Cathy Kuang

Senior Director, Head of Research Technology and Lab Systems Takeda

Cathy Kuang is Head of Research Technology and Lab Systems. In this capacity, Cathy spearheads innovative advancements through digital technologies and assumes responsibility for leading global teams dedicated to business collaboration, innovation lab initiatives, and service delivery, all in support of Takeda's Research organization and Lab Systems. Cathy brings a wealth of experience as a seasoned and results-driven leader in Business Technology, specializing in enterprise strategy and roadmap development, team cultivation, process enhancement, transformative changes, and the design of applications and infrastructures across diverse global business sectors. Before joining Takeda, Cathy spent over 16 years at Johnson & Johnson, where she held various roles in the Supply Chain and R&D Technology Organization. During her tenure, she oversaw Technology Reliability Operations, provided strategic direction, managed a portfolio, and had oversight of 15 Manufacturing Sites and 11 R&D sites. Additionally, she served as the primary technology partner for the functional leadership team, with comprehensive responsibility for the technology product roadmap, portfolio, and investment strategy aligned with Business Segment and Technology strategy. Cathy's reputation as a technology leader was well-established, as she introduced innovative ideas and solutions such as enabling R&D engineers to remotely participate in labs using Double robots during the pandemic. Under her guidance, her team implemented digital thread, digital twin, Intelligent Automation RPAs, and Real-Time Release across multiple manufacturing sites, resulting in the receipt of five digital transformation awards. Prior to her time at J&J, Cathy held roles with increasing responsibilities at Pfizer R&D in Connecticut and Cantest in Canada, where she delivered and managed Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) solutions. Cathy has accumulated over two decades of experience in life sciences lab technologies across the medical devices and pharmaceutical industries. While her career has been predominantly focused on lab informatics, she has also held positions in Human Resources, Payroll, IT infrastructure, and Database Administration. Cathy's educational background includes a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida and a BA in Computer Science. She is certified as a Release Train Engineer (RTE) and Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM) in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), in addition to holding various professional certifications in technologies and lab solutions.