<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=4423596&amp;fmt=gif">
Discover AGCellerate™ for LVV - a faster option to get your GMP-ready lentiviral vector product   Learn about AGCellerate

Executive Leadership

Global Leaders    |    General Managers

 

Global Leaders

Patricio E. Massera

Patricio E. Massera

Chief Executive Officer

Patricio Massera was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AGC Biologics (formerly CMC Biologics) in May 2019. Patricio joined the company in 2012, as General Manager of Copenhagen-based CMC Biologics A/S. He later served as Chief Operating Officer in the Seattle-based company headquarters. As CEO, Patricio quickly developed a comprehensive people management strategy, recognizing that with a healthy company culture and highly engaged employees, AGC is best positioned to provide the highest-quality services to our customers. Across his 20 years of biologics experience, Patricio held several key executive positions at MSD AH, Intervet/Schering-Plough, Biogenesis-Bagó and other biotech companies in Spain, Brazil, and Argentina. With a background in biochemistry and business, Patricio has acted as a change agent in several integration processes and cultivated strong leadership teams, dedicated to developing, manufacturing, and controlling biotechnological products and vaccines for human and animal health.

Patricio holds an MBA from UCEMA and a Biochemist degree from the University of Buenos Aires.

Kasper Møller, Ph.D

Kasper Møller, Ph.D

Chief Technical Officer and Executive vice president, europe & japan Regions

Kasper Møller was appointed to the role of Chief Technical Officer in June 2019, after serving for two years as General Manager and Site Head for our Copenhagen facility. Throughout his 14 years at AGC Biologics, Kasper has provided expertise in process characterization and validation, in previous roles such as Principal Scientist, Department Manager within Process Development, Vice President of Process Development and Vice President of Manufacturing. Earlier in his career, Kasper spent five years as an assistant professor and faculty member at the Technical University of Denmark, conducting research, and teaching fermentation technology and metabolic engineering.

Kasper earned a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering, with a focus on microbial physiology, from the Technical University of Denmark. He pursued his post-doc at the university’s Center for Process Biotechnology, as well as the Department of Genetics at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis. Along the way, he contributed to more than a dozen scientific international journals and publications.

Tomoko Miyagawa headshot

Tomoko Miyagawa

Executive Vice President, Corporate Development

Tomoko Miyagawa was appointed to the role of Executive Vice President of Corporate Development in October 2023, and joins AGC Biologics after serving as General Manager of Strategy and Planning for the AGC Life Science Company.

While with the AGC Life Sciences, she played a critical role in developing and executing the strategy for acquiring new facilities to expand the AGC Biologics global network of CDMO sites over the last several years, including the company’s expansion into cell and gene services in 2020. Tomoko has been supporting the AGC Biologics integration into the AGC Inc. corporation since the company was formed in 2018. She brings more than 25 years of experience to this position, and a decade of expertise in the manufacturing and chemicals space, including several senior strategic level positions at AGC Chemicals.

In her new role she will focus on additional strategic corporate development opportunities for AGC Biologics to ensure successful growth and development of its global manufacturing network.

She has been working for AGC Inc. since 1998 in a variety of divisions, including spending time as a registered attorney. Tomoko holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tokyo and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

Luis Velez headshot

Luis Velez

Executive Vice President, U.S. Region

Luis Velez assumed the role of Executive Vice President, U.S. Region, in December 2023. He brings 25 years of experience in high-performance and sustainable commercial manufacturing operations with a background in both supply chain and compliance-related work.

He most recently served as Vice President of Global Quality External Manufacturing & Supply Operations with Teva Pharmaceuticals. While there, Luis played a vital role in leading the strategy and implementation for a new business division dedicated to improving efficiencies in quality, manufacturing and supply chain operations across a network of 75 countries. Before his time with Teva, he held various leadership roles with Baxter Healthcare, Amgen, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson in operations, manufacturing, supply chain, and drug product and substance engineering. He will use this experience to lead the direction of AGC Biologics U.S. sites and ensure the network runs efficiently and effectively to serve developers at any stage in their product lifecycle.

Luis earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Turabo. He also received Executive Leadership training at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Greg Shelton – Global Vice President, Legal Affairs

Greg Shelton

Executive VIce President, People and culture, General Counsel and COMPLIANCE OFFICER

Greg Shelton was appointed to the position of Executive Vice President, People and Culture, General Counsel and Compliance Officer on January 1, 2023. Before his appointment, Greg served on the AGC Biologics Executive Leadership Team as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Compliance Officer. He brings more than 25 years of experience, legal expertise, and proven people leadership abilities within the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and healthcare spaces. Greg currently serves as the Executive Sponsor of the AGC Biologics Global Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) and the Strategic Initiative on Culture, relying on his passion for organizational culture and previous experience within DE&I committees to help team members have a fulfilling, rewarding, and appreciative experience and workplace.

Before joining AGC Biologics, Greg served as Division Counsel and Senior Leadership Team member for Stryker Emergency Care – a division of Stryker Corporation. Prior to Stryker, he represented a notable roster of multinational companies at high-performing law firms in both Seattle and New York City. Greg has also authored numerous legal publications.

He earned his Bachelor of Art, Philosophy from University of Massachusetts and his Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School. 

Carrie Mygatt headshot

Carrie Mygatt

Executive Vice President, Finance

Carrie Mygatt was appointed to the role of EVP Finance at AGC Biologics in October 2023. Carrie brings over 30 years of operational financial leadership experience in finance, accounting, treasury, IT, HR and procurement.   Prior to joining AGC Biologics, Carrie held senior financial positions at Corning, Alvogen, Honeywell and Stryker.

Carrie is a licensed CPA in the state of Missouri and earned a B.S. in Accounting from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Akira Nakamura - AGC Biologics

Akira Nakamura

Senior Vice President, Corporate and Strategy Planning

Akira Nakamura was appointed Senior Vice President, Corporate and Strategic Planning, in August 2022 after 32 years with AGC Inc. From October 2021 until his recent appointment, Akira served as Group Leader of the Strategy Group within the Life Science Division in Tokyo, and has utilized his extensive background in finance in a variety of strategic assignments. Since joining AGC Inc., he has played an important role in numerous achievements, including the M&A support of CMC Biologics in 2016, MolMed in 2020, and others; as well as the implementation of global cyber insurance in 2021 and the implementation of an international cash management system in 2013.

Akira holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from The University of Tokyo.

wendy-headshot2-with-ext-background

Wendy Laderach

Senior Vice President, COrporate Quality

Wendy Laderach, Senior Vice President of Corporate Quality has spent over thirty-five years in the scientific field. Her formal education is in Biochemistry, receiving a bachelor’s degree from California State University. She also holds an advanced degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine, and certifications in Database Management and Regulatory Affairs.

Wendy has played many roles in Quality specializing in Quality Control, Quality Systems and Regulatory Compliance. She was Quality Site Head of External Supply for a Amgen prior to joining AGC Biologics. Wendy’s passion is serving others including time spent as a guest lecturer for USC Los Angeles.

With a demonstrated track record in applying operational excellence principals across many facets of biologics development and manufacturing, Wendy’s current role focuses on applying the lessons learned to improve AGC Biologics quality systems in order to promote continuous improvement of the services provided for our Clients.

 

General Managers

Andrea C. Porchia

Andrea C. Porchia

Senior Vice president and General Manager, Copenhagen Facility

Andrea C. Porchia, General Manager of the Copenhagen facility, joined AGC Biologics in August 2013. During her time with the company, she has taken on increasing responsibility across sites in progressive roles as Project Director, Senior Director Business Development, and Global Vice President of Project Management prior to the GM appointment. Andrea’s deep knowledge of the Copenhagen site is complemented by a track record of successful integration and standardization of project management practices across sites at AGC Biologics. With more than 20 years of experience in CMC development, her expertise includes process and analytical development, tech transfer, drug substance and drug product manufacturing and regulatory strategy.

Andrea pursued her education in Argentina and Denmark. She earned a PhD in Biochemistry from Mar del Plata University, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in addition to a Postdoctoral position from The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dieter Kramer

Dieter Kramer

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Heidelberg Facility

As the General Manager of the Heidelberg facility, Dieter Kramer applies two decades of technical and leadership expertise. Dieter joined AGC Biologics in July 2018, having worked in a similar role at Corden Biochem GmbH, a full-service Contract Manufacturing Organization. Dieter brings breadth and depth to his role. Combining the disciplines of business and chemical engineering, he held various positions in R&D, manufacturing, project management and general management in the Sandoz/Novartis network in Austria and Germany. In particular, he spent five years as Managing Director of an API manufacturing site with large-scale fermentation and downstream capabilities.

Dieter pursued his education in Austria. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Management Center Innsbruck. He received his master’s degree in Technical Chemistry and Biotechnology at the Technical University of Graz. He completed his education at Höhere Technische Bundeslehranstalt in Wels with advanced study in chemical engineering.

Jun Takami

Jun Takami

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Chiba Facility

Jun Takami, General Manager of AGC Biologics’ facility in Chiba, joined AGC Inc. in September 2017. He brings over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with roles in process development, GMP manufacturing, process engineering, team management and PLI activities at Chugai Pharmaceutical within Roche Group.

After joining AGC Inc., he helped design and introduce mammalian capacity of both 500L and 2000L scale at the Chiba site. He was appointed as Project Management Director, a role which he held for two years. In parallel, he supported business development activities by bringing customers to the Chiba site. Since April 2021, he has led the Chiba site operations to execute both microbial and mammalian projects for our global customers. Jun has experience cultivating strong leadership teams, each dedicated to the success of development, manufacturing, supply chain, engineering and quality. He also works to keep our quality culture top-of-mind within Chiba site.

Jun holds a Masters in biological science from Kobe University, as well as Bachelor’s degree.

Luca Alberici

Luca Alberici

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Milan Facility

Luca Alberici, General Manager of the Milan, Italy facility is a value driven professional who came to AGC Biologics through the July 2020 acquisition of MolMed, a leading cell and gene therapy company. His rich educational background is complemented by more than 14 years of industry experience in roles of increasing responsibility for strategic business development and operations, licensing, project management and intellectual property for large molecule and specialty drug development and commercialization. Throughout his career, Luca has been fundamental in licensing and strategic supply agreements that drove top line results in his former position as Chief Business Officer at MolMed. In addition to practical proficiency with discovery and development for HIV and tumor therapies in his early career, Luca has extensive experience in negotiating go-to-market strategies and bringing new cell and gene therapies to market through partnerships with leading biopharmaceutical companies.

Luca earned a PhD and Masters in cellular and molecular biology from Libera Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, in addition to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from SDA Bocconi. He has a thorough understanding of European regulatory requirements and pricing policies, and is a published author and frequent industry speaker.

Whitney Sandberg headshot2

Whitney Sandberg

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Colorado Facilities

As General Manager of the two Colorado facilities, located in Boulder and Longmont, Whitney Sandberg brings more than 25 years of deep industry knowledge and leadership to the role. After joining AGC Biologics in December 2021, Whitney has taken on the responsibility of ensuring each location produces products of the highest quality that meet international GMP guidelines and standards. She held the role of Vice President of Quality prior to the GM appointment and continues to help the Boulder and Longmont facilities become cornerstones in the Colorado biotechnology industry.

Whitney’s expertise spans quality assurance operations and quality systems, and integration and quality management for the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and radiopharmaceuticals. In particular, she spent the past decade leading Quality functions at ThermoFisher Scientific (Patheon) Biologics and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and has also held positions of increasing responsibilities throughout her career at Wyeth BioPharma, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, KV Pharmaceuticals, and Bristol Myers-Squibb. 

Whitney holds a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Southern Illinois University.

Mike Tranmer headshot

Michael Tranmer

Senior vice president and General Manager, Seattle Facility

Michael Tranmer, General Manager of the Seattle, Washington facility joined AGC Biologics in July 2023. Michael has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biological, and medical device industries. His career started in animal health vaccine research before he moved into mammalian cell production. Since then, his experience has spanned both management and executive roles with increasing responsibility in manufacturing operations, with companies such as Pfizer, SmithKline Beecham, Endo/Par, Mesa Labs, and Strides Pharma Inc. Michael has a successful track record of delivering against expectations regarding safety, regulatory compliance, financial, and operational objectives. He has built strong leadership teams and has been a culture change agent throughout his career.

Michael earned a Master of Science in Veterinary Science and Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.