Let's Talk Quality

From rock guitarist to VP of Corporate Quality, Tony shows how principles, clear choices, and modern tools like AI can level-up how quality leaders think and operate. In today's episode, Hemish was joined by Tony Jones, Vice President, Corporate Quality at Syneos Health. Tony’s path is anything but typical: NHS clinical biochemistry, clinical pharmacokinetics at Beecham/GSK, a move to France,...

In this week's episode, Hemish was joined by Scott Pherson, Senior Director of Quality Assurance at AS2 Bio. Scott has made the transition from big pharma to startup biotech three times. And now, he’s building quality from scratch at a company that hasn’t even dosed a patient yet. Scott has nearly 20 years’ experience across QC, operations, and quality leadership, having worked at Biogen, Shire, A...

In today's episode, we are joined by Stephanie Martin, Director of QA and Product Quality Lead at Adaptimmune. Stephanie's journey into quality leadership is anything but traditional. She started out as a nuclear engineer at a shipyard before pivoting into biotech and building a career in quality. What stands out is how she has faced bias around her age and appearance head-on, and still accelerate...

In today’s episode, I was joined by Megan Callan, Vice President of Quality at Abeona Therapeutics . I really wanted to speak to Megan because her last few years at Abeona have been a masterclass in building a quality organisation that can handle the demands of commercial manufacturing - all while driving a digital transformation and keeping a patient-first mindset. Megan has a unique career journ...

In today’s episode I was joined by Nolan Polson, Vice President of Quality Assurance and Product Quality at Iovance Biotherapeutics. I really wanted to speak to Nolan because he’s one of the few leaders who’s built quality teams at every stage – from biologics at Amgen to radiopharma at Janssen, to launching two first-in-class cell therapies at Juno/Celgene/BMS. Nolan’s career path is a great exam...

In today’s episode I was joined by Ashley Argiras, VP of Quality at Recursion . I really wanted to speak to Ashley because she’s helping redefine what quality leadership looks like in a tech-enabled, platform biotech - and she’s doing it by shifting how people think, not just how they work. Ashley’s journey into science started in high school - not in a lab, but making ice cream during chemistry c...

In today’s episode I was joined by Maja Pedersen, Chief Technology Officer at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. I really wanted to speak to Maja because she leads quality and IT across six global sites, and has a brilliant perspective on how quality leadership is evolving - especially when it comes to people, systems and technology. She has a calm, clear way of thinking, and we covered everything...

From engineering student to SVP of Quality - Carolina shares how curiosity, resilience, and mentorship shaped her journey. In today’s episode I was joined by Carolina Valoyes, Senior Vice President of Quality and Compliance at BioNova Scientific. I really wanted to speak to Carolina because her story is one of bold decisions, genuine self-awareness, and a leadership style grounded in service, not...

In this episode of Let’s Talk Quality , Hemish speaks with Jose Caraballo , a biotech leader with over 30 years of experience in process engineering, manufacturing science, and quality leadership. Jose started his career in process engineering , optimizing yields and scaling up production.  Over time, he made a deliberate shift into quality leadership , recognizing that understanding the exte...

This week on Let’s Talk Quality, we sat down with Andrea Karpinecz, VP of Quality Control at Iovance Biotherapeutics, to discuss what it takes to build a successful QC career, scale teams for commercialization, and thrive in a high-pressure environment. Andrea has been in cell therapy for 16+ years, playing a pivotal role in bringing multiple therapies to market - including some of the first comme...

🚀 The first-ever returning guest on the podcast! In this episode, Hemish sat down with Brian Nunnally, Enterprise Quality Control Head at CSL, to dive deep into one of the most important topics in career growth - mentorship. Brian’s career is a perfect example of how mentorship, strategic career moves, and leadership development can accelerate your path to the top. He shares his journey from QC s...

🎙️Would you move to a new country with no network, no guarantees - just a dream and two suitcases? That’s exactly what Katarina Bartle did. She left Slovakia, where she had built a strong academic foundation, moved to Germany for her PhD, and then took a huge risk, relocating to the U.S. for what was meant to be a short postdoc. 27 years later, she’s still here - now a biotech quality leader who h...

In today’s episode, I was joined by Biana Torres , Senior Director of Quality Assurance at Encoded Therapeutics . I really wanted to speak to Biana because she has built a strong leadership career in quality, moving through both big pharma and small biotech. She’s now leading in the dynamic world of cell and gene therapy, where quality and adaptability are critical. Biana started out aiming to be...

In today’s episode, I was joined by Shane Ernst, Vice President of Quality at Empower Pharmacy. I really wanted to speak to Shane because he has built an incredible career in quality leadership despite being an introvert - a trait many in the industry can relate to. His journey from analytical chemist to VP is full of valuable insights on leadership, career progression, and navigating high-stakes...

In this episode of Let’s Talk Quality , Hemish sat down with Rob Dallimore, Head of Quality at Wugen, to discuss his inspiring 25+ year journey in quality assurance and leadership. Rob’s experience spans small molecules, biologics, and cell therapy, giving him unique insights into what it takes to succeed across different modalities. Rob shared invaluable lessons from his career, including the min...

In today's episode, I'm joined by Jon Voss, one of the all-time quality greats! I've been working with Jon over the past 18 months. I'd describe him as a true gent - very humble, incredibly funny with a dry sense of humour, and someone who is so passionate about this industry. Unsurprisingly he has developed some of the leaders I've interviewed on this show! What shines through in this episode is...

On this week's episode of Let's Talk Quality: The Podcast🎙️ Hemish Ilangaratne is joined by Hanh Nguyen , Site Head of Quality at Minaris Regenerative Medicine , a global CDMO specializing in cell and gene therapies. Hanh’s career started in document control at Amgen, spending over a decade in Big Pharma, before taking a leap into smaller, fast-paced organizations. That move - stepping out of...

On this week's episode of Let's Talk Quality: The Podcast🎙️ Hemish Ilangaratne is joined by Sang Yoon , VP of Quality Assurance at ImmunityBio , a cell and gene therapy company based in California. Sang’s story is truly inspiring. With 25+ years in biologics, medical devices, and healthcare, he’s been at the forefront of product launches, recalls, and scaling operations globally. But what stood ou...

On this week's episode of Let's Talk Quality: The Podcast🎙️ Hemish Ilangaratne is joined by Swetha Krishnan , Executive Director and Head of Quality at Mural Oncology , a fast growing biotech in Waltham, Massachusetts. Here's what they discuss: How Swetha's upbringing shaped her career progression 🚀 Moving from India to the US to pursue a career in science 🧬 Why wearing so many hats early on imp...

In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Matthew Wheeler, Vice President of Quality and Clinical Operations at Precision BioSciences. Matthew’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. From starting his career in food manufacturing at Kellogg's to building a career in biotech, his story is one of resilience, adaptability, and leadership. In the past year, Matt was diagnosed with not one...

In this conversation, Lauren Smith, Chief Quality Officer at OrcaBio, shares her journey into the field of quality assurance, discussing her early career, leadership experiences, and the importance of connecting work to patient outcomes. She emphasizes the challenges and rewards of working in quality assurance, the significance of practical quality, and the need for purpose-driven leadership....

Sean Smith, Vice President and Head of Quality at KSQ Therapeutics, shares his journey from working in big biotech to transitioning into small biotech and the challenges and opportunities that come with it. He emphasizes the importance of being willing to challenge the status quo, having an openness to learning, and practicing empathy as a quality leader. Smith also discusses the need for quality...

In today's episode, I'm joined by Andrea Goddard, former Chief Quality Officer at Genentech. Andrea shares her career journey and insights into quality leadership. She started in biotech manufacturing and transitioned into quality after a conversation with her boss! Andrea emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships between quality and other departments within an organization. She d...

In today's episode, we're joined by Gary Barrera, Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory at Vera Therapeutics. Gary shares that his love for reading and learning, as well as his curiosity about how things work, led him to pursue a career in science. He started in manufacturing and eventually moved into quality, where he discovered his passion for ensuring the reliability and safety of pro...

In today's episode I was joined by Andrew Cieri, Senior Director of Quality for Regeneron's newly acquired cell therapy unit. Regeneron are launching a new cell therapy unit after the acquisition of the pipeline and commercialisation rights to 2seventy products and Andrew has been tasked with launching this unit! I wanted to talk with Andrew to learn about his journey and how he's gone developing...