Richard Cassidy is the Head of Operations & Commercialization at the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AIRM), based outside Boston. He is responsible for building Astellas’ commercialization approach for its cell-based therapy portfolio, a new and exciting area with the potential to transform healthcare for patients. He also leads Facilities, EH&S and Communications for AIRM. An engineer by training, Richard is driven by a desire to improve and refine how pharmaceuticals contribute to healthcare through changing the companies that create and deliver those pharmaceuticals. He benefits from several years of experience as a cross-functional change agent at both regional and global levels and led the process to develop and execute Astellas’ most recent global corporate strategic plan. Across more than 20 years, he has worked in Pharma, Diagnostics, Med Tech and at a software start-up, giving him a unique and useful perspective as all of these areas rapidly converge. When he’s not working, Richard enjoys exploring the great outdoors with his family, whether hiking in the summer or skiing in the winter.