London, 7th March 2024 – We welcome Chandra Rao to Ciesco as a Senior Advisor in the Healthcare & Pharma sector
Chandra brings an extensive and diverse background, with over 20 years of cross-functional senior management experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry spanning various functions at country, regional, and global levels. His most recent role was at Global Blood Therapeutics, where he served as the Regional Head of Marketing (EU & GCC) prior to its acquisition by Pfizer for $5.4bn.
His expertise seamlessly integrates life sciences and scientific understanding with commercial and financial acumen. At MSD (Merck & Co in the US), Chandra held the position of Global Marketing Director for the rare disease franchise, overseeing strategic alliances and early-stage asset assessments in specialty therapy areas. Additionally, he served as the Regional Market Access Lead at MSD, responsible for the primary care and women’s health portfolio across the region.
Throughout his career, Chandra has held pivotal operational roles, including Head of Strategic and Operational Planning, leading initiatives in sales force excellence, M&A integration, and policy development. He has also served as a turnaround lead within the NHS and contributed to commercial due diligence for mid-market buy-outs within the healthcare sector.
He recently completed his Certificate of Management Excellence from Harvard Business School. He graduated from Kings College London with a B.Sc. in pharmacology (transferred from medicine) and completed an Executive MBA from Cass Business School, London.
Chandra joins the Ciesco team as a Senior Advisor, alongside previously appointed Matt Bruun, a DevOps and Cybersecurity specialist, and Daniel Singer, a digital data and AI specialist. Chandra’s impressive track record in delivering business growth and transformation across healthcare and pharma, in particular across specialist therapeutic areas and rare diseases areas, will be an invaluable asset to Ciesco team and clients.
Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact:
Chandra Rao, Senior Advisor: chandra.rao@ciesco.com
Annabelle Pugh, Marketing & Operations Manager: annabelle.pugh@ciesco.com
About Ciesco
Ciesco is a leading specialist M&A firm with a focus on the technology, media, healthcare and sustainability sectors. Headquartered in London, Ciesco operates globally offering a unique combination at partnership level of senior industry practitioners and sector specialist investment bankers. This enables an extensive network of contacts and strong relationships that reach into organisations worldwide at C-suite sponsor levels. Ciesco is well regarded in the market for its specialist advice derived from the deep understanding of the sector, industry and buyer landscape insights, and execution expertise.
It is with great pleasure that we welcome Chandra Rao to our team at Ciesco. His appointment is part of Ciesco's ongoing strategy to bolster our knowledge and network within our specialist sectors. Chandra brings a unique and multifaceted perspective to the Senior Advisor role. In particular, his ability to blend strategic and commercial thinking with scientific expertise sets him apart and greatly aligns with our own offering at Ciesco. As we continue to expand our footprint in the Pharma & Healthcare space, I am looking forward to working closely with Chandra in delivering successful outcomes to our clients. We are very excited about the potential of this partnership!