Leslie J. Williams is a seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with extensive experience in founding and leading biotech companies.  Most recently, she was Co-Founder, President, and CEO of HC Bioscience,  pioneering engineered tRNA-based genetic medicines to address nonsense mutations responsible for 10-15% of all patients with genetic diseases.  Previously, Leslie was Founder and CEO of ImmusanT, advancing immunotherapies for autoimmune diseases. She has also served as CEO of Ventaira Pharmaceuticals, where she helped develop pulmonary drug delivery technology, and was a founding member of the team at INO Therapeutics, which developed a treatment for pulmonary hypertension.  Leslie has also served as a Venture Partner at Battelle Ventures. Leslie currently serves on the Board of Directors for Ocular Therapeutix (Nasdaq: OCUL), Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Make-A-Wish Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and CSCRI (Coral Sea Clinical Research Institute) as well as the Board of Advisors of Life Science Cares and the Editorial Advisory Board of Life Science Leader. She is also a founding Ambassador of BioBoost and a mentor at the GLG Institute.

Leslie holds a Master of Business Administration from Washington University, John Olin School of Business, where she initiated, built, and sold her first technology to Hewlett Packard. Before entering the biopharmaceutical industry, Leslie was a critical care nurse at Duke University, Medical College of Virginia, and the University of Iowa. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and nursing from the University of Iowa and was recognized by the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015. Leslie also served on the College of Pharmacy Board at the University of Iowa, which presented her with an Honorary Alumni Award in 2019.