
Hi N***l,
I’m J***e, an HR recruiter at StrategyBrain. I was impressed by your leadership as CEO at M***y B***s and your deep expertise in drug development and regulatory affairs. We’re currently partnering with N***n B***s to hire a Chief Development Officer to lead their end-to-end drug development lifecycle and global regulatory strategy. Would you be open to a brief chat to explore this opportunity?
Best regards,
J***e
Hi J***e, thanks for reaching out! With my background leading drug development and global regulatory strategy at M***y and other biotechs, I’m very interested. Happy to set up a brief chat,what time works for you?


Hi N***l,
Great to hear,and I think your background is an excellent fit. Before we dive into scheduling, here’s a quick overview of the Chief Development Officer role at N***n B***s:
Company & Culture
• N***n B***s is a clinical-stage biotech focused on targeted oncology and rare-disease therapies, backed by data-driven decision making and strategic partnerships. You’d join a collaborative, science-first team of 200+ people.
Key Responsibilities
1. Lead the full drug-development lifecycle,from target ID through clinical trials and regulatory approval.
2. Define and execute global regulatory strategies (FDA, EMA, etc.).
3. Partner with R&D, clinical ops, manufacturing and commercial teams to optimize timelines, budgets and go-to-market plans.
4. Build, mentor and scale high-performance cross-functional teams.
5. Engage key opinion leaders, strategic partners and investors to advance the pipeline.
Why This Role Might Appeal to You
• Strategic Impact: You’ll sit on the executive team and shape N***n’s overall R&D strategy.
• Growth & Resources: N***n offers robust infrastructure (data analytics, CRO partnerships, funding) to accelerate your vision.
• Career Progression: As C-suite leader, you’ll drive growth and have clear paths to board influence and potential equity upside.
Compensation & Perks
• Competitive base salary plus performance bonus
• Equity package
• Comprehensive benefits (health, 401(k), PTO)
• Professional development support
Does this overview resonate with what you’d like to tackle next? If so, I’d love to schedule a 30-minute chat. I’m available this Wednesday (4/5) at 11:00 AM ET or Thursday (4/6) at 2:00 PM ET,let me know which works best, or feel free to suggest another time.
Looking forward to your thoughts and any questions you have!
Best regards,
J***e
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain
This sounds like a great fit for my background,before we lock in a time, could you share a ballpark on base salary and equity range? I’d also love to understand the onsite versus remote expectations.


Hi N***l,
Great questions,happy to share some ballpark figures and our flexibility around location:
• Base Salary: In the range of $300K,$375K annually, plus a target performance bonus of about 20,30% of base.
• Equity: Typically 0.5%,1.0% of fully diluted shares (4-year vesting with a one-year cliff), with upside tied to pipeline milestones.
• Onsite vs. Remote: N***n B***s operates a hybrid model. You’d spend roughly 3 days/week on-site at our A***r HQ (or regional office) for key R&D, leadership team and cross-functional meetings, with the option to work remotely 1,2 days/week.
If that range aligns with your expectations, let’s lock in a conversation. I’m still available this Wednesday at 11 AM ET or Thursday at 2 PM ET,do either of those work for you? Feel free to propose another slot if needed.
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Best,
J***e
Thanks J***e,this range aligns well with what I had in mind. Could you share a bit more on how the pipeline milestones tie into the equity upside and bonus payout structure? Wednesday at 11 AM ET works for me.


Hi N***l,
Happy to dive into this. Here’s a high-level view of how N***n B***s links pipeline milestones to both equity upside and bonus payouts:
1. Equity Upside
• Initial Grant: You’ll receive 0.5,1.0% of fully diluted shares, vesting over four years with a one-year cliff.
• Milestone Accelerators: Additional vesting or supplemental option grants kick in when the team hits key inflection points (e.g., IND/CTA clearance, Phase 2 initiation, Phase 3 start, BLA/NDA submission). These accelerators are structured so that as you de-risk the pipeline, a portion of your equity vests immediately.
2. Bonus Structure
• Target Bonus: 20,30% of base salary.
• Payout Allocation:
, ~60% tied to clear, time-bound pipeline goals (for instance, filing X INDs or advancing Y programs into Phase 2 within the first 12 months).
, ~40% based on broader leadership metrics (team building, budget adherence, cross-functional alignment and regulatory approvals).
Wednesday at 11 AM ET works great,I'll send over a calendar invite with dial-in details shortly. In the meantime, let me know if you’d like to see sample milestone plans or any other specifics before our call.
Looking forward to our conversation!
Best,
J***e
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain
Thanks, J***e,this is really helpful. Could you send over a sample milestone plan (with specific targets and timelines) so I can see how those IND/Phase gates are benchmarked? Looking forward to our call Wednesday at 11 AM ET.


Hi N***l,
Happy to share a high-level sample milestone plan to illustrate how we benchmark IND and Phase gates. This template reflects a two-program scenario over the first 18 months:
Program A (Oncology Small Molecule)
• Months 1,3:
, Finalize CMC scale-up and GLP toxicology studies
, Pre-IND meeting with FDA (Target: Month 3)
• Months 4,6:
, File IND (Target: End of Month 6)
• Months 7,9:
, IND clearance (60‐day review window)
• Months 10,12:
, Initiate Phase 1; first patient in by Month 11
• Months 13,18:
, Complete Phase 1 safety readout (n=30); prepare Phase 2 briefing package
Program B (Rare-Disease Biologic)
• Months 1,4:
, Complete process development and nonclinical safety package
, Pre-CTA/Pre-IND alignment meetings (FDA & EMA)
• Months 5,7:
, Submit CTA to EMA and IND to FDA (Target: Month 7)
• Months 8,10:
, Regulatory clearance in both regions
• Months 11,14:
, Start combined Phase 1/2; enroll first cohort by Month 12
• Months 15,18:
, Deliver interim safety/PK readout; finalize Phase 2 protocol
Key Gates & Benchmarks
• IND/CTA clearance within target review windows
• First-patient-in timelines (±1 month tolerance)
• Phase 1 completion and safety readouts
• Protocol readiness for Phase 2
These milestones tie directly into N***n’s bonus and equity accelerators,for example, achieving IND clearance fast-track vests an extra tranche of options, and hitting Phase 1 enrollment targets unlocks bonus payouts.
Let me know if you’d like any tweaks or additional detail. Looking forward to our call Wednesday at 11 AM ET!
Best,
J***e
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain
Thanks J***e, this is really helpful and gives a clear benchmark. I’m curious how you’re thinking about resource allocation between Program A and B and whether the plan builds in any CMC/tox slack. Looking forward to diving into this Wednesday at 11 AM ET.


Hi N***l,
Great question,happy to give a high-level view before our call.
1. Resource Allocation
• We start with a roughly even split of lead CMC, toxicology and project-management FTE across Programs A and B, then flex that 10,15% based on which program is approaching its next gate. For example, in months 1,3 we’ll dedicate extra CMC scale-up chemists to Program A, while our biologics process-dev team ramps up for Program B’s nonclinical package.
• Project budgets also begin at ~50/50, with quarterly reforecasting so we can reallocate if one program hits an accelerated timeline.
2. Built-in CMC/TOX Slack
• We embed a 2,3-month buffer in the CMC scale-up and GLP toxicology plans to cover unexpected optimization or analytical method transfers.
• We also leverage our preferred CRO partners for surge capacity,this dual-track approach lets us run certain assays in parallel (e.g., formulation stability alongside tox dose-range finding), without jeopardizing the core IND timeline.
We can dig into the org chart and detailed spend assumptions on Wednesday at 11 AM ET. Looking forward to diving deeper then,calendar invite incoming!
Best,
J***e