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Part 1 of 4. 

My guest for this week’s episode is Derek Hennecke, a veteran biotech entrepreneur and board member with over 30 years of experience in the CDMO industry, whose mission is to support the biotech revolution and create value for patients, customers, and investors.

In addition to his Board work, Derek previously held leadership positions at DSM and was the Founder and CEO of Xcelience, which he eventually sold to Capsugel Lonza in 2016. Xcelience was a Florida-based CDMO that specialized in preformulation, micronization, analytical services, formulation development, cGMP manufacturing, and more. His extensive expertise in pharma and cell therapy makes for an insightful conversation that founders can learn from.

Please enjoy my conversation with Derek Hennecke.

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/ 

00:28 Intro

02:13 Episode starts, Derek's early upbringing as a military kid and learning how to adapt to moving every 4 years

06:33 Having an interest in history but ultimately falling in love with science, Studying microbiology as an undergraduate at the University of Alberta

08:50 Undergraduate lab experience

14:04 Professors and mentors who were influential

15:40 Next steps after Undergraduate microbiology, going from academia to sales at Boehringer Mannheim

22:02 Introvert vs. Extrovert in Sales

24:28 Decision to move to the Netherlands to pursue a masters in business

28:20 The rarity of getting an MBA and using it to move into a new country to network

30:18 Outro

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