Doug Locke is an organizational leader and the CEO of SSI Strategy, where he brings more than three decades of experience building high-performing teams, designing enterprise-level strategies, and driving transformation across the life sciences sector.  He focuses on delivering primary and supplemental delivery teams to achieve POC, IND-enabling, FIH and other longer ranging market-facing outcomes. Doug is focused on leveraging the SSI teaming model to achieve market outcomes for client partners of the firm. 

With a career spanning consulting, governance, and venture advisory roles, he specializes in developing market-facing partnerships and supporting medical and scientific leaders through key inflection points. Doug is committed to leaving every organization better than he found it and excels at navigating complex issues involving governance, funding, and growth. He is known for his collaborative leadership style and passion for helping others succeed.  

Johan Strömquist is President & Chief Innovation Officer at SSI Strategy and a published author on AI and risk management. With over 25 years of leadership experience across IT, life sciences, and consultancy, Johan specializes in guiding organizations through innovation, digitalization, and regulatory complexity. He co-founded Metalmind in 2023, focusing on AI productivity, and leads SSI Strategy’s innovation initiatives within biopharma. His expertise spans regulatory affairs, benefit–risk assessment, GDPR compliance for life sciences, and the application of generative AI in business. Johan thrives on managing change, fostering growth, and helping organizations achieve their goals.

He is the author of The Book on AI Risk Management – A Guide for Modern Executives.

Adam Schwartz is the President of SSI Strategy and a part of the initial team that started the firm.  He brings over two decades of leadership in both Management Consulting and Life Sciences.

As President of SSI, he focuses on supporting clients by ensuring the organization is fit for purpose to the dynamic needs of our biotech client array.  He has guided cross-functional teams in strategic planning, program management, and across a breadth of disciplines in the drug development lifecycle.  He has a focus on positioning scientific and medical functions at the core of innovation.

Adam has co-designed SSI’s unique organizational model to drive innovation and operational excellence for clients.  Prior to starting SSI, he was the initial employee at Acquis Consulting Group, a management consulting firm that provides a breadth of capabilities across industries and technologies.

Kim Kushner, MPH, is the Chief Business Officer at SSI Strategy, where she drives business growth and builds trusted partnerships with biotech and pharmaceutical leaders. With over 15 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences consulting, Kim specializes in helping executive teams design, scale, and transform organizations to bring innovative therapies to patients faster. At SSI, she oversees growth strategy, marketing, sales, and account management across the portfolio. Kim also serves as a Lecturer at Yale University and as Chair of the American Cancer Society’s Greater New York City Area Board. She is recognized for her ability to blend strategic insight with hands-on collaboration, guiding companies through critical inflection points from development to commercialization.

Victoria Benech is a seasoned life sciences consultant and trusted advisor to biotech and pharmaceutical leaders navigating strategic, operational, and organizational transformation.
As Chief Operating Officer at SSI Strategy, she drives the firm’s internal excellence agenda—designing and scaling systems and processes that enable consistent, high-quality delivery. She leads initiatives to enhance organizational effectiveness, strengthen operational performance, and foster a culture of accountability and execution excellence.  
Victoria’s leadership reflects a commitment to both client impact and organizational excellence, positioning SSI Strategy and its partners to thrive in an evolving and increasingly dynamic life sciences landscape. 

Delphine Moreau is a senior pharmaceutical and medical affairs leader with more than 20 years of global experience across Europe and the US, specializing in oncology and hematology. She has helped biopharmaceutical companies build, scale, and transform medical organizations across all stages of the asset lifecycle, from early development to post-launch growth. Her expertise spans clinical and evidence strategy, launch preparedness, operating model design, organizational transformation, and portfolio decision-making. Delphine has led oncology due diligences, supported post-merger integrations, and established alliance governance frameworks, working closely with executive teams to align organizational capabilities with strategic priorities and enable sustainable growth.

Laurie Smaldone Alsup, MD, is an expert in global clinical development and regulatory strategy with a focus on accelerating innovative therapies to patients. A physician executive trained in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the Yale School of Medicine, Laurie brings more than 30 years of global experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology leadership including biotechnology board experience She advises companies on regulatory and clinical strategies to support product approvals in the U.S. ,Europe and globally with a successful track record across numerous disease indications, including oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, neurology and rare genetic disorders. Laurie previously held senior executive roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb PharmApprove, NDA Group and Phytomedics, guiding numerous products through development, approval, and commercialization worldwide. She currently sits on the board of two biotechnology companies.  

Amit Patel, PharmD, is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience in emerging biotech and pharmaceutical companies across pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, and strategic consulting. At SSI Strategy, he leads the firm’s Pharmacovigilance Services Hub, partnering with clients to design and optimize global safety systems. Before joining SSI Strategy, Amit served as President of Fiore Healthcare Advisors, a life sciences consultancy, where he led the company’s operations, growth strategy, and client delivery—driving its expansion and successful acquisition by SSI Strategy in 2021.

Dr. Benit Maru is an accomplished physician, neuroimmunologist, and health economist with extensive global leadership experience in clinical development, health economics, and real-world evidence generation. He has directed groundbreaking programs in rare and ultra-rare diseases, including gene therapy and advanced therapeutic medicinal products, and has successfully navigated complex regulatory and health technology assessments across the UK, Europe, and USA. Renowned for aligning medical, scientific, and commercial strategies, Dr. Maru brings a proven track record in designing innovative clinical programs, optimizing trial networks, and delivering measurable impact through strategic stakeholder engagement.

Dr. Jen Seda is a seasoned medical executive with over 25 years’ experience building and leading medical and clinical teams for therapeutic development in rare disease, gene therapies, medical devices, and innovative therapeutics. She has guided medical organizations as interim, fractional and full time C-level roles through pivotal milestones including successful early fundraises, IPOs, acquisitions, and product launches, with a proven record of building high-performing, cross-functional teams from R&D through market adoption. Known for aligning medical, regulatory, commercial, and policy strategies, Dr. Seda excels in translating complex science into impactful platforms that advance patient-centered innovation and deliver measurable change in clinical practice worldwide.

Heather Paden is a senior life sciences executive with thirty years in healthcare and more than two decades in the pharmaceutical industry. Heather specializes in aligning complex, global clinical trial operations execution with business objectives. She has led cross-functional teams through dozens of Phase I–IV studies, multiple product launches, and operational transformations, ensuring regulatory compliance and strategic alignment across stakeholders. Heather’s expertise spans respiratory, cardiovascular, oncology, and rare diseases (including pioneering gene therapy studies), with a track record of delivering large-scale trials on time and within budget. She is recognized for building agile high-performing teams and optimizing operational infrastructure to advance innovative therapies from development to market.

Kate is passionate about applying innovative approaches to address the most complex challenges in life sciences. Since joining SSI in 2011, she has partnered with biotech leaders to build and scale their organizations, with a particular focus on strategies that accelerate or de-risk critical milestones. Her work is anchored in a singular priority: creating meaningful value—for client organizations, for investors, and ultimately for patients. In addition to her client work, Kate also drives several components of SSI’s own value creation strategy. She oversees the development and growth of SSI’s functional service offerings and leads the firm’s inorganic growth and M&A efforts.

Prior to SSI, Kate was part of Deloitte’s Strategy & Operations practice, where she delivered M&A integration, financial management, and human capital solutions.

Leah Damesek is Senior Vice President at SSI Strategy, where she leads high-impact client engagements across clinical, regulatory, and medical domains. Known for her ability to build trust with sponsors and executive teams, Leah specializes in guiding biotech organizations through inflection points: from IND-enabling strategy to governance design and milestone execution. Her leadership is rooted in cross-functional integration, coaching first-time CMOs, and shaping organizational structures that scale.

Leah’s approach is both strategic and relational: she listens deeply, aligns early, and delivers with precision. She has led governance and onboarding efforts for clinical-stage companies launching their first trials, and has helped design operating models that support sustainable growth and executive alignment. Prior to joining SSI, Leah was part of Huron Consulting Group’s Healthcare Practice. She holds a BA in Healthcare Policy with a minor in Financial Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Madhav leads our ventures group as part of our corporate development function.  Responsible for venture fund relationships, investment decisions of SSI’s own strategic investment fund, and building out corporate level services to supplement our work in R&D.

With 25+ years of experience, Madhav is an expert biotech operator who's been instrumental in building, fixing, and scaling functions and programs.   Working in both R&D and operations, his efforts maximize value for biotechs of various sizes, stages, and complexities.  He has worked collaboratively across functions driving alignment at all levels, from the operational resources up to company CEOs, Boards of Directors and investors.

Jacqui Levine is a seasoned management consultant with over 25 years of experience guiding Life Sciences organizations through complex, high-stakes transformations. As a Vice President at SSI Strategy, she partners with emerging biotechs and global pharmaceutical companies to deliver strategic and operational solutions across R&D, with deep expertise in Pharmacovigilance, Quality, Clinical Operations, Clinical Development, and Medical Affairs. Jacqui has led numerous high-impact initiatives, including the development and execution of launch-readiness roadmaps for Phase 3 biotechs preparing for commercialization, the design and management of enterprise inspection readiness programs, and the build-out of Medical Affairs capabilities to support growth and regulatory expectations. Known for her ability to align operational change with business strategy, Jacqui is a trusted advisor for mission-critical programs that demand both rigor and pragmatism.

Max Craig is a senior consulting leader with deep expertise in driving medical affairs transformation, launch planning, and strategic advisory for life sciences organizations. As Senior Vice President at SSI Strategy, he has partnered with executive leadership to deliver global medical affairs strategies, execute high-impact product launches, and enhance cross-functional performance. His work includes refreshing scientific communication plans, optimizing evidence generation, and leading organizational buildouts. Known for aligning strategy with measurable outcomes, Max has successfully guided top pharmaceutical and biotech clients through complex change initiatives, ensuring operational excellence and readiness for market success. 

Minna Montgomery is a senior life sciences consulting leader with deep experience in clinical and regulatory strategy, R&D program leadership, commercial launch readiness, and a focus on advanced therapies. She has held executive roles in both consulting and industry, spanning R&D operations, clinical development, regulatory, and data science. Minna partners with global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and emerging companies, serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite executives and boards. Recognized for seamlessly operating between R&D delivery and corporate strategy, Minna is known for translating complex science and regulation into disciplined program execution, including securing key funding milestones. Her work is grounded in a commitment to delivering measurable impact for companies navigating high-stakes development and growth inflection points.

Victoria Oswald, PhD, is a senior life sciences consulting leader with a doctorate in chemistry and broad early development experience across translational strategy, the preclinical/CMC interface, clinical development, and regulatory engagement. She brings scientific rigor and operational discipline to programs spanning therapeutic areas and modalities, guiding them from preclinical and translational foundations through first-in-human studies and early clinical execution. 

Victoria partners with biotech and pharmaceutical executives and leadership teams, embedding within client organizations to build the teaming models, governance, and infrastructure needed to move programs from strategy to execution. Her work is grounded in a commitment to helping companies translate high-stakes development decisions into measurable progress and enterprise value. 
 

Laurie Smaldone Alsup, MD, is an expert in global clinical development and regulatory strategy with a focus on accelerating innovative therapies to patients. A physician executive trained in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the Yale School of Medicine, Laurie brings more than 30 years of global experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology leadership including biotechnology board experience She advises companies on regulatory and clinical strategies to support product approvals in the U.S. ,Europe and globally with a successful track record across numerous disease indications, including oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, neurology and rare genetic disorders. Laurie previously held senior executive roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb PharmApprove, NDA Group and Phytomedics, guiding numerous products through development, approval, and commercialization worldwide. She currently sits on the board of two biotechnology companies. 

Trevor Mill is a seasoned c-suite biotech leader specializing in global drug development and regulatory strategy. With extensive experience (30 years plus) across pharma, biotech, and start-up environments, he has guided many products from early research, development, through to regulatory approval in multiple geographies. Trevor has led large, cross-functional teams, driving expedited approvals in rare diseases, neuroscience, psychiatry, and many more. Known for shaping regulatory pathways in innovative therapeutic areas and differing drug modalities, he has successfully navigated key development milestones, pivotal agency engagements and built high-performing R&D organizations which have consistently delivered complex projects in alignment with strategic goals and scientific excellence.

Leah Damesek is Senior Vice President at SSI Strategy, where she leads high-impact client engagements across clinical, regulatory, and medical domains. Known for her ability to build trust with sponsors and executive teams, Leah specializes in guiding biotech organizations through inflection points: from IND-enabling strategy to governance design and milestone execution. Her leadership is rooted in cross-functional integration, coaching first-time CMOs, and shaping organizational structures that scale.

Leah’s approach is both strategic and relational: she listens deeply, aligns early, and delivers with precision. She has led governance and onboarding efforts for clinical-stage companies launching their first trials, and has helped design operating models that support sustainable growth and executive alignment. Prior to joining SSI, Leah was part of Huron Consulting Group’s Healthcare Practice. She holds a BA in Healthcare Policy with a minor in Financial Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Hanne Brokopp is a seasoned regulatory affairs leader with over 26 years in the pharmaceutical industry, specialising in European regulatory strategy for global development programs. As a VP, she delivers strategic guidance on complex submissions including pre-submission activities, in-licensing assessments, and lifecycle management. Her track record includes leading cross-functional teams, securing multiple EU marketing authorisations, and engaging effectively with EMA and national competent authorities. Skilled in small molecules, biologicals, vaccines, and biosimilars, Hanne brings proven expertise in navigating accelerated pathways, paediatric programs, and high-stakes regulatory interactions aligned with client objectives.