Changing Faces: Digital and supplier hires from March 2024

We’re back with another hires round-up for digital health companies and pharma suppliers. There was plenty of action across the sector in March.

New leadership at Hoboken CRO. Genesis Research Group, a Hoboken, New Jersey-based global research organisation with a focus on real-world evidence, welcomed David W. Miller as its new chairman and CEO. His 25-year background includes senior roles at Biogen, Elan, and GSK. Miller steps into the role vacated by founder Frank Corvino, who will stay aboard as vice chairman and senior advisor of corporate development and strategy.

C-Suite shake-up at Quotient. Quotient Sciences, a UK drug development and manufacturing accelerator, bolstered its team with three C-Suite appointments. Dr Andrew Lewis is taking up the role of chief scientific officer after eight years with the company; Kieron Hall was promoted to chief marketing officer after 16 years with the company; and new hire Eric Bironneau is joining as chief business officer. He brings over 20 years of experience, including VP roles at Axplora and Novasep.

New faces at AI drug discovery shops. BenevolentAI saw Dr James Malone step into the role of chief technology officer, following leadership stints at Logically.ai, BenchSci, and SciBite. He replaces Dr Daniel Neil, who is leaving the company after seven years for personal reasons. Meanwhile, at Philadelphia’s BioPhy, Scott Kobayashi is in as SVP of sales. He previously founded life sciences consulting firm Delta Project Management and has worked with Pfizer and Genentech.

Three more C-Suite changes. Several pharma vendors made appointments to their C-Suite on the business side.

• California’s PicnicHealth, which supports pharma companies with patient engagement and real-world evidence, appointed Rachael Thomas Higgins, who served as VP of commercial science at CorEvitas, through its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific, as chief commercial officer.
• Nuclera, a Cambridge, UK company with a platform for rapid protein expression and purification, appointed Joseph Bertelsen as chief commercial officer. Bertelsen previously served as director of commercialisation at the Institute for Protein Innovation.
• Data analysis software vendor Seqera welcomed Melinda Pautsch into the role of chief revenue officer. Pautsch recently spent over a decade building and leading Medidata’s MedTech market segment.

Cambridge CRO builds up leadership team. Metrion Biosciences in Cambridge announced a slew of internal promotions and new hires. Clare Rutty was promoted to chief finance officer; Sue Peffer, with a background at Cresset and Capsugel, is in as head of marketing; and Leanne Clarke, another new hire, joins as HR officer.

Other mid-level appointments. We saw several other notable hires outside the C-Suite at a variety of organisations.

• Bringing 27 years of diverse experience at West Pharmaceutical, Jennifer Riter joined Kindeva Drug Delivery as vice president of analytical services. The US-based global CDMO focuses on drug-device combination products.
• CRO Catawba Research in Charlotte, North Carolina appointed Julie Arnold, who previously held key roles at Elligo Health Research and Syneos Health, as head of project management.
• Elemental Machines, an Internet of Things tech vendor for pharma labs and manufacturing centres, welcomed Rob Estrella, previously global head of sales at Science 37, to lead its global sales team as senior vice president.
• Biocair, a US-based global life sciences logistics specialist, announced the hiring of Jeff Stone as US General Manager. Stone brings a diverse background working for CDMOs, specialty logistics, and private equity.

A few Board changes. Finally, just a few notable Board of Director changes crossed the wire this month.

• Jean-Jacques Bienaimé, former BioMarin CEO, who led a major period of growth for the company, has joined the Board of Directors at Owkin, a TechBio unicorn using AI for a range of functions, including drug development, improving clinical trials, and diagnostics.
• Peter Soelkner, the current managing director at Vetter Pharma, has been appointed as a non-executive director at Oxford Biomedica. The company specialises in cell and gene therapy-focused contract development and manufacturing.
• Cellevate, Swedish manufacturers of nanomaterials to support cell and gene therapies, announced Dr Uwe Gottschalk, winner of the Bioprocessing Lifetime Achievement award for early work on antibody-drug conjugates, as its new Chairman of the Board.

That’s it for this round-up. Remember, if you’ve had a recent appointment and you work in or around the pharma space, we want to hear about it. Please send your press releases to editorial@pharmaphorum.com to be included in future editions of Changing Faces.