boltKey Takeaways
- From transformation officer to president. Ilya joined Minaris Advanced Testing as chief transformation officer and stepped up to president a few months ago, which gave him an unusually close read on the business before he had to lead it.
- Say yes to opportunities. This is the best career advice he has been given, and it is the principle behind a career built on assignments that others would not take.
- Grit is a business skill. He is candid that the job can feel terrifying, and credits a supportive spouse with keeping him honest and motivated through the harder stretches.
- Seek out the difficult brief. Turnarounds and building something new are the work he actively enjoys, and he intends to keep going for as long as that stays true.
- Get comfortable with uncertainty. This is the trait he thinks every leader in the sector needs going into 2027, with value for money now decisive, consolidation underway, a significant degree of regionalisation that he suspects is reversible over the medium term, and a shifting mix of modalities.
- Think like an owner. A book on the founding of Genentech has shaped his thinking recently, a reminder of how a company with almost no money helped create an industry, and of why acting with urgency and making the most of limited resources travels into any environment.
Written by
Alex Alves-Khan
Director of Business Development · Metric BIO
Alex is the Director of Business Development, where he focuses on the Biopharma CDMO industry, operating across both Europe and the USA.
