Oct. 22, 2023

Susan Stipa - VP CGLife - Biopharmaceutical Thought Leader

• Susan Stipa, with a diverse background in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and financial services, discusses the evolution of her career and her transition into marketing, emphasizing her passion for blending scientific understanding with creative...

Show Notes
Guest Profile

• She highlights the rapid and transformative advancements in biopharmaceuticals, touching on the challenges and excitement surrounding emerging therapies like cell and gene therapy and expressing concern about ensuring access to these innovations.

• Susan mentions the importance of effective communication within the biotech industry, especially when engaging with journalists to accurately relay complex scientific concepts, showcasing CG Life’s role as a mediator to foster better understanding.

• She reflects on valuable leadership advice received from her father about making a strong initial impression and the importance of human connection, opposing a rigid corporate mentality, to foster creativity and meaningful relationships.

• Both Susan and the host, Don, share an appreciation for the relentless drive within the biotech industry and its potential to address global health challenges, emphasizing the fulfillment derived from their roles in this dynamic field.

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Susan Stipa

Executive Vice President

Susan is an Executive Vice President at the life-science centric agency CG Life, where she brings her thirty years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, financial services, and healthcare-related worlds to help inform client strategy and facilitate media engagement with her clients’ stories.

Before switching to professional communications, Susan worked as a ChE process engineer in the pharmaceutical industry, starting at Hoffmann La Roche - running the bulk powders step of the largest Vitamin C plant in the world at that time. Her chemical engineering career had also included rheological instrumentation for Rheometrics, with a stint as Global Marketing Lead for world financing powerhouse, De Lage Landen out of the Netherlands. As the Commercial Director of Foster Wheeler/Biokinetics in charge of business development and marketing efforts, Susan began to realize the communication agencies she worked with were not well-versed in science, and she left to start McDay, her own communications firm for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and the first of its kind in the United States.

After winning multiple awards throughout its seven years, including the Emerald Ingenuity award and Best Pharmaceutical Communications, PR Agency in the Mid-Atlantic USA (Biotechnology 2020 Awards), McDay was acquired by CGLife in 2020.

Susan's engineering background, coupled with her right-brain creativity, offers a fresh and unique perspective on client challenges. She is dedicated to working closely with clients, guiding them to convey their uniq… Read More