Chief Development Officer & Founder play a crucial role in any startup. It takes an extraordinary person to fulfil the Chief Development Officer & Founder role. We have selected these Chief Development Officer & Founder’s for this list as they are inspiring for a variety of reasons – whether that’s pushing boundaries, creating groundbreaking products, or doing their bit to save the world.
Our analysts did their best to select be best, and most innovative Chief Development Officer & Founder’s. The list is in no particular order!
Brent Gutekunst
Chief Development Officer & Founder @ BenevolentAI
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Mr. Brent Gutekunst co-founded BenevolentAI Limited in 2013 and also serves as its Chief Development Officer. Mr. Gutekunst is the founder of Stratified Medical, Inc. Previously, he founded TouchDx in 2009. Prior to TouchDx, he founded E-Auction. He also founded Collectors Universe and after merging with leading firms in the collectibles industry completed a successful IPO in collectibles.
Learn more about Brent Gutekunst on Crunchbase…BenevolentAI is a developer of artificial intelligence and computational medicine technologies. Read more about BenevolentAI on Crunchbase…
Mark Fisher
Chief Development Officer @ Merlin Entertainments
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Mark manages the company’s creative and development organisation: Merlin Magic Making (MMM). MMM works alongside Merlin’s three Operating Groups – LEGOLAND Parks, Resort Theme Parks and Midway Attractions – and brings together site search and property development, creative development and production, and project management. A graduate in Recreation Management, Mark joined The Tussauds Group in 1991 and Merlin in 1995. He has been a senior member of the management team throughout its impressive growth period, playing a key role as part of the original management buyout team from Vardon, and in the ongoing organic development which has been at the heart of the company’s success.
Learn more about Mark Fisher on Crunchbase…Merlin Entertainments is the largest European entertainments company operating in Europe. Read more about Merlin Entertainments on Crunchbase…
Jamie Heath
Chief Development Officer @ BTG International
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Jamie Heath joined BTG in 2018 as Chief Development Officer, leading the development of BTG’s overall corporate strategy, including M&A plans, growth opportunities and digital activities. Prior to joining BTG, Jamie was a Managing Director with Deutsche Bank where he represented select medtech, medical device and pharma companies. His career spans over 20 years in investment banking, providing strategic and financial advisory services to clients globally.
Learn more about Jamie Heath on Crunchbase… Read more about BTG International on Crunchbase…
Lukasz Rzeczkowski
Co-Founder & Chief Development Officer @ Trustedoctor
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I am a founder and a Chief Development Officer of Trustedoctor, the platform and the ecosystem that simplifies access to specialized medicine around the world. Focusing initially on cancer conditions, we have made a difference for patients from more than 90 countries. Our award-winning platform has been jointly-built and adopted by key opinion leaders across 12 countries. Having created a digitized network of medical experts we aim to deliver state-of-the-art healthcare navigation services focused on virtual care and diagnostics, making healthcare accessible, affordable, timely, and more personalized for everyone everywhere. We now offer virtual care services to critical illness insurance and employee benefits. In my previous life, I spent over 10 years working in finance, mainly in structured credit with a special interest in European Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLOs). In 2013, I performed an in-depth study in the CLO manager selection as part of the executive master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I have a strong track record of trading asset back securities in Europe across multiple jurisdictions including the UK, Holland, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. As a founder, I do appreciate the challenges of running an early stage business. I am always open to supporting my network in any way I can with advice, connections/introductions and capital. I have invested in a number of start-ups focused around digital health, AI and fintech. Please do not hesitate to reach out: lukasz@trustedoctor.com
Learn more about Lukasz Rzeczkowski on Crunchbase…We want to provide the prime, trustworthy and borderless healthcare advice to help patients and their families in the fight against cancer. Read more about Trustedoctor on Crunchbase…
Christopher Yea
Chief Development Officer @ KalVista Pharmaceuticals
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Chris holds a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, UK. Following post-doctoral work, he spent several years at Roussel-UCLAF and Hoechst Marion Roussel before joining Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Chris led the Biology group and was responsible for transition of candidates into development. In 2008, Chris co-led the spin-out of Vantia Ltd and most recently was Chief Operating Officer where he was responsible for development activities through Phase 3 trials. In his position as Chief Development Officer, Chris is responsible for all development-related activities within KalVista Pharmaceuticals.
Learn more about Christopher Yea on Crunchbase… Read more about KalVista Pharmaceuticals on Crunchbase…
Aziz Sharif
Chief Development Officer @ Sixley | Ask Your Networks
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Currently the Chief Development Officer of Sixley.com. Aziz was previously Online Ventures and Head of Joint Initiatives at Ooredoo Group, an Investment Banker at The First Investor (Barwa Bank) and a Co-Founder at Mannzili.
Learn more about Aziz Sharif on Crunchbase…Sixley is a people-powered recruitment platform that helps you find great talent by harnessing the power of personal recommendations Read more about Sixley | Ask Your Networks on Crunchbase…
Pete Connell
Chief Development Officer @ Wealth Wizards
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I’ve been lucky enough to experience most aspects of the financial advice business in the last 20 odd years and my roles have encompassed online as well as traditional advice. I’ve specialised in corporate advice and have extensive knowledge of the employee benefits market. We founded Wealth Wizards to help make some vital changes to what was out there including improved efficiency, reduced costs and to deliver a genuinely customer focussed advice model. For me, the guiding principle was to deliver the kind of advice we would want to receive ourselves. I’m proud to say I’m a client of the business and hope you’re inclined to give us a try as well.
Learn more about Pete Connell on Crunchbase…Wealth Wizards is the UK’s first online independent financial adviser and we offer digital regulated financial advice and guidance. Read more about Wealth Wizards on Crunchbase…
Lynn Purkins
Vice President & Chief Development Officer @ Ziarco
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Lynn Purkins is the vice president of clinical operations for Reneo Pharmaceuticals. Lynn has nearly three decades of drug development experience in large and small biotechnology companies. Before joining Reneo, Lynn was a founder and chief development officer at Ziarco Pharma, which was acquired by Novartis in 2017. Prior to Ziarco, Lynn held numerous roles at Pfizer, including clinical pharmacology, clinical operations and team leader for projects from target selection to clinical proof of concept. Her experience spans multiple therapeutic areas including dermatology, pain, respiratory and gastroenterology. Lynn received a Ph.D. in nutrition and immunology from University of Leeds and a B.S. in dietetics from Leeds Beckett University.
Learn more about Lynn Purkins on Crunchbase… Read more about Ziarco on Crunchbase…
Mr Ralph lamble
Chief Development Officer @ Sense Biodetection
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Sense Biodetection Limited is a molecular diagnostics company . Read more about Sense Biodetection on Crunchbase…
Marc Vieilledent
Chief Development Officer @ easyHotel
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easyHotel is an international super budget hotel provide you with the sleep essentials and the flexibility to customise your room. Read more about easyHotel on Crunchbase…
Rob O’Farrell
Chief Development Officer @ Dovetail Games
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Dovetail Games creates digital hobbies enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of passionate enthusiasts across the globe. Read more about Dovetail Games on Crunchbase…
Philip Bland-Ward
Chief Development Officer (CDO) @ Crescendo Biologics
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Phil has over 20 years’ experience in biopharmaceutical R&D and has held senior operational and leadership roles in the development of novel antibody therapeutics. He began his career at the Glaxo Institute of Applied Pharmacology and GlaxoWellcome before gaining biologics expertise at Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) and PanGenetics. Phil has also held CSO positions in smaller venture-backed companies focused on the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics (Navion and SweetSpot Therapeutics) and was a co-founder at Nascient. Prior to joining Crescendo, Phil was a VP at Kymab with particular responsibility for the scientific leadership of their most advanced development programme. Phil holds a BPharm degree in pharmacy and a PhD in pharmacology, both from King’s College London.
Learn more about Philip Bland-Ward on Crunchbase…Crescendo Biologics is engaged in the development of a proprietary drug portfolio based on their VH antibody fragment platform. Read more about Crescendo Biologics on Crunchbase…
Ejaz Rehman
Chief Development Officer @ Jobtrain
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Streamline recruitment and secure top-talent through Jobtrain’s innovative applicant tracking system and online candidate management. Read more about Jobtrain on Crunchbase…
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