Pittsburgh Power Moves: Pitt BioForge picks first-ever CEO for biomanufacturing center

Pittsburgh tech is starting the year strong with new executives, board chairs and federal appointments. Here’s a rundown of who’s taking on new leadership roles in the region — and in Washington.

Pitt BioForge has a new CEO

While the City Planning Commission gave the green light in the fall of 2023, the groundbreaking of the Pitt Bioforge Biomanufacturing Center, a biomanufacturing facility slated to be built in Hazelwood Green, is still a little while away.

In the meantime, the facility bolstered by a $100 million investment from Richard King Mellon Foundation has a new CEO: Kaigham “Ken” Gabriel. Gabriel also will be taking on the role of director of the Advanced Biomanufacturing Institute at the University of Pittsburgh.

Gabriel is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who comes to the position with decades of experience as an engineer. As BioForge’s first-ever CEO, his responsibilities will include leading the center in its design, construction and operations, according to an announcement from the org. Later, Gabriel will be tasked with ensuring BioForge carries out its mission of developing cell and gene therapies, in addition to nurturing relationships with stakeholders in Hazelwood.

Gabriel holds 14 patents, is behind 200 technical publications, and believes in the potential of biologic precision medicines to do good. That’s why both Gabriel and the university’s leadership believe he is the right person to see Pitt BioForge through fruition.

“The best treatment for you is you. That’s the power and promise of biologic precision medicines — they are medicines designed to recruit your own body’s capabilities to heal,” Gabriel said in the announcement. “BioForge’s mission is to accelerate breakthroughs in both the development and manufacturing of precision medicines to speed their delivery, use and impact.”

Gather AI has a new CTO

Gather AI CTO Andrew Hoffman. (Courtesy Gather AI)

Squirrel Hill-based Gather AI welcomed former Amazon Founding Engineer Andrew Hoffman as its new chief technology officer. In the position, Hoffman aims to use his supply chain robotics experience to help the AI-powered autonomous inventory management provider grow, per a company announcement.

Due to Hoffman’s tenure at companies such as Amazon Robotics and CANVAS Technology, Gather AI’s leadership believes that the technologist is in a good position to understand what the company is hoping to achieve, as well as act as a leader as business and technical challenges arise.

“At Amazon Robotics, I had the tremendous opportunity to see how great business acuity, solid technical execution, and unwavering customer obsession leads to significant advancements in our industry,” Hoffman said in a written statement. “I’m excited to join the strong Gather AI leadership team as they have the same chemistry that made Amazon Robotics successful.”

The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association picked a Pittsburgh-based board chair

The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, a collection of companies that work with lawmakers to develop best practices for the timely deployment of autonomous driving technology, has selected a new chair for its board of directors. Its selection comes from the Steel City in the form of Aurora Government Relations Senior Director Melissa Wade.

In her capacity as chair, Wade will use her background in transportation policy to advance accessibility and road safety concerning autonomous vehicles. The AVIA believes Wade’s background places her in a good position to push for public policy that allows technologists’ autonomous technology dreams to become a reality.

Wade feels the new role brings together all the different positions she’s held in the autonomous vehicle industry.

“Serving as Board Chair feels like a full circle moment after nearly a decade working on autonomous vehicle policy,” Wade said in the announcement. “I’m honored to have the support of AVIA’s members, and I look forward to sharing the benefits of autonomous vehicles with new audiences as we advocate for safer roads and a stronger supply chain.”

Allegheny Conference names Highmark Health President and CEO David L. Holmberg as its new chair

Allegheny Conference on Community Development Conference Chair David Holmberg. (Courtesy Allegheny Conference on Community Development)

The Allegheny Conference on Community Development closed 2023 by welcoming a new chair: Highmark Health CEO and President David L. Holmberg.

In the past 10 years from acting as a board director to leading the Allegheny Conference’s task force for the revitalization of Downtown Pittsburgh, he’s worn a lot of hats within the economic development organization. Moving forward, Holmberg will serve a three-year term as the new chair and be tasked with leading the Conference’s new three-year agenda. Holmberg commended departing chair Laura Shapira Karet, the Allegheny Conference’s first woman chair, for her accomplishments, and said he looks forward to what his time in the position will bring.

“I couldn’t be more excited to continue our work to build a prosperous and competitive future for all in the Pittsburgh region,” Holmberg said.

Three Pittsburgh transportation experts joined this federal advisory committee

The US Department of Transportation in late December announced the launch of a 27-member Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee focused on innovation in the transportation industry — and three Pittsburgh pros got the call to join.

Kicking off with a meeting on Jan. 18, the committee members will advise Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the broader department on topics such as safe deployment of new transit technologies and policies that could spur “economic competitiveness” in the sector. Serving two-year terms, the local advisors are:

• Nat Beuse, who became the first-ever chief safety officer for autonomous vehicle company Aurora last April
• Kim Lucas, Pittsburgh’s director of nobility and infrastructure, who presented during the City’s Spin hearings in April 2023
• Raj Rajkumar, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, who also oversees the transportation safety-focused research consortium Safety21 at Carnegie Mellon University.

“We are living in a time filled with unprecedented opportunity and unprecedented challenges in transportation,” Buttigieg said in a written statement. “The deep expertise and diverse perspectives of this impressive group will provide advice to ensure the future of transportation is safe, efficient, sustainable, equitable, and transformative.”