Turning Science Into Impact – Vanessa Almendro Navarro

In this inspiring episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Naji Gehchan welcomes Vanessa Almendro Navarro, Vice President and Head of Science and Technology Innovation at Danaher. Vanessa shares her powerful personal story — from growing up in Spain as the first in her family to attend college, to witnessing cancer’s impact on her loved ones, and ultimately dedicating her career to driving innovation in oncology and biotechnology. Her journey from academic research at Dana-Farber to leading enterprise innovation at Danaher reflects her deep commitment to transforming ideas into tangible impact for patients.

Vanessa discusses how she bridges AI-enabled R&D, commercialization, and innovation to accelerate drug discovery and development. She emphasizes the importance of focusing innovation on solving real problems, being pragmatic rather than chasing the “next shiny thing,” and ensuring that technologies meaningfully advance patient outcomes. She sees the convergence of AI, biotechnology, and robotics as a pivotal moment — an “innovation revolution” — that could redefine how we discover and deliver healthcare solutions.

Reflecting on her leadership journey, Vanessa highlights humility, resilience, and collaboration as essential traits for leaders in healthcare. Her guiding philosophy — “Don’t give up; we’ll figure it out” — captures her approach to overcoming challenges and inspiring others. Vanessa also shares her work with the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, where she supports translating early research into new therapies for patients. She calls on leaders to embrace this era of possibility with focus, courage, and humanity, because, as she reminds us, “Patients are not waiting.”

"Don’t tell me no, tell me how. There’s always an opportunity to move forward."

MEET OUR GUESTS Vanessa Almendro Navarro, Vice President, Head of Science & Technology Innovation at Danaher Corporation.

Vanessa Almendro Navarro, PhD, MBA, is a life sciences executive who builds at the intersection of innovation, AI-enabled R&D, and commercialization. As Vice President and Head of Science & Technology Innovation at Danaher, she leads enterprise innovation and operating-model modernization across a global portfolio. She designed and scaled the Danaher Beacon distributed R&D program with leading academic partners, launched the Danaher Nexus intrapreneurship pipeline, established the Danaher Antibody Capability Center, and created the Danaher Summits to connect operating companies with top domain expertise.

Previously, Vanessa co-founded and led the Brain Tumor Investment Fund; served as Head of Strategy & External Innovation at Eisai and Head of Strategy & Operations at Repertoire Immune Medicines; and held scientific and commercial roles at Vertex. Earlier in her career, she was a research fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (University of Barcelona) and an Executive MBA (MIT).

Her expertise spans venture origination, IP strategy, translational development, partnerships and BD, and capability building in diagnostics and therapeutics. She serves on the boards of the Brain Tumor Investment Fund and MIT Sandbox and is a member of the ARM CEO Advisory Council.