Velocity announces three leadership hires in Europe

London, U.K., 24 January 2023: Velocity Clinical Research (“Velocity”), the largest integrated research site organisation globally, today announces it has strengthened its European senior executive team with three strategic hires, as the firm continues its expansion in the region. Évelyne Newton joins as Vice President of Business Development, Sandra Stark is Vice President of European Operations and Maria Lehretz is the new Medical Director at Velocity’s recently acquired site in Leipzig, Germany.

Velocity acquired four clinical research sites in Europe from July 2022 onwards across the UK and Germany. Dominic Clavell, European General Manager, said, “Velocity is attracting talent from top organisations within the clinical trials arena; individuals that can imagine scale and help us deliver exactly that. I am confident that the expertise and experience Évelyne, Sandra and Maria bring will greatly help us execute our vision of integrating a network of highly performing sites in, what until now is, a fragmented clinical trials landscape in Europe.”  

Évelyne Newton, Vice President of Business Development, joins Velocity’s European executive team from Worldwide Clinical Trials (WCT). Évelyne will form part of the European executive team and will have a strong dotted line to the US team, in order to maximise on cross-selling opportunities, providing a seamless and customer-centric experience to Velocity’s pharma and CRO partners.

She has 20 years’ experience in business development and key account management in the clinical trials arena. Having previously held positions at Fisher Clinical Services and dedicated site network, Synexus, Évelyne is acutely aware of Velocity’s business model and client base. As the co-chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Council (DEIB) at WCT, Évelyne is passionate about having more diverse clinical trials and will play a crucial role in Velocity’s efforts to encourage greater inclusivity. 

Sandra Stark, Vice President of European Operations, joins Velocity after spending 18 years at top five Clinical Research Organisation, Parexel. Based in Berlin, she is well-positioned to look after Velocity’s two sites in Germany, oversee operations of its two UK sites and will support in the identification of new sites to join Velocity’s expanding network. She completes the European executive team alongside Évelyne and Dominic.

During her tenure at Parexel, Sandra held roles in Phase I project management and business development, before being promoted to a senior portfolio director in 2015. Two years later, Sandra took over the leadership of the 140-bed Phase I unit in Berlin, which, under her guidance, grew to generate annual revenues in excess of $30M. Prior to joining Parexel, Sandra worked and was published as a scientist and project leader in academia for NOXXON pharma AG in Berlin and for Philogen SpA in Tuscany.  Sandra has a PhD in immunology from Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany.      

Maria Lehretz, Medical Director Velocity Leipzig, Germany, with nearly a decade of experience as a clinical research physician has worked on approx. 70 clinical trials. Maria joins from eCovery GmbH, Leipzig as Head of Clinical Research where she oversaw clinical trials, including coordination, execution and regulatory processes. Previously, Maria worked as a senior clinical research physician for Parexel in Phase 1 trials in Berlin and at SIBAmed GmbH as a medical lead for four years. Maria has a medical degree from Martin-Luther-University Halle.

In December 2022, Velocity Acquired Meridian Clinical Research to become the largest clinical sites business globally. Velocity’s sites are fully integrated via a centralised infrastructure and common technology backbone, allowing for superior patient enrollment and consistent, high-quality data delivery. As a result, CROs and biopharma companies can benefit from simplified access to international clinical research.