Catherine is a board member, consultant and mentor with extensive global healthcare experience. She is an independent director of the Board of Vascugen, Inc. (private), and formerly of Meridian Bioscience (NASDAQ: VIVO, acquired 2023) and of InMed (NASDAQ: INM), chairing nominating and governance committees as well as serving on audit and compensation committees. She brings a broad range of skills and expertise to board-level work, including M&A and collaborations, strategy, CEO and Board Chair succession, enterprise risk management, litigation, compliance, and internal investigation. One of Catherine’s “soft” skills, critical to effective board functionality, is the ability to surface and navigate difficult issues in a productive, collegial way, helping board members and company leadership come together on decisions with the best interests of stakeholders in mind.
Catherine joined Strata Oncology, a private precision oncology company, in 2016, where she currently serves as Chief Business Development, Legal and Compliance Officer.
Catherine started her career as a litigator in Chicago. She then joined Abbott Laboratories in 1984, moved through litigation, international commercial and transactional legal roles, crossed into marketing, and then led pharmaceutical business development. She was sought after in transformational and high-risk matters, such as Abbott’s US$ 7B acquisition of Knoll Laboratories (adding global presence and megablockbuster Humira®); and she successfully resolved bet-the-company issues such as a DOJ/ OIG investigation seeking exclusion from federal business, and antitrust litigation seeking US$ 9B in punitive damages. With her dual background, she was also key in designing and managing Abbott’s global ethics and compliance program, including business operations, risk management, training and internal investigations.
Catherine moved to Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2006, where she held various global VP roles in business development, corporate development and finance, driving Takeda’s expansion plans. She acquired Millennium Pharmaceuticals for US$ 8.8B in 2008, and Nycomed S. A. for US$ 13.7B in 2011, among many other acquisitions and partnerships.
She integrated and led global R&D BD across multiple therapeutic areas. Catherine also ran a corporate enterprise risk assessment and led a global restructuring project, achieving recurring savings above target of US$ 500 MM.
In her spare time, Catherine mentors healthcare startups at MATTER Chicago and serves on the Jobs Committee for Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep School. She has lectured in the University of Chicago Business of Biotechnology program, taught advanced life sciences licensing with Practicing Law Institute, and was a founding member of the External Advisory Board for Rosalind Franklin University’s Innovation and Research Park.
Catherine has a B. A. in English from the University of Notre Dame (where, as a fencer, she was one of the first 5 varsity letter-women in ND history), and a J. D. from Northwestern University School of Law. She enjoys books, theater, travel and karate.