Kirk Smith, MS, CSP

• How can EHS and operations teams build competency pipelines and use AI-assisted knowledge retrieval to accelerate readiness when programmes pivot rapidly to new modalities like vaccines, radiopharma, or gene therapy?

• In an environment of clinical uncertainty, staffing churn, and contractor variability, what practical rituals or leadership behaviours help sustain a consistent safety culture and psychological stability across teams?

• How can early-stage EHS engagement de-risk environmental and permitting challenges, particularly for waste, water, and infrastructure, to ensure smoother tech transfer and operational continuity across sites?

• Explore how fragmented standards, inconsistent oversight, and cost-driven pressures across contractors and suppliers create vulnerabilities in EHS performance, addressing prequalification, third-party assurance, and the opportunity for industrywide alignment on safety expectations and ethical contracting
• Demonstrate how collaboration across biopharma companies can establish shared standards, reduce duplication, and strengthen cultural consistency across complex global supply chains
• Gain strategies to implement unified contractor management frameworks, balance cost and safety incentives, and foster long-term partnerships that enhance both compliance and worker wellbeing