Claire Thompson

As Head of Business Development - Biopharma I was responsible for driving revenue for biopharma industry focused sponsorship projects, events, and publications. In-particular Nature's Biopharma Dealmakers for which I increased revenue from under £100K PA to over £1M PA.

Key achievements/responsibilities included:

Business Development

• Consistently achieved/exceeded personal sales targets.
• Drove sales through lead sourcing, reaching out to over 100 leads per topic of focus, to maintain a high level of lead conversation as was required.
• Acquired and managed over 500 new business customers.
• Cultivated strategic relationships across senior biopharma functions: C-level executives, R&D/external innovation, therapy area leads, product management, investor relations, marketing, and agencies.
• Worked with clients in all global markets from emerging biotech to large pharma, plus academic and not for profit. Examples include BioNTech, Pfizer, Merck, AZ, GSK, GE, CRUK, and NIH.
• Sold across a portfolio of products: branded content, webcasts, advertising, and events.
• Represented organisation at industry exhibitions and conventions (including one to one partnering meetings at BIO and others, typically conducting 20+ meetings per day), driving awareness of Springer Nature with potential customers, and boosting company's exposure in international markets.

Team management

• Managed a small team of BD Executives, driving performance with motivational strategies to exceed sales targets.
• Mentored junior team members to develop their skills and potential.
• Acted as the main point of contact for Biopharma Dealmakers and represented team at senior leadership meetings.

Product management

• Maintained ownership of Biopharma Dealmakers sales pipeline, sourcing and developing new business opportunities to drive sales.
• Analysed sales reports to identify trends and update strategies.
• Increased sales performance through strategic planning and implementation.
• Oversaw product development, ensuring alignment with customer needs and preferences.
• Managed transition from print to digital first publication.
• Increased publication frequency from quarterly to monthly, which improved flow of content, increased topics covered and sales opportunities.

Collaboration

• Established productive communication channels between internal stakeholder departments (editorial, publishing, production, and other sales teams) to stimulate collaboration, and led cross-functional team meetings.
• Forged alliances with external industry peers, opening avenues for co-marketing opportunities, including coordinating bio-pharma conference participation and negotiating contra deals.

As Associate Director of Development I was responsible for fundraising for large donations to the School of Medicine, and Institute of Life Sciences.

• Designed engaging presentations securing significant funding from diverse sources - corporates, individuals, and foundations. Including the Wolfson Foundation from whom I secured a £500K donation
• Spearheaded grant writing efforts, working closely with senior academics to successfully gain funding commitment for priority projects.
• Fostered strong relationships with major donors resulting in sustained support.
• Organised reunion events with University leadership and HNWI alumni to build relationship with University.
• Liaised closely with University leadership to keep informed about funding priorities.
• Collaborated with marketing department to create compelling promotional materials, driving donor interest.
• Prepared clear, on-point speeches for senior leaders and worked with executives on interview preparation.

As Director of Development for The Science Of... at the Science Museum, I was responsible for securing sponsorship for touring exhibitions.

• Worked closely with executive leadership, and creative team to develop ideas for commercially viable themes.
• Developed business plans, presentations and proposals for international touring exhibitions resulting in £1M+ sponsorship for them from leading brands including: Nissan, HSBC, BASF and IBM.
• Secured stakeholder buy-in by expertly presenting and communicating project benefits.
• Closed complex sponsorship and product placement deals with new customers using strategic sales and negotiation tactics.
• Negotiated sponsorship terms and contracts.
• Managed exhibition launch events.

Head of Sponsorship 2004 - 2006

• Responsible for securing sponsorship for all high value projects (publications, events, websites), generating £1M+ PA.
• Managed P&L's for sponsored projects and negotiated contracts.
• Clients included: big pharma and tech companies, academic institutions, and not for profits/government institutions.

Business Development Manager 2002 - 2004

• Developed idea and launched series of Nature Reviews Collections.
• Secured support from leading technology manufacturers in excess of £300K PA.

Assistant European Sales Manager 2001 - 2002

• Managed all key accounts in Europe. Including: Amersham/GE, Qiagen, Eppendorf, Thermo Fisher, and Agilent.
• Succeeded in achieving targets of market share and revenue growth per account.

Senior Sales Executive 2000 - 2001

• Managed display advertising sales territory of Scandinavia and The Netherlands.
• Developed idea and business plan for a new supplement - Science in Scandinavia generating £60K+

• Sold all aspects of print advertising (display & classified) for Museums Journal, and Museums Yearbook.
• Trade exhibition space sales for the annual Museums Association Conference.