Ins & Outs: C-suite rejigs at two CDMOs, a vendor, and a biopharma mogul

Bioprocess vendor Avantor has appointed Corey Walker as the president of Avantor's laboratory solutions business. Walker succeeds Randy Stone and will be reporting to CEO Michael Stubblefield.

“Corey's deep knowledge of our end markets and industry, coupled with his familiarity with our organization and customers, makes him the ideal leader for our laboratory solutions business,” said Stubblefield. “We are very excited to welcome Corey back to Avantor to advance our business transformation and accelerate our growth strategy.”

Walker returns to Avantor after leading ILC Dover as its CEO. He previously served as Avantor’s executive vice president between 2016 and 2020.

“I have always had great respect for Michael and the company, and I look forward to partnering with the team to enhance the customer experience, accelerate our transformation, and drive growth,” said Walker.

Veranova

Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Veranova has appointed Cécile Maupas as senior vice president and chief commercial officer (CCO). Maupas will join the executive team and head various portfolios including business development, marketing, project management, commercial operations, and product management.

“I’m delighted to have Cécile join the Veranova team as our chief commercial officer,” said Mike Riley, CEO of Veranova. “Her expertise and track record in building and growing businesses will be invaluable as Veranova continues to execute our strategy.”

With over a decade of industry experience, Maupas has previously worked at GE Healthcare Life Sciences and Novasep, Pierre Fabre, Sanofi Active Ingredient Solutions, and EuroAPI.

Oxford Biomedica

CDMO Oxford Biomedica has appointed Lucinda Crabtree as its chief financial officer (CFO) and a member of the board. She will succeed Stuart Paynter, who will step down as CFO and from the board after almost seven years.

“On behalf of the corporate executive team, I am delighted to welcome Lucy to Oxford Biomedica,” said Frank Mathias, CEO, Oxford Biomedica. “Her unique skillset will be immensely valuable to us as we enter the next phase of our growth as a pure-play CDMO. I would also like to warmly thank Stuart for his dedicated service to OXB.”

Crabtree has previously served as the CFO of MorphoSys and Autolus Therapeutics. Before her time at Autolus, she worked in investment at various firms including Woodford Investment Management, Panmure Gordon, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Jefferies. She is also an experienced board observer.

“I look forward to working with Frank and the senior leadership team alongside the Board, as we continue to execute on this integrated strategy and continue our growth in the backdrop of a rapidly expanding cell and gene therapy market,” said Crabtree.

The appointment will come into effect on 2 September 2024.

Gilead

After heading the firm since 2019, California-based Gilead Sciences has announced the departure of its chief medical officer (CMO) Merdad Parsey.

“On behalf of everyone at Gilead, I want to thank Merdad for his significant contributions as our CMO over the last five years. These were pivotal years for the company as we worked to strengthen and diversify the portfolio, and Merdad played a fundamental role in our success,” said Daniel O’Day, chairman and CEO at Gilead.

“We have more than doubled our portfolio under Merdad’s leadership, and with 54 ongoing clinical trials across virology, oncology, and inflammation, we are well positioned to build on our success for the future.”

During his tenure, Parsey led the firm’s global clinical development and medical affairs organizations. He also supervised Gilead’s oncology pipeline and therapeutics.

“It has been a privilege to lead the development team, especially as we have worked to deliver transformative medicines for people,” said Parsey.

“I am profoundly excited about the work we have done to build a strong, diverse clinical pipeline that has tremendous potential to deliver on our commitment to improve health for people around the world.”

Although the firm has yet to announce a successor, Parsey will step down from the position in the first quarter of 2025.