BELS Brief Chats podcast

The son of a military man, David Ebsworth was educated at Duke of York’s Royal Military School, where his A levels included German and Chemistry. At the University of Surrey, he earned a double honours degree covering both subjects, and then a PhD, looking at industrial relations in the German and UK chemical industries. Following an interesting, successful, diverse career in pharma and biotech, David currently manages a portfolio career focused on the UK and Europe. He chairs four of the five

Karen Akinsanya PhD is President of R&D, Therapeutics at Schrödinger. This followed leadership positions at Merck & Co and at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Raised initially in Bristol and then in the suburbs of Surrey, in this episode of BELS Brief Chats, Karen shares her roots in our sector, undoubtedly stimulated by the healthcare and scientific backgrounds of her parents, especially her father bequeathing to her at a young age his wooden microscope. She received her BSc in biochemistry from Queen

From humble beginnings in Edinburgh, Martin Mackay PhD’s lifelong passion for football and his beloved Heart of Midlothian, allied to a total fascination with the ‘coolness’ of lab coats, were parlayed into a hugely impressive career, including major research leadership roles at industry titans such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Alexion. Now, “having a blast” in the world of biotech with Rallybio, he still also exerts his influence and experience on big corporates via board seats at Novo Nordisk an

Dr Gillian Cannon currently serves on multiple boards and in an executive role at Roivant as Head of Commercial Innovation. Her 30-year career has included leadership roles in major pharma including Merck & Co, UCB and Otsuka Pharma. She hails from Newcastle, received her BSc from Edinburgh University and earned her PhD in Health Administration at Temple University. While Gillian resides in Princeton, New Jersey, she generously shares her expertise, experience, perspectives, and time with organi

Will Harvey, MPhil, BA, PhD—When we recorded this episode of BELS Brief Chats, Will was a Professor of Leadership at the University of Bristol School of Management. He is presently Professor of Leadership at Melbourne University and Director of the Social Purpose Centre. Will conducts research, teaches and consults in the areas of reputation, leadership, talent management and migration. He is also an International Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation. He has w

Fiona Marshall discovered a love for science at school. She eschewed medicine for biochemistry at the University of Bath and then chose neuroscience for her PhD at Cambridge, while also accumulating industry experience. She lived through the transformation of Glaxo to GSK, shifted to biotech at Millennium where she worked with the likes of Allan Marchington (BELS Advisory Council member). After a mid-career break, she re-entered industry with Heptares and today is stationed in the US leading res