Gwen Melincoff has been senior vice-president of business development at Ireland-based drugs company Shire for more than eight years.
Before this she worked at pharmaceutical companies Adolor Corporation, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Eastman Pharmaceuticals and Centocor.
She studied management at Pennsylvania State University and biology at George Washington University.
Lessons from the top: Melincoff said: “First, know your syndicate members – do they really have the reserves to step up to the plate? Second, it always takes twice as long and costs three times as much or three times as long and twice as much. Third, regarding other corporates in a deal, we can all play together – two is better than one, three is a chief executive’s dream come true.”