Mr. Aktar is an accomplished life sciences industry executive with over two decades of biopharmaceutical experience, melding more than a decade of technical leadership in cell and gene therapy with a proven track record in corporate strategy and business development. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Receptive Bio, a privately held biotechnology company, and holds Board positions with UCLA Technology Development Group and ReAlta Life Sciences.

Prior to joining Receptive Bio, Mr. Aktar was the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Development & Strategy at Kite Pharma, where he played a key role in establishing Kite’s global leadership in cell therapy, architecting strategy and executing numerous deals which strengthened Kite’s R&D portfolio and drove its global expansion. Previously, Mr. Aktar held senior leadership positions at various biotech and large pharma organizations across diverse modalities and therapeutic areas. Most notably, he helped shape Shire’s transformation into a global rare disease leader, facilitating numerous multi-billion-dollar transactions as Global Head of Hematology and Immunology Business Development and earlier leading large-scale manufacturing operations as Global Head of Engineering.

Mr. Aktar holds an M.B.A. from MIT Sloan School of Management, a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Tufts University.