Catalent announced the appointment of Ricci Whitlow as President, Clinical Supply Services. Whitlow succeeds Paul Hegwood, who, following a period of transition, plans to retire in March 2020 after a career of nearly 45 years in operations, business development, and engineering roles.
Whitlow’s position will continue to report to Alessandro Maselli, the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. As President of the business unit, she will have global responsibility for all aspects of Catalent’s clinical supply business, which, in fiscal 2019, generated $321.4 million in revenue and $84.4 million in Segment EBITDA. Catalent’s clinical supply network includes nine cGMP-certified clinical packaging, storage, and distribution facilities across North America, Europe and Asia, and more than 50 strategically located depots around the world, providing local and regional options for clinical storage, distribution, expiry update and relabeling services, and clinical returns management.
Whitlow has over 25 years’ experience in commercial, operations, and general management roles within the pharmaceutical biologics and medical device industry, and she rejoins Catalent after two-and-a-half years, having previously held the position of VP Operations, overseeing nine manufacturing facilities across North and South America. Her most recent position was with OptiNose, where she served as Senior Vice President of Technical and Corporate Operations, and she has also worked for LifeCell and Johnson & Johnson during her career. Whitlow holds a master’s degree in business administration from the TRIUM program of NYU Stern School of Business, London School of Economics and HEC Paris; as well as a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. She is also a certified Six Sigma green belt.
“The clinical supply business is a key component of Catalent’s business strategy, and Ricci rejoins the company following the launch of new initiatives that are helping to guide sponsors in optimizing their clinical trial supply planning and will provide them with new direct-to-patient supply options,” said Maselli. “Ricci’s expertise in operations and manufacturing, as well as her previous experience at Catalent, make her the ideal person to strengthen and grow this business as the needs of global trials evolve. We would like to thank Paul for his service to Catalent, and particularly for his tireless work as a strong advocate for the company’s ‘Patient First’ philosophy. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”