Edward Bjurstrom
PRESIDENT & CO-FOUNDER
Ed Bjurstrom is the President & Co-Founder of CompassioNow, along with his wife, Wendy. Ed and Wendy established CompassioNow in 2006 after visiting rural villages in Africa during life-changing trips there in 2002 and 2004. On their visits, they found many people not only suffering from HIV/AIDs, but also many who were in great need of the most basic healthcare services. Ed has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years. He was moved by seeing people suffering from a lack of simple medicine and basic first aid.
Ed retired from Gilead Sciences in 2023, where he worked for 12 years, overseeing the company’s Southern California commercial manufacturing operation. Gilead Sciences is a global pharmaceutical company that specializes in treatments for infectious diseases, HIV AIDS, and cancer treatments. He has a unique perspective on the healthcare needs of developing countries and has traveled to Africa over a dozen times in the last 20 years.
In addition to serving as the Chairman of the CompassioNow Board, he is a Board member of the International Leadership Foundation, Blackaby Ministries International, and Intercessors for America. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from California State University, Long Beach, and completed the Executive Business Program at the University of Michigan.