Stéphane Bancel

Stéphane Bancel (born 20 July 1972)^[1] is a French business executive. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna, known for its COVID-19 vaccine. Before joining Moderna, Bancel was the CEO of French diagnostics company BioMérieux. Bancel is a partner at Flagship Pioneering, and has served on the boards of Indigo Agriculture, Boston's Museum of Science, and Qiagen. As of May 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$4.1 billion, owning about 8% of Moderna.^[2]

Stéphane Bancel
Stéphane Bancel
Born	(1972-07-20) 20 July 1972 (age 53) Marseille, France
Education	CentraleSupélec University of Minnesota Harvard Business School
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	CEO and 8% owner, Moderna
Term	2011–
Spouse	Brenda Bancel
Children	2

Early life

Bancel was born in Marseille, France. His father and mother were an engineer and doctor, respectively. He enjoyed computers, math, and science during his childhood.^[3]

Bancel studied engineering at CentraleSupélec (former École Centrale Paris) and biological engineering at the University of Minnesota, earning master's degrees at both institutions.^[4] He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School.^[5]

Career

Bancel was a sales director at Eli Lilly and Company, eventually becoming head of operations for Belgium.^[5] In 2007, he became CEO of French diagnostics company BioMérieux, and was credited with improving the company's margins.^[5]

In 2011, Bancel joined Moderna as the CEO. Stat reported that Bancel led a highly secretive culture with little outside review of its science or research.^[5]

Personal life

Bancel has two children.^[6] In April 2020, with the Moderna share price rising on news of imminent phase 2 human trials for its potential COVID-19 vaccine, Bancel's stake of about 9% became worth over $1 billion.^[4] He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.^[2]