Ashley Hesslein, PhD is a biopharmaceutical executive, pharma transformation coach, and keynote speaker with more than two decades of experience at the intersection of science, regulatory strategy, and organizational leadership. She is a 2023 "Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business" honoree.
A Yale-trained biochemist, Ashley spent her career at Bayer in Berkeley — rising to VP of Biological Development and serving as a Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO) Coach, partnering with global teams on one of biopharma's most closely watched organizational transformations. Her technical portfolio spans monoclonal antibodies, AAV gene therapy, and cell therapy, with direct regulatory engagement. She helped launch Kovaltry® and Jivi®, and represented Bayer CMC on numerous due diligences and acquisitions.
Today, Ashley advises Deffai — an AI-meets-FDA-expertise startup — and works with leaders and teams as an executive coach, helping organizations move through growth and transformation with greater ownership, clarity, and impact. Her business is Bio CMC Strategy LLC.
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