Blake Arnold, CFA

Experience

• 

  Great Lakes Packaging Corporation

  Jan 1998 - Jan 2005

  Summer Intern

  Manufacturing line work and general administrative duties

• 

  Baird

  Jul 2007 - May 2014

  • Managed list of 15+ publicly traded biotechnology companies (market capitalizations ~$50M-$85B); analyzed company strategies and industry trends to provide actionable investment advice to large institutional investors.• Led initiation of research coverage for newly public biopharmaceutical company developing a novel small molecule therapeutic for acute myeloid leukemia, a type of rare blood cancer.• Attended medical meetings and investor conferences to conduct market research, learn new industry trends and identify promising investment ideas; synthesized findings into actionable investment reports.• Pitched stock calls and best ideas to Baird’s Institutional Sales force during the department-wide daily meeting.• Regularly met and communicated with top executives at biopharma companies, fund managers and leading medical professionals. Show less • Built and managed financial models to predict quarterly revenue and earnings for companies under coverage. Team received 2012 StarMine Analyst award as No. 2 earnings estimator in Biotechnology.• Co-led initiation of research coverage for three newly-public oncology companies. Built financial models, conducted valuation analyses, performed in depth market research and assisted in writing detailed inaugural research reports that evaluated each company’s investment outlook.• Member of Baird’s 2010 and 2011 Equity Research recruiting teams. Show less

  • Senior Equity Research Associate - Biotechnology Sector

    Jan 2013 - May 2014

  • Equity Research Associate - Biotechnology Sector

    Jul 2010 - Dec 2012

  • Equity Research Analyst - Biotechnology Sector

    Jul 2007 - Jul 2010
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  Mercury Fund

  Dec 2014 - Mar 2015

  Venture Fellow

  • Internship at startup venture capital firm.• Assisted in deal evaluation for seed and Series A investments in life sciences and healthcare technology sectors. Leveraged Northwestern and local Chicago networks to aid in deal sourcing of new investment ideas.• Consulted with early-stage healthcare technology company on market strategy.

• 

  Baxter International Inc.

  Jun 2015 - Oct 2018

  As part of the global corporate BD & Strategy group, I was responsible for leading, developing and implementing business development activities and strategies to accelerate the growth of Baxter’s Global Business Units.Key activities:• Led global M&A and BD&L projects for Baxter from deal origination to transaction negotiation and execution. Focus on identification of investment opportunities across pharmaceutical, medical device and medical technology sectors with potential to accelerate growth for core business units and/or create new business adjacencies.• Built, managed and coordinated cross-functional due diligence teams (large and small) comprised of internal experts (e.g. R&D, operations, finance, commercial) and external advisors for ~3-6 month deal evaluations.• Directed business case formation & financial evaluation; presented recommendations to senior leadership. Show less

  • Associate Director Baxter Ventures

    Sept 2017 - Oct 2018

  • Senior Manager Business Development & Strategy

    Jun 2015 - Dec 2017
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  Novartis

  Nov 2018 - now

  Responsible for driving Novartis Gene Therapies (“GTx”) unit’s overall growth strategy in rare and severe diseases, including both internal and external innovation. Manage team of professionals accountable for New Product Planning, Strategic Intelligence and GTx Corporate Strategy. Member of GTx executive leadership team, core member of multiple cross-divisional leadership teams in Novartis AG. Led US BD function and core team of professionals; coordinated cross-functionally to ensure US engagement across deals. Actively managed key senior stakeholders across US and Global organizations to advance enterprise BD&L objectives. Accountable for all aspects of GTx BD&L function, including managing Search & Evaluation, Alliance Management and negotiations. Led innovation strategy to deliver next phase of GTx unit’s growth journey. Formerly known as AveXis, Inc.Directed GTx BD activities across all deal phases (S&E, diligence, business case owner/presenter, lead negotiator, etc.). Led business-wide strategic initiatives to advance overall gene therapy platform growth strategy.

  • Vice President, M&A Transactions, Corporate & Business Development

    Feb 2024 - now

  • VP, Head GTx Portfolio Innovation, New Products & BD&L

    Apr 2022 - Jan 2024

  • Head BD&L US Pharma (a.i.)

    Nov 2021 - Apr 2022

  • Senior Director Corporate Development, Global Head BD&L

    Dec 2019 - Apr 2022

  • Director Corporate Strategy, Corporate Development

    Nov 2018 - Nov 2019