Pawel Szczepanski, CEO at JJP Biologics, on Leading Without a Science Degree, Building Culture from Day One, and Why Trust Still Wins in Biotech Fundraising

In this episode, I talked with Pawel Szczepanski, CEO of JJP Biologics, a Polish biotech developing next-generation biologics in the personalized medicine space, to hear about his path from investment banking and management consulting into biotech leadership, and what it actually takes to build a clinical-stage company from scratch.

Pawel opens up about the phone call that changed the direction of his career, the proudest moment of his time as CEO, and a startup he tried to build with friends that never got off the ground. We also get into the three pieces of advice he gives every new CEO, why JJP built its culture around courage, and a trend in fundraising that he believes is quietly damaging trust across the industry. Pawel gives his honest take on what is still missing for Poland to produce a true global biotech success story.

Outside of work, he is a dedicated traveller who plans every family trip himself, a passion he is now passing on to his two children.

(Find out more in the episode.)

Here's What You're In For

• Moving from investment banking and consulting into biotech leadership.
• The three pieces of advice he gives every new biotech CEO.
• The trend of overpromising in fundraising, and why he believes it fails to build trust.

Timestamps

02:21 – How a phone call from a Polish Investor pulled him from consulting into biotech

04:31 – Career high point: the two-word text that changed everything, and the low point of a startup that didn't survive

07:08 – Lessons learned since becoming CEO, and the three pieces of advice he gives new CEOs

11:47 – What JJP Biologics does, and where the pipeline stands today

12:42 – Building a culture around courage, teamwork and purpose from day one

15:33 – What's next for JJP over the next one to two years

18:13 – The real challenge of scaling a young biotech while staying stable

20:06 – The trend of overpromising in biotech fundraising

23:09 – Balancing youth and experience when hiring as the company scales

26:28 – What makes the Polish life science sector unique, and what is still missing

34:26 – Why travel is his biggest passion outside of work

38:40 – The worst career advice he has ever received

About Pawel

Pawel Szczepanski is the Chief Executive Officer of JJP Biologics, a Polish biotech developing next-generation biologics in personalized medicine, focused on autoimmune disease and cancer. Before stepping into the CEO role, he spent years in investment banking, M&A advisory, and management consulting, eventually specializing in life sciences, and he currently sits on the boards of JJP Ventures and Polpharma Biologics. Pawel has a bi-profile education in Business and Law and is currently working towards a PhD in Economics, a non-scientist leading a science-driven company.

Outside of JJP, he is a petrolhead and avid traveller, passing those same passions on to his two children.

Connect with Pawel

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawelszczepanski
• JJP Biologics: https://www.jjpbiologics.com

About Charles

My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.

In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical-stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with me:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
• Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.