Sofie Vandevyver

Creative executive thought leader adept at business growth initiatives by leveraging strong business understanding, financial acumen and sound scientific knowledge.

Chief Growth

Officer and Commercial Executive with over 18 years of international leadership experience driving commercial growth, enterprise transformation and go-to-market excellence across the global life sciences industry. A unique combination of scientific expertise (PhD), commercial leadership and operational execution, with a proven track record of transforming organisations through AI, digital innovation, customer-centric operating models, commercial excellence and post-merger integration. Extensive experience building and leading global commercial organisations spanning Marketing, Product Marketing, Commercial Strategy, Sales Enablement, Inside Sales, Proposals & Contracts, Customer Success, Business Operations, PMO and Transformation Office.

Recognised for building scalable commercial growth engines that accelerate revenue, strengthen customer engagement and improve enterprise performance.

Experienced Executive

Committee member, General Manager and Board Member with responsibility for €100M P&L, international joint ventures, M&A integration and executive governance. Trusted advisor to CEOs, Executive Leadership Teams and Boards on commercial strategy, AI transformation and organisational growth.

VP Global Marketing & Commercial Strategy at CYTEL (2023-11 – Present)

Cytel is the global leader in advanced statistical software, quantitative methods and clinical data science solutions supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device organisations throughout clinical development. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, lead Cytel's Commercial Growth organisation, integrating Global Marketing, Product Marketing, Commercial Strategy, Sales Enablement, Inside Sales and enterprise AI initiatives across a global organisation supporting more than US$400M annual revenue. Responsible for accelerating enterprise growth through AI, digital transformation, brand strategy, demand generation, commercial operations and executive go-to-market leadership.

• Increased commercial marketing ROI from 4:1 to 20:1, while maintaining annual commercial investment at only 0.75% of company revenue.
• Increased demand generation contribution to approximately 30% of enterprise sales pipeline, establishing marketing as a strategic commercial growth engine.
• Reduced commercial Lead-to-Opportunity cycle by 50%, improving commercial velocity from 180 days to 90 days.
• Built a mature global Sales Enablement framework supporting pipeline quality, commercial consistency and accelerated revenue generation.
• Expanded executive responsibility beyond services marketing to include Product Marketing, Sales Enablement and Inside Sales, creating an integrated Commercial Enablement operating model.
• Designed and implemented Cytel's enterprise Commercial AI Operating Model, embedding AI across commercial execution, customer engagement, campaign development and strategic planning.
• Created Cytel's Brand AI Operating Model, positioning the organisation for AI-first brand visibility and Large Language Model optimisation.
• Partner to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team on commercial strategy, AI transformation, investment prioritisation and organisational design.
• Led Cytel's global corporate rebrand within six months, repositioning the company from a software-focused organisation into an integrated global data science and clinical development partner across six business units.
• Established strategic partnership with Citeline, strengthening commercial intelligence, market reach and demand generation capabilities.
• Built enterprise Product Marketing capability supporting launch of multiple new commercial offerings.
• Founded and lead Converge, Cytel's flagship executive symposium, bringing together pharmaceutical executives, customers and industry leaders around innovation in clinical development.
• General Manager responsible for €100M P&L and approximately 200 FTE.
• Executive Committee (COMEX) member.
• Former Board Member – CerbAct Asia.
• International joint venture creation and governance.

Chief Growth Officer | General Manager Belgium | Board Member (CerbAct Asia) at CERBA RESEARCH (2021-01 – 2023-12)

Following the merger of BARC, Histalim and Cerba Xpert to Cerba Research, appointed Chief Growth Officer reporting directly to the CEO and serving on the Executive Committee (COMEX). Led enterprise growth strategy, commercial transformation, customer success, business operations, post-merger integration, transformation office and strategic partnerships across the global organization.

• Supported the commercial transformation of Cerba Research from approximately US$50M to US$400M annual revenue through organic growth, acquisitions and international expansion.
• Built the company's first integrated Commercial Growth Office, combining Marketing, Proposals & Contracts, Customer Success, PMO, Transformation Office and Integration Office into a unified commercial organization.
• Responsible for €100M P&L and approximately 200 employees as General Manager Belgium.
• Established and served as Board Member of CerbAct Asia, creating a strategic joint venture laboratory in Taiwan within six months.
• Led commercial integration of multiple acquisitions, including Viroclinics, partnering with Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, KPMG and PCMG to redesign governance, operating models and commercial integration.
• Delivered approximately US$6M operational value within six months through creation of the Transformation Office.
• Led global brand architecture, corporate rebranding and commercial repositioning following acquisitions.
• Established Customer Success as a strategic enterprise capability while implementing executive governance, KPI frameworks and enterprise performance scorecards.

Head of Business Operations & Marketing at BARC (2014-01 – 2021-12)

Progressively promoted into executive commercial leadership roles responsible for commercial operations, global integration, marketing, customer success and business transformation. Previously: Global Integration & Communications Lead | Scientific Contracts & Proposals Manager

• Built Business Operations, Marketing, Customer Success, Proposal Strategy and Commercial Operations from 7 to 33 FTE, creating a scalable global commercial support organization.
• Marketing initiatives supported approximately 75% of new commercial opportunities.
• Directed enterprise implementation of Salesforce and Pardot while establishing commercial KPI frameworks and executive dashboards.
• Created governance models, business scorecards and commercial operating frameworks supporting executive decision-making.
• Led redevelopment of corporate brand, website, employer branding, mission, vision and values.
• Established global integration governance across laboratory partners supporting rapid international expansion.
• Negotiated strategic pharmaceutical contracts valued up to €40M.

Postdoctoral Researcher at VIB | Ghent University (2013-01 – 2014-12)

Conducted translational biomedical research in immunology and inflammation, building the scientific foundation for a commercial leadership career within life sciences.

PhD in Science & Biotechnology – Ghent University / VIB

MSc in Molecular Biotechnology – Ghent University

Industrial Engineer (Ing.) in Biochemistry – Ghent University

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry – Ghent University