CMOs Working Flexibly with Consultants and Fractional Expertise

Barbara Troupin is a serial Chief Medical Officer, C-suite/VC advisor, entrepreneur, and public-company independent board director. She currently sits on the Board and is member of the Nomination and Governance Committee for Equillium Bio (NASDAQ:EQ), is an Entrepreneur in Residence at UCSF assisting a founder in developing a gene editing company, and serves as an advisor to venture funds and emerging companies in the therapeutics space. Over her 20+ years as a life science executive, her roles have spanned Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Operations and Strategy functional areas, and she has worked at both private and public biotech or small pharma companies. She has a strong preference for emerging companies where she can have a real impact on corporate strategy and external narrative, decision making processes to drive internal clarity and effectiveness, and in setting a work culture which is engaged, empowered, and inclusive. She helps companies scale in a stage- and resource-appropriate manner focusing on best strategies for value creation. She holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. She has been a member of the Athena Alliance since 2018 and currently runs their Peer Group in the Life Sciences, was selected for the 2019 Women in Bio Boardroom Ready cohort and participated in Harvard’s executive education for Women on Life Science Boards. She is broadly curious, an avid mentor and connector, and values relationships where mutual learning and growth occurs.

Dr. Katz is currently Chief Medical Officer and SVP of Translational Research for Shinobi Therapeutics. He has more than 15 years of experience in clinical oncology leadership, immunotherapy translational science, and clinical development of immunotherapeutics, including cell therapy for solid tumors in the US and Japan. As a CMO, he has led multiple immunotherapy clinical trials, built immune correlative biospecimen programs, helped secure IND clearance for complex drug-device trials, helped secure a CMS reimbursement code for cancer therapeutic delivery procedures, and supported a Nasdaq listing. As a scientist, he has developed novel immunotherapy approaches for liver and pancreatic tumors, including cell therapy constructs and innovative combinatorial strategies. Two major areas of focus have been development of solutions for solid tumor microenvironment challenges and drug delivery barriers.He previously served as Chief Medical Officer for TriSalus Life Sciences, focused on developing novel immunotherapy approaches for liver and pancreas tumors, combining innovative delivery approaches with an innate immune stimulator. He maintains a part- time role as a surgical oncologist at Brown University. Dr. Katz attended the New York University School of Medicine, receiving the Alpha Omega Alpha Award for graduating with the top academic average in his class. He then completed his general surgery residency at the New York University Medical Center. Dr. Katz completed Fellowships in Immunology and Surgical Oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as the Chief Administrative Fellow. His overarching career goal is to develop novel cell therapy treatments for presently incurable solid tumors, and difficult to treat autoimmune diseases.

Jay Destino is the Vice President, Functional Service Provider (FSP) Solutions at BioPoint, Inc., where he drives strategic growth and innovation for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. With over a decade of experience at BioPoint, Jay has excelled in roles ranging from recruitment to leadership, leveraging his expertise to deliver tailored solutions in Clinical Development, Drug Safety, Regulatory Affairs, and beyond. He is dedicated to addressing complex challenges with scalable, flexible approaches, partnering with sponsor organizations to optimize resource allocation, reduce risk and enhance drug development processes. Jay's extensive skills include Business Development, RFP management, and consulting, supported by his technical background from Purdue University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Based in the Greater Boston Area, Jay combines analytical rigor with a passion for empowering innovation, fostering long-term partnerships with clients. His work exemplifies a hands-on approach to problem-solving, delivering measurable impact across life science organizations.

A Managing Director in WittKieffer’s Interim Leadership solution, George relies upon an extensive background in executive talent, strategic consulting, and talent advisory to inform his work. George is driven by his desire to identify creative leadership solutions for pharmaceutical and commercial healthcare clients that align with their strategic needs. He thoughtfully educates and partners with these firms for opportunities to leverage interim and on-demand leadership talent. George’s background includes broad and deep expertise in business development and commercial strategy for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to WittKieffer, he served as Senior Director of Client Development for a leading executive talent and consulting firm. In this role, he focused on acquiring new business in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, growing service offerings around interim and on- demand solutions. Before that, George was a Senior Partner managing Strategic Life Science Partnerships at an industry leading alternative legal service provider, partnering with in-house legal leaders to create innovative solutions for high-quality, on-demand legal talent and advising clients on cost-effective alternatives to traditional outside counsel. Additionally, George’s earlier career included managing interim solutions, managed services, and workforce transformation partnerships with Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and organizations within the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Diagnostic, Biotechnology, and Healthcare Provider industries.