Pharmaceuticals
10 Novartis business development leaders
These ten current and former Novartis business development leaders have held director, executive director and head roles in business development and licensing transactions, search and evaluation and due diligence at Novartis. A reader can learn how business development leaders work at Novartis from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Alessandro Airoldi
LinkedInExperience: Head BD Transactions Oncology RLT · Novartis
Head BD Transactions Oncology RLT at Novartis since May 2024; his profile describes leading the global team that executes transactions in the radioligand (RLT) space. He earlier worked in corporate M&A and in-market portfolio roles at Novartis, and was Global Head Strategic BD & Divestments at Sandoz (2019–2021).
Alex Stankovic
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director Transactions Immunology · Novartis
Executive Director Transactions Immunology at Novartis since January 2026, based in the Zurich area. He previously spent 2007 to 2025 in business development at CSL, most recently as BD&L Head for the Immunology and Transplant Therapeutic Area, and his profile describes sourcing, structuring, valuing and negotiating deals.
Anu Balendran
LinkedInExperience: Head of Transactions, Business Development and Licensing - Cardiovascular-Renal-Metabolic · Novartis
Head of Transactions, Business Development and Licensing - Cardiovascular-Renal-Metabolic at Novartis since August 2025. Before Novartis, the profile lists Senior Director (Head) Due Diligence and Senior Licensing Director at Novo Nordisk, VP Business Development at Alligator Bioscience and a search and evaluation director role at AstraZeneca.
Astrid Maria Dahl
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director Business Development & Licensing Transactions · Novartis
Executive Director Business Development & Licensing Transactions at Novartis since September 2025. She was previously Chief Operating Officer and Head of Innovent Biologics (Europe) (2020–2025) and Head of Transactions, Executive Director, Business Development and Licensing, Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca (2019–2020).
David Roberts
LinkedInExperience: Head Due Diligence (Executive Director), Corporate & Business Development · Novartis
Head Due Diligence (Executive Director), Corporate & Business Development at Novartis since July 2024; his profile describes leading cross-functional due diligence teams that evaluate external opportunities and partner on deal recommendations. He was earlier Head, Due Diligence NIBR (2021–2024) and Director, R&D Strategy & Portfolio Leadership at Biogen.
Guillaume Vignon
LinkedInExperience: Global Head BD&L Transactions · Novartis
Global Head BD&L Transactions at Novartis since May 2022, based in Basel; his profile describes acting as deal architect and lead negotiator on several transformative deals. He was previously Senior Vice President Business Development at BeiGene (2018–2022) and led oncology licensing and business development at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Jesús Baena
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, BD&L Transactions · Novartis
Executive Director, BD&L Transactions at Novartis since April 2025, based in Switzerland, after serving as Director, BD&L Partnering (2022–2025) and Director BD&L Oncology. His profile lists deals including a global discovery deal with Peptidream and a global licensing deal with Chengdu Baiyu.
Lori Tomassian
LinkedInExperience: Director, Transactions, Business Development & Licensing · Novartis
Director, Transactions, Business Development & Licensing at Novartis since November 2023; her profile describes leading execution of business development strategy for Novartis's early through late-stage oncology portfolio. She was earlier Director, Alliance Management (2019–2023) and Director, Strategy and Operations in oncology business development and licensing.
Mark Temples
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director, Global Oncology BD&L · Novartis Global Oncology
Executive Director, Global Oncology BD&L at Novartis Global Oncology from 2018, a role his headline now marks as retired. He was earlier Director, Business Development & Licensing in Novartis Global Oncology and Director, Business Development & Licensing Negotiation at Novartis; his profile cites search and evaluation and deal negotiation.
Venkatesan Raghavan
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director Search & Evaluation - Oncology · Novartis
Executive Director Search & Evaluation - Oncology at Novartis since March 2024, working on oncology business development and licensing. He was previously Senior Director Oncology Business Development & Licensing at Bayer (2023–2024) and earlier held global strategic marketing roles at Bayer.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's scope to your question, since transactions by therapeutic area, search and evaluation, due diligence and global oncology licensing involve different work. Check whether the person's role is current or former and which therapeutic area it covers, since both shape what they can speak to.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does a large pharmaceutical company organize deal transactions by therapeutic area?
- 02How are cross-functional due diligence teams run on an external opportunity?
- 03How does search and evaluation decide which oncology assets to pursue?
Reaching Novartis business development leaders
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Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 2 companies: Novartis and Novartis Global Oncology, based on profile data retrieved on October 9, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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