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Strategic Advisor·Pharma Services

Derek Hennecke

Independent Board Director at Experic

Tampa, Florida, USA

DH
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Why they matter

A CDMO founder who built and sold Xcelience now sits on five-plus pharma services boards, giving him rare cross-portfolio visibility into CDMO deal dynamics and operating quality.

Background

Derek Hennecke is a 30-year CDMO industry veteran who founded and led Xcelience, a Tampa-based early-phase oral drug development and clinical supply company, until its 2015-2016 sale to Capsugel (later part of Lonza). He holds a BS in microbiology from the University of Alberta, an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management, and is pursuing an MLA in biology at Harvard Extension School. He now sits on a portfolio of CDMO and biotech boards and stepped in as interim CEO of Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing during a 2024-2025 leadership transition.

Notable deals

  • 2015
    Founded and led Xcelience as President/CEO; sold the company to Capsugel (later Lonza)
  • 2022
    Appointed independent director to Experic's board of directors
  • 2022
    Named independent director to AustinPx's board alongside Dr. Marshall Crew
  • 2025
    Served as interim CEO of Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing during a leadership transition, then returned to its board when Denis Johnson was named CEO

Call-prep brief

Derek Hennecke — Call Prep Brief

Background

  • Founded Xcelience (Tampa, FL), a solid-dosage/early-phase CDMO, and ran it as President/CEO until selling to Capsugel in 2015-16 (Capsugel later folded into Lonza).
  • Earlier career: VP/GM at MDS Pharma Services; operating roles at DSM Biologics, DSM Anti-Infectives, and Gist-Brocades across the Netherlands, Mexico, and Egypt.
  • Academic bent: microbiology BS, Rotterdam MBA, and currently pursuing a Harvard Extension MLA in biology (CAR T research focus).

Current focus

  • Sits on a dense cluster of CDMO/biotech boards: Experic (2022–), AustinPx (2022–), Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (director, ex-interim CEO Sept 2024–Sept 2025), plus Microsize/Particle Dynamics (chairman), Inceptor Bio, Kineticos Disruptor Fund, and Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance.
  • Just handed the GRAM CEO reins back to Denis Johnson (Sept 2025) and resumed a board seat there — likely has fresh, granular color on GRAM's growth trajectory and market position.

What he cares about

  • Operator-to-board transitions in founder-led CDMOs; scaling early-phase/clinical manufacturing platforms toward commercial capacity.
  • Governance and interim-leadership continuity — he's now done this twice (Xcelience exit, GRAM interim stint).

Sensitivities

  • Currently active on multiple boards simultaneously (potential time/conflict constraints, and portfolio companies may compete for pipeline/capacity).
  • Recently stepped down as GRAM CEO — may be reticent to discuss GRAM specifics that aren't yet public given his fiduciary board role there.

Questions to ask

  1. What made Xcelience an attractive acquisition target for Capsugel, and how did that process inform how you evaluate CDMO exits today?
  2. Across your current board seats (Experic, AustinPx, GRAM), what capacity or capability gaps are you seeing repeatedly in the small/mid-cap CDMO space?
  3. Having just handed back the CEO role at GRAM, what's your read on where consolidation or investment is headed next in aseptic/injectable manufacturing?

Outreach draft

Subject
Your CDMO board perspective — quick call?
Hi Derek, I'm reaching out from [FIRM NAME] — we're evaluating opportunities in the pharma services and CDMO space and your background founding Xcelience, plus your current board seats at Experic, AustinPx, and Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, make your perspective especially relevant. We'd value 20-30 minutes to hear your read on where capacity constraints and consolidation are heading in early-phase and aseptic manufacturing, and what separates a CDMO worth backing from one that isn't. Would you have time for a call in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [YOUR NAME]

Linked companies

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