Stéphane Bancel

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Stéphane Bancel (born 1972)[1] is a French billionaire businessman. 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 been 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
Born1972 (age 5354)
Marseille, France
EducationCentraleSupélec (BS)
University of Minnesota (MS)
Harvard University (MBA)
SpouseBrenda Bancel
Children2

Early life

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Bancel was born in Marseille, France. His father and mother were an engineer and doctor, respectively. They divorced when he was eight.[3] He enjoyed computers, math, and science during his childhood.[4]

Bancel studied engineering at CentraleSupélec (former École Centrale Paris) and biological engineering at the University of Minnesota, earning master's degrees at both institutions.[5] He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School.[6]

Career

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Bancel was a sales director at Eli Lilly and Company, eventually becoming head of operations for Belgium.[6] In 2007, he became CEO of French diagnostics company BioMérieux, and was credited with improving the company's margins.[6]

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.[6]

Personal life

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He is married to Brenda Bancel.[7][8] They have two children.[9] 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.[5] He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.[2]

References

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  1. "Les 500 plus grandes fortunes de France 2023" [The 500 Richest People in France 2023]. Challenges (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Forbes profile: Stéphane Bancel". Forbes. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  3. Foundation, The Posse (9 September 2022). "Ubben Posse Fellow Interviews: Stéphane Bancel". The Posse Foundation. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  4. "Moderna's Stéphane Bancel: the maths nerd who struck vaccine gold". MoneyWeek. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 Tognini, Giacomo (3 April 2020). "Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel Becomes A Billionaire As Stock Jumps On Coronavirus Vaccine News". Forbes. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Garade, Damien (13 September 2016). "Ego, ambition, and turmoil: Inside one of biotech's most secretive startups". Stat. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. "Bancel Philanthropies is the family philanthropy of Brenda and Stéphane Bancel". Bancel Philanthropies. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  8. "Brenda & Stéphane Bancel Donate $1.5M to Harvard Street for New Facility to Meet Soaring Needs - Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center". harvardstreet.org. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  9. "Story Details - Alumni - Harvard Business School". www.alumni.hbs.edu. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2020.