Stéphane Bancel (born 20 July 1972) is a French business executive. He is the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of the American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company

Moderna Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry inst ...

, known for its

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

. Before joining Moderna, Bancel was the CEO of French diagnostics company

BioMérieux bioMérieux SA is a French multinational biotechnology company founded and headquartered in Marcy-l'Étoile, France, close to Lyon. bioMérieux is present in 44 countries and serves more than 160 countries through a large network of distributo ...

. Bancel is a partner at

Flagship Pioneering Flagship Pioneering is an American life sciences venture capital company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that invests in biotechnology, life sciences, health and sustainability companies. Portfolio companies include Moderna, Indigo Agriculture, ...

, and has served on the boards of Indigo Agriculture, Boston's Museum of Science, and

Qiagen QIAGEN N.V. is a German-founded multinational provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research, and pharmaceutical research. The company operates in more than 35 offices in over 25 countries ...

. As of May 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$4.1 billion, owning about 8% of Moderna.

Early life

Bancel was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France. His father and mother were an engineer and doctor, respectively. He enjoyed computers, math, and science during his childhood. Bancel studied engineering at

CentraleSupélec CentraleSupélec (, CS) is one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles in France and is a member of the graduate engineering school of Paris-Saclay University in Gif-sur-Yvette, France. It was established on 1 January 2015, as a ...

(former École Centrale Paris) and biological engineering at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, earning master's degrees at both institutions. He went on to earn an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

Bancel was a sales director at

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...

, eventually becoming head of operations for Belgium. In 2007, he became CEO of French diagnostics company

, and was credited with improving the company's margins. In 2011, Bancel joined

as the CEO. Stat reported that Bancel led a highly secretive culture with little outside review of its science or research.

Personal life

Bancel has two children. In April 2020, with the Moderna share price rising on news of imminent phase 2 human trials for its potential

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

vaccine, Bancel's stake of about 9% became worth over $1 billion. He lives in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts.

References

French billionaires 1972 births Living people École Centrale Paris alumni University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni Harvard Business School alumni Paris-Saclay University alumni 21st-century French businesspeople French chief executives Moderna people {{France-business-bio-stub