ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, today announced several new leadership appointments. Rebecca Bradford, MBA, has been promoted to the role of senior vice president of Government Programs, ATCC Federal Solutions (AFS); Manoj Menon, PhD, has joined the company as chief operating officer; and Rupali Lach was appointed vice president of Commercial Operations.
“As members of the Leadership Team, these individuals will each play a critical role in ensuring that ATCC continues to achieve its objectives, while remaining true to our mission in supporting high-quality science globally,” said ATCC President and Chief Executive Officer Ruth R. Cheng, PhD. “Becky has established herself as a strategic leader and technical expert during her years at ATCC and will ensure we remain a trusted partner with our government agencies. Manoj brings extensive life sciences industry experience to effectively grow the organization, drive continuous innovation, and enhance its operating efficiency, and Rupali is expanding our global commercial sales and customer experience functions. I look forward to working closely with them as ATCC strives to make sound science possible for the global scientific community.”
In Bradford’s new role, she has increasing responsibilities for the overall strategy, management, and growth of AFS programs, including products and services for chronic and infectious diseases, medical countermeasures, and global health and biosecurity. During her more than 20-year tenure with ATCC, Bradford has led a team of program managers and scientists to address complex diseases impacting population health and the development of countermeasures during multiple public health emergencies. Most recently, she was instrumental in helping to secure funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership for ATCC’s new biomanufacturing facility in Manassas to support the U.S. bioeconomy. Bradford has served as a strategic leader for AFS and a mentor and manager for many ATCC colleagues. She completed her MBA at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School after receiving two master’s degrees in Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, also from Hopkins. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.
With more than 25 years of global experience in the biopharma industry, Dr. Menon brings a proven track record of building and leading multicultural organizations with efficient business processes and organizational structures. In his role at ATCC, he is responsible for the oversight and strategic management of all aspects of manufacturing, facilities, materials management, supply chain, and planning operations. Previously, Dr. Menon served as managing director of IDT Biologika Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of the global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) based in Germany. In this role, he oversaw process and analytical development and clinical manufacturing for viral vaccines and vectors, and oncolytic viruses. Prior to this position, Dr. Menon served in several roles at AstraZeneca, most recently as executive director, Global Technical Operations, where he built and led an organization to provide technical oversight and alignment for the company’s global biologics drug substance manufacturing network, consisting of internal manufacturing sites and multiple global CDMO partners. Earlier, he also held leadership positions at Lonza Biologics, Singapore and Genzyme Corporation. Dr. Menon holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and an integrated master’s and bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India.
Lach plays a pivotal role in driving the development and execution of global commercial operations strategies. She will be responsible for shaping and implementing comprehensive, long-term initiatives in sales, marketing, product management, customer experience, and commercial operations across global markets, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and core values. A dynamic and strategic leader, Lach focuses on cultivating strong customer relationships and executing effective commercial strategies. With more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and life sciences industries, she has successfully led and inspired high-performing commercial teams. Her career spans progressive roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Becton Dickinson, and Genome Therapeutics Corporation. Most recently, she joined ATCC from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she led strategic partnerships, market development, market intelligence, and commercial teams across the pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, diagnostics, research, academia, and government sectors. Lach holds a Master of Liberal Arts in Management from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Molecular Medicine from Clemson University.
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