the Institute at such an important time in its development,” said Eberts. “The Institute’s commitment to principled, nonpartisan, and globally engaged leadership is both timely and important. I look forward to working closely with the Executive Director, the Board, and the team to build on that mission and help position the Institute for continued growth and impact."
Nicole Rodgers, the Institute’s Executive Director, stated: “The Institute benefits immensely from the incomparable operational experience, legal acumen, and strategic vision that Sam brings to our leadership team. His guidance arrives at a pivotal inflection point in our organizational lifecycle as we rapidly scale our flagship National Security Policy Fellowship and educational pipelines. The team is profoundly grateful for his commitment to securing our long-term institutional growth.”
About the Institute for American Leadership
The Institute for American Leadership is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank committed to revitalizing U.S. soft power, strengthening democratic alliances, and countering foreign economic coercion and adversarial influence. Through peer-reviewed research, academic collaboration, and executive training pipelines, the Institute bridges the gap between strategic ideas and impactful policy implementation.
