Bergisch Gladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
I help pharma and biotech leaders navigate high-stakes situations where better decisions create disproportionate value. My background combines executive leadership in global pharma, biotech entrepreneurship, and hands-on operational experience across development, manufacturing, market access and organizational transformation. I have worked across international corporate, scale-up and founder environments in Europe, the US and Asia. In life sciences, critical outcomes are often shaped long before launch, through decisions on portfolio focus, evidence generation, operational readiness, cross-functional alignment and future market access. I work with leadership teams to bring clarity, momentum and execution in situations such as: • Portfolio prioritization and strategic resource allocation • Development programs requiring sharper decision pathways • Cross-functional alignment across R&D, CMC, regulatory and commercial • Growth, restructuring or transformation • Interim leadership during transition or scale-up phases • Investor, board or partner-facing strategic readiness My approach is practical and execution-oriented. I work closely with teams and stakeholders to turn complexity into decisions, and decisions into measurable progress. I work with clients directly and as Partner at Crowlight Partners, combining life sciences expertise with broader capabilities in negotiation, transformation and strategic execution. Available globally.
Crowlight Partners is a boutique advisory firm at the intersection of biotech, pharma, and investors. I help organizations translate scientific innovation into executable development and market pathways, supported by structured evaluation, negotiation advisory, and fractional leadership. What I do: • Translate innovation into clinical, regulatory, and market access strategies • Build and scale biotech ventures from concept to clinical and investor readiness • Lead structured evaluations (science, IP/FTO, CMC, clinical, regulatory, commercial) • Create Go/Fix/Stop decision frameworks and investment-ready strategies • Advise on negotiations (pricing, market access, partnerships, licensing) • Provide fractional/interim leadership (CEO/CDO) and cross-functional alignment • Integrate AI and analytics into development and evaluation • Guide global teams through strategy, execution, and change What makes Crowlight different: We combine C-level biotech company-building experience, global pharma execution, evaluation frameworks, negotiation blueprints, and Prosci change management to bring clarity and market orientation to complex decisions.
Independent Advisor Description: Through my independent advisory practice, I support biotech, pharma, and investors with the same core expertise that I bring to Crowlight: translational strategy, evidence-based development pathways, structured evaluation, and clarity in high-stakes decisions. I work directly with founders, boards, scientific leaders and investment teams when organisations require independent, rapid, senior-level support. Core focus: • Translational strategy (discovery → feasibility → evidence → approval readiness) • Evidence-based development logic integrating science, CMC, clinical & market access • Structured evaluation of scientific, clinical, operational and strategic feasibility • Rapid diagnosis of bottlenecks, risks, misalignments & organisational fragility • Investor-ready clarity for VCs, family offices & pharma BD teams • Strategic sparring for founders, CEOs and scientific leadership • Independent calibration of development plans, value narratives & evidence expectations Typical engagements: Interim CEO / CDO mandates Translational development design for early-stage ventures Independent due diligence and evaluation for investors Repairing or re-aligning stalled or misdirected programmes Supporting scientific-to-strategy alignment in founder teams I provide senior, neutral and practical advisory support — whether via my own practice or in close collaboration with Crowlight.
Translational Biotech Venture Program Mentoring academic and early-stage biotech founders on translational strategy, development readiness and early decision-making. Supporting teams at the interface of discovery, feasibility, evidence generation and value creation as they transition toward clinical development.
Biotech Executive & Interim Leader 2017 – 2024 Multiple biotech ventures incl. Cimeio, Exosla, Anokion, InterAx, CeCaVa, Vivet, Miltenyi, Seneb Bio (Switzerland, Germany, France, US) Summary: Focused on venture creation and leadership in biotech, stepping in as interim CEO/CDO, advisor, or co-founder. Active across cell & gene therapy, biologics, exosomes, cancer immunotherapy, and GPCR AI driven drug discovery, with emphasis on fundraising, pipeline building, and pharma deal-making. Selected Impact: Cimeio Therapeutics (Basel) — CEO, Contributed to company build-up, Series A positioning, and investor outreach. Anokion (Lausanne) — CDO, Supported tolerogenic therapy strategy; engaged in pharma negotiations. Exosla (Germany) — Interim CEO, advanced exosome therapy platform and investor readiness. Vivet Therapeutics (Paris) — CDO, Supported rare disease gene therapy programs, aligned with pharma collaboration. CeCaVa (Germany) — CEO, cancer vaccine venture, established early R&D partnerships. InterAx Biotech (Switzerland) — CDO, advanced GPCR AI driven drug discovery programs, built KOL network and disease area selection Miltenyi Biotec (Germany) — Led strategic projects in cell therapy innovation and manufacturing. Seneb Bio (US) — Advisory Board Member; supported company building in rare disease. Results Across Roles: Raised €110M+ in capital across multiple ventures. Negotiated option and licensing deals with Big Pharma companies. Advanced pipeline transitions from preclinical to clinical in innovative modalities. Built and led cross-border, high-stakes biotech teams.
Global Pharma Leadership (Novartis, Baxter) 1999 – 2016 Switzerland / Global Summary: Held senior leadership roles in global drug development, biologics, and specialty pharma at Novartis and Baxter. Combined strategic portfolio leadership at Novartis with operational leadership at Baxter, building expertise across R&D, clinical development, regulatory pathways, and market access. Selected Impact: Novartis (Tokyo) — therapeutic area head, led the first global clinical trial launched from Japan, coordinating multinational teams and setting a precedent for cross-regional drug development Novartis (Basel)— biologics franchise head, led biologics, cell & gene therapy programs, development strategies, managing global project teams and regulatory submissions. Business development, CMC biologics, cell & gene therapies Baxter — (unit head), Oversaw manufactuing development (GMP), manufacturing improvements, and launch operations in specialty pharma; managed international teams and supply chain readiness. Contributed to strategic portfolio decisions, pipeline prioritization, and external partnerships. Results: Delivered multiple late-stage programs to pivotal milestones. Navigated global regulatory and market access challenges across EU, US, Japan and emerging markets. Built reputation as a bridge-builder between science, development, and commercial functions.