CAMBRIDGE — Today, MassBio and The Termeer Foundation announced the launch of “CEO & Founder Link,” a dedicated network for founders and CEOs of emerging life sciences companies. Through quarterly engagements, the two influential life sciences organizations will provide leaders with networking, education around key topics, and a peer community with whom they can collaborate. This initiative advances the missions of MassBio and the Termeer Foundation to support life sciences innovation at very challenging and delicate stages of growth.
“Let’s face it—the entrepreneurial journey isn’t for the faint-hearted. Too often, we hear from biotech founders and first-time CEOs that navigating the vast network of riches locally can be challenging,” said Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, CEO and president of MassBio. “By combining MassBio’s and the Termeer Foundation’s successful track records of support for entrepreneurs and our extensive global networks, we feel that the CEO & Founder Link can have a profound and lasting impact on the ways founders interact and grow with each other in Massachusetts.”
“The journey of a founder or first-time CEO can oftentimes feel isolating and overwhelming,” said Catharine Smith, Executive Director of the Termeer Foundation. “These entrepreneurs are required to have a deep knowledge and understanding of topics that extend beyond the science and cures they’ve set out to accomplish. The CEO & Founder Link will be a vital community that will offer members connections, resources, and shared experiences to help our innovators grow together. We’re proud to partner with MassBio on this initiative and look forward to seeing how this group will create positive change in the Massachusetts biotech ecosystem.”
Founders and CEOs are invited to apply through an online portal to attend the quarterly events where they will feel empowered and safe to share best practices, workshop challenges, and forge lasting connections and collaborations. Each quarterly engagement will offer a unique, in-person experience that could include networking, guest speaker presentations, or panel discussions. The CEO & Founder Link is now accepting applications, and its first members-only event will take place on September 18 at Cisco Brewers Seaport.
For almost 40 years, MassBio has convened, connected, and catalyzed the ecosystem, serving as a platform to source, accelerate, partner, and fund innovation. Twice a year, its accelerator program MassBioDrive connects a small group of groundbreaking founders with a business fundamentals curriculum, mentorship, industry connections, and monetary prizes – all at no expense or equity to participating companies.
The Termeer Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on connecting life sciences innovators and catalyzing the creation of new medicines to solve healthcare’s greatest challenges. The Termeer Fellowship Program supports first-time CEOs who are patient-focused and working to address an unmet need through innovative science and passion. The Fellowship includes mentoring, networking, and professional development intended to facilitate connections, break down silos, and strengthen skill sets for future healthcare.
