I’m Julien Willard, a physician-economist who advises biopharma C-suites on strategy, policy, and operations.
For nearly 15 years, I have advised senior leadership in life sciences – at the World Bank, Oxfam, IBM Life Sciences, and Accenture Strategy. In every role, the work has been the same: helping biopharma executives make consequential decisions on capital allocation, M&A, restructuring, technology strategy, and market access.
I bring an unusual combination of economic intelligence and diplomatic experience to this work. I trained in medicine in Moscow and in health economics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Melinda Gates Scholar. I have negotiated across governments, managed multilateral health programs, and represented the UK at the UN General Assembly on pharmaceutical policy. Good science fails without good strategy. I work to close that gap. I live in San Diego.
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By the numbers
$35B+
In biopharma transactions personally led or advised – buy-side, sell-side, and integration
$1B
Corporate restructuring led end to end – P&L, workforce, and operating model
$130M
HIV vaccine program managed across governments, donors, and research institutions
$10B+
Capital allocation decisions supported with board-ready materials
Experience
- 2025 –
BioPalace
Fractional Head of Research and Investments
- 2022 – 25
IBM Life Sciences
Partner, Head of Corporate Strategy
- 2019 – 22
Accenture Strategy
Head of Corporate Strategy – North America Biotech
- 2007 – 18
World Bank, Oxfam GB
Diplomatic Service, Economic Intelligence
Areas of work
Strategic Transactions
Buy-side and sell-side advisory across $35 billion in biopharma deals. Integration planning, regulatory clearance, board materials, and shareholder defense.
Operations and Restructuring
End-to-end corporate restructuring – realigning P&L, workforce, and operating models. Resource allocation frameworks for C-suite decision-making.
Economic Intelligence and Policy
Competitive intelligence programs, scenario analysis, and technology strategy for biopharma leadership. Multilateral policy negotiation across governments and international institutions.
AI and Digital Strategy
Deploying AI in executive strategy workflows and evaluating digital therapeutics platforms across R&D, clinical, and commercial functions.
References
“Julien is an exceptional economist, diplomat, and strategist. We worked together on a $450 million public health lending operation. He possesses two critical traits: non-intuitive thinking and skill in high-pressure negotiations. He is a very confident and ruthless operator.”
Ellen Bien
CFO / Ministry of Defense, The Netherlands
“Julien is a forward-thinking perfectionist. His work as a business and technology advisor was critical to our company’s innovation success. If you’re looking for a yes-man, Julien is NOT that person. He will challenge you and disagree, backed by heaps of data and research.”
Carissa Rollins
former CIO / Illumina
“Julien brought a unique skill combination: expertise in therapeutic areas, technical understanding of pharmaceutical data science applications, and strong business strategy acumen. He led a year-long strategic program for Pfizer, delivering clinical development innovations.”
Jonathan Crowther, PhD
Head of AI, Clinical Development / Pfizer
“Dr. Willard is ruthless in his strategic focus. He operates at the forefront of corporate and digital strategy, and he helped bring Pfizer’s clinical development program into the innovation realm with quantum computing and AI. He is rare – a physician who understands both the science and the boardroom.”
Lidia Fonseca
EVP / Pfizer
I work with biopharma leadership ready to move – on transactions, on growth, on the hard operational decisions that separate companies that scale from those that stall. If you need a strategist and operator, I would welcome a conversation.