Archives: Speakers

International Trade Specialist in the Energy Transition Trade Team in Scottish Enterprise acting as the team lead for decommissioning globally and on and offshore wind in the Americas.  James has over 20 years economic development experience in both the public sector and private consultancy. 

Dr. Kane has more than 30 years of experience in the science and business of taking molecules through the entire drug development process. His extensive knowledge spans early stage development to scale-up and commercial manufacturing of drug products and includes technical transfers between global sites and drug life cycle management.

Dr. Kane received his Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees from the Bombay College of Pharmacy, University of Bombay, India, and served as a post-doctoral fellow at the School of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, Ohio. He has also earned an executive MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada. Dr. Kane is a member of various international pharmaceutical professional organizations and is a speaker at many industry events. He has also published many articles in International journals and delivered many talks at meetings and conferences cross the globe.

Dawn Williams, Executive Director, based in UK. Dawn has been in clinical research for 24 years in both academic and industry setting, spending most of her career with Fortrea. During her time at Fortrea, she has specialised in FSP across multiple biopharma sponsors of varying size, from small to large partnerships, leveraging a diverse range of FSP models.

Neil Vande Bunte is the Director of Technology & Innovation Investment at Invest Alberta. He supports companies expanding into Alberta’s economy, with a focus on data centers and AI infrastructure, connecting investors with the partners, information, and sites they need to succeed.

Neil previously spent many years in the oil and gas service sector in leadership roles across four continents, before moving into tech and innovation in 2020, where he led the Southern Alberta region for a non profit funding early stage startups and launched an Agri Food investment program across the Prairies.

Rooted in Alberta, Neil was born and raised in rural Alberta and now lives in Calgary with his family.

Pablo Seijo is a data-driven sales executive with over 10 years of international experience across SaaS, marketplaces, logistics, and hospitality technology. He has led commercial growth in high-scale environments, including launching new markets and driving global sales operations.

As VP of Sales at STAY, Pablo leads revenue growth for a guest experience platform used by enterprise hotel groups worldwide. He focuses on building repeatable sales playbooks, scaling high-performance teams, and applying analytical rigor to solve complex commercial challenges.

Joan Lladó is the Founder and CEO of STAY. Together with his brother, Angel Lladó, he founded the company with the vision of transforming how hotels engage with guests through digital experiences that reduce operational friction and drive measurable business impact.

Under his leadership, STAY has grown into a global guest experience platform used by enterprise hotel groups in more than 70 countries. Joan brings a strong product-driven mindset, deep hospitality knowledge, and a long-term focus on building scalable technology tailored to the real needs of hotel chains. This approach positions STAY as a long-term partner for hotel groups looking to elevate the guest experience and strengthen their brand at scale.

April Bell, MS, CCRC, ACRP-PM, is an accomplished clinical research professional with over two decades of experience in managing and conducting complex clinical trials across diverse therapeutic areas. Currently serving as Manager of Clinical Research Operations at JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas, she oversees research activities across multiple clinical therapeutic specialties.

Sunny Li is Associate Director, Global Clinical Supply Chain Planning at Takeda. She has 20 years of supply chain experience and specializes in end-to-end clinical supply planning, scenario analysis, and risk mitigation for complex development programs. Her background spans global clinical supply, new product introduction, and operational planning across multiple industries.

With over 10 years of pharmaceutical experience, Benjy Etienne is a proven clinical supply leader who has delivered more than $500M in cost savings through strategic comparator sourcing and vendor optimization. He brings strong cross-functional leadership, partnering effectively across Clinical Operations, CMC, Quality, and Finance to drive efficient, reliable clinical supply outcomes.

Dr Hitscherich has been working in industry for over 25 years. He is currently the Head External Operations at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Alnylam he had positions at Biogen, Bristol Myers and Wyeth. He has participated in the development and commercialization of numerous parenteral products. Dr Hitscherich received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University, MBA from Northeastern University, and his PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Iowa.