Sonya brings over 25 years of biotech leadership, guiding companies through early funding rounds, rapid scaling, IPOs, and M&A integrations. As a former Chief People & Investor Relations Officer, she bridges organizational strategy and investor confidence, – helping CEOs evolve into credible leaders who can align people, culture, and capital.
Annette has 30 years of experience in Talent Acquisition with proven experience in building and managing end-to-end recruitment strategies. Annette excels in aligning hiring initiatives with organizational goals, driving workforce planning and fostering trusted partnerships. She most recently led the TA function at Marinus pharmaceuticals where she established the talent strategy, built the TA function sourced the commercial team for the first commercial launch.
Practical, stage-specific guidance grounded in real biotech experience
Flexible engagements for individual CEOs and fundlevel services
A people-first philosophy: culture and leadership as levers for value creation
I stepped into the CEO role
with deep science
experience but zero
leadership training. Sonya
helped me understand how
to manage my Board, build
an executive team, and
communicate confidently
with investors.”
CEO, Series A Biotech
NextStageBio Advisors
has become our go-to
resource when portfolio
companies hit the
critical point between
science and scale. The
fractional CHRO model
is a lifesaver.”
VC Partner, Life
Sciences Fund
When we doubled our
headcount in under a year,
Sonya guided us through
the chaos. She built the
leadership framework,
coached our executives,
and kept investor
confidence high.”
COO, Commercial-Stage
Biotech
We’ve engaged
NextStageBio on
multiple companies, and
the results speak for
themselves: stronger
leadership teams, faster
hiring, and fewer
Board-level headaches.”
Fund Manager,
Biotech VC
Challenge: First-time CEO struggling with Board dynamics
Solution: Executive coaching, leadership team build-out, Board relations strategy
Outcome: Series B funding secured; team scaled from 20 to 65 employees
Challenge: Portfolio companies
lacked HR leadership
Solution: Fractional CHRO + PEO management
Outcome: Accelerated hiring, reduced risk, founders freed to focus on science
OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE: BIOTECH BREAKTHROUGHS
NEED EQUALLY STRONG ORGANIZATIONS TO SUCCEED
