Consultant Connection Networking Night – SOLD OUT

Ryan Takeya serves as the site head for Pfizer's North Creek Manufacturing facility in Bothell, WA, showcasing a distinguished 30-year career in biotech process development and manufacturing. His extensive expertise spans a spectrum of technologies, including recombinant proteins, viral and cell gene therapy, and mRNA and DNA non-viral products.

With a proven track record in leadership, Ryan is deeply committed to nurturing talent and fostering biomanufacturing growth in the Washington state. Actively engaging with region’s post-secondary education institutions, he serves as an advisor to programs aimed at enriching the local biotech workforce and providing a pipeline of future biotech manufacturing candidates, perfectly aligning with Pfizer's dedication to innovation and excellence.

Jary Krauser approaches his work with open curiosity, creative energy, and a well-honed strategic sense. For -30 years, he has been the driving force behind StratusG, building a team with a targeted biotech skillset and a strong belief in collaboration and completion. More than 100 clients have trusted him to give them direct and inventive guidance to address their challenges, solve their problems, and grow their companies.

As CEO, Jary focuses on ensuring smooth and satisfying customer experiences for new and continuing clients, motivating clients and consultants alike to think boldly, and leading his team to find innovative solutions to challenging situations.

His in-depth experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries coupled with experience in all phases of the product development pipeline from concept through research, development, commercialization, and beyond–has given him the insight and wisdom needed to partner with biotech leaders both in the U.S. and across the globe.

Jary serves on the board of Life Science Washington and as a mentor to MBA students at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. He holds a BS in Business Administration and Computer Science from Oregon State University, where he also ran track and cross country for five years. He is an outdoor enthusiast and still runs at least twice a week.

After sixteen years of leading project management organizations in small and medium size biotech companies, Dara Lockert founded Spannerwerks in 2015 to provide on-demand teams to growing companies. With a foundation in good project management and years of leadership responsibility, Spannerwerks consultants are skilled in translating science into good business.

Dr. Siahpush has over 29 years of cell therapy and biologics development and commercialization experience.  Since founding Pharmefex in 2014, Dr. Siahpush has advised numerous cell and gene therapy clients on a vast array of CMC topics including development, technology transfer, CMO selection, validation, comparability, regulatory submissions and interactions, and CMC strategy.  Prior to creating Pharmefex, Dr. Siahpush was Vice President of Product Development and Manufacturing Science at Dendreon, a pioneer in cell therapy development and commercialization, where he was responsible for early and late stage product development, and support of Dendreon’s commercial manufacturing for Provenge®.  Prior to joining Dendreon, Dr. Siahpush spent nearly 20 years at Amgen in a number of capacities spanning process development, product development, technology transfer, supply chain management, program management, acquisition integration and organizational redesign culminating as Executive Director of global process development.  Dr. Siahpush also has hands on experience in protein formulation and fill/finish, lyophilization, downstream development, protein derivatization, Quality investigations, NC/CAPA’s, and risk analysis and has presided over transfer, validation and approval of numerous products both within and outside of the contiguous United States.  He holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Courtney Rutkoski is a seasoned healthcare and life sciences leader with over 25 years of experience in creating commercial frameworks that attract top talent, foster innovation, and drive collaborative results. She has successfully executed 10 first-in-class product launches in the rare disease space, consistently surpassing revenue expectations under accelerated timelines. Known for her ability to build high-performing sales organizations, Courtney has established 14 sales teams that achieved swift market penetration and sustained impact through thoughtful hiring and rapid, results-driven training. Her work has left a lasting mark on the industry, shaping the future of healthcare innovation.