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Executive Team

Alan Armstrong

Chairman & CEO
Alan was a Graduate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1981. He joined Galen Research Laboratories in 1978 in the quality control department where he took over as Quality Assurance Manager in 1982. Alan held a number of senior management operational and technical positions until 1995 when he was appointed to the Board of Directors of Galen Holdings Plc as Chief Operating Officer. In 2002 he retired from Galen Holdings and was appointed CEO of Almac Group. Alan oversees the entire Group’s operations globally and leads the strategic direction of Almac. In 2013, he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for services to the economy in Northern Ireland.

Dr Stephen Barr

President & Managing Director, Almac Sciences & Almac Discovery
Almac Discovery & Almac Sciences’ Managing Director, Dr Stephen Barr, joined QuChem Limited in 1994 as a synthetic chemist, having completed a two year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Queen’s University of Belfast. Prior to his post doctoral studies he finished top of his year and graduated with a first class honours degree in Biological Chemistry from the University of Ulster at Coleraine. Being one of only 20 students in Northern Ireland to be granted a distinction award from DENI (The Department of Education) he subsequently undertook and completed a PhD in Organic Chemistry at Queen’s under the supervision of Prof. Derek Boyd. In 1997, he was appointed as Technical Manager at QuChem and played a major role in the development of new business. Following the merger of QuChem Ltd and Syngal to form Almac Sciences, he was promoted to Vice President with full responsibility for all technical operations, becoming Managing Director in 2001.

Celine Bradley

Deputy Managing Director & Global VP of Operations, Almac Clinical Services
Celine Bradley has a B.S.c (Hons) in Biochemistry and over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry in clinical trial supplies. Celine has held the position of Global VP of Operations in Almac Clinical Services since 1996 and was recently appointed Deputy Managing Director of Almac Clinical Services in 2013. Celine has overall responsibility for the Project, Manufacturing, Packaging and Logistics departments of Clinical Services.

Dr Dennise Broderick

President & Managing Director, Galen
As President and Managing Director of Galen, Dennise is responsible for all aspects of Galen operations, marketing, and governance across its sites globally.

Prior to joining Galen in 2018, Dennise held top leadership roles at major companies like Pfizer, Hospira, Zeneus, and Viatris. Dennise holds a doctorate in oncology and cancer genetics from University College Dublin. This academic background, coupled with her extensive experience within the pharmaceutical industry make Dennise a respected and inspiring leader in the field.

Dr Robert Dunlop

President & Managing Director, Almac Clinical Services
Robert Dunlop joined Almac Clinical Services in 1990 and has over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He obtained a PhD in Chemistry from Queen’s University, Belfast and is a member of the Institute of Directors. Since 2001, Robert has been responsible for the strategic, financial and operational leadership of Clinical Services Business Unit.

Niall Harkin

Executive Director
Niall graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. He then qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterHouse before moving to Deloitte where he was a Director of Corporate Finance. His next move was to Resource Services Group as Group Finance Director. He left Resource Services Group in 2009 and joined Danske Bank, Belfast working as a Senior Corporate Banking Manager (Almac was one of his clients), then as Head of Business Acquisition followed by a number of senior positions within Danske Bank. Niall was appointed to the Almac Executive team as Group Finance Director in July 2019.

Professor Paul Harkin

President & Managing Director, Almac Diagnostic Services
Paul Harkin is a Professor in Molecular Oncology within the Cancer Research Center at Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to this appointment he had been a Research Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital where he developed his interest in the emerging field of Functional Genomics. Professor Harkin has published his work in some of the world’s leading research journals and is a regular guest speaker at national and international conferences and Research Institutions. Prof. Harkin sits on several National committees and funding boards and acts as a reviewer for a number of major research journals.

Valarie Higgins

President & Managing Director, Almac Clinical Technologies
As President and Managing Director of the Clinical Technologies Business Unit, Valarie brings more than 20 years of experience in the Biopharmaceutical Development industry. Since joining Almac, Valarie has held numerous leadership roles including Vice President of Clinical Project Services, and Executive Vice President of Operations where she was charged with the development and execution of the company’s long-term commercial and operational growth strategies. Valarie holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University, and is based in Almac’s Souderton, Pennsylvania office.

Graeme McBurney

Chief Operating Officer
Graeme graduated from Ulster University in 1990 with an HND in Applied Biology and an MSc in Manufacturing Management in 1994. Graeme joined Galen in July 1990 and was appointed Production Manager in July 1992. He became Production Manager for Ivex Pharmaceuticals Limited in January 1994 and was promoted to Operations Director in April 1997. In October 1999 he was appointed Group Operations Director for Galen, and in July, 2001 became Senior Vice-President for Manufacturing Operations. Graeme was appointed President and Managing Director of Almac Pharma Services in 2003 and in October 2022, was appointed to the Almac Board of Directors in the role of Chief Operating Officer.

John McQuaid

President & Managing Director, Almac Pharma Services
John graduated from Ulster University with a BSc Honours degree. John first joined Almac Group in 1994 and has held a number of management roles across various business units during his tenure. In 2011 he was appointed to Vice President of Technical Operations within Almac Pharma Services where he was responsible for overseeing the strategic growth and development of the Pharmaceutical Development & Manufacturing service offering.


John was promoted to President and Managing Director, Almac Pharma Services, in 2022 and is responsible for the strategic, financial and operational leadership of global business.
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