DR. VÉRONIQUE LECAULT

Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer ABCELLERA

BIO: At a young age Véronique Lecault could not decide between biochemistry and engineering so she chose to pursue both at the University of Ottawa, where she began her quest to solve problems that mattered. She was part of a team that developed the core technology for Abcellera while pursuing her PHD at the University of British Columbia. Together they invented a multidisciplinary antibody discovery platform that searches, decodes, and analyzes natural immune systems to find antibodies for development into drugs for disease prevention and treatment. Abcellera was founded in 2012 with a small seed round from friends and family and grew organically from there. The company took its first round of institutional financing in 2018, and recently raised US$555 million through a public offering on the Nasdaq. Abcellera has partnered with a growing list of drug developers of all sizes, from large pharmaceutical to small biotechnology companies, empowering them to move quickly, reduce cost, and tackle the toughest problems in drug development. The technology was recently deployed to discover bamlanivimab, the first COVID-19 antibody therapy specific to SARS-COV-2 to receive Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. Today Abcellera has grown to over 200 employees and has received three Fast Company awards in 2020, including Innovative Team of the Year. Abcellera continues to invest in teams, technologies, and infrastructure to improve the speed and success of antibody drug discovery for their partners. Her hope is to continuously push the edge of science and technology and create an enduring anchor company in Canada.

Véronique is a strong advocate of entrepreneurship and science outreach, and was recently recognized in the BMO Celebrating Women’s “Expansion and Growth in Business” category and as a STEM Star Influencer by Bcbusiness. She has also been a recipient of the L’OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science.

BEST/MOST-VALUED CAREER LESSON IN THE PAST YEAR: When something seems impossible, take on the challenge and rally. Never underestimate the synergy created by people working together towards the same goal. When everyone is in tune and moving in the same direction, everything gets amplified, and what you create becomes bigger than the sum of its parts. That’s when the magic happens.

BEST CAREER ADVICE: “Finish the mission.” This advice is from my windsurfing coach, Jem Hall. After the last turn when riding a wave, you have to keep the momentum, look forward and position yourself to catch the next, bigger wave. This is also true in building a business. You need to fully commit to executing the current plan while keeping an eye on the future and preparing for the next phase of growth.