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Director, Corporate Strategy

Chicago, IL

About Us 

Kardigan is a heart health company working to make cardiovascular disease preventable, curable and no longer the leading cause of death in the world.

It is Kardigan’s mission to develop multiple targeted treatments in parallel that bring people with cardiovascular diseases to the cures they deserve.
 
Led by Tassos Giannakakos, Jay Edelberg, M.D., Ph.D., and Bob McDowell, Ph.D., Kardigan’s co-founders have reunited after leading MyoKardia to discover and develop mavacamten, the first cardiac myosin inhibitor, resulting in an acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020.
 
We have a cutting-edge discovery and translational research platform, a pipeline of late-stage candidates, and an industry-leading team that is driven to improve the lives of patients.
 
At Kardigan, we are motivated by our values which guide how we work, interact, and achieve our goals. Driven by patients and their families, we are deeply committed to improving the lives of patients and prioritizing their needs above all else. We believe in being authentic—leading with truth to bring out the best in others by creating an environment where every person knows they will be fully accepted. With an eagerness to learn, we encourage the highest levels of curiosity and are open to changing our minds. We are committed to winning as a team with urgency, excellence, and intention, and support each other no matter what role we play or where we sit. Lastly, we strive to enable the impossible because patients are counting on us. We are not afraid to take risks to unlock innovation and advance scientific discoveries.
 
These values are the foundation of our work, empowering us to make a real difference, every day.
 
 

Job Overview:

The Director, Corporate Strategy will play a leadership role in shaping and executing Kardigan’s enterprise strategy. This role focuses on framing critical decisions and efforts, evaluating strategic options, developing clear recommendations, and driving alignment across the organization on priorities and trade-offs. 

This role requires the ability to work independently to drive complex strategic initiatives end-to-end, from problem definition through recommendation and implementation support. The Director will partner closely with the Vice President of Corporate Strategy and, at times, directly with executive leadership, on specific high-impact initiatives. The role will lead and mentor junior team members, own key strategic workstreams, and translate ambiguous strategic questions into actionable insights in a fast-paced, high-growth biotechnology environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Lead development and execution of enterprise-level strategy, including long-term strategic direction, growth priorities, and key strategic choices
  • Support and shape business unit strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and value creation objectives
  • Develop disease area strategies that integrate scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial considerations to inform investment and development decisions
  • Lead asset-level strategy work as needed, including indication sequencing, differentiation narratives, lifecycle management initiatives, and strategic positioning across the development lifecycle. Work in close partnership with cross-functional partners. 
  • Evaluate and develop new business concepts and adjacency opportunities, including platform expansion, data-driven offerings, and other enterprise growth vectors
  • Lead enterprise strategic planning and priority setting processes, including annual and long-range planning, in partnership with executive leadership and Finance
  • Frame critical strategic questions and decision points for executive leadership, developing clear, evidence-based recommendations
  • Partner with executive leaders and cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment on strategic priorities, trade-offs, and execution implications
  • Work independently to drive complex, cross-cutting strategic initiatives end-to-end
  • Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership team
  • Mentor and develop junior team members, contributing to a high-performing corporate strategy function

Qualifications and Preferred Skills:

  • Bachelor’s degree in business, life sciences, biotechnology, or related field
  • MBA or advanced degree required (e.g., PhD, MD, MBA)
  • 7-10 years of experience in corporate strategy, management consulting, business development, or a related role
  • Prior experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, or health technology strongly preferred
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently and lead complex, ambiguous strategic initiatives with limited oversight
  • Strong executive communication skills, including experience presenting to senior leadership
  • Proven people leadership or mentoring experience
  • Excellent analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving capabilities; advanced proficiency with PowerPoint and Excel
  • Ability to balance strategic rigor with pragmatic execution in a fast-moving environment
  • Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills
  • High degree of intellectual curiosity, ownership, and professional maturity

Exact Compensation may vary based on skills, experience and location.

Pay range

$197,000 - $257,000 USD

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