Head of Pipeline Strategy, GI2

3310 Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.•Cambridge, MA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This role is accountable for the end-to-end development, alignment, and enterprise pull-through of TA/DA strategies. The Head of Pipeline Strategy will partner with TAU and DDU leadership to drive integrated strategic direction and measurable outcomes across the portfolio. This includes building and improving processes and capabilities for rapid, data-supported strategic analytics and incorporating AI/GCC capabilities. The role establishes standards, governance, and new ways of working to scale AI/LLM-enabled insights and GCC delivery with speed, quality, and repeatability. The position also involves leading executive-level strategy framing and decisioning, presenting strategies to leadership teams, and owning the external-facing TA/DA strategic narrative. Additionally, the role establishes and leads surveillance and early-warning capabilities for the therapeutic area landscape, translates findings into actionable insights, and owns the commercial strategy and commercial input into overall asset strategy from PE through MDE programs. It also manages the bi-directional regional engagement model, oversees forecast governance and enterprise consistency, leads external asset search and evaluation, and owns the commercial assessment, value framing, and forecasting governance for BD transactions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline required
12+ years pharmaceutical industry experience (or equivalent in management consulting, investment banking, or equity research)
Significant experience developing corporate, therapeutic area and/or disease area strategies, anchored in industry, market, company, and product-level analysis
Experience with early- to mid-stage pipeline commercial analysis, new product planning, and business development required
Experience with commercial forecasting, P&L analysis, and deal models / valuation required
Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills required
Exceptional communications skills including the ability to identify, distill and communicate complex issues in a succinct manner
Executive presence and demonstrated ability to effectively advise and influence senior executives

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred, or equivalent education and experience
experience with late-stage pipeline, launch, and lifecycle management preferred
working knowledge of financial statements, corporate finance and investor relations preferred

Responsibilities

Accountable for end-to-end development, alignment, and enterprise pull-through of TA/DA strategies, partnering with TAU and DDU leadership to drive integrated strategic direction and measurable outcomes across the portfolio.
Accountable for building and continually improving the processes and capabilities underpinning TA/DA strategies, in particular the capabilities to complete rapid but rigorous, data-supported strategic analytics and incorporation of AI/GCC capabilities; establishes standards, governance, and new ways of working to scale AI/LLM-enabled insights and GCC delivery with speed, quality, and repeatability.
Lead executive-level strategy framing and decisioning, presenting TA/DA strategies to TAU LT, SPD and R&D leadership teams, and TET with clear options, trade-offs, and recommendations to secure endorsement and drive downstream execution.
Own the external-facing TA/DA strategic narrative in partnership with IR and Corporate Communications, ensuring consistency, defensibility, and alignment to enterprise priorities for external stakeholder audiences.
Establish and lead surveillance and early-warning capabilities with respect to the therapeutic area landscape (competitive activity, BD/M&A, product approvals, clinical readouts, financial reporting), partnering with competitive intelligence and brand teams to translate "what’s happening” into “what it means for us” including implications, risk mitigations, and recommended actions for executives.
Own the commercial strategy and commercial input into overall asset strategy from PE through MDE programs, setting expectations and quality gates for commercial inputs delivered via new product leads on GPTs, and ensuring consistent integration into program strategy and key governance deliverables (i.e. EPC and PRC materials).
Own the bi-directional regional engagement model with regional new product leads and regional leadership to validate key assumptions, reconcile regional requirements with global strategy, and provide decision-ready updates and escalations at defined milestones (in partnership with relevant regional new product planning leaders).
Accountable for forecast governance and enterprise consistency of market- and program-level forecasts used for LRF and portfolio prioritization, including standards, assumptions validation, scenario planning, and executive-ready insights.
Lead external asset search, prioritization, and evaluation aligned to TA/DA strategies, partnering with DDU, TAU, and commercial business units to drive disciplined decision-making across the opportunity lifecycle from early projects through marketed assets.
Own the commercial assessment, value framing, and forecasting governance for BD transactions, ensuring assumptions are pressure-tested, risks and sensitivities are transparent, and recommendations enable timely executive decisions.