Life Sciences Head To Market Commonwealth | Windham-Bannister brings little lab time, but a wealth of public policy experience, to new post
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Susan Windham-Bannister, new president and CEO of Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
At first blush, Gov. Deval Patrick’s appointment of Susan Windham-Bannister to head the state’s Life Sciences Center might seem a little unusual.
After all, as head of the center she will be put in charge of the state’s recently passed $1 billion life sciences initiative. And although she’s worked within the biotechnology industry for years, she’s never been the one handling the test tubes and pipettes.
In other words, she’s not a scientist. She’s a marketer and an administrator.
Message In A Test Tube
But that doesn’t seem to concern local and state biotechnology officials. And perhaps, her role at the helm of the Life Sciences Center has more to do with marketing the state as the spot to be for biotech than it does actual science.
“I don’t know her personally, but I’m highly impressed with her credentials,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, president and CEO of Worcester’s Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives. “When you make an appointment like that it takes politics totally out of it because the decision was based on competence and experience.”
However, Windham-Bannister is not entirely without political connections — she was a member of Gov. Patrick’s transition team, according to her resume.
Officially, Windham-Bannister’s new job begins in mid-July, but she stepped onto an international stage last week when she attended the largest annual biotech convention in San Diego along with Gov. Deval Patrick and many other state officials.
Prior to leaving for the convention, Windham-Bannister said she sees the conference as a great way to showcase — and market — what the state already has in the works.
“We’re going to demonstrate that the state is really at the leading edge. We’re going to reaffirm our commitment to the industry and demonstrate the leadership the state is already showing,” she said.
Windham-Bannister’s experience includes her most recent stint at Abt Bio-Pharma Solutions Inc., a Cambridge-based consulting company that helps pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and diagnostics companies. She served as vice president of the company’s strategic business planning and marketing services, where she focused on competitive strategy for companies and nonprofits such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield. She plans to leave that post for her new job with the Life Sciences Center.
The center’s original leader, Aaron D’Elia, was a budget aide appointed by former Gov. Mitt Romney in the waning days of his administration. D’Elia did not have any science experience. He stepped down in June 2007 and the search began for a permanent head with a science background.
Well-Connected
Windham-Bannister’s connections are a big factor in why she is the right pick, according to some in the industry.
“It was a vital position to fill and as someone who knows the industry and is well-connected, (Windham-Bannister) will be able to make a real impact,” said James M. Connolly, a partner in Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP’s health industries division. Connolly and another partner, Gerald J. McDougall, just published a report about the state’s biotech super cluster. The latest report points to the importance of state funding to grow the biotech industry here, because federal National Institutes of Health funding has been flat for several years now.
Windham-Bannister said she plans to reach out to many at biotech companies and in academia to find ways to collaborate in making the Bay State’s biotech industry stronger.
“We will be traveling all across the state to learn about the process from end-to-end and where there may be gaps or unmet needs,” she said, adding that Worcester area officials can expect her to spend time getting to know them and what exists in the area.
After all, the law provides $90 million to the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester toward an “advanced therapeutics cluster” that includes stem cell biology, RNAi therapeutics and gene therapies centers. The school itself will provide another $175 million for the academic cluster. The newly passed law also provides $8.2 million to establish a stem cell registry and bank at UMass Worcester, and another $12 million in matching grant funds for research.
Windham-Bannister holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University’s Florence Heller School of advanced studies in public policy. She also earned a B.S. from Wellesley College.
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