Gate One appoints Pamela Walker as life sciences lead

Digital and business transformation consultancy Gate One has appointed Pamela Walker to lead its life sciences division. She joins from Kin + Carta, where she was the firm’s Global Head of Health.

Pamela Walker brings two decades of life sciences, investment and consulting experience to the role, and holds both a PhD and an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford.

Speaking of her appointment, Walker said, “Two key factors attracted me to Gate One. First and foremost, the people – who are without exception, smart, kind, interesting and hardworking. And second, the company’s deep passion for driving growth and expansion in a meaningful way.”

Founded in 2013, Gate One has around 120 consultants and staff based in London, and last year the consultancy – which is part of Havas – was named by LinkedIn's as one of the hottest companies to work for.

Walker has been tasked with “taking our life sciences division to the next level and to leverage the opportunities available to us in the market and through our Havas network,” said Simon Dennis, a Founding Partner at Gate One.

“It’s been a long search for the right person. Pamela brings a wealth of expertise and pharma market acumen that will help us build on our work in this area and create meaningful change for the businesses we work with.”

Prior to joining Gate One, Walker spent over seven years with Kin + Carta, latterly as the professional services firm’s Global Head of Health. She has a strong track record of building longstanding C-suite relationships, creating profitable business units and driving significant impact for clients across the life sciences space – skills honed across positions held with firms such as Branding Science, where she was a Director, and Capita Consulting, where she was a Senior Consultant.

She specialises in advisory, due diligence, market assessments, value creation, commercialisation of assets, clinical trials, digital transformations, board advisory, and market insight, and works with both operators (pharma, healthtech, medtech, medical devices, medical diagnostics) and investors (private equity, venture capital).

Her appointment comes at a time of significant change for the pharma industry. “Organisations are under pressure to become leaner and more dynamic, and mergers & acquisitions are becoming an ever-present fixture as a key model for growth,” said Walker.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team to optimise business growth for our clients and create a transformative impact on the lives of their stakeholders.”

Welcoming her to the firm, Ben Tye, who recently was promoted to partner, took the LinkedIn to write: “We're all thrilled and looking forward to having you join the team Pamela. Welcome!”

Meanwhile, Client Director James Cooper stated, “Looking forward to having you join the team.”