Leadership

    Leading the way

    Exelead is driven to provide excellent service and manage complex manufacturing processes. The leadership team at Exelead brings decades of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, overseeing each project to ensure the highest quality of production and service.

     

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    Brad Wynja

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    Brad Wynja
    CFO

     

    As Chief Financial Officer, Brad is responsible for leading the finance, business development, supply chain, project management, and IT organizations. He has 20 years of experience supporting the pharmaceutical industry, working with both CRO and CDMO organizations.

    Brad holds an MBA from Drake University, and he completed his undergraduate work in Accounting and Finance at the Central University of Iowa. He is also a member of the American Institute of CPA’s.

     

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    Trent Cox

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    Trent Cox
    Vice President, Manufacturing Operations

     

    Trent is our Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, with responsibility for the Manufacturing and Facilities/Maintenance teams. Prior to joining Exelead, he spent 28 years with Baxter Healthcare and Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions with leadership roles in microbiology, validation, process design, technical transfer, manufacturing, and global strategy. His background in CMO manufacturing consists of process development/optimization, small scale clinical trial material, scale up, and commercial supply.
     
    Trent attended Indiana University in Bloomington, where he graduated with a BS degree in Biology. He also holds an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.

     

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    Karla Aberle

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    Karla Aberle
    Director of Quality Control

     

    Karla is the Director of Quality Control at Exelead, and is responsible for managing three groups: both the Chemistry and Microbiology groups from the Quality Control laboratory and the Analytical Technical group in charge of method development and validation.

     

    Karla joined the company in 2007 as an analyst in the Microbiology laboratory. She was made manager of the Microbiology department in 2009, and then Sr. Manager of the Microbiology and Analytical Technical group in 2015. Since 2016, she has served as the Director of Quality Control, managing all three groups. Karla is NRCM (National Registry of Certified Microbiologists) certified. She holds a bachelor’s of science in Chemistry and a master’s of science in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 

     

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    Drew Andis

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    Drew Andis
    Associate Director, Business Development

     

    Drew is the Associate Director of Business Development at Exelead which involves oversight of both Business Development and Marketing functions. Drew joined the organization as a Project Manager in 2020 and was moved into his current role within the same year. He has five years of experience in both technical and project management roles within the parenteral pharmaceuticals industry.

     

    Drew holds a MS in Biotechnology from Northwestern University and a BSc in each Biological Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences from Purdue University. Additionally, Drew has been certified as a Project Management Professional.

     

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    Valarie Gossage

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    Valarie Gossage
    Senior Director, Human Operations

     

    Valarie, our Director of Human Resources, is an accomplished HR professional with over 23 years of experience in the manufacturing industry. Valarie is responsible for helping Exelead plan, staff, train, and retain a high-performing and motivated workforce. She oversees compensation, benefits, employee relations and leadership development.

     

    Prior to joining Exelead in October 2006, Valarie served as the Manager of Human Resources at PK USA, a Tier-one automotive supplier to industry giants including Nissan, Saturn, Toyota, Subaru, and Isuzu. During her time there, she was responsible for the HR operations and budgetary management of four North American plants, including a successful plant startup and a successful plant acquisition.

     

    Valarie holds a Masters in Science Management from Indiana Wesleyan, holds her Professional Human Resource (PHR) certification through the Human Resource Certification Institute, and is a Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) through the Society of Human Resource Management.

     

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    Sarah Petersen

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    Sarah Petersen
    Director of Project Management

     

    As the Director of Project Management, Sarah is responsible for delivery of commercial, clinical, and development programs and customer account management.

     

    Sarah has over 16 years experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing supporting both drug substance and drug product manufacturing. Sarah has held roles and managed programs and scientists within Quality Assurance, Sterility Assurance, Process Development, Process and Cleaning Validation, Technical Services, and Commercialization. Sarah has significant experience leading and managing multiple site and country programs including development and delivery of strategic quality programs and commercialization of new products and platforms.

     

    Sarah holds a B.S. in Microbiology from Michigan State University.


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