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Catalyst SVP Betsy Brown Wins ‘Women in Business’ Award

April 09, 2021 4 min read

Triangle Business Journal recognition highlights pioneering clinical resourcing career


Wilmington, NC, 9 April 2021 – Betsy Brown, senior vice president of clinical resourcing operations at Catalyst Clinical Research, has been named a recipient of Triangle Business Journals 2021 Women in Business Awards.

The award recognizes Brown’s pioneering career in clinical resourcing that began in the mid-1980s when her expertise and entrepreneurial skills sparked the creation of groundbreaking clinical resourcing companies in the Research Triangle region.

The co-founder of Catalyst Clinical Resourcing–forerunner of Catalyst Clinical Research, Inc.–Brown has played na impactful role in the company’s development. As part of the executive leadership team, Brown has helped guide Catalyst’s strategic transitions, and the expansion of staff from five to 500 since 2013 and helping achieve substantial organizational growth.

As a result of her vision and support, Brown helped define and create the new role of the independent resourcing consultant, enabling many RTP professionals to create novel careers serving CROs. Brown retired at the end of March to begin a part-time consulting role focused on marketing Catalyst Clinical Research’s services.

Nick Dyer, CEO of Catalyst Clinical Research, emphasized the importance of Brown’s leadership in the creation and growth of the company. “This award is particularly timely given Betsy’s recent decision to step away from full-time demands to shift her focus toward marketing of our clinical services,” says Dyer.

The Triangle Business Journal revealed the winners of the 2021 Women in Business Awards on Tuesday, March 23. This year’s class includes decision-makers in a variety of industries, including technology, health care, retail, and law.

The Women in Business Awards recognize Triangle women with proven track records of leadership and service in industry or community organizations. More than 200 individuals were nominated.

“This year’s class of honorees represent the best in professional accomplishment, leadership, and community engagement,” said Triangle Business Journal Market President and Publisher Jason Christie. “We applaud their efforts for what they have done and continue to do in the Triangle and beyond. We look forward to honoring each of them later this year.” This year’s winners will be recognized during an awards ceremony in May. TBJ will profile the winners in a special section that will be published in the May 14 subscriber edition.

In discussing her influence at Catalyst, Dyer emphasized the technical focus of Brown’s career, characterizing her as a role model for women in the clinical industry. “Betsy has dedicated her entire career to clinical research and continues to serve others as a mentor and entrepreneur at Catalyst,” Dyer says. “Throughout her 33-year career, she has focused on helping others enter and navigate their clinical research careers. Additionally, she has been an invaluable asset to the Catalyst team leading the success and growth of the company’s clinical resourcing operations.”

Brown created The Woolf Group, Trio Clinical Research, and Catalyst Clinical Research. Launched in 1995, the Woolf Group was one of the earliest and most well-recognized clinical research staffing firms in the country, Dyer says. Brown grew the company into a premier service organization before selling it to an international staffing firm in 1999. In 2002, Brown co-founded Trio Clinical Research and served as COO and president, nurturing the company’s growth and guiding it toward a successful merger with Aptiv Solutions in 2008.

She returned to her entrepreneurial roots in 2013 when she co-founded Catalyst Clinical Research and served in a full-time leadership role with the company as the Senior Vice President of Clinical Resourcing Operations for eight years.

About Catalyst 

Catalyst is a clinical development organization providing highly customizable clinical research solutions to the global biopharmaceutical industry through two established solutions: Catalyst Flex and Catalyst Oncology. With over 500 staff and offices in the US and EU, the company provides multi-therapeutic global resourcing and functional services through Catalyst Flex and a full-service oncology CRO offering through Catalyst Oncology. The company’s flexible service model is built from more than a decade of listening to customers, devising customer-centric solutions, and helping them drive breakthrough clinical development studies leveraging Catalyst’s expert teams and innovative technologies.

Catalyst is a portfolio company of NovaQuest Capital Management, LLC, a leading healthcare and life sciences investment firm.