Venari Partners
Sofia Tapanelli

Sofia Tapanelli

PracticeHealthcare & Life Sciences
RolePartner
Social
Sofia Tapanelli

Biography

Sofia specialises in board, C-suite, and senior leadership appointments in healthcare and life sciences in EMEA and the US. Prior to joining Venari Partners, she was a key member of the Healthcare practice at Russell Reynolds Associates, where she delivered top-tier retained executive searches across biopharma and biotech. Earlier in her career, she was a Principal at True Search, where she contributing to the growth of the firm’s Life Sciences practice by securing and delivering senior mandates for VC-backed and publicly listed organisations. Sofia is a published scientist. She completed her PhD in Life Sciences in collaboration with Imperial College London, where she also held a postdoctoral position under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant. Her research focused on malaria, gene editing technologies and infectious disease. Alongside her academic work, Sofia co-founded a startup focused on sustainable, plant-based products, giving her early exposure to business building, fundraising, and commercial strategy. This combination of scientific depth and operational experience provides her with a nuanced understanding of the innovation lifecycle, from early discovery through to commercial scale.

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