What does it really take to move from an executive operating role into consulting—and which consulting model is right for you? Our discussion will feature accomplished life sciences leaders who have made the transition through distinctly different paths: working independently, building a boutique firm, creating a platform for other consultants, and joining an established global consultancy.

Our panelists will share how they chose their paths, what they had to adapt after leaving operator roles, and which challenges aspiring consultants often underestimate. Find out more about how consultants build their client base, where opportunities come from, and how today’s shifting life sciences environment is affecting demand for external expertise. Learn what consulting looks like from the inside—including whether it becomes a long-term career or a bridge back to an operating role.

Disclaimer: This event may be recorded. If so, your image and/or voice may be a part of that recording. If you do not wish for your image to be included, please turn off your camera.

Program

12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Welcome & Introductions
12:15 p.m. – 12:40 p.m.  Moderated Discussion
12:40 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.  Audience Q&A
12:55 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Closing Remarks

Speaker Bios

Brandi Davis-Dusenbery, PhD, Principal at ZS

Brandi leads ZS's Research and Translational Sciences team, helping clients create measurable scientific and business impact through data and technology. Before joining ZS, she served as CEO and Chief Science Officer of Seven Bridges (now Velsera), where she led development of a biomedical data platform used by NIH institutes and leading pharmaceutical companies. Her expertise spans bioinformatics, cloud computing, genomics, oncology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular research. Recognized among the Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare Software and as an Extraordinary Woman Advancing Healthcare, she has spent her career putting technology to work on hard problems in medicine.

Lucia Mokres, DVM, Chair, Executive Women In Bio at WIB-San Francisco Bay Area
Moderator

Moriah K. Nachbaur, Founder and CEO of MKN Biotech

Moriah is the Founder and CEO of MKN Biotech, Inc., a biopharmaceutical consultancy delivering fractional leadership and expertise in corporate strategy, global product development, and CEO- and Board-level decision-making. Moriah brings a comprehensive approach to company building and value creation, informed by 20+ years of experience spanning 13 functions, all phases of product development, and diverse company stages. She has held roles at companies ranging from top-tier multinational to mid-sized publicly traded to Series A-D startup, including Pricing Strategy Manager at Genentech (C-Suite facing), SVP Product Development at Coherus BioSciences, COO at Retromer Therapeutics, CBO at Elixirgen Therapeutics, CBO at Pheast Therapeutics, and C-Suite Advisor at Soley Therapeutics, Impel Pharmaceuticals, and numerous confidential clients. Since founding MKN Biotech in 2019, Moriah has expanded the business in two dimensions. First, she added a vetted SME Network that delivers integrated, specialty capabilities on client projects. Second, she created a business infrastructure platform that enables independent consultants to reinvest their knowledge in the industry without assuming the overhead of small business ownership. Moriah holds an AB in biochemical sciences from Harvard University and a Graduate Certificate in Product Creation and Innovative Manufacturing from Stanford.

Kaycia Wilde, PhD

Kaycia is a global clinical development operations executive with over 25 years' experience, including the development of cell therapy, immunotherapy, and other oncology and non-oncology products. For the past three years, Kaycia has been working as an independent consultant in clinical development operations, inspection readiness, and process and SOP development. Previously, Kaycia was VP, Clinical Operations at Zymeworks Inc and prior to that was SVP Operations at Kartos Therapeutics. Prior to joining Kartos, Kaycia was Head of Clinical Operations Europe at Kite Pharma, where she built, developed, and managed the Clinical Operations and Logistics teams through the development and successful European approval of Yestarta®, as well as supporting the US team through the US development and inspection readiness. Before this, she held leadership positions in both Clinical Operations and Training, Quality and Standards at AstraZeneca, Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Amgen. Kaycia received her BSc in physiology and PhD in cardiac physiology from the University of Leeds, UK.

Greta Wodarcyk, PhD, Co-Founder and Principal of CatalystBio

Greta is a scientist and biotech executive with expertise bridging product development, preclinical/toxicology, CMC, and clinical operations with a record of successful regulatory filings and clinical operational efficiency. Currently, Greta is a Co-Founder and Principal of CatalystBio, a Global Life Sciences Advisory Firm dedicated to moving first-in-class, first-in-kind technologies off the bench and into the clinic. Prior to co-founding CatalystBio, Greta was the Sr. Director of Clinical Operations and Program Development at COUR Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw COUR’s platform product development and pipeline and led the company’s IND and clinical operations efforts. During her tenure at COUR, Greta opened four INDs and built out COUR’s internal clinical operations capabilities for executing early-phase studies. Before joining COUR, Greta was a post-doc at Northwestern University, where she worked in novel chemoprevention drug development and led several multi-disciplinary, translational research projects. Her peer-reviewed publications appeared in top-tier scientific journals such as Nature Biomedical Engineering and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Greta obtained her doctorate in biological sciences at Northwestern University, where she focused on the nanoscale epigenetic structure-function relationship of chromatin in cancer cell chemoevasion and the development of strategies to physiochemically target chromatin structure as a means of increasing chemotherapeutic efficacy. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from St. Olaf College.

Pricing Information

Register by September 15

• Members: $10
• Non-Members*: N/A (members-only)

Register after September 15

• Members: $20
• Non-Members*: N/A (members-only)

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