Leadership

Kaia Boyd serves as Chief Human Resources Officer at Minaris, bringing deep experience as a strategic HR leader and business partner in the CDMO space. She plays a key role in shaping and executing the company’s people strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives while championing a high-performing, inclusive culture.

Ms. Boyd’s career includes senior leadership roles at Societal CDMO and Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, where she led HCM implementations, organizational restructuring and retention programs that improved scalability and engagement. She also founded People Centric Consulting Services to support early-stage organizations and earlier served in HR leadership roles at Macy’s.

Ms. Boyd holds a degree in Retail and Consumer Science from the University of Arizona and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

William Burckardt serves as Chief Financial Officer at Minaris, bringing over a decade of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. He plays a critical role in driving the organization’s financial strategy and long-term fiscal health. His deep expertise in financial governance and business transformation supports our continued growth and mission to deliver life-changing cell and gene therapies to patients worldwide.

Before he was appointed CFO, Mr. Burckardt held leadership roles as Controller and Director of Accounting, where he led financial operations and successfully guided organizations through complex mergers and acquisitions. Earlier in his career, he served as Senior Director of Finance at Hitachi Chemical Advanced Therapeutics Solutions and Director of Accounting at RestorixHealth.

Mr. Burckardt holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Manhattan College.

Rachel Collins Clarke serves as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Minaris, bringing extensive legal expertise in the biotechnology sector with a focus on cell and gene therapy. She leads the global legal function to enable the delivery of transformative therapies for patients worldwide.

Ms. Collins Clarke’s career includes senior legal positions at Adaptimmune and Spark Therapeutics, where she advised on commercialization, clinical development and compliance. She previously served as a litigation partner at Cozen O’Connor, as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia and as an associate at Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

Ms. Collins Clarke earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and her Bachelor of Arts from the College of William and Mary.

Prakash Manwani serves as Chief Information Officer at Minaris, bringing over 20 years of experience in information technology systems across highly regulated industries. He leads the organization’s global IT strategy, driving secure, scalable and innovative technology solutions that support business growth and compliance. Mr. Manwani is responsible for safeguarding the company’s infrastructure, developing secure system architectures and overseeing the design and execution of software implementations, particularly for ERP, MES, QMS, LIMS and other business-critical integrations. With a strong focus on GxP-compliant platforms, his leadership ensures that we maintain robust, FDA-compliant systems to support the delivery of transformative cell and gene therapies worldwide.

Since joining Minaris in 2021, Mr. Manwani has advanced from Head of IT Americas to Global Head of IT and Chief Digital Officer and now CIO. Earlier in his career, he held senior IT leadership roles at Catalent Pharma Solutions, where he directed enterprise architecture, ERP delivery and M&A integrations. And at Accenture, where he led ERP, data integration and BI programs.

Mr. Manwani holds a certificate in the Executive Leadership Program from Cornell University. He has completed the AI and Machine Learning program for executives at the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business. Mr. Manwani has an educational background in Digital Electronics and Computer Systems Management.

Darwin Richardson serves as Chief Operating Officer at Minaris, bringing over 25 years of leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry. He oversees end-to-end international operations, including manufacturing, supply chain management, site performance and operational efficiency. He effectively scales our infrastructure to meet growing client demand, ensuring delivery of high-quality therapies and driving cross-functional collaboration to meet strategic business goals. Mr. Richardson’s leadership strengthens our operational agility, fosters innovation and advances our mission to transform patients’ lives through cell and gene therapies.

Mr. Richardson’s career includes serving as Chief Executive Officer of Benuvia Operations, Vice President of Operations and General Manager at Kindeva Drug Delivery and Senior Vice President of Operations and Site Head at Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services. Earlier in his career, he held senior quality and regulatory roles at Ajinomoto, BPL Plasma and Baxter, leading complex global operations across compliance, manufacturing and technical functions.

Mr. Richardson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Chemistry from CSU Fullerton and an MBA from the University of La Verne.