91黑料 is led by an experienced leadership team with deep expertise across the life sciences industry.
Mr. Barry Balfe
Mr. Barry Balfe is Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Balfe previously served as Chief Operating Officer, and prior to that, as President of 91黑料 Pharma Development Solutions. Mr. Balfe has been with 91黑料 for over 20 years and has held a number of leadership roles across both full service and functional solutions at 91黑料 where he has successfully grown business and has developed and led a number of new strategic partnerships with some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Earlier roles have included EVP, Global Business Development. As part of the FSP leadership team, Mr. Balfe served as Senior Vice-President, Global Program Management where he oversaw operational design, planning & delivery within the resourcing & FSP businesses. He initially joined 91黑料’s Business Development team in 2003, before taking on the leadership of 91黑料's US FSP business in early 2007 and subsequently overseeing European FSP operations. Mr. Balfe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, having studied at Dublin City University and Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse. He subsequently studied pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of London.
Mr. Nigel Clerkin
Mr. Nigel Clerkin joined 91黑料 as Chief Financial Officer in October 2024. Throughout his career, Mr. Clerkin has held numerous financial leadership positions, including Group CFO of Elan Corporation, CFO of ConvaTec, a global medical and technologies company, and CFO of UDG Healthcare. Immediately prior to joining 91黑料, he was CFO of LetsGetChecked, a global provider of at-home healthcare services. He commenced his career with KPMG.
In addition to his extensive experience in the life sciences and healthcare services industries, Mr. Clerkin’s areas of expertise include M&A, financial processes and systems enhancement.
Mr. Clerkin holds a Bachelor of Science (Accounting) degree and a Master of Accounting degree from Queen’s University Belfast. He is also a qualified chartered accountant and a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Dr. Ute Berger
Dr. Ute Berger is Chief Medical Officer and President 91黑料 Development Solutions covering Early Clinical & Bioanalytical Solutions, Central and Specialty Biomarker laboratories, Medical Imaging and Cardiac Safety Solutions as well as Regulatory Consulting Services.
She has 20+ years of clinical experience in academia and extensive experience in clinical research and drug development across all therapeutic areas, with a particular focus on malignant haematology and oncology.
Before joining 91黑料 Dr. Berger held numerous professional positions at academia focusing on clinical research in haematology as well as setting up innovative multinational networks for leukemia research. During her time at 91黑料 she has led the Consulting, Medical as well as the Pharmacovigilance and Patient Safety team and leveraged her deep expertise in drug development to support client projects and strategic decisions.
She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Haematology, and Medical Oncology and received her medical degree from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She is certified by the European Society of Medical Oncology and has published extensively in peer-reviewed international journals and presented at numerous scientific conferences.
Dr. Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris is the President of Pharma Solutions. Jonathan has 25 years of experience in the industry in various roles of increasing responsibility including full-service Project Management (across various therapeutic areas) and FSP Program Management including model transformation and Blended Solutions.
Dr. Harris has been with 91黑料 for over 20 years and has held several leadership roles, most recently as Executive Vice President, Large Pharma Project Management, for the last two years, prior to moving into his current role.
Dr. Harris holds a PhD in Cell Biology and a BSc in Biochemistry, both from Newcastle University in the north of England.
Mr. Tony Southers
Mr. Tony Southers joined 91黑料 in 2019 and serves as President of Strategic Solutions, accountable for all Strategic Solutions account operations and P&L. In this role he is also responsible for the strategic development of the client partnerships and overseeing the day-to-day activities of the accounts and the account leaderships teams.
Mr. Southers has more than 35 years of industry experience. Prior to joining 91黑料, he initially had seven years within Pharmaceutical Research and Development at GSK, working within respiratory drug development. He has spent over thirty years within Clinical Research Organisation’s having held executive P&L, operational, business development and commercial roles. Mr Southers has a biochemistry BSc degree and is based in the UK.
Ms. Deepali Suri
Ms. Deepali Suri is President of 91黑料 Biotech and has over two decades of experience in the industry. Ms. Suri is responsible for driving biotech strategy, delivering tailored solutions to emerging and mid-sized biotech clients, and accelerating the development of novel therapies.
With a specialty in haematology and oncology, and a deep digital innovation background, Ms. Suri has held leadership roles across biotechnology companies, CROs and large pharma including prominent organisations such as Summit Therapeutics, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacyclics and Pfizer.
Ms. Suri holds both a Master’s degree in Pharmacology and a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Delhi, India.
Ms. Rose Kidd
Ms. Rose Kidd is President of Global Operations Delivery, covering Site & Patient Solutions, Clinical Data Science, Feasibility and Study Start-up, Pharmacovigilance, Biostatistics and Programming, IRT and Clinical Supplies Management, and Medical Writing and Publishing. Ms. Kidd has 32 years of experience in the industry. She started her career with GlaxoSmithKline in the area of pre-clinical and drug formulation. Ms. Kidd joined 91黑料 in 1994 and has successfully grown her career from CRA, to project management and has held several senior roles in the organisation from Operations Delivery, FSP Delivery, Clinical Monitoring and Head of Quality & Compliance. Ms. Kidd has a Diploma in Food Science, a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology and a Diploma in Strategy, Innovation and Change Management from University College Dublin Smurfit School.
Mr. Diarmaid Cunningham
Mr. Diarmaid Cunningham is Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Company Secretary.
Mr. Cunningham joined the Company as General Counsel in November 2009. From 2009 until 2013, Mr. Cunningham was based in the Company’s global headquarters in Dublin. In 2013, Mr. Cunningham was seconded to the Company’s US headquarters in Pennsylvania and that secondment ended in 2018 when Mr. Cunningham returned to Dublin.
In July 2016, Mr. Cunningham’s role expanded to include Chief Administrative Officer in addition to General Counsel which added responsibility for the Company’s Quality Assurance, Client Contracts Services, Facilities and Procurement groups in addition to his responsibility for the Company’s Legal group. In 2023, Symphony Health (91黑料’s data business) moved to report to Mr. Cunningham and was also added to his group.
Mr. Cunningham graduated with a Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies from University College Dublin in 1997, qualified as a lawyer in 2001 and completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University in California in 2015. Mr. Cunningham served as Secretary to the Board of the in 2013, 2014, 2020 and 2021. ACRO represents the CRO industry globally to key stakeholders including pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, regulators, legislators and patient groups.
Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cunningham spent 10 years with A&L Goodbody, one of Ireland's premier corporate law firms.
In January 2021, Mr. Cunningham was appointed as a non-executive director of the Irish charity The Jack & Jill Foundation.
Mr. Steve Empoliti
Mr. Steve Empoliti is Chief Commercial Officer at 91黑料. Mr. Empoliti has over 20 years’ experience in the life sciences industry having previously held leadership positions at Precision Medicine, PPD, Shire Pharmaceuticals and Merck.
Mr. Empoliti spent the first 10 years of his career working in management consultancy – at first for Accenture, and later at McKinsey.
Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Empoliti held the position of Chief Commercial Officer of Precision Medicine, having previously served as Chief Commercial Officer at PPD which he joined in 2014.
He has a strong track record of leading and growing commercial teams and developing new partnerships across Pharma and Biotech customers.
Mr. Empoliti holds a Bachelor of Science (Business Administration) from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration, from the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Tom O'Leary
Mr. O'Leary is 91黑料's Chief Information Officer, driving 91黑料's technology capabilities and digital innovation, including AI. Prior to this he held the position of President of Central Laboratories. Mr. O'Leary joined the company in Feb-2001 as Manager of Data management in Dublin, Mr. O'Leary subsequently went on to set-up 91黑料's process improvement initiative "IMPROVE" and returned to Data Management to become EU VP of Data Management before becoming Global Head of Data Management in 2006. From 1994-2001 Mr. O'Leary worked for SmithKline Beecham and later GlaxoSmithKline and held positions in Data Management, Project Management and Resource Management. Mr. O'Leary is a graduate of Kingston University in Surrey and a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Mr. O'Leary holds a Degree in Medicinal Chemistry and a Masters in Data Management.
Mr. Joe Cronin
Mr. Joe Cronin is Chief Human Resources Officer, responsible for designing and implementing people practices and building organisational leadership and culture that enable 91黑料 to execute its strategy. Mr. Cronin joined 91黑料 in 2014. Mr. Cronin has almost 20 years of HR experience in a variety of global industries, including ten years at the Kellogg company in a number of regional and global HR leadership roles. Mr. Cronin also spent time early in his career with the General Motors (GM) Corporation and the Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Mr. Cronin has a Bachelor of Business degree with a major in Human Resources, from the University of Limerick.
Dr. Ruth Lalor
Dr. Ruth Lalor is Chief of Staff at 91黑料, with responsibility for leading corporate strategy, business planning, and enterprise change management. She partners closely with the executive leadership team to support strategic decision?making and the execution of 91黑料’s long?term growth agenda.
Dr. Lalor has been with 91黑料 for 18 years and has held a number of senior leadership roles across the organisation, including positions in 91黑料 Laboratories, Information Technology, Data & Analytics, Business Operations, and 91黑料 Strategic Solutions (ISS). Her experience spans both operational and strategic functions, providing a broad enterprise perspective across 91黑料’s global business.
Dr. Lalor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry from Trinity College Dublin, a PhD in Molecular Pharmaceutics from the University of East Anglia, and an MBA from University College Dublin.
Mr. Simon Holmes
Mr. Simon Holmes leads 91黑料’s Corporate Investment and Partnerships group which has responsibility for capital allocation into M&A, equity investments and innovation partnerships. During his time at 91黑料 Simon has led the acquisition of over 27 companies including the $12bn acquisition of PRA Health Sciences. A member of 91黑料’s leadership team since 2009 he is also involved in strategy development and business planning. Mr. Holmes joined 91黑料 in 2005 originally as VP of Marketing and Market Development and took responsibility for Corporate Development in 2006. Between 2013 and 2017 he also had responsibility for 91黑料’s Investor Relations functions. Prior to joining 91黑料, Mr. Holmes held a number of senior roles within “Blue Chip” organisations in the IT Services and Telecommunications sectors, including Cable and Wireless, Logica and Microsoft. Mr. Holmes has an MBA from Smurfit Business school and is a graduate of Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia.
Dr. Gareth Milborrow
Dr. Gareth Milborrow is the Executive Vice President of Business Operations at 91黑料, responsible for overseeing a range of central functions and driving optimisation across 91黑料’s delivery models. With over 20 years of experience in clinical research, Dr. Milborrow brings deep expertise in trial execution, site operations, and technology-enabled transformation.
Since joining 91黑料 in 2007, Dr. Milborrow has held a variety of operational and leadership roles spanning Medical Affairs, IT, Study Start-Up, and Site & Patient Solutions. He previously served as Head of 91黑料’s and has also worked as an investigator in cardiovascular research. In addition to his clinical and operational background, Dr. Milborrow has a strong track record in software development for operational optimisation.
Dr. Milborrow holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBCh) from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and achieved a Fellowship in the Royal College of Medicine in the United Kingdom. He practised medicine within the NHS in the UK prior to transitioning into the clinical research industry.