Member of the M&D senior leadership team, influencing M&D strategic planning globally (3,200 employees, $1.4 billion annual budget) with C-Suite peers with additional responsibility for optimising the performance and value of the M&D Strategy & Operations division, shaping/leading a digital excellence & data strategy, and driving transformation/change projects to continually improve performance, managing 6 direct & 140 indirect reports across the UK/Europe, APAC, and the US.Key achievements• Led the creation and execution of M&D’s vision and 3-year strategic plan to drive sustainable business transformation, accelerate asset development and deliver 12 first subjects dosed, 3 proof of concepts and 9 approvals in 3 years by critically evaluating future capability needs across functions, identifying key gaps and implementing projects to address these whilst optimising organisational efficiency and effectiveness.• Transformed and implemented a new R&D operating model to accelerate and maximise the portfolio's value by defining critical asset needs, empowering asset teams and driving effective collaboration between Research and M&D teams.• Redesigned and transformed M&D Strategy & Operations to establish the division as an engine & essential business partner for the global M&D organisation to drive strategic initiatives, bring value & accelerate the delivery of medicines to patients. • Built and motivated a future-fit leadership team (5 executive directors and a VP) to enhance divisional value to the wider organisation, by redefining key roles and critical capabilities & identifying and recruiting top talent, improved staff retention and increased engagement scores by 10points in 12 months.• Improved efficiency across M&D, increasing visibility, knowledge transfer & insights by using technology in a smart way, shaping/leading implementation of a digital excellence & data strategy.

Held newly created global strategic transformation & Operational Excellence roles as Executive Director Global Medical Operations, Global Medical Affairs (MA) in 2014, then VP Operational Excellence, Medical Affairs (MA) in 2017 reporting to the SVP Medical Affairs, managing >$350 million annual budget, 7 direct/45 indirect reports/140 region/affiliate-based operational excellence resources. Key achievements• Transformed and restructured MA to create a best-in-class organisation by strengthening the integrated operational platform globally, harmonising quality standards and systems, and realigning matrix relationships across a 900-strong organisation.• Pioneered the execution of an Operational Change strategy to create and cascade SOPs & Global Standards for Astellas' regional MA community, including a Risk Framework, IT systems, processes & standards for publications, phase IIIb/IV studies, ROI, ISRs, Medical Education, Advisory Boards, and Scientific Exchange by partnering with key cross-functional stakeholders and external experts.• Built, developed, and performance managed a new functional team of 5 direct reports/20 indirect across key capabilities of digital standards, project management, metrics, process, learning & training by co-creating a vision, deliverables, and KPIs to cascade change to 900 employees. • Collaborated with Data Sciences and IT/IS to adopt systems ($25M Capex) and improve the transparency of data generated in MA, including the creation & maintenance of repositories for Phase IV studies, ISRs, Med Ed Grants, Advisory Boards, ensuring value generated from insights was understood and clearly communicated.• Drove cost efficiency/effectiveness programmes to align with the principle of ‘doing more with less’ by ensuring smart & efficient partnering and determining the optimal balance of in-house vs. outsourced needs based on demands, operational requirements, essentiality, and cost.

Joined pre-merger of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. & Fujisawa Pharmaceutical to form Astellas (2005) as a Senior Clinical Trials Manager, promoted to Director Clinical Trials MAE in 2007 and Senior Director Late Phase Clinical Development & Operations, Medical Affairs Europe in 2010. Accountable for strategic leadership, management, risk/governance, and fiscal responsibility of Clinical Operations & Development in Europe and globally, including £multi-mill company-sponsored late-phase study portfolio and investigator-initiated trials (IITs), managing 12 direct/31 indirect reports across the UK & Europe and 140 affiliate-based clinical research resources.Key achievements• Transformed and enhanced the late-phase trial delivery model to accelerate timelines and optimise costs by working with leaders/teams to embed more efficient ways of working with affiliate networks and driving operational excellence.• Spearheaded the centralisation of R&D teams and projects from locations in Europe to MAE in the UK, delivering significant cost savings (~20% annual cost reduction) while managing risks by working with 22 affiliates and associated vendors, consolidating ways of working and embedding operational processes & standards.

Early career as a Senior CRA, then Clinical Programme Manager at Takeda, leading phase I & II trials, creating clinical development plans, designing multi-national studies, and collaborating with statisticians, medics, international programme leaders, and KOLs.