In this episode, Christa Downey speaks with Charles “Chaz” Calitri ‘81, Vice President of Operations at Kyowa Kirin North America. Chaz reflects on his 40-year career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and engineering—from leading Pfizer’s efforts to produce the COVID-19 vaccine to overseeing the construction of Kyowa Kirin’s first U.S. biomanufacturing facility. He shares insights on leadership, mentorship, and the importance of empathy, global experience, and technical depth in engineering. Chaz also discusses the evolving role of AI in pharma, the impact of collaboration in solving complex problems, and his belief that “time is life” when it comes to innovation that improves human health.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Simpkins Family COMPASS Program: https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/selander-center-engineering-leadership/simpkins-family-compass-program/
International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering: https://ispe.org/
Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1
Editor: Melissa Bazley
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In this episode, Christa Downey speaks with Charles “Chaz” Calitri ‘81, Vice President of Operations at Kyowa Kirin North America. Chaz reflects on his 40-year career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and engineering—from leading Pfizer’s efforts to produce the COVID-19 vaccine to overseeing the construction of Kyowa Kirin’s first U.S. biomanufacturing facility. He shares insights on leadership, mentorship, and the importance of empathy, global experience, and technical depth in engineering. Chaz also discusses the evolving role of AI in pharma, the impact of collaboration in solving complex problems, and his belief that “time is life” when it comes to innovation that improves human health.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Simpkins Family COMPASS Program: https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/selander-center-engineering-leadership/simpkins-family-compass-program/
International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering: https://ispe.org/
Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1
Editor: Melissa Bazley
Finding Flavor and Philosophy: Garrett Lang ’01 on Generous Capitalism and Building PlateRate
Cornell Engineering Career Conversations
40 minutes 10 seconds
1 year ago
Finding Flavor and Philosophy: Garrett Lang ’01 on Generous Capitalism and Building PlateRate
Garrett Lang ’01 is, among other things, the founder and President of PlateRate, an online service that helps diners find great local restaurants and their best meals. A graduate of the Computer Science program, he serves as the online chair for the NYC Cornellian community and is also the Executive Director of the Free Thinker Institute. Garrett shares his philosophy of "generous capitalism" and walks us through his entrepreneurial journey.
He can be found at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettlang1/
garrett@platerate.com
He recommends:
Free Thinker Institute: https://tinyurl.com/FreeThinkIns
Global Cornell Online Community, which can be accessed on Discord https://cornellonlinecommunity.com/
Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript
Editor: Melissa Bazley
Cornell Engineering Career Conversations
In this episode, Christa Downey speaks with Charles “Chaz” Calitri ‘81, Vice President of Operations at Kyowa Kirin North America. Chaz reflects on his 40-year career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and engineering—from leading Pfizer’s efforts to produce the COVID-19 vaccine to overseeing the construction of Kyowa Kirin’s first U.S. biomanufacturing facility. He shares insights on leadership, mentorship, and the importance of empathy, global experience, and technical depth in engineering. Chaz also discusses the evolving role of AI in pharma, the impact of collaboration in solving complex problems, and his belief that “time is life” when it comes to innovation that improves human health.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Simpkins Family COMPASS Program: https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/selander-center-engineering-leadership/simpkins-family-compass-program/
International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering: https://ispe.org/
Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1
Editor: Melissa Bazley
