Ins & Outs: Resilience, AGC, Sartorius ride the CEO carousel

A new year, a new leader – National Resilience has welcomed William Marth as president and CEO just in time for the festive season! He succeeded co-founder Rahul Singhvi, who has been at the helm since its inception in 2020.  

Marth has served the San Diego, California-based firm as president of services and chief operating officer (COO) since October 2023, and will now oversee its pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial programs. 

“It’s an honor to assume the role of CEO at Resilience,” Marth said. “Since joining the company, I’ve been continually inspired by the dedication of our employees and their commitment to delivering excellence to our customers. As CEO, I will maintain our unwavering focus on customer orientation, manufacturing high-quality products, and being a reliable partner to our clients.”  

At Resilience, a biopharma services firm – effectively a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) – focused on a range of modalities – Marth brings over two decades of c-suite experience. Prior to joining Resilience, he served as the CEO of Curia Global, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. His most recent stint outside of Resilience took him to the boardroom of Massachusetts-based CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals.  

In October 2024, the CDMO made waves by naming Susan Billings as COO, after throwing open the doors to its Boston, Massachusetts plant, acquired back in 2021. Taking the baton from Marth, Billings will lead Resilience’s commercial organization, focusing on brand building, revenue growth, and market expansion.  

AGC Biologics  

Alberto Santagostino has assumed leadership of the CDMO as the president and CEO. He takes over the reins from Patricio Massera, who bade farewell to the firm after a 12 year tenure in June 2024.  

Santagostino joined AGC after heading fellow CDMO Lonza’s cell and gene therapy (CGT) division as its senior vice president for six years. Under his leadership, Lonza’s CGT business advanced four new therapies, and led to three CGT biomanufacturing sites becoming licensed for commercial supply. Apart from AGC, he serves as a board member for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM).  

“I am excited to announce Alberto is joining us to lead AGC Biologics and to set the tone for the coming years. We share the common vision of service, delivery and quality that is at the core of AGC Group’s business philosophy,” said Murano.  

“I am confident Alberto will bring both a wide knowledge of the biopharma industry and the experience of successfully leading growth at scale. He will enhance AGC Biologics’ reputation as an increasingly preferable CDMO in the industry.”  

Sartorius  

Stepping into the shoes of Joachim Kreuzburg, Michael Grosse is set to take charge as the CEO of Sartorius starting July 1, 2025.  

After heading the firm for 20 years, Kreuzburg announced his departure from the firm in July 2024. As his current tenure with the firm expires in November 2025, Kreuzberg did not renew his contract. He joined the German bioprocess vendor in 1999 and was appointed to the executive board in 2003. During his term, Sartorius’ sales increased sevenfold, and profits stood at €1 billion. With over 14,000 employees, the Group’s stock market value increased to over €17 billion.  

“In the coming months, we will work together with all our energy to ensure that the company continues to develop more innovatively, faster, and more profitably than the competition. I am pleased that in Mr. Grosse such a convincing personality has been found as my successor,” Joachim Kreuzburg said.  

Bringing two decades of experiences, Grosse has been the chairman of the board and CEO of packaging firm Syntegon Technology. From packaging to precision engineering, he has worked at Tetra Pak, BMW, and Ford.  

“Sartorius is a strongly positioned company in one of the most relevant industries of the future. The company has a powerful mission, and I look very much forward to contributing to the progress in the biopharma industry with this successful team in a few months’ time,” Grosse added.