Background

Matt is a biopharma program and operations leader with 19 years of experience spanning strategy, execution, and delivery across cell therapies, biologics, and advanced modalities. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Portfolio and Program Management at a VC-backed Series A cell therapy company, where he advanced the lead program from initial discovery through Phase 1 submission. Beyond program execution, Matt played a central role in company operations and culture, emphasizing high-character leadership and setting standards of excellence across teams. 

Previously, Matt spent five years at Atara Biotherapeutics, where he led CMC and global program teams developing allogeneic T-cell therapies, including the first approved allogeneic cell therapy (Ebvallo). He also led Global Program Management for the CAR-T pipeline and later headed Strategic Planning and Supply Chain. Earlier in his career, Matt spent nine years at Amgen, including five years in Operations Strategic Planning, supporting business development and network initiatives, following initial experience in project management roles.

Expertise

Matt brings deep expertise across biopharma in program management operations, and strategic planning.  He is recognized for connecting the dots and rapidly assessing and distilling complex scientific and business information to inform strategic decisions.  He has demonstrated the ability to create integrated development plans and lead high complexity programs across discovery, development, and commercialization.

Matt has a Masters of Bioscience (MBS) from the Keck Graduate Institute (Claremont) and a BS in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis.