Phil Vanek
CTO and Partner, Gamma Biosciences
Phil Vanek has held many roles as investor, advisor, company builder, and industry advocate. His career has largely focused on bringing innovative new products to market with several companies, including Life Technologies, BD, Lonza, and GE Healthcare – all while contributing significant efforts to the support of associations and not-for-profit entities, such as the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine, the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, ISCT, the Creative Destruction Lab, and others.
Vanek is an avid spokesperson for the cell and gene therapy industry and has contributed to international conferences and academic workshops, as both an organizer and speaker, to promote the cell and gene therapy industry. He has contributed to position pieces, whitepapers, and blogs addressing bottlenecks in cell and gene therapy manufacturing. Now, as an investor with Gamma Biosciences, a KKR investment platform, he continues to identify and promote technologies that are transforming cell and gene therapy manufacturing. Vanek also enjoys lending his time to mentoring and coaching the next generation of cell and gene therapy leaders.
Watch our video interview with Phil Vanek
We asked…
Make a comparison of your work to a classic movie…
While not a classic movie (yet!), and without inferring direct parallels to any of the real-world heroes of the movie, I’d like to think that the 2019 film Ford vs. Ferrari has many similarities to my career, which also combined the business of science and engineering in the pursuit of aspirational goals.
The movie revolves around three characters, Carroll Shelby, a maverick car enthusiast, builder, and engineer; Ken Miles, a renowned, no-holds-barred driver; and Lee Iacocca, the Ford industrialist and marketer. Without giving away too many of the plot’s multiple threads, the story is about a passion for engineering, the relentless desire to achieve a goal, and the battle between technology purists and industrial efficiency. The film embodies the fact that by surrounding yourself with brilliant people and defining clear and ambitious goals, you can push the limits of innovation and achieve great things. And you can have fun while doing it!
