🧬 Derek Hennecke - Kincell Bio - Part 1 | Sales Means Having Two Ears and One Mouth | The Support of a Partner Can Make or Break a Career | Skip the MBA

The Biotech Startups Podcast

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Part 1 of 4.

My guest for this week’s episode is Derek Hennecke, a veteran biotech entrepreneur and board member with over 30 years of experience in the CDMO industry, whose mission is to support the biotech revolution and create value for patients, customers, and investors.

In addition to his Board work, Derek previously held leadership positions at DSM and was the Founder and CEO of Xcelience, which he eventually sold to Capsugel Lonza in 2016. Xcelience was a Florida-based CDMO that specialized in preformulation, micronization, analytical services, formulation development, cGMP manufacturing, and more. His extensive expertise in pharma and cell therapy makes for an insightful conversation that founders can learn from.

Join us this week and hear about:

• Derek’s childhood and his early interest in history and science
• His academic journey in microbiology at the University of Alberta, where he shifted from chemistry to biology, and his eventual move into sales.
• His MBA experience in the Netherlands and his current outlook on the degree.

Please enjoy my conversation with Derek Hennecke.

Find Our Guest, Derek Hennecke, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hennecke/

https://kincellbio.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Timestamps

00:28 Intro

02:13 Episode starts, Derek's early upbringing as a military kid and learning how to adapt to moving every 4 years

06:33 Having an interest in history but ultimately falling in love with science, Studying microbiology as an undergraduate at the University of Alberta

08:50 Undergraduate lab experience

14:04 Professors and mentors who were influential

15:40 Next steps after Undergraduate microbiology, going from academia to sales at Boehringer Mannheim

22:02 Introvert vs. Extrovert in Sales

24:28 Decision to move to the Netherlands to pursue a masters in business

28:20 The rarity of getting an MBA and using it to move into a new country to network

30:18 Outro

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