Michael Romero named CEO of The Evanston Group

Michael Romero has been appointed CEO of The Evanston Group, a Chicago-based life sciences consulting firm.

Romero joined the firm in December 2019 as president and chief revenue officer. After guiding the company to solid growth results amid the pandemic, Romero will now take over the CEO role from Kay Anderson, who has led Evanston since its founding in 1999. Anderson will continue to serve as chairman of the board.

The consulting firm billed the leadership transition as a “planned evolution designed to accelerate [its] growth.”

“When Michael joined the team in December 2019, we were confident he would propel us to new heights,” Anderson said. “He has done that to an extent we couldn’t have even imagined then. The Evanston Group will grow over 30% in 2020, and our consultants are working on some of the most important projects in the pharmaceutical industry today.”

Romero has also expanded the company’s client base, which includes most of the Fortune 500 pharmaceutical and medical device firms. He also oversaw Evanston’s rebrand earlier this year, as well as the firm’s ongoing digital transformation and systems automation initiative.

Romero joined Evanston with two other colleagues from IT consultancy HCL: Nick Katzenbach, senior vice president; and Christine Luke, chief of staff.

Romero has over three decades of executive leadership experience, with expertise in strategy and digital transformation. He previously led the global SAP practice at IT consultancy HCL, and prior to that was VP and general manager of the mobile retail division at SanDisk.

“When I came on board ten months ago, we were poised for what I described then as ‘explosive growth’ as more senior executive leaders outsource strategic roles to trusted partners like The Evanston Group,” Romero said. “Indeed, over the past ten months we have posted significant growth, in deepening existing relationships with life sciences leaders and cultivating relationships with new customers who need experienced leadership, exactly matched talent, strong project teams, and rapid response to get their innovations to market.”

Headquartered in Chicago, Evanston’s more than 40 professionals advise life sciences companies on regulatory, quality, and compliance issues, clinical trials, and the development of drugs, vaccines, treatments, and medical devices.