Haro Hartounian is the Founder & CEO of BioCentriq. He engineered the launch of BioCentriq, the only facility of its kind in Newark, NJ and the first such center on a university campus anywhere in the United States. He also led the creation of NJIT’s new Professional Master’s Degree Program in Cell and Gene Therapy Sciences.

Dr. Hartounian provided strong leadership to drive an aggressive growth and profitability strategy for BioCentriq’s business and provided the necessary direction and dynamic leadership to R&D, manufacturing, business development, regulatory and compliance, and operations. He developed an approach that enables BioCentriq to forge client relationships that move beyond the traditional service outsourcing model into true end-to-end collaborations. Dr. Hartounian grew the organization by recruiting top-notch scientists, engineers, and professionals whose expertise aligned with BioCentriq’s goals. He assembled a world class technical advisory board of external experts who provide insights into BioCentriq’s strategic initiatives.

Dr. Hartounian has nearly 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry working for large and mid-size biopharmaceutical companies, including DuPont, Monsanto, SkyePharma, and Vyteris. He has built several companies and has a proven track record of delivering unprecedented performance and growth. He played an instrumental role in two FDA-approved product launches—DepoCyt and DepoMorphine—and served as the chief executive officer and board member of two public and two private biopharmaceutical companies. He also founded three biopharmaceutical companies: MicroIslet, Protagenic Therapeutics, and DiaVacs.

Haro’s past roles include securing funding, manufacturing, product and process development, business development and alliance management, strategic planning, and partnering transactions. Specific product lines and indications have included cell therapy, diabetes, CNS disorders, oncology, women’s health, pain management, and drug delivery. Dr. Hartounian is an adjunct associate professor of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University and earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.​

Jackie Veivia-Panter has 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and cell therapy industry and brings her expertise in quality management to BioCentriq as the Chief Quality and Compliance Officer. Her skills include designing and delivering effective and compliant solutions, processes, and organizational models. Throughout her career, Jackie has managed site quality and R&D quality, and has held global roles in training, regulatory intelligence, and matrix organization management. As the former Vice President, Global Head of Quality at Minaris Regenerative Medicine, which included Europe, Asia, and North America, she was responsible for the oversight of all quality-related functions, such as Quality Systems, Quality Control, Regulatory, and Quality Site Heads. She was also charged with creating and implementing a global quality strategy. Prior to that, she was the Senior Director of Global Quality Systems and Compliance at Legend Biotech, where she developed and deployed a global GxP quality system and compliance strategy consisting of policy, process, SOP development, and electronic system implementation. Her other roles include Director of Global Quality Systems Compliance at Celgene; Quality Director at AbbVie/Abbott, Chicago, IL; and QA Director at BlisTech Corporation and Pfizer. Jackie has her BS in Medical Technology from Marquette University and an Executive MBA from NJIT. She is a board member of PDA RAQAB (Regulatory Affairs and Quality Advisory Board) and former board member of GMP Training and Education Association and ISPE – Clinical Trial Materials Subcommittee, where she participated in writing the Clinical Trial Materials handbook.

Brian Hanifin has extensive experience in internal company plants and contract manufacturing organization management with a successful track record as a proven pharmaceutical executive. He possesses in-depth knowledge and experience in executing plant start up, plant closures, operation integrations, operational transformations, lean production systems, organizational restructuring, change management, and quality remediations with full P&L responsibility. Now BioCentriq’s Interim COO, Brian was formerly the President & CEO of HaniPharm, LLC, where he served as an independent operations senior advisor and process-driven expert and provided plans for remediation and organizational strategy. Prior to that, he was SVP, Global Chief Operations Officer at Minaris Regenerative Medicine, where he was responsible for overseeing global organizational transformation, facility designs and build outs, the implementation of information systems, and the performance of transcontinental teams. Brian also served as the Vice President of Operations for North America at Hitachi Chemical Advanced Therapeutics Solutions, VP of External Supply – Americas at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and more. He has his Bachelor of Science in Human Resources from Marist College.

Jennifer Denise Manning, MPA, is a distinguished commercial leader with a remarkable track record in the biopharmaceutical industry. With over 25 years of cross-functional experience in drug development and commercialization, Jennifer has consistently demonstrated her aptitude for building, managing, and inspiring high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams. Her results-driven and goal-oriented decision-making skills have led to a proven success rate in sourcing, structuring, negotiating, and closing strategic partnerships. Her expertise extends to developing, implementing, and measuring sales and marketing strategies, crafting both short and long-term business plans, and generating forecasts and key performance indicators to consistently meet and exceed corporate revenue targets.

Jennifer has been at the forefront of leading commercial activities and driving product launches across various domains, including advanced therapies, biologics, vaccines, and small molecule drug substance and drug product for clinical and commercial supply. She formerly served as the Senior Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships at the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, where she led a Strategic Accounts Team responsible for identifying, executing, and leading portfolio-enabling partnerships with strategic business partners. Prior to that she was the Executive Director of Commercial Development and Advanced Therapies at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, where she hired and led the North American Advanced Therapy Sales Team and provided support to the European and Asian Sales Teams in collaboration with the VP, Commercial Development, Europe, and Asia. Her other former positions include Director, Regional Head of Sales and Business Development at Alcami Corporation; Director of Business Development and Alliance Management Emerging Technologies, Cell and Gene Therapy at Lonza; Business Development Executive at Patheon, and many more.

Jennifer has a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from Clemson University, a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Health Policy and Management from NYU, and a Professional Certification — Women on Boards: Getting On and Adding Values — from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her affiliations include active roles within the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), National Policy and Advocacy Taskforce, and the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), and more.

Mark S. Broadley is a highly accomplished senior general management and operations executive with 20+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing sectors. His achievements encompass strategic planning, leadership of multi-million-dollar programs, and the successful execution of large-scale projects. Notably, Mark has consistently improved productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction while tackling highly competitive business and regulatory landscapes. His expertise includes P&L management, product development, regulatory affairs, marketing, strategic alliances and partnerships, supply chain management, mergers and acquisitions, FDA regulations, GMP compliance, engineering and facility management, project management, capital projects, multi-site management, inspections and audits, Lean practices, operational excellence, technology transfer, facility consolidation, CRM, and VRM. 

   Mark’s career has been distinguished by a strong track record in driving revenue growth, achieving cost reductions, enhancing operational throughput, and launching new products in challenging, regulated industries. He previously served as the Senior Director of Operations at Charles River Laboratories Cell & Gene Therapy CDMO, where he led day-to-day operations of multi-product Cell and Gene Therapy manufacturing operations during facility and QMS remediation & expansion projects. Prior to that, he was the Director of Regulatory, Engineering and Quality at Idex Health and Science, where he led ISO 13485 QMS Improvement Project & Certification for a fast-tracked diagnostic testing (Covid) product. His other previous roles include serving as an independent consultant at Diverse Consulting Firms, Director of Operations/General Manager at Zimmer Bioment – Biologic, General Manager at Cytosol Laboratories, and more. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and an MBA in Leadership, both from Nichols College.

With 15+ years of experience in the field of regenerative medicine, David’s proven expertise and background in engineering have led to a history of success in advancing cell therapy product manufacturing. His skills and experience include design of experiments, quality-by-design, R&D, data analysis, strong leadership, and cross-functional oversight, among many others. In his role at BioCentriq, he leads MS&T, Process Development, and Analytical Method Development. 
 
As the former Vice President of Technical Operations at Ori Biotech, David led the execution of the technical strategy for Ori’s first innovative technology play in cell therapy manufacturing. He was charged with ensuring the approach remained relevant to industry needs as it matured, requiring a multi-pronged approach to gather information, identify industry needs, align to viable solutions, build a cross-functional team, and support adoption. David’s other prior roles include serving as Director of Research and Development at Minaris Regenerative Medicine. 
 
David has his Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine from Loughborough University, and he has sat on numerous committees, including chair of ARM’s Science and Technology committee, sitting on ARM’s Cell Therapy Advisory, ISCT Commercialization Committee, ISCT Product and Process Development Subcommittee, ISO Biotechnology Committee, ASME Biotechnology Advisory Panel, PDA Cell and Gene Therapy Committee, and more. 

Alex Klarer is the Vice President of Business Strategy and Innovation at BioCentriq. He has a background in Chemical Engineering focused on bioprocessing and process engineering. He has held roles at Genentech and Minaris, where he led the translational process development for a range of cell therapies and ex-vivo gene therapies, including T-cell immunotherapies, stem cell therapies, and MSC mediated immunoregulation. Alex also has experience developing novel technologies and applications to address gaps in manufacturing capabilities. He has been with BioCentriq since 2020 and previously led the Development and MS&T teams. He now focuses on enabling technical and manufacturing innovations such as the LEAP^TM Advanced Therapies Platform.  

Henry Han brings 15+ years of experience to his role as Director of Finance at BioCentriq. He previously served as the Financial and Accounting Team Leader at Ubcare Co. Ltd., which was acquired by GC for $200 million in 2020 and was charged with performing PMI work, such as finance, accounting, IPR, and legal. He headed fund management and cash flow planning and successfully established an e-accounting system to secure stable fund execution and a management process that optimized accounting evidence. Prior to that, Henry was the Finance Team Manager at Green Cross Holdings Corporation, where he was charged with issuing corporate bonds in the public offering bond market, which reached $100 million in 2019. He also managed funds and conducted budget planning, performed governance managing, and managed KPIs. Henry has also previously held the position of Finance Team Assistant Manager at Byuck San Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Chung-Ang University Seoul, Korea.

Gina Choi brings 14+ years of experience in human resources and managing all general affairs for small to mid-sized companies to her role as Head of HR at BioCentriq. She was previously the Human Resources Business Partner for Line Friends Inc., where she managed all HR activity for two offices and stores in New York and California. Prior to that, she was the Human Resources Manager at CJ TMI Manufacturing America and Grand Supercenter Inc. (H Mart). She has experience managing thousands of employees across multiple states while overseeing the full cycle of each position, developing employee handbooks and compensation structure, and providing HR guidance to management level for coaching, counseling, disciplinary actions, and more. She’s managed commercial insurance, workers’ compensation, health insurance, and 401(k) plans. Gina has her Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a specialization in Systems Analysis from Columbia University of Paraguay. She is also ServSafe Certified and OSHA 30HR Certified. Gina speaks three languages: English, Korean, and Spanish.