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Meet our Leadership

Making Good Things Happen Together

Executives

Kerren Bergman

Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of Hyde Engineering + Consulting, Inc., Kerren Bergman leads this global engineering organization of more than 250 employees. Her responsibilities include strategic direction, global operations, and overseeing the development and retention of talent to ensure the growth of Hyde’s diverse and inclusive organization.

Kerren began her career with Hyde in 1998, advancing with the company in various roles of increasing responsibility. Her experience in nearly every aspect of the business including Operations, Business Development, Human Resources, Quality, Safety, and IT has been essential to understanding all the moving parts of organizational oversight.

As a servant leader, Kerren guides Hyde by cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’. She is driven, collaborative, visionary, and passionate about people. Kerren embodies Hyde’s mission to foster a culture of excellence to exceed client expectations while developing the industry’s foremost engineering professionals. She empowers the organization to embrace the 5 Hyde values: Family, Integrity, Respect, Wisdom, and Adventure.

Kerren holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is the Past President of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering – Rocky Mountain Chapter (ISPE-RM), and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional. Her life balance includes spending time with her two daughters, enjoying the fresh mountain air in Colorado, singing, playing violin and piano, and kickboxing.

Adolphe Kajangwe

Chief Financial Officer

As the Chief Financial Officer, Adolphe oversees all aspects of the company’s global finance and accounting. Adolphe is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 2007.

Before joining Hyde, Adolphe was a consultant at large public accounting firms, primarily focusing on providing transaction advisory services to clients.

Adolphe spent four years at a large private equity firm where he was involved in investment screening, deep-dive financial and operational due diligence, and delivering operational enhancement to portfolio companies. Adolphe has years of experience in public accounting, providing focus on financial statement auditing services, and other attest engagements to both public and private clients operating in a variety of industries and sectors.

Will Czerniak

Managing Director, Europe

Will joined Hyde to launch the Hyde Europe affiliate in 2010. As Managing Director of Hyde Europe, Will brings over 25 years of leadership in the global pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical markets. His expertise is in large-scale project delivery, business development, and commercial management. Will is responsible for the start-up and ongoing development of Hyde’s business in Europe.

He is also a Board Member of the Global Hyde organization and has served the company in leading a Global Strategy and Business Development role in the past while spending time across Hyde’s US offices.

Before joining Hyde, Will was Vice President and Director of Major Projects in Europe for a large international engineering firm. He had management responsibility for business development, staffing, and delivery of major projects for several business lines across offices in Ireland, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark / Sweden, Holland, Poland, and the Middle East.

Will has held several senior positions, including Regional Director and Business Development Director. He has contributed to many of the major pharmaceutical projects in Europe over the past 25 years. His primary activities include planning, managing, and implementing engineering, validation, compliance, and quality processes for large pharmaceutical organizations.

Will provides guidance, leadership, and support for process performance excellence and continuous improvement. Will holds a Bachelor of Arts from University College Dublin; and a Masters in Business from the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School, Ireland.

Ronald Berk

Chief Technology Officer

Ronald Berk is the Chief Technical Officer at Hyde Engineering and Consulting. His responsibilities include the delivery and quality of all engineering projects executed by Hyde. Ronald joined Hyde in 1999 and has extensive experience in capital projects for biopharmaceutical, vaccine manufacturing, and fill-finish facilities. He is a subject matter expert in sanitary design and a member of the ASME BPE System Design Subcommittee.

Ronald’s design philosophy is to design a closed process using stainless steel reusable equipment and single-use equipment, as it fits the needs of the client. In addition to his depth of experience in design and project management, Ronald has served as an expert witness and consulted on complex litigation cases for large construction projects. He graduated from the Higher Technical College Amsterdam with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Business Management.

Keith Bader

Vice President, Cleaning Science & Laboratory Services, Quality Officer

Keith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He began his career conducting government contract research in catalysts and advanced materials through SBIR grants. Following that, he joined Hyde Engineering + Consulting, Inc. in 1999 and worked in a variety of areas from control system development to cleaning validation.

Keith has provided high-level consultation to Hyde’s Engineering’s clients in topic areas ranging from strategic quality and validation documentation architecture to detail-oriented support such as design of experiments and supporting study design. He has expertise in the implementation of online TOC instruments and process analytical technologies for clean-in-place systems, as well as the translation of bench-scale cleaning process development data to full-scale manufacturing systems.

Leveraging this expertise, Keith founded Hyde’s Cleaning Process Development Lab in 2011, a facility devoted to the development, exploration, and scaleup of cleaning processes for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries.

Keith has also published multiple journal and periodical articles as well as chapters in PAT Applied in Biopharmaceutical Process Development and Manufacturing: An Enabling Tool for Quality-by-Design by Duncan Lowe, and in Cleaning and Cleaning Validation, Volume 2, edited by Dr. Paul Pluta. Keith is currently an elected member of both the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of ISPE and the Mountain States Chapter of the Parenteral Drug Association.

Keith is currently a member of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA).

Dr. Fearghal Downey

Vice President, Engineering and Project Delivery, Europe

Fearghal Downey brings with him over 22 years of experience working in the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries, and in research and development. He is a talented leader with a proven record of accomplishments in completing projects successfully in the areas of clean-in-place systems, process and clean utilities, containment, commissioning, and qualification. Fearghal has excellent management, analytical and decision-making skills with a proven ability to plan and manage teams.

Fearghal holds a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from University College, Dublin, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. He began his career with Merck Sharpe and Dohme in Ireland within the Technical Operations group, specializing in preparing the facility for the introduction of new products and processes.

Since 1998, he has predominately been responsible for project delivery from both a technical and managerial aspect. He has delivered large scale projects from design, through construction, commissioning, and qualification in both the API and biopharmaceuticals areas. During this time, he developed core expertise in several areas such as high containment systems (powders and liquids), fluid and powder transfer systems, clean-in-place design and operation and sterile processing.

Fearghal joined Hyde Engineering and Consulting, Europe Ltd in September 2012 as Technical Director for the European Operation, while also providing specialized knowledge to the Global organization, particularly in his specialty areas and project execution. He has been collaborating with the Hyde Analytical laboratory since joining Hyde.

Fearghal is a very active member of the ISPE community and is currently serving his second year as Treasurer of the ISPE Ireland Affiliate and has been a committee member since 2010.

David O’Keeffe

Vice President, U.S. Operations

David is the Vice President of United States Operations. He is an accomplished and goal-oriented professional offering more than 17 years of Small Molecule and Biotech experience spanning the construction of green field facilities to the commissioning and validation of various utilities and process equipment.

He has worked in wastewater and nutraceutical facilities. David's solution-oriented approach effectively achieves optimal results while building strategic alliances. He is a dynamic, diplomatic leader who inspires and authentically develops productive relationships with employees and clients. David organizes and drives operations, provides oversight and project management support, and consistently exceeds client expectations.

David joined Hyde in 2015 and supported multiple clients in the fields of commissioning, qualification & validation. As a Site Lead, David was quickly promoted to Staff Manager for the region and eventually promoted to Regional Manager for California. David's responsibilities expanded to oversee the Central region, and in 2022, he was promoted to Director of U.S. Operations.

David started his career in the construction and startup of a Waste Water treatment facility (removal of APIs in the water) in Ireland and in 2007, he took the opportunity to move to the US. Over the years, David gained extensive knowledge in constructing, commissioning, qualification, validation, and management in the pharmaceutical/biotech and alternative industries (Food, CBD, Nutraceuticals).

David graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2005 in Cork, Ireland, his first master's in general systems in 2013, and received his Master of Business Administration in 2022.

Tanner Lesley

Vice President, Human Resources

Tanner realized his passion for Human Resources and Organizational Development during his Organizational Psychology coursework when obtaining his B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University.

Following his career interests in Human Resources, Tanner now holds an M.S. in Strategic Human Resource Management from the University of Denver as well as the following HR certifications: Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) and Professional in Human Resources (PHR) through the Human Resource Certification Institute, Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) through the Society for Human Resource Management, and Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

When he’s not immersed in studies or work, Tanner enjoys skiing and backpacking in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Tanner’s interests in culture drive his passion for international travel and business. He enjoys volunteering in local communities and is an advocate for wellness and self-improvement.

Tanner is enthusiastic about the role HR plays at Hyde. Hyde’s HR department serves to support the success of all employees aligning individual career goals and contributions with organizational goals. Hyde’s philosophy is to offer meaningful work and financially rewarding career opportunities for employees while creating a culture of teamwork and collaboration.

Directors

Frank O’Connor

Director, European Finance

Frank is the Financial Director for Hyde Engineering and Consulting Europe Limited. Frank joined Hyde Europe in 2010, and he is responsible for leading the financial and administration functions in Europe.

Frank is an accountant and over his career he has held a number of senior positions with mutli-nationals and large hedge funds. In recent years, he had specialized in helping US firms setting up business in Europe, where he provides advise on local taxation, banking and compliance issues.

Karrie Hogan

Senior Director, Global Recruiting and Marketing

As the Senior Director of Global Recruiting, Karrie is responsible for setting the strategic direction for recruitment and brand messaging for Hyde Engineering + Consulting. Hyde’s global recruiting department champions our culture by working to attract and retain the best and brightest engineers in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

Karrie brings extensive technical experience to her role. She started her recruiting career in Colorado, specializing in sourcing and recruiting BS, MS, and Ph.D. scientific professionals for the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, oil & gas, food, and environmental industries. Before recruiting, Karrie was responsible for managing the sales of small to large-scale, in vivo and in vitro, monoclonal antibody production under cGMP and research guidelines.

Karrie holds a BS in Biology from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, and in her free time, enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She maintains balance in life by competing in triathlons and ultra-running. She has completed two 50-mile ultra’s (trail running) and is a 2-time Ironman finisher.

Ankur Verma

Director, Commissioning, Qualification & Validation

Ankur Verma has extensive experience in the Biopharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical industries. He has supported Commissioning & Qualification (C&Q) projects as the Project Quality Manager/Project Head and Subject Matter Expert for Greenfield and Brown Field projects in India, Malaysia, the USA, and the EU.

Ankur’s key skills are strategy-making for C&Q based upon Traditional and Risk-Based approaches. His expertise also includes Design Reviews, Risk Management and Assessments, Commissioning & IQ/OQ protocol preparation, resource planning, project tracking, Work Breakdown Structure & LOD tracking and Paperless Validation.

He has previously worked with large Engineering and Consulting firms, Bioprocess solution firms and Sterilization and Terminal Sterilization Validation pioneer firms in the USA. Ankur presented at CPHI First Conference on Sterilization in India (2012) and the ISPE Conference in Bangalore / 2019 ISPE South Asia Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference, “Conundrum Entailing the Approach to C&Q of Facilities”.

Jared Burke

Director, Information Technology

Jared Burke joined Hyde Engineering + Consulting in 2006 as a Computer Technician I.

In his current role as Director of Information Technology, Jared is responsible for all corporate information systems and hardware within the company.

Jared contributes extensive experience in implementing and administering systems throughout the organization. As the company has grown substantially, his role has expanded to supporting six regions across the US, as well as international offices in India, Europe, and Singapore.

His great work ethic and collaboration with other department leads ensures system stability and functionality throughout the organization. Jared serves as an active member of many of Hyde’s internal structure committees.

Linda Long

Director, Hyde Analytical Laboratory

As Director of the Hyde Analytical Laboratory, Linda is responsible for developing lab strategy and overseeing critical processes including business development, proposal generation, project management, personnel management, and continuous improvement initiatives. She is committed to growing a best-in-class GMP cleaning validation laboratory, serving those in the industry who are dedicated to improving safety and environmental impact in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Linda joined Hyde in 2018 with a background in vaccine development for mosquito-borne illnesses and Norovirus disease. Drawn to a career with Hyde for access to the company’s extended network of SMEs and clients, she considers the opportunity to be involved in the production of a range of therapeutics a great privilege, second only to working alongside her team at the lab. She recognizes cleaning validation as a facet of the drug manufacturing strategy that will continue to evolve with the advancement of new technologies and changing regulatory pressures.

Linda holds a publication and patent record as a scientist in academia and industry, a BS in Microbiology from Colorado State University, and an ALM in Biotechnology from Harvard Extension School. In her free time, she enjoys sailing, throwing pottery, and spending time with her young children.

Parita Vekaria

Director, Human Resources Asia Pacific

With over a decade of dedicated service, Parita is a cornerstone of Hyde, serving as the Director of HR for the Asia Pacific region. Her journey within the organization has been defined by unwavering commitment and exceptional leadership, fostering remarkable growth and making significant contributions across Asia.

In her pivotal role, Parita oversees the company's operations in India, managing finance, administration, IT, and spearheading recruiting and human resources efforts. Leveraging her extensive experience and deep understanding of Hyde's operations, she drives excellence and innovation throughout the organization.

As Director of HR and Operations, Parita is responsible for optimizing operational efficiency, nurturing a positive work culture, and ensuring alignment with the company's strategic goals. Her continued dedication to recruiting and human resources ensures that Hyde attracts and retains top talent to support its business objectives.

Prior to her tenure at Hyde, Parita gained valuable experience at a leading Big 4 firm and across diverse industries including Consulting, Dredging & Marine Engineering, and IT. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, as well as Master’s in Business Administration with specialization in Human Resources.

Kathy Eley

Director, PMO

Kathy is a seasoned professional with a remarkable career spanning over 25 years, characterized by her expertise in Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation (CQV) alongside extensive project management acumen. Holding the position of Director of the Project Management Office (PMO) at Hyde Engineering + Consulting since 2023, Kathy has consistently demonstrated her ability to lead large-scale projects with finesse and precision.

Her proficiency in project management is evident through her adeptness in project scheduling, deliverable tracking, resource management, and issue resolution, all of which contribute to her track record of surpassing client expectations. Kathy's exceptional communication skills enable seamless interaction across various organizational levels, facilitating transparency and effective collaboration throughout project lifecycles.

Kathy's professional journey is distinguished by her impactful contributions across a spectrum of high-profile projects at renowned organizations such as Agilent, Ajinomoto, Merck - Operation Warp Speed, Immunomedics, Genentech, Teruisi, China, and Janssen.

From her role as a Principal Consultant to her extensive experience in CQV and project management, Kathy has consistently delivered results that drive organizational success. Whether it's overseeing critical initiatives in vaccine development, managing complex construction projects, or implementing rigorous documentation control measures, Kathy's leadership shines through. Her unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with her ability to navigate multifaceted project landscapes, positions her as a pivotal figure in achieving project objectives and surpassing industry standards.

Howard Shaw

Director, Automation

As an accomplished Electrical Engineer with a Bachelor's degree from Cooks Institute of Electronics in Jackson, Mississippi, Howard Shaw has carved a niche for himself in the engineering world. His academic journey didn't stop there; he furthered his expertise by obtaining a certificate in Air Quality Management from the prestigious University of California, Berkeley.

Currently, Howard is at the forefront of innovation at Hyde Engineering + Consulting, where he is responsible for building and nurturing the automation team. His role is pivotal in steering the company towards new heights by leveraging cutting-edge automation technologies. Howard's dedication to excellence and his strategic vision have been instrumental in the team's growth and success.

With a solid foundation in electrical engineering principles and a specialized skill set in air quality management, Howard is not just an engineer but a visionary leader shaping the future of automation in engineering.

David Mitchell

Director, Technical Services

David is a distinguished leader with over three decades of expertise in bio-pharmaceutical engineering and manufacturing, showcasing a remarkable track record in project management, process development, and plant management. With a career spanning since 1990, he has consistently excelled in completing technology transfers, start-ups, and facility qualifications within budgetary and time constraints.

David's proficiency extends to cGMP operations management, quality system implementation, and fostering organizational excellence and employee engagement. Notably, his leadership was pivotal in successfully integrating a site into Merck & Co., Inc., overseeing diverse facets including manufacturing, quality, and cultural integration while spearheading Biosimilar commercialization programs. This achievement earned recognition as a model for Merck's transformative initiatives, demonstrating his strategic acumen and operational prowess.

David's expertise encompasses a wide array of domains, including biopharmaceutical manufacturing, engineering, and strategic leadership. As the Director of Technical Services and Principal Engineer, he has led pivotal roles in project management and technical leadership, ensuring clients' facilities comply with stringent licensure requirements for MAB, Virus, and Therapeutic Protein products.

His tenure as Senior Director of Technical Services at Globeimmune showcased adept management of multifaceted departments during facility retrofit and restart endeavors, all executed on schedule and within budget. Further, his contributions at Roche/Genentech and as Founder & Managing Partner of Bolder Operating Partners underscore his versatility in driving successful outcomes across diverse projects, from delivering clinical trial manufacturing suites to optimizing operational efficiencies for multi-product facilities.

David's unwavering commitment to excellence and strategic vision continues to shape the landscape of bio-pharmaceutical engineering and manufacturing.

Kathy Eley

Director, PMO

Parita Vekaria

Director, Human Resources Asia Pacific

Howard Shaw

Director, Automation