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Strategic Advisor·Pharma Services

George Fotiades

Chair at eXmoor Pharma

New Jersey, USA

GF
Why they matter

He built one CDMO (Catalent) from a carve-out and sold another business for $4.6B — now chairing eXmoor, he has direct pattern-recognition on CDMO scaling and exits.

Background

George Fotiades is a veteran pharma services and healthcare-manufacturing executive who built Cardinal Health's Pharmaceutical Technologies & Services segment, chaired Catalent through its carve-out from Cardinal Health, and later ran Cantel Medical through its $4.6B sale to STERIS in 2021. He currently chairs eXmoor Pharma's board (joined April 2026) and sits on the boards of AptarGroup and Prologis, alongside co-founding health-diagnostics startup Elio Health.

Notable deals

  • 2021
    As CEO, led Cantel Medical through its acquisition by STERIS plc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at ~$4.6B enterprise value
  • 2019
    Named President and CEO of Cantel Medical Corp, tasked with the 'Cantel 2.0' turnaround that preceded the STERIS sale
  • 2018
    Elected Chairman of AptarGroup's board, succeeding King Harris after seven years as a director
  • 2007
    Joined the newly formed Catalent Pharma Solutions board as Chairman following Blackstone's $3.3B carve-out of Cardinal Health's PTS unit, which he had previously run

Call-prep brief

Background

  • 40-year healthcare/life-sciences operator: built Cardinal Health's Pharmaceutical Technologies & Services segment, which became Catalent after Blackstone's 2007 carve-out (he chaired the new Catalent board).
  • CEO of Cantel Medical (2019–2021), leading its 'Cantel 2.0' turnaround and $4.6B sale to STERIS.
  • Prior operating partner in healthcare PE (Diamond Castle/Five Arrows, ~14 deals).

Current focus

  • Chair of eXmoor Pharma (cell & gene therapy CDMO), appointed April 2026 — explicitly brought in to broaden the network and scale the business internationally.
  • Also Chairman of AptarGroup's board (2018–2023, remains a director), a Prologis director, and Executive Chairman/Co-Founder of Elio Health.

What he cares about

  • Building integrated CDMO platforms (consultancy + process development + GMP manufacturing) that can scale globally, not just organically grow single-site capacity.
  • Operational turnarounds ahead of a sale process — he has repeatedly taken businesses through a value-creation phase immediately before an exit.

Recent moves

  • eXmoor Pharma board appointment (April 2026) signals the company may be positioning for wider market expansion or a capital event.

Sensitivities

  • He holds multiple concurrent board seats (AptarGroup, Prologis, eXmoor) — time availability and potential conflicts across portfolio companies in adjacent sectors should be probed.
  • As a board chair rather than management, he may be limited in what he can share about eXmoor's confidential commercial plans.

Questions to ask

  1. What specifically attracted you to eXmoor's model versus other CDMO platforms you've evaluated or advised?
  2. Drawing on the Catalent carve-out and Cantel sale, what operational milestones would you want a CDMO to hit before pursuing a strategic transaction?
  3. Where do you see the biggest gaps in cell & gene therapy CDMO capacity today, and which players are best positioned to consolidate them?

Outreach draft

Subject
Your view on CDMO consolidation opportunities
Hi George, I'm reaching out from a private equity team focused on pharma services and CDMO investing. Your work building Cardinal's PTS segment into Catalent, and more recently steering Cantel Medical through its sale to STERIS, gives you a rare vantage point on how CDMO platforms scale and eventually change hands. We're evaluating opportunities in the cell & gene therapy CDMO space and would value 30 minutes to hear your perspective on where capacity gaps exist, what separates a platform worth consolidating from one that isn't, and any lessons from your recent work with eXmoor Pharma. Would you be open to a short call in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Your Name]

Sources