Pros
There is a lot of potential transformative therapy programs in early stages of development and discovery. The Cambridge and Remote leaders are exceptional. Colleagues are passionate about their work and passionate about helping each other. Flexible work environment with no pressure to be in the office unless required (i.e. lab scientist). Benefits are best in class. Salary and bonuses are competitive. Financial security (for now). The level below C Suite is made up of very strong leadership, although they are mostly restricted from driving strategy and change. Plenty of career development opportunities (Director level and below). DE&I is strong in US.
Cons
Recent deployment of capital has lacked strategic value and vision (I.e., Kite manufacturing site acquisition, Instadeep acquisition, BioNTainer project, Object Oriented Organization design, to name a few). If/how any of these examples will add value to patients, investors, or the company is unclear. Internal communication around company strategy and concrete plans to achieve that strategy/vision is virtually nonexistent to employees. Cash burn rate is alarmingly high given the public revenue projections, lack of late stage assets with no impending near-term launches, no existing commercial capabilities or presence in the world’s largest market. Existing capital will need to bridge until the company can find additional revenue streams. This is a German company that has operations in other countries, not a global company. There is a big difference. Leaders outside of Germany have little to no empowerment, regardless of position or experience. There are some minor cons that are not dissimilar to the majority of other companies in our industry (i.e., high workload, changing priorities, and grueling ambitions). The largest differentiating cons at BioNTech (and the primary reason that I left) is the top level executives (mainly CEO) are grossly unequipped and unable to bring the company to the next level. There is zero experience at the top level for successfully leading a global company in bringing multiple drugs to market. Unfortunately, the self awareness of this by CEO is nonexistent, overshadowed by hubris, ego, and his unwavering need to control everything. I hesitate to leave such a harsh review for one of the primary individuals responsible for saving countless lives through his genius in discovering the construct upon which the COVID vaccine was developed upon. This is not meant to come across as unappreciative for these scientific and public health contributions. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of BioNTech during these past few years. However, that genius does not translate to aptitude for leading a 5,000+ employee company across multiple countries and regions. CEO continues to operate the company as he operates his labs, by forming his own hypotheses and experimenting with the company. There are countless examples of founder CEOs that struggle to evolve as their companies evolve. What will it take for BioNTech to recognize that what got the company to where it is today, will not get the company where it wants to go in the future? *Disclaimer* the content of this review are my own personal opinions and views and are not meant to represent any views or opinions on behalf of the company or it’s affiliates.
