Explore the Agenda
7:45 am Morning Coffee & Check-in
8:25 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Doing More with Less to Build Resilient, High-Impact Lab Operations in a Volatile Biopharma Landscape
8:30 am Navigating Extreme Change: Lessons from Consolidating Lab Sites Amidst Rapid Transformation
- Case study example of consolidating geographically different sites into one building with less square footage and fewer people
- Renovating lab spaces to accommodate new ways of working while operations were ongoing
- Pivoting plans due to changes mid-project within strict timeframes while still meeting financial deadlines
- Key lessons learned in managing through significant project challenges and workforce fluctuations
9:00 am Future-Proofing the Lab Operations Capabilities to Stay Valuable Through Organizational & Pipeline Shifts
- Explore how lab operations roles evolve as companies transition from researchfocused organizations into clinical and commercial stages
- Learn which skill sets, competencies, and cross-functional knowledge are most critical for long-term career progression in lab operations
- Understand how to adapt responsibilities and scope to remain indispensable during periods of growth, restructuring, or commercialization
9:30 am Strategic Prioritization in Lab Operations & Facilities Management to Balance Workload, Risk & Performance When Everything Feels Urgent
- Address knowledge gaps through cross-training, documentation, and transition planning strategies
- Gain frameworks for allocating responsibilities and resources
- Develop strategies to align expectations with leadership and end users during sustained periods of overload
10:00 am Morning Break & Speed Networking
The ideal opportunity to get face-to-face with many global lab ops and facilities professionals for important in-depth conversations.
Sustaining Workforce Morale & Service Excellence Amid Ongoing Volatility & Reduced Headcount
11:00 am Maintaining Lab Operations & Facilities Excellence Through Workforce Fluctuations Without Compromising Service Delivery
- Examine the operational and emotional impact of layoffs, hiring freezes, and prolonged uncertainty on lab operations and facilities teams
- Understand how lab ops professionals can maintain visibility, recognition, and relevance in highly competitive job markets
- Learn how to adapt roles and skill sets to cover critical organizational gaps while managing the same facilities footprint with fewer resources
11:30 am Session Reserved for Agilent
12:00 pm Roundtable Breakouts: Change Management Strategies, Leading Lab Operations & Facilities Teams Through Uncertainty in Biotech & Pharma Environments
Biotech
- Discuss strategies for supporting lab ops and facilities staff facing increased workloads after layoffs
- Maintaining morale, engagement and service quality in constrained environments
- Explore how ops leaders in biotech are redefining roles and priorities to keep science moving forward
Pharma
- Examine the challenges of managing morale during restructures, site consolidations, and global workforce changes
- Share best practices for leading through ambiguity within matrixed, regulated organizations
- Learn how leaders sustain service excellence while navigating long-term change programs
12:30 pm Lunch Break & Networking
Strategic Facilities & Lab Space Planning That Protect Science Amid Uncertain Growth
1:30 pm Spatial Lab Design for Multi-Use & Future Adaptability, Facility Design for Flexibility, Not Perfection
- Learn principles for spatial lab design that support changing modalities, teams, and pipeline needs
- Explore multiple facility planning scenarios to prepare for expansion, contraction, or hybrid growth models
- Understand the importance of preplanning, to be ready for when the time comes.
2:00 pm Session Reserved for Azenta Life Sciences
2:30 pm Optimizing Laboratory Space Through Data-Driven Design & Utilization
- Discover how reorganizing lab spaces based on function, adjacency, and real usage data can improve efficiency, safety, and collaboration
- Learn how instrument-usage analytics and sensor data are enabling smarter decisions around equipment redundancy, space optimization, and resource reallocation
- Explore the operational and cultural challenges of centralizing shared infrastructure (e.g. freezers, cryo storage) and practical strategies to drive adoption
3:00 pm Session Reserved for XiltriX
3:15 pm Afternoon Break & Networking
4:00 pm Panel: Lessons Learned from Expanding or Downsizing Facilities Without Disrupting the Pipeline
- Hear experiences navigating site consolidation, expansion and lab relocations
- Understand true costs, complexity and downtime risks associated with lab moves
- Learn how organizations protected scientific timelines while adapting their physical footprint
Translating Operational Value Into Financial & Cross-Functional Alignment to Secure Buy-In & Investment
4:30 pm Effective Project Planning to Manage Personalities, Expectations, & Cross-Functional Constraints
- Gain practical techniques for planning projects across diverse stakeholder groups
- Explore common misalignments
- Learn how to anticipate and manage conflicting priorities between science, safety, and cost
- Improve project outcomes by setting clear expectations and accountability from the outset
5:00 pm Session Reserved for Elemental Machines
5:15 pm Translating the Value of Lab Operations Into Financial Language to Influence Leadership Decision-Making
- Learn how to frame lab operations initiatives in terms of cost avoidance, risk reduction, productivity, and ROI
- Understand what finance and leadership teams prioritise when approving operationalspend
- Gain tools to justify investment in lab operations without relying on technical detail alone
5:45 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks
5:50 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks
Drinks Reception
Join the the drinks reception to further connect & network with like-minded peers, hosted by Polysense Solutions