Executive Director, Business Development

Job description

Working with Us Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible. Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us. About BMS Neuroscience: Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to achieving innovation leadership in Neuroscience — delivering treatments that allow patients and their loved ones to live their lives to the fullest. Our Neuroscience portfolio spans three strategic pillars: Transform the treatment standard in Psychiatry in large and growing areas, including schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and adjacencies such as GAD and PTSD. Drive innovation in large neurodegenerative diseases across the continuum, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and adjacencies such as Parkinson’s disease psychosis and dementia with Lewy body. Build our position in Specialty Neurology with high unmet need and high growth potential, including MS, motor neuron disease, DM1, and adjacencies such as gMG, DMD, and rare epileptic disorders. With marketed assets including COBENFY (xanomeline-trospium) and ZEPOSIA (ozanimod), and a robust pipeline spanning KarXT/COBENFY line extensions (ADP, ADA, bipolar disorder, autism, Tourette syndrome, and LAI/SL oral and pediatric formulations), MTBR Tau, FAAH-MAGL, TRPC4/5, RIPK1, M4 PAM, and other pre-ID2 assets, BMS is positioned to capitalize on a neuroscience market projected to exceed $200B by 2032. Position SummaryThe Executive Director, Business Development – Neuroscience GCS is a senior leadership role within the Neuroscience Global Commercial Strategy team, positioned at the intersection of commercial strategy and external innovation. Reporting directly to the VP, GCS Neuroscience, this role serves as the commercial BD lead for the neuroscience therapeutic area and owns the identification, evaluation, and strategic shaping of external partnership, licensing, and acquisition opportunities that advance BMS’s neuroscience ambition across Psychiatry, Neurodegeneration, and Specialty Neurology, including neuromuscular diseases such as MS. This individual will be a trusted strategic partner to GCS Leadership, the NLT, TALT, S&E, and Corporate Business Development, ensuring that BD opportunities are rigorously assessed through a commercial lens and aligned with the TA’s “Where to Play / How to Win” strategy. The ED, BD will play a decisive role in building BMS’s future neuroscience portfolio by identifying the next generation of assets and partnerships that complement and extend the existing pipeline, positioning BMS to achieve its stated goal of leadership in brain health and the Neuroscience TALT’s strategic ambition. Key Responsibilities1. Commercial BD Strategy & Prioritization Define and maintain the Neuroscience BD commercial strategy by identifying high-value target indications, mechanisms of action (MOAs), and asset profiles aligned with BMS’s three strategic imperatives in Psychiatry, Neurodegeneration, and Specialty Neurology. Develop and continuously refine the Neuroscience Opportunity Framework, mapping unmet commercial needs across the TA to external landscape opportunities, including partnerships, licensing, acquisitions, and RDC collaborations. Serve as the GCS commercial authority in BD processes, synthesizing market intelligence, competitive landscape data, and launch readiness insights to prioritize BD opportunities. Champion BD as a key lever in delivering on the pipeline strategic imperative: “Drive innovation in development and commercialization across the Neuroscience portfolio through TALT partnership and BD opportunities.” Champion novel approaches to advance our BD capabilities, leveraging a tech-forward approach (AI) to drive insight and efficiency. 2. Deal Assessment & Commercial Diligence Lead commercial due diligence for neuroscience assets under evaluation, assessing epidemiology, market sizing, patient segmentation, competitive dynamics, market value drivers, pricing and reimbursement landscape, and peak sales forecasting in partnership with commercial and cross-functional development teams. Build and validate commercial cases for potential transactions, including scenario-based forecasting models that reflect the risk-adjusted commercial opportunity. Partner with Corporate BD, Finance, R&D, and Medical to deliver integrated asset valuations; ensure commercial inputs are accurately reflected in transaction models and decision frameworks. Assess ex-U.S. business development opportunities on a case-by-case basis, providing the commercial rationale for geographic strategy expansion and prioritization. 3. Pipeline & Portfolio Commercial Shaping Monitor the external neuroscience innovation landscape, identify disruptive trends across modalities—including small molecules, biologics, gene therapy, and RNA-based therapeutics—and translate these insights into actionable BD intelligence for GCS leadership. 4. External Partnership Development Cultivate and manage strategic relationships with external partners, including biotech companies, academic institutions, and licensing organizations operating in the neuroscience space. Represent BMS Neuroscience GCS at key industry conferences, such as BIO, to identify early-stage partnership opportunities and position BMS as a preferred commercial partner. Collaborate cross-functionally with Corporate BD, Alliance Management, and Legal to support term sheets, deal structuring, and partnership governance for neuroscience transactions. 5. Competitive Intelligence & Market Landscape Partner with CI teams to maintain a dynamic, insight-led view of the competitive neuroscience landscape, including competitor pipeline movements, M&A activity, and emerging scientific trends across Psychiatry, Neurodegeneration, and Specialty Neurology, including neuromuscular diseases such as MS. Leverage AI-driven insights, predictive analytics, and Business Insights & Analytics (BI&A) partnerships to generate differentiated commercial intelligence supporting BD evaluations. Synthesize intelligence into executive-ready communications for the VP GCS, SVP Neuroscience, TALT, and other senior BMS stakeholders. 6. Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement Operate as a fully integrated member of the Neuroscience GCS Leadership Team, actively contributing to the TA’s three strategic imperatives across Performance, Pipeline, and People. Partner across the matrix, including Corporate BD, S&E, Global Commercial, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Discovery, and Finance, to ensure BD evaluations reflect the full enterprise perspective. Represent the commercial BD function in governance forums as required, including Asset Teams, Portfolio Review Committees, and GCS planning cycles. Contribute to a resilient, high-performing GCS team culture rooted in accountability, inclusion, and bold action-taking, consistent with the GCS People imperative. Qualifications EducationAdvanced degree required: MBA, PharmD, MD, or PhD in a relevant scientific or business discipline. Dual degree, such as PhD/MBA or MD/MBA, strongly preferred. Experience 15+ years of progressive experience in the pharmaceutical or bioscience industry, with at least five years in a commercial strat