Kendalle Burlin O’Connell is a seasoned and effective executive who has received wide acclaim for her leadership of MassBio. As CEO and President of the world’s largest and oldest biopharma membership organization, Kendalle drives the strategy to grow the industry and support member companies, while advocating for policies that enable healthcare innovation and unlock breakthrough therapies for patients around the world. For more than 16 years, Kendalle has sought to deliver for MassBio’s now 1,700+ members through the launch of new initiatives, programs, and events while pushing the industry to new heights by convening and connecting key stakeholders and promoting collaboration.
To better serve the entire life cycle of biopharma companies, Kendalle has expanded MassBio’s innovation offerings to include partnering and investor events, an entrepreneurial accelerator, and a network for founders and chief executives. By the end of the year, more than 30 startups will have completed MassBioDrive, an accelerator designed to advance breakthrough science through business education and mentoring. Kendalle has grown both Pharma Days® and MassBio Align Summit to be “can’t miss” opportunities for funders, biotechs, and pharmaceutical companies. This year, she helped to enable a new venture with The Termeer Foundation to form a supportive community called the CEO & Founder Link.
Most recently, as part of MassBio’s commitment to realizing a more diverse and equitable life sciences industry, Kendalle was the driving force behind the organization’s launch of Bioversity, a non-profit created to develop new training pathways and create employer connections for underrepresented populations and individuals traditional left out of the life sciences. Bioversity has opened its first workforce training center in Dorchester where residents, 96 percent of whom identify as Black or Latino, are prepared over just eight weeks for rewarding entry-level careers at local life sciences companies.
MassBio has become an effective and respected voice across the public policy landscape, from Beacon Hill in Boston to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Kendalle has been an outspoken advocate for the industry in policy debates about state government support for the expansion of the life sciences in Massachusetts, the federal government’s intervention into biopharma innovation, and efforts to improve the affordability and accessibility of life-changing medicines, just to name a few. She has also led the formation of strategic partnerships with sister membership organizations in Connecticut, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Maryland.
Kendalle has earned numerous accolades for her leadership, including Boston Magazine’s list of The 150 Most Influential Bostonians in 2023 and 2024, the Boston Business Journal’s 2023 Power 50: Movement Makers list, a 2022 recipient of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Inspire Award recognizing outstanding women leaders in the Cambridge community, a 2022 Boston power player as named by Axios, a 2021 executive fellow in the inaugural class of the Civic Action Project Collaborative, and a 2019 Boston Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree. Currently, Kendalle serves as a Director on the Board of The Boston Foundation, Vice Chair of the Eastern New England Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society, a Director on the Board of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd), Chair of Bioversity’s Board, and an Advisory Committee member for the Suffolk University Law School All Rise Program.
Prior to joining MassBio, Kendalle practiced law in the areas of Estate and Medicaid Planning, Probate and Asset Protection. She graduated cum laude from Sacred Heart University with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, and received her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School. She resides in Haverhill, Massachusetts with her husband and two children.
