From Bench to Boardroom: Leading Cell and Gene Therapy Through Uncertainty

The following article is an opinion piece written by Dr. Stella Vnook. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Technology Networks.

When I think about the most transformative moments in my career, they often begin in two very different places: a lab, filled with the hum of incubators and the smell of ethanol, and a boardroom, where the only sound is the pause before someone asks, “How are we going to fund this?”

I’ve spent over 25 years living at the intersection of those 2 worlds – launching products, scaling biotech ventures, building Likarda into a platform player in cell therapy delivery and advising startups on how to align science and business for maximum impact. If there’s one truth I’ve learned, it’s this: in cell and gene therapy (CGT), science without business dies on the vine, and business without science is just noise. The magic – and the breakthroughs – happen when the two move in rhythm.

That rhythm is harder to find in CGT than in almost any other field. The science is capital-intensive and long-gestating; the business side is unforgiving to those who burn too fast. The CEOs who will define this next era of CGT will lead differently than those who came before.

Capital strategy: The new playbook

The old script – raise big, spend fast, hope the science catches up – is obsolete. In CGT, the finish line can be a decade away. If you run out of fuel in year four, you never get there.

At Likarda, we structured our funding in milestone-driven tranches, where each raise was tied to a true de-risking event – proof-of-concept, platform expansion, equipment/ good manufacturing practice development. We choreographed our capital strategy so we could negotiate from strength, not desperation.

I’ve seen this play out again with another company – a novel immuno-oncology therapeutic with the potential to re-sensitize resistant tumors. The capital plan is designed to integrate grant funding, strategic pharma partnerships and equity raises in deliberate phases, so the science advances without burning through optionality. This kind of blended financing curve – equity, grants, collaborations – will be essential for CGT companies to survive and scale in today’s environment.

Leadership traits that actually move the needle

In CGT, leadership style isn’t a soft skill – it’s a survival skill. The most effective leaders I know have no ego about changing course when the data says, “Plan A won’t work.” They communicate clearly across disciplines, align scientists, investors and regulators around the same vision, and run organizations nimble enough to absorb setbacks without imploding.

I’ve learned firsthand that leadership is about clarity under pressure. When timelines shift, a competitor makes a move or a regulator changes expectations, the best leaders pivot quickly, anchoring teams on purpose while adjusting the path forward.

Lessons from building through uncertainty

If you’re going to work in CGT, uncertainty is your permanent co-founder. Over the years, three principles have anchored me:

1. Narrative over perfection – Investors fund credible stories more than they fund bullet points. A 90-second pitch that makes someone lean in is worth more than a 40-slide deck they can’t remember.
2. Partnerships as leverage – The right co-development deal can multiply capacity overnight. It’s not just about money; it’s about distribution, regulatory expertise and manufacturing reach.
3. Stepwise value milestones – Map your science directly to valuation jumps. Investors need to see how each scientific step – preclinical success, process scale-up, IND filing – translates into a tangible increase in company value.

Where we’re headed

CGT has reached a turning point. The next generation of leaders will succeed not just by having the most compelling data, but by pairing adaptive capital strategies with resilient leadership and a roadmap that ties science to market realities.

I’ve built my career and my companies on that bridge between science and business. Whether at Likarda, a new immuno-oncology program or in the boardrooms where I help guide emerging biotech leaders, my focus remains the same: helping companies cross the chasm from concept to clinic, from possibility to patient impact.

Because in the end, the work we do isn’t about raising capital or perfecting slide decks. It’s about making sure that promising therapies in our labs make it to the people whose lives they can change. And that is a race worth running – and winning – together.