Speakers
Katherine Andersen
Kate Bingham
Dan Mahony
Avi Spier
Panel and Q&A
Katherine joined HSBC in April 2023 as a US Founding Executive and to lead Life Science & Healthcare for HSBC Innovation Banking. Prior to HSBC, Katherine spent 8 years at SVB Financial Group serving in an Executive leadership position as the US Head of Life Science & Healthcare, including Head of US Healthcare Corporate Banking, Head of US Healthcare Sponsor Finance, Head of US Relationship Banking, and the Executive Sponsor for Institutionally Distributed Leveraged Finance (launched in 2022 alongside SVB Securities). Katherine’s team managed ~4,200 clients in the US and ~$80B in deposits and investments, amounting to a 75% market share. During this time, Katherine also served on the Board of Directors for SPD Silicon Valley Bank, SVB Financial Group’s Joint Venture headquartered in China.
Kate co-leads SV’s biotech franchise which has a long history of building high value, successful new companies developing transformational new medicines and bringing drugs from discovery to market.
Kate’s investments, many of which are examples of SV’s company creation approach to biotech investing, include a wide range of drug discovery and development companies focused on different clinical areas in companies in the UK, EU and US.
Over the course of the firm's >30 year history, SV investments have led to the launch of 30 novel drugs including 6 first in class therapeutics. Many of these investments were led by Kate.
In 2021 Kate was awarded a DBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services as Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, where she led a team of world-class experts with the shared purposed of finding and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines.
Outside of SV, Kate serves on the Board of the Francis Crick Institute and ARIA. At weekends Kate spends time in Wales where she rides horses and mountain bikes, grows vegetables and competes in bog snorkelling competitions.
Daniel joined Novo Holdings in 2024 as a Senior Partner in Growth Investments.
Daniel has 25+ years of global healthcare investment experience covering biotechnology, medical technology and healthcare services. In 2007, he co-founded the healthcare business unit at Polar Capital in London, growing it to over $4 billion in assets under management. Daniel was formerly a Senior Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley in London, an Analyst at ING Barings Furman Selz in New York, and completed his postdoctoral work at DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto. He currently chairs the UK BioIndustry Association, is a Non-Executive Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge and was in 2022 appointed as the UK Government’s Life Sciences Envoy.
Daniel received his PhD in Development Biology from the University of Cambridge and his BA in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford.
In November 2024, he was reappointed as the UK Government Life Sciences Investment Envoy and will continue in that role in 2026. As the immediate past Chair, Dan will continue to sit on the BIA Board for one final year.
Dr. Spier has over 19 years of experience at Novartis, having joined the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation as its Head of Business Development in 2004. In 2012, Avi moved into Novartis BD&L where he is now Executive Director and Head of Search and Evaluation activities for a range of therapeutic areas and disciplines.
Having trained as a postdoc at The Scripps Research Institute in California, in 2001, Avi co-founded La Jolla based Allon Therapeutics, Inc. There he led the peptide therapeutic neurodegenerative disease focused company as its President and CEO through two financing rounds and up to its entry onto the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Otello is a pioneering leader in life sciences investment with over two decades of experience driving transformative advancements in healthcare. He founded Omega Funds in 2004, and currently leads the firm’s investor relations and strategic initiatives. He is a member of the firm’s investment committee and is also heavily involved in several of Omega’s therapeutic areas of interest, particularly oncology and inflammatory disorders.
Previously, Otello oversaw life sciences direct investments as well as diligence for healthcare venture fund of fund investments at AlpInvest Partners, one of the largest private equity asset managers worldwide.