The CGT Circle

?? Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science everyone! ?? Just a quick update for you all on the details of the free passes to BPI West. If you attended Biotech Week Boston in September, you'll know the drill ?? The lovely event organisers (thanks, Louisa Maitland!) are providing: 1?? FREE passes to the main stage and exhibit hall ???Thursday, March 20th ??You'll have access to all 90+ exhibitors, live technology demonstrations, and networking opportunities with 1000+ attendees. ?? The complimentary ticket also includes an evening networking reception, which starts at 5:45 PM (featuring an open bar and appetizers). ??Places are limited though and you'll need to register by February 21, 2025. Ticket quantities are limited?? 2?? 30% Discount for All Access Main Conference Pass ?? Discount code?CGTCIRCLE30? ??? This is for a full conference ticket and access to 125+ scientific presentations across 5 tracks ??All designed to optimize efficiency and innovation across bioprocessing. Here's the link to book ?? https://lnkd.in/eSaN2rxm

One of the best CGT Circle events yesterday with an amazing panel discussing adaptability and resilience! Key takeaways for me: ?Staying positive ?Don’t afraid to pivot ?Be open Thank you again Gloria Lam and Pam Sami for a fantastic evening! #TheCGTCircle #CellandGeneTherapy #WomeninSTEM The CGT Circle PA Consulting Anthony Nolan

It was a full house last night at The CGT Circle X PA Consulting X Anthony Nolan Networking Event. Thank you to Gloria Lam and Pam Sami as our hostesses with the 'mostesses' and the panelists Sadaf Naz Khan, Elsa Abranches and Nic Alderson for sharing their personal insights. It was a wonderful evening catching up with old friends and making new ones ?? I'm also delighted to share that The CGT Circle and Women in Advanced Therapies will be collaborating once again for a summer social and (hopefully) some sunny networking in June. Watch this space for more details!

What a start to the Terrapinn Advanced Therapies conference! It’s always a pleasure and highlight to host fellow ladies (and gents) in the cell and gene therapies field for The CGT Circle! Thank you to our amazing panelists Elsa Abranches, Nic Alderson and Sadaf Naz Khan for the apt reminder for resilience and adaptability when the world is chaotic and the industry is slow - it’s okay to be confused and frustrated, it’s okay to stop and reflect, it’s okay to change and flex, and it’s okay put yourself and your priorities first. Thank you for the wisdom and openness in sharing! Thank you Anthony Nolan both for co-sponsoring and the important work you do to help patients in need and my amazing co-host, Pam Sami Massive thanks to PA Consulting for supporting the initiative (4th time now!) and the team that made it possible (Megan Padgett, Kai Page Philippa Stevenson, Dan Lan, PhD William Evered, Izzy Gladstone, Paolo Siciliano, Hilary Thomas, Lucy Jenkins, Simon Collier ). Thank you for being a supportive environment for women to excel and thrive ?? #cgt #advancedtherapies #celltherapy #network #thankyou #CGTCircle #women

Are you excited for an Incredible Week in the CGT Community next week? I can’t believe how quickly our upcoming The CGT Circle event with Anthony Nolan: Cell Therapy and Laboratory Services and PA Consulting sold out — just 48 hours! Did you manage to grab a ticket? If you did comment below so we can start networking with one another. I’m thrilled to introduce the three inspiring women who will be sharing their expertise on our panel discussion. Each of these leaders brings a wealth of experience and insights to the conversation around resilience, adaptability and very grateful that they have excepted the invitation to come speak to us all. ?? Nic Alderson – Chief Operating Officer at Anthony Nolan: Cell Therapy and Laboratory Services, overseeing all service provisions to the NHS, global registries, researchers, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies. With over 25 years of experience driving strategic growth, operational excellence, and revenue generation in healthcare and other organisarions. ?? Elsa Abranches – Chief Scientific Officer at ViSync Technologies S.A., Portugal, where she leads scientific, research, and technological operations, driving the development of new platforms in viral and cell ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products) drug delivery. Elsa is also the Regional Treasurer of the European Committee of the ISCT, International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. Previously, she held a key role at AstraZeneca, where she led a section providing translational technology and high-quality cells for pre-clinical research, to enable the efficient development and delivery of Cell Therapies to patients. ?? Sadaf Naz Khan – Cell Therapy Liaison at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine responsible for global cell therapy R&D programs focusing on the EMEA region. With over 18 years of experience in global trial management, operational strategy, and execution within the pharmaceutical industry. If you have a ticket but can no longer attend, please let the The CGT Circle team know so they can reallocate your spot to someone on the waitlist. For those who missed out, and you want details of the event and join our waitlist please click the link: https://lnkd.in/e9QSUGRG Looking forward to connecting with even more of you at the Advanced Therapies confence, come visit us at booth #117 and meet our business development team and account managers, Anaily Valderrama, Nikhita Bhalsod, Sarah Dean, Bob Dean. Excited to see both familiar faces and new connections in the CGT community! #CGTCommunity #CellAndGeneTherapy #Networking #AdvancedTherapies #Resilience #Adaptability #cellandgene #cgt #celltherapy Gloria Lam Nicola Ambler Lindsey Clarke

?? Check out this article from BioXconomy about our #IWD25 survey! ?? Thanks for featuring us! #cellandgenetherapy #womeninstem #CGT

??Happy International Women’s Day?? Check out our latest survey on what is influencing the careers of women in #cellandgenetherapy and what are the key drivers for girls entering STEM fields? Massive thanks to Biocair for supporting this important work! Also a big shout out to all The CGT Circle members who cited Dana Scully from the XFiles as a major role model who influenced why they studied STEM - we hear ya! #IWD25

Friday afternoons aren't a great time for engagement but it's IWD tomorrow and so we must strike while the proverbial iron is hot! We'll be diving deeper into these findings over the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled ?? For now, some high level insights and a call to accelerate action ????

With all the conversation on DEI or lack of it filling my social feeds the latest BioIndustry Association (BIA) report on Women in Biotech Leadership is a bit of a breath of fresh air. Read it here ?? https://lnkd.in/eYJ3qKtu ?? What are the key stats that caused me to pause in my reading…. ?? ?? Whilst the pipeline of female talent entering the UK Biotech industry stands at a healthy 55%?- this drops as you rise up the ranks (51% managerial, 31.5% C-suite) with 18% of companies having a woman in the top spot. (To me this seems amazing as I realise I’ve never worked for a female CEO) ?? There’s been a drop in female board representation from 2023-2024 (PIR International report on board renumeration and diversity), chairs dropped from 25-22% and NEDS 21-9% - but eye wateringly only 25% of the boards surveyed had female representation!!!! Ouch! ?? Women CEOs are punching above their weight in deals, particularly when the numbers are lower- whilst only 8% of capital was raised by females, they were responsible for 22% of the deals, whilst representing only 18% of CEOs. Women in leadership (the next generation CEOs) face different challenges to their female CEOs - presumably due to difference in age and life stages. And the big challenges these women in leadership reported? ?? Investor confidence and lack of diverse representation in Investment ?? Poor progress in board and NED representation ?? Pressures of additional caring responsibilities ?? Lack of network, mentors and peers ?? Organisational culture and challenges of flexibility ?? General DEI pushback ?? Tech influence - Biotech is increasingly influenced by this even more male dominated sector With a shift in which are most impactful as companies mature..... “if we do not address the challenges that face females as companies mature to different stages, combined with life and career over time, we are in danger of losing an incredible swathe of female brilliance to conscious or unconscious bias and lack of support/backing – ultimately to the detriment of the sector and UK plc.” This summary quote really hits home - and resonates with what was one of our big drivers for founding The CGT Circle. As I and my contemporaries rose up the ranks we found ourselves in ever decreasing numbers and needing those head wobble chats to support each other - so with my partners in crime Kate Fynes and Nicola Ambler we decided to do it on a bigger scale - open up the conversations we were having in 121s with many other women and support the next generation of talent on their journey at the same time - a huge thanks to the incredible women who have shared The CGT Circle's?journey with us over the last 2 years - we really are just getting started! So all in all a top read and one that resonates highly with this woman in leadership.

If you've not filled in the CGT Circle annual IWD survey yet or sent it to friends and colleagues who might want to contribute, this is your reminder ?? we close the survey COB on FRIDAY Here's a bit more about what we're aiming to achieve... ?? "I never saw anyone like me in leadership" ?? "The culture wasn't inclusive" ?? "I couldn't balance family and career" ?? "I lost confidence" Sound familiar? You're not alone. 40-50% of women leave STEM careers within just 5-7 years. As we build up to International Women's Day 2025, we're investigating these crucial transition points. When do we lose talented women? Why? And most importantly – how do we keep them? Your experience and insight are valuable to understanding the contributing factors to a successful STEM career. Share your journey, challenges, and triumphs in our survey. ?? Let’s accelerate action, let’s create real change. ? Take part: https://lnkd.in/exSK8irk