Experience
Will Downie is an experienced Chief Executive and Board Member who has worked for publicly traded and private equity owed companies. In his last operating role, he was the CEO of Argenta, a combined CRO/CDMO in the animal health market. Prior to this position, Will was the Chief Executive of Vectura Limited, a FTSE-250 inhalation drug development and device company, which was successfully sold to a strategic buyer for more than £1.1bn.
From 2009 to 2019, Will served as Chief Commercial Officer at Catalent Inc., one of the pharmaceutical services sector’s largest CDMOs. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, he helped guide the company through a successful IPO, transitioning it from private equity ownership under Blackstone Inc. to a full NYSE listing. Earlier, he held various leadership roles at GE Healthcare, Sanofi and Merck.
He now runs Downie Pharma Advisory, through which he advises private equity firms and boards on pharmaceutical outsourcing. He also serves as an Operating Partner at Advent International and is currently interim Chief Executive Officer of Touchlight, a CDMO specialising in DNA manufacture for genetic medicines.