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
From Engineer to Music Executive, Educator, and Author: Dr. Howie Singer MS ’77, Ph.D. '79
Cornell Engineering Career Conversations
33 minutes 49 seconds
1 year ago
From Engineer to Music Executive, Educator, and Author: Dr. Howie Singer MS ’77, Ph.D. '79
Howie Singer ’77, ’79 (ORIE) is an expert on the implications of new technology in the music industry. In 15 years at Warner Music Group, he served as SVP and Chief Strategic Technologist analyzing services and companies that could enhance or threaten WMG’s businesses. As a Strategic Consultant to Universal Music Group, MQA Ltd, and other start-ups, he currently advises on products, services, and technologies related to high-resolution music, Artificial Intelligence, podcasts, and streaming data analysis. He is co-author of a new book, "Key Changes: The Ten Times Technology Transformed the Music Industry."
Howie can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/howiesinger/
Check out his book: Key Changes https://www.amazon.com/Key-Changes-Technology-Transformed-Industry/dp/0197656900
Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1
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
