Michele Galen

Biography

    April 2015 to June 2016, Ms. Galen served as Global Head, Communications and Public Affairs, for Shire plc, a biotechnology company, where she served as the lead communications and public affairs advisor on the successful $32B acquisition and integration of Baxalta. Previously, Ms. Galen led Global Communications for Novartis AG, based in Basel, Switzerland. During her 14 years with Novartis, Ms. Galen also served on several management boards in her capacity as Global Head, Communications and Advocacy, for Novartis Pharmaceuticals; as Vice President and Global Head, Oncology Affairs; Vice President and Global Head, Communications and External Affairs for Novartis Molecular Diagnostics; and Vice President, Corporate Communications, for US pharmaceuticals.Earlier in her career, Ms. Galen was a Managing Director in the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. There, she co-founded the Organizational Change Communications practice. She is an award-winning journalist, and worked as Legal Editor and Social Issues Editor at Business Week magazine. Ms. Galen is a member of the New York State Bar and practiced law at Stroock, Stroock & Lavan, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Galen currently serves on the inaugural board of directors of Global Oncology, and on the advisory board of MK&A, a global healthcare consultancy firm. Formerly, she served as a pro bono advisor to the UNICEF Office of Public Advocacy, and on the boards of the Global Health Council and Stupid Cancer. Galen received a B.A. from George Washington University, M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and J.D. from New York University School of Law. She also completed the External Executive Coaching Intensive at Columbia University.  

Research Interest

    Biochemistry