Dirk is a strategy advisor to senior executives in the life sciences industry. He has worked with Biotech, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device companies for over 25 years. In addition to his work with life sciences companies, he has advised many non-profit organizations and foundations focused on global health.

 

Dirk’s work spans from insight generation to strategy development to execution support. His breadth of experience allows him to work on a broad set of strategic issues facing clients across all functions and levels of the organization. He has deep expertise in drug development and commercialization, having worked globally across a range of Therapeutic Areas, including Immunology, Oncology, Virology, CNS, CardioVascular, and Respiratory. 

 

Dirk founded Dandelion Advisors in 2016. His current areas of focus include advising private and public companies how to continue to build and scale their organizations, and grow a sustainable business with enhanced business processes and capabilities. Some recent engagements have included supporting R&D teams with portfolio strategy, designing planning processes and governance systems to improve decision-making; in Commercial, he has supported launch preparation activities and strategy deep dives. He also works at the corporate level, setting up teams for success with workshops, executive coaching and board & investor preparation. Regularly, he works as a (fractional) Chief Strategy Officer, to ensure changes get embedded in the organization.

 

Before Dandelion Advisors, Dirk spent 15 years with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he was a Managing Director and Partner. Before BCG, he worked in neurophysiology labs (Oxford, KU Leuven) and ran public health programs in Africa with Doctors Without Borders. 

 

Dirk holds an MD from KU Leuven (Belgium), DTM&H (London), MPH (Harvard) and MBA (Stanford). He is an author of several publications in peer reviewed journals and industry publications, focused on drug and device innovation. 

 

He lives in the SF Bay area with his wife and two teenagers.

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Senior Advisor: Katrin Kalischer-Stork

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Katrin Kalischer-Stork is a seasoned independent Strategic Advisor focused on the life sciences industry, with particular expertise in the biopharma segment across a broad range of therapeutic areas. She has extensive international experience, having served clients in the US, Europe, the Middle East and South Africa.

Katrin has spent the past two decades advising her clients on a diverse set of strategic issues spanning corporate strategy, growth and diversification strategy as well as corporate development and operational optimization. While her experience spans most business functions, she is particularly passionate about helping companies achieve commercial excellence throughout all stages of their products’ lifecycles.

Katrin’s client service is underpinned by her strong dedication to creating measurable impact and value for her clients by linking data driven insight to action that reflects a deep understanding of customers, competitors and industry dynamics.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Katrin spent many years at BCG and at Monitor Group as a senior leader in the firms’ respective Health Care practices.

Katrin holds a Master’s degree in Information Sciences and a Master’s degree in Japanese Sciences from the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany, as well as an MBA from INSEAD in France. She has also studied at Kyoto University in Japan.

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