CDMO Career Stories

In this episode Charlie Bexon sits down with Dimitri Woronoff, Co-Founder and CEO of White Raven, to discuss his career, craft and his read on where the industry is heading. Recorded at DCAT Week in New York, Dimitri explains why he started a CDMO focused on small-batch aseptic filling, and how White Raven went from closing its funding in June 2023 to a GMP-certified site in Liège in around 18 months. He talks about building a 20-person team from scratch, why startup mindset matters more than hard skills, how to grow without taking on more projects than the team can deliver, and the best career advice he has received: a leader's job is to make themselves as useless as possible. CDMO Career Stories is part of the Metric Podcast Network.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with Elena Erroba, Group Chief Commercial Officer at 3PBIOVIAN, to discuss her career, craft and her read on where the industry is heading. Recorded at BIO 2026 in San Diego, Elena explains how she swapped a PhD in biomedicine for business development, helped shape 3P Biopharmaceuticals in Pamplona into a CDMO from its earliest days, and now leads around 40 people across business development, program management and marketing following the combination with Turku-based Biovian. She also covers why US biotechs are looking again at European partners, the PM Academy that turns scientists into program managers who own the account, how she keeps a remote BD team aligned, and what she has learned about hiring for values over CVs. CDMO Career Stories is part of the Metric Podcast Network.

In this episode Charlie Bexon sits down with Adriana Kiędzierska-Mencfeld, CEO of Rezon Bio, to discuss her career, craft and her read on where the industry is heading. Recorded in San Diego, Adriana explains how Rezon Bio was formed when Polpharma Biologics split its biosimilars and CDMO businesses. The split gave the sites in Gdańsk and Warsaw a new focus: serving other drug developers. She reflects on the moves that shaped her, from academia to industry and from clinical development to commercialization, and on why she has always seen leadership as creating the conditions for others to grow. The conversation covers balancing autonomy with control, and why she now hires for ownership, adaptability and pragmatism ahead of pure expertise. It also covers the shortage of regulatory, manufacturing and quality talent in biotech, long notice periods, and the traits leaders will need through 2026 and 2027. CDMO Career Stories is part of the Metric Podcast Network.

In this episode Alex Alves Khan sits down with Ilya Koltover, President of Minaris Advanced Testing, a contract testing laboratory headquartered in Philadelphia, to discuss his career, craft and his read on where the industry is heading. Ilya joined the business as chief transformation officer before stepping up to president a few months ago. He talks about leading a testing laboratory through change, why grit matters more than polish, and why he believes comfort with uncertainty is the defining leadership trait going into 2027. What we cover: From transformation officer to president, and the value of knowing a business before you lead it. Why saying yes to opportunities has shaped his whole career. Grit as a business skill, and the honesty required on the harder days. Choosing the difficult brief, from turnarounds to building something new. Value for money, consolidation, regionalisation and a shifting mix of modalities. What the founding story of Genentech teaches about thinking like an owner. CDMO Career Stories is part of the Metric Podcast Network.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with David McErlane, Group President of the Biologics Division at Catalent, to discuss his career, craft and his read on where the industry is heading. Recorded in San Diego, David talks through 30 years in large molecule manufacturing, the patient story in 2002 that set the direction of his career, and the advice that made him stop taking opportunities as they came and start building deliberately. We cover: The T-shaped career and the three things you need to run a business Why he hires builders, not operators, and the cost of getting that wrong What he looks for beyond the CV: values-based decisions, judgment, change agility Where the CDMO talent constraint really sits, and why it is people not capital AI as augmentation, Catalent's QAI deviation tool, and what it means for hiring CDMO Career Stories is part of the Metric Podcast Network.

In this episode Charlie Bexon sits down with Angelika Rublack, Global Head of Business Development at IDT Biologika, to discuss her career, craft and her read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with Jordi Robinson, CDMO Commercial Leader, to discuss his career, craft and his read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Alex Alves-Khan sits down with Nicholas Shackley, CEO at Gannet BioChem to discuss his career, craft and read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with Javier Lopez Belmonte, Vice Chairman of Rovi Group and Chief Executive Officer at ROIS, to discuss his career, craft and read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Alex Alves-Khan sits down with Amar Karandikar, Senior VP Business Development at Aragen, to discuss his career, craft and read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with Marie Leblanc, Executive Vice President of Life Sciences at Biosynth, to discuss her career, craft and her read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with Dirk Lange, CEO of Pyramid Pharma Services, to discuss his career, craft and his read on where the industry is heading.

In this episode Sam McElroy sits down with Nigel Walker, Founder of That's Nice, to discuss his career, craft and his read on where the industry is heading.