CAMBRIDGE, MA (Thursday, March 27, 2025) — Today, MassBio announced the appointment of six executives with deep ties within the life sciences industry to the organization’s Board of Directors. These board members, who were formally approved at Wednesday’s MassBio State of Possible Conference, will direct and support MassBio’s mission of accelerating breakthroughs that enhance patient lives through strategic cost-saving initiatives, robust business partnerships, educational and networking opportunities, and proactive advocacy.
“What makes Massachusetts the best place in the world for the life sciences is that you have all the players right here to find success in bringing a treatment to patients, and MassBio’s Board of Directors consistently reflects that winning cross-section in its membership,” said MassBio CEO and President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell. “With these six new members we’re not just adding to the biotech, pharma, and techbio perspectives on the board, we’re bringing in leaders of life sciences practices at global law and management firms with long careers advising people and teams in this industry. I welcome each to the board and look forward to working closely with them as MassBio continues to implement our Vision 2030 strategic plan.”
The six industry leaders joining the Board of Directors this year are:
- Brian M. Alexander, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Executive Officer | Valo Health; CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering
- Keira Driansky, Executive Vice President, President of North America | Ipsen
- Andrew Kaplan, Senior Vice President, U.S. Public Affairs | Takeda
- Danielle Lauzon, Partner, Co-Chair, Life Sciences M&A | Goodwin
- Lucy Pérez, Senior Partner | McKinsey & Co.
- Leslie Williams, Co-Founder and former CEO | HC Bioscience
In addition to the new members, the Executive Committee roster has been updated:
- Chair: Tamar Thompson, Vice President, Head, Corporate Affairs, Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease
- Vice Chair: Jeff Elton, Chief Executive Officer, ConcertAI
- Treasurer: Mike O’Hara, Partner, Deloitte
- Clerk: Jason Cole, Stealth Newco
- Counsel: Danielle Lauzon, Partner, Goodwin*
- Immediate Past Chair: Pam Randhawa, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Empiriko
* New for 2025
“As a global leader in the life sciences, Massachusetts has long been at the forefront of biotech, but today’s global challenges are unprecedented and require resilience and action,” said MassBio Chair of the Board, Tamar Thompson. “To realize the goal of a more equitable, prosperous, and innovative biotech landscape, and for us to maintain the Commonwealth’s status as a global leader in this field, we must embrace risks and push boundaries to continue driving our industry and our health care ecosystem forward.”
At the end of last year, MassBio unveiled its five-year strategic plan, Vision 2030, a framework outlining a series of ambitious goals to further Massachusetts’ status as the world’s premier life sciences hub. The Board of Directors played an essential role throughout the research and planning process for Vision 2030, and MassBio will leverage the Board’s breadth of knowledge and talents to execute the plan’s priority initiatives.
About the New Board Members
Brian M. Alexander, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Executive Officer | Valo Health; CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering
Dr. Brian Alexander, MD, MPH, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Valo Health, a company dedicated to utilizing artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to learn from patient experiences and accelerate the discovery and development of superior medicines at increased speed and scale. Additionally, he holds the position of CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering. Before his tenure at Valo Health and Flagship Pioneering, Dr. Alexander was the Senior Vice President for Research & Development at Roche/Genentech, where he integrated data science and AI/ML methodologies into innovative clinical development strategies. He also held the role of Chief Executive Officer at Foundation Medicine, where he worked toward transforming cancer care through the application of molecular information to improve clinical decision-making and therapeutic development. Dr. Alexander co-founded the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research and was the inaugural director of the Harvard/MIT Center for Regulatory Science. His academic contributions include serving as an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and practicing as a radiation oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Keira Driansky, Executive Vice President, President of North America | Ipsen
Keira serves as Executive Vice President and President of North America for Ipsen. Keira leads the company’s business units in the region and has strategic oversight of all functional operations in both the U.S. and Canada. Keira also serves as a member of Ipsen’s Executive Leadership Team. Keira joined Ipsen from AstraZeneca, where she spent 13 years leading teams across the United States, Europe and global functions. She served as Country President for Belgium and Luxembourg, where she oversaw 14 launches across various therapeutic areas — leading AZ to become the fastest growing pharma company in Belgium. Previously, she served as VP, Global Commercial Head for Tagrisso across more than 90 countries. She also spent more than five years in AZ’s U.S. Oncology business leading multiple sales and marketing teams through six launches. A former science researcher, Keira brings broad experience from across the healthcare industry, from commercial leadership to healthcare investing and business development. (Full Bio)
Andrew Kaplan, Senior Vice President, U.S. Public Affairs | Takeda
Andrew G. Kaplan currently serves as Senior Vice President of U.S. Public Affairs for Takeda and is a member of the U.S. Business Unit’s Executive Leadership Team and Global Public Affairs Leadership Team. In this role, Andrew oversees Takeda’s government affairs, third party engagement, public policy and reimbursement activities in the United States. He also leads Takeda’s U.S. Community Health work. Before joining Takeda, Andrew worked for AbbVie where he led their Washington, D.C., Office and served as Vice President of Federal Government Affairs. Prior to his time at AbbVie, Andrew spent eight years at AstraZeneca in a variety of Corporate Affairs roles. Before entering the pharmaceutical industry, Andrew spent 12 years working in local, state and national political campaigns, including two Presidential Campaigns, U.S. Senate races, and a variety of campaigns for Congress and Governor.
Danielle Lauzon, Partner, Co-Chair, Life Sciences M&A | Goodwin
Danielle Lauzon is a partner in Goodwin’s Technology and Life Sciences groups, co-chair of the Life Sciences M&A practice, and leader of the firm’s Business Law department in Boston. Danielle advises privately-held and publicly-traded companies across the company life-cycle, including formation and founder matters, venture capital and growth equity financings, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, carve-out transactions, SEC compliance and corporate governance. In addition, Danielle represents venture capital and private equity firms in connection with their investments in emerging growth and later-stage companies. Danielle’s practice focuses on the life sciences and healthcare sectors, including biotechnology, medical devices, digital health, healthcare IT, health & wellness and women’s health.
Lucy Pérez, Senior Partner | McKinsey & Co.
Lucy Pérez is a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company’s Boston office and a leader of the Life Sciences practice, advising CEOs and teams at leading organizations globally on growth strategy, innovation, sustainability, and organizational transformation. Lucy is especially passionate about advancements in science and technology, which are transforming patient care delivery and outcomes. A former cancer researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, she brings a strong technical background to her work with organizations across the healthcare sector. Lucy leads the health equity portfolio for the McKinsey Health Institute, and has spearheaded multiple partnerships to advance health equity, including a collaboration with the World Economic Forum to assess the economic impact of investing in women’s health. This seminal research garnered more than 600 media mentions in the first month since launch and was recognized with a Presidential Award from the American Medical Women’s Association. Beyond her work at McKinsey, Lucy is a board member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and sits on the advisory board for the Aspen Institute’s Latinos in Society program and the Women’s Health Innovation Summit. Lucy was elected one of Amplify LatinX’s inaugural LatinX 100 Leaders and named one of ALPFA’s 50 Most Powerful Latinas in 2023. (Full Bio)
Leslie Williams, Co-Founder and former CEO | HC Bioscience
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. (Full Bio)
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About MassBio
MassBio is the driving force behind Massachusetts’ life sciences ecosystem, supporting innovation and industry growth by offering best-in-class resources to over 1,700 member organizations at all stages of the biopharma lifecycle. Founded in 1985, MassBio aspires to extend Massachusetts’ impact as the global center of excellence in biomedical breakthroughs. Through strategic cost-saving initiatives, robust business partnerships, educational and networking opportunities, and proactive advocacy, MassBio empowers its members to launch the next generation of medical advancements to deliver the cures and therapies that enhance patient lives. www.massbio.org