Executive Director, Business Development & Corporate Strategy
About The Position
The Executive Director of Business Development & Corporate Strategy is a senior enterprise leader responsible for shaping and executing Dendreon’s external growth strategy. Partnering directly with the CEO and Senior Leadership Team, the role owns the identification, evaluation, prioritization, negotiation, and execution of strategic transactions, including licensing, acquisitions, investments, strategic alliances, and CDMO partnerships. The Executive Director translates corporate objectives into actionable business development and portfolio strategies, provides decision-quality recommendations to executive and board-level stakeholders, and leads cross-functional teams through high-stakes diligence and deal execution. The position requires a seasoned biotechnology or pharmaceutical business development executive with demonstrated success independently originating and closing material transactions, potentially including late-stage and commercial assets, complex therapeutic modalities, and global partners. The role also sets the strategic direction and business development plan for positioning Dendreon’s manufacturing capabilities as a differentiated CDMO partner, develops external relationships, and leads the development and negotiation of proposals and commercial agreements. The position provides leadership and development to business development and strategy team members and cross-functional deal teams, establishes scalable processes and governance, and promotes a rigorous, collaborative, results-oriented culture consistent with Dendreon’s core values. This is an on-site position in Seal Beach, California, and is not remote. It operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment, including computers, phones, and multifunction office devices. Travel of up to 50% or more, including international travel, is required.
Requirements
- 12–15+ years of progressive business development, corporate development, corporate strategy, investment, or related experience in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry, including significant senior leadership responsibility.
- Demonstrated success independently originating, leading, negotiating, and closing multiple complex licensing, acquisition, strategic investment, alliance, or comparable transactions with meaningful enterprise impact.
- Proven ability to set enterprise-level strategy, prioritize competing opportunities, advise C-suite leaders, and influence board-level or investment committee decisions.
- Advanced degree required: MBA, PhD, MD, or equivalent advanced scientific, business, or financial training.
- Deep understanding of biopharmaceutical development and commercialization, including complex therapeutic modalities such as ADCs, biologics, cell therapies, or other advanced platforms.
- Exceptional financial and transaction acumen, including valuation modeling, risk-adjusted analysis, deal structuring, negotiation, and assessment of strategic and financial returns.
- Executive presence and exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent Dendreon credibly with boards, investors, partners, advisors, and senior external counterparties.
- Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary teams across Clinical, R&D, Technical Operations, Regulatory, Quality, Commercial, Finance, Legal, and Intellectual Property.
- Experience building, leading, and developing teams and establishing effective business development processes and governance.
- Deal sheet required, including the candidate’s role and level of ownership in sourcing, diligence, valuation, negotiation, and closing.
- Willingness to travel up to 50% or more, including international travel.
Nice To Haves
- Board-level exposure and experience presenting transaction recommendations to boards, investment committees, or comparable governance bodies.
- Direct experience developing or leading CDMO strategy, partnerships, or commercial transactions.
- Established network across biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, venture capital, private equity, investment banking, and life sciences advisors.
- Experience in oncology, immunotherapy, urology, cellular immunotherapy, or adjacent therapeutic areas.
- Operating experience in a commercial-stage biotechnology or biopharmaceutical company and experience in high-growth or transformational environments.
- Global transaction experience, including international partnerships and experience with biotechnology or pharmaceutical markets in China.
- Prior experience in venture capital, private equity, investment banking, management consulting, or a comparable strategic advisory environment within life sciences.
Responsibilities
- Own and lead the enterprise-wide business development and corporate strategy agenda in alignment with long-range growth objectives, portfolio priorities, and capital allocation framework.
- Advise the CEO and Senior Leadership Team on external growth opportunities, strategic fit, value creation, risk, and prioritization.
- Lead portfolio-level assessments and scenario planning across licensing, acquisitions, strategic investments, alliances, and build-versus-buy opportunities.
- Prepare and present strategic recommendations, transaction updates, investment cases, and decision materials to executive leadership, the Board of Directors, and investment committees, as applicable.
- Originate, evaluate, prioritize, and advance a global pipeline of high-impact business development opportunities, including opportunities involving first-in-class and differentiated therapeutic modalities.
- Lead the search, evaluation, acquisition, or licensing of clinical- to commercial-stage therapeutic assets, with emphasis on late-stage Phase II/III and commercial opportunities aligned with immunotherapy, urology, oncology, and other strategic growth areas.
- Direct integrated scientific, clinical, regulatory, CMC, intellectual property, commercial, financial, and operational diligence; resolve critical issues and guide teams toward investment and transaction decisions.
- Assess complex modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates, biologics, cell therapies, and other advanced platforms, considering scientific differentiation, development risk, manufacturability, regulatory path, commercial potential, and strategic value.
- Build executive-level relationships with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, investors, venture capital and private equity firms, bankers, advisors, and other external partners.
- Lead complex transactions from initial engagement through valuation, term sheet, negotiation, definitive agreements, governance design, closing, and transition to alliance management or integration.
- Develop and challenge valuation models, forecasts, risk-adjusted scenarios, transaction structures, and investment returns with Finance and other functional leaders.
- Lead negotiations with senior external counterparties and coordinate internal and external legal, financial, scientific, and operational advisors.
- Ensure executive alignment on deal rationale, key risks, economics, governance, decision rights, and post-transaction accountabilities.
- Own the strategic direction and business development plan for positioning Dendreon’s manufacturing capabilities as a differentiated CDMO partner.
- Identify and build relationships with prospective CDMO clients and strategic partners, shape value propositions, and lead proposals and commercial agreements.
- Partner with Technical Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Finance, and Legal to evaluate technical feasibility, capacity, economics, operational readiness, risk, and execution requirements for CDMO opportunities.
- Represent Dendreon in senior-level client discussions, industry conferences, partnering forums, and other external engagements.
- Provide leadership, direction, and development to business development and strategy team members and cross-functional deal teams; establish priorities, governance, and accountability.
- Build scalable processes for opportunity sourcing, screening, diligence, valuation, decision-making, transaction execution, and post-deal handoff.
- Influence across functions and levels without direct authority, align executive leaders, and translate complex information into clear business decisions.
- Promote a rigorous, collaborative, results-oriented culture consistent with Dendreon’s core values.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Executive
