Steffen Walter

About Steffen Walter

My passion is to enable organizations to execute at the highest level, avoiding costly mistakes when turning great ideas into operational reality. My career has brought me from bench science to general business, spanning two continents. As a COO and former CSO/CTO with 25 years of immuno-oncology experience across R&D, CMC, quality, and commercial-scale manufacturing, I have a proven track record building and scaling transatlantic organizations from inception to public company, including oversight of INDs, GMP platforms, and supporting >$900m in financing. I’m currently overseeing the preparation of the CMC package for a CGT BLA submission. As such, I have been a trusted partner to boards and executive teams in high-growth, high-regulation environments. I emphasize pairing strong technology with strong teams operating with integrity. My working style is highly collaborative and highly structured, emphasizing efficiency. I’m a US/German dual citizen.Increasingly, I am also interested in contributing these insights at the board level, providing strategic guidance and operational discipline to high-growth companies.

Experience

1. Chief Operating Officer

   Immatics

   Mar 2023 — Present · Houston, TX, US

   As COO, I lead global operations across manufacturing, quality, IT, AI implementation and facilities for the leading publicly traded biotechnology company that advances TCR-based cell therapies. My mandate is to align how we work with long-term growth, prepare for commercial launch, and maintain operational discipline at scale.I am a strategic partner to the CEO and board, supporting enterprise-wide decision-making, cross-functional performance, and external visibility with investors and stakeholders. My focus is building what lasts with high efficiency — organizations, systems, and cultures that sustain impact.• Lead global operations across early- and late-stage manufacturing, quality, IT, and AI implementation.• Built and activated Immatics’ first commercial-scale manufacturing facility in the U.S. at less than 50% of the cost of others in the industry.• Support the board and executive team with operational and risk oversight for U.S. operations.• Raised $511M in fundraising through public offerings.• Initiated a $120M upfront strategic partnership with Moderna.• Prepare the CMC and Quality package for ta CGT BLA submission

Education

• University of Tübingen

  Dipl. Biochem., Immunology, Biochemistry, Physical Chemistry

  1996 — 2001

• UCLA

  Internship Molecular Biology | Research Lab of Dr. Phil Koeffler

  1999 — 2000

• University of Tübingen

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

  2002 — 2024

Skills

• Immunology
• Clinical Trials
• Biomarkers
• Vaccines
• Biotechnology
• Oncology
• Clinical Research
• Cancer Immunotherapy
• Translational Research
• Immunomonitoring
• Drug Discovery
• Assay Development
• Project Management
• Immunotherapy
• Lifesciences
• Ich-Gcp
• Translational Medicine
• Personalized Medicine
• Adoptive Cellular Therapy