Biopharma industry veteran Jackie Elbonne, Ph.D., is retiring at the end of the year, leaving Amgen’s top quality spot to her deputy, Aine Hanley, Ph.D.
Elbonne brought 35 years of biopharma experience across seven companies to Amgen’s C-suite. Prior to her current role, she was chief quality officer at Bristol Myers Squibb, where she led quality and compliance oversight across the company’s biologics, pharmaceutical and cell therapy portfolios worldwide. And before BMS, she held senior leadership positions at Merck & Co.
“My journey began in the UK as a young organic chemistry Ph.D. graduate from the University of Liverpool and took me across continents, countless countries, and six mergers and acquisitions,” Elbonne wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing her forthcoming retirement.
“Looking back, I’m proud to have contributed to scientific breakthroughs and medicines that have impacted millions of patients around the world—including members of my own family,” she said.
Stepping up to fill Elbonne’s shoes is her lieutenant and Amgen’s vice president of quality.
Hanly has more than a decade at both Pfizer and Amgen, the latter of which she joined in 2012. From 2021 to 2025, Hanley was the chief technology officer of Vir Biotechnology, where she oversaw technical operations, manufacturing and supply chain, before returning to Amgen to take up her current role last year.
“Across those experiences, I’ve seen how a shared purpose brings people together around the patients we serve,” Hanly said in a LinkedIn post announcing her new position. “Quality is how we earn the trust patients place in our medicines, through the integrity of our data and the choices we make every day. At Amgen, that trust is central to our mission to serve patients.”
In her post, Hanley thanked Elbonne for all she’d contributed to Amgen and her support as they transitioned the CQO role.
Amgen did not respond to Fierce's request for comments.
Elbonne marks the third member of the Amgen C-suite to retire this year. Former CFO Peter Griffith retired in August, and former Chief Technology Officer David Reese, M.D. retired in June.