Azzur Group has announced the appointment of Jason Congdon to Senior Director of Consulting for Azzur Philadelphia, and Shannon Chesterfield as Senior Director of Consulting for Azzur San Diego.
Specialising in professional services for the regulated healthcare and life sciences industry, Azzur Group provides consulting and advisory services that help manufacturers start, scale, and sustain their GxP organisations.
Cellicon valley
Jason Congdon joins Azzur Group's Philadelphia practice, bringing to bear his experience at a contract manufacturing organisation (CMO), where he previously served as Director of Validation. There, he successfully led proactive measures to streamline and optimise the validation efforts across the organisation.
Congdon also brings more than 15 years of experience with renowned pharmaceutical companies, including Eisai Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novovax, and GlaxoSmithKline, where he oversaw validation and technology transfer for early clinical phase projects all the way through commercialisation.
"Now, more than ever, leading life science companies are under immense pressure to start, scale, and sustain their GxP organisations while maintaining safety and efficacy," said Congdon. "I'm honoured and excited to join the team at Azzur. My predecessors have done a wonderful job laying a strong foundation, and I look forward to working together to further expand our services throughout the region and offer clients solutions to their regulatory challenges."
Congdon is an active member of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). He holds a bachelor of science degree in bioengineering and a master's degree in business administration, specialising in finance, from the University of Maryland.
"This year, our collective industry has faced unprecedented challenges and opportunities. And, we at Azzur Group, are grateful to be able to grow alongside the innovators and clients we serve," said Chris Mansur, President of Azzur Group Consulting Services. "I'm pleased to welcome Jason to the team to continue to guide Azzur Philadelphia and further expand the group's GxP advisory and consulting services."
Scaling services in San Diego
Poised to further expand Azzur's foothold in Southern California, Shannon Chesterfield joins Azzur San Diego with more than 20 years of diverse experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Most recently, Chesterfield served for five years as the Director of Manufacturing and Development at Heron Therapeutics.
Chesterfield joins Azzur Group as Scott Corbin transitions to a new role as Director of Operations for Azzur San Diego. Scott joined the company in 2019 and has led operations and business development for the Azzur's San Diego business for the past year.
"I'm excited to lead the Azzur San Diego team and look forward to the opportunity to build and grow client relationships with the dynamic companies that call San Diego home," said Chesterfield.
Chesterfield grew up in San Diego County where she worked for 10 years before moving to New England, later Europe, and most recently the Bay Area to pursue career opportunities. Shannon started as a laboratory technician and has grown her career and honed her expertise in product lifecycle management, quality assurance and systems, manufacturing operations, design control, package and label development, project management, and risk management.
Shannon is a past Steering Committee member for multiple ISPE Communities of Practice and presented at several Annual Meetings. She is also an active member of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), and the American Society for Quality (ASQ); and, she looks forward to becoming more involved in the local chapters.
"Azzur Group is excited to have Shannon join Scott Corbin and the Azzur San Diego team. As a former SDSU student and UCSD alumna, I understand why a strong San Diegan presence is important in this biotech paradise. Shannon brings development, quality, and manufacturing expertise and solutions to our clients and understands the need of local companies' acceleration to market. We are all very excited to have Shannon join Azzur Group," said Cinta Burgos, VP of Consulting Services.
The new appointments for Shannon and Scott come at a time of unprecedented growth for Azzur Group in Southern California, with Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand San Diego and Azzur Labs San Diego both slated to open their doors in early 2021.
