Speakers
Tanya Bos
Ruth McKernan
Jackie Crockford
Amira Modi
Session
Tanya is a global biopharma executive recognised for driving sustainable growth at the intersection of science, strategy, and commercial execution—translating breakthrough innovation into meaningful impact for patients worldwide.
With more than 25 years of experience across high-growth biotech and multinational pharmaceutical organisations—including executive roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (formerly Shire), AstraZeneca and Sandoz—she has led international organisations, directed portfolio and disease-area strategy across R&D and commercial, and influenced multi-billion-dollar investment decisions.
Her work spans first-in-class innovation, rare disease, specialty and established medicines—bringing uncommon agility across business models, therapeutic areas and development stages. Most recently, as a member of the International Executive Team at Vertex, Tanya built and led the international pipeline and early commercialisation organisation, positioning the company for sustained multi-disease expansion and unlocking significant enterprise value.
A builder and enterprise leader, she aligns organisations around bold ambition, brings clarity to complexity, and converts strategic intent into measurable outcomes—combining commercial discipline with broad perspective and an infectious energy that builds trust, inspires followership, and mobilises teams to perform at their best.
A strong advocate for mentorship and allyship, Tanya is deeply committed to advancing women in science and strengthening leadership representation across the industry.
Tanya holds a degree from McGill University and an MBA from Smith School of Business.
Ruth joined SV in 2018 as a Operating Partner. She has co-founded a number of SV companies; AstronauTx, LoAus23 and Cumulus alongside the Dementia Discovery Fund as well as Alchemab.
Ruth has over 25 years in the pharma industry having held roles at Merck and Pfizer, leading several Research Sites in the UK and US. She has set up new Research Units, including Pfizer Regenerative Medicine and Neusentis, initiated multiple neuroscience partnerships, acquisitions and spinouts and played an active role in taking more than 10 compounds into the clinic. Immediately prior to joining SV, Ruth spent three years as Chief Executive Officer of the UK Government’s Innovation agency, InnovateUK, supporting the UK’s Industrial Strategy with responsibility for investing an annual budget of £1bn into Technology centres and SMEs.
Outside of SV, Ruth is a Trustee for Alzheimer’s Research UK and previously served as Chair of the UK’s BioIndustry Association. She is an enthusiast for innovation and entrepreneurship, sitting on multiple innovation and translation boards including the Academy of Engineering and the Francis Crick Institute. Ruth was made a Commander of the British Empire for services to business and innovation in 2013 and elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015. In her spare time Ruth is an award winning science writer, avid gardener and spokesperson for Women in Innovation.
Academic credentials
Ruth Has a BSc in Pharmacology and Biochemistry, a PhD in neuroscience and Honorary DSc from two Universities.
Amira is a seasoned global business executive with a proven track record across FTSE 100, Fortune 500, and Private Equity-backed scale-ups. She began her career in Big Pharma before transitioning to Pharma Services (CRO), where she spearheaded the growth of a high-performing SaaS and services portfolio. In this role, she harnessed AI to drive business transformation across six businesses and more than 30 products, generating $200 million in revenue.
Most recently, she served as COO and board member of a founder-led, high-growth drug discovery private equity backed scale-up. There, she oversaw global operations and transformation initiatives, while also holding full P&L responsibility for the £40 million North American business.
Amira is deeply committed to mentorship and inclusive leadership, believing that diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes.
Hannah serves as Chief Operating Officer of AstronauTx, having joined the company shortly after its founding. In this role, she is responsible for operational strategy and execution, supporting the advancement of the company’s portfolio as it grows from early-stage innovation toward the clinical.
She holds a degree in Pharmacy from the Welsh School of Pharmacy and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology from the University of Brighton, providing a strong scientific foundation that underpins her leadership across drug development and operations.
Prior to joining AstronauTx, Hannah spent 12 years at Pfizer, where she held roles of increasing responsibility. She began her career as a Pharmaceutical Project Lead before progressing to Global Development Director, supporting a broad portfolio of programmes across multiple therapeutic areas. In these roles, she contributed to the development of medicines from early project concepts through late-stage development and Post-Marketing Commitments (PMC), gaining extensive experience in global pharmaceutical development, cross-functional leadership, and regulatory delivery.
With a career spanning large pharmaceutical and biotech, Hannah brings deep expertise in translating scientific innovation into robust development strategies and operational execution.