Jessica M. Hoover, J.D. has held management positions in biotechnology since 1994. Most recently, she was Vice President and Head of Corporate Business Development at Chiron Corporation, where she was also a member of both the Executive Committee and the Operating Committee. Founded in 1981, Chiron was one of the earliest biotech companies and among the most successful, engaged in a broad range of human healthcare businesses.

In her senior executive position at Chiron, Ms. Hoover was responsible for all mergers, acquisitions and other strategic transactions, and lead the sale of Chiron to Novartis in a transaction that valued the full company at approximately $10 billion. Prior to her role as head of business development, Ms. Hoover was Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, and at various times served as chief legal advisor to the corporate development group, the therapeutics business, and the vaccines business, responsible for, among other things, negotiating and executing strategic transactions. Before joining Chiron, Ms. Hoover was a partner in Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, where she had an extensive transactional practice that included public and private mergers and acquisitions, secured and unsecured financings, private placements and joint ventures. Prior to that, Ms. Hoover clerked for a U.S. federal district judge in Los Angeles. Ms. Hoover holds a J.D. from the Yale Law School and an A.B. (with highest honors) in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

MOT Course(s):

• BIOTECH: INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Haas School of Business Faculty Page