It’s never easy to take the helm of a new organization, let alone at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Christine A. Miller M.T.M. ’08 MBA ’09 did just that, at Melinta Therapeutics. 

“It enabled me to build relationships with people in a different way than you normally would as a CEO,” says Miller. 

On her first day, Miller held a town hall over Zoom, inviting everyone on what she called a “journey to transform the company.” During her first two months, she met virtually with each of the company’s nearly 120 employees to discuss culture, goals and strategy. She had her work cut out for her; when she deployed an employee engagement survey, the results showed that only 69% of employees felt engaged. 

Within a year and a half, under Miller’s leadership, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company had achieved 94% on the same survey — and defined a new mission, shifting from an antibiotic-focused business to become a more diversified leader in the acute-care space. By mid-2023, Melinta had seven commercial-stage products, including newly launched REZZAYO®. It is the first new treatment option in over a decade approved for patients with candidemia (a bloodstream infection) and invasive candidiasis (which can include deeper infections in organs and joints). 

Miller orchestrated this turnaround, she says, by “putting people first,” proactively engaging her team and including them throughout the journey. 

A 20-year industry veteran who has directed more than 50 product launches generating more than $300 million in annual revenue, Miller discovered her passion for the pharmaceutical industry during a summer internship at Merck & Co., Inc., while she was a chemical engineering major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She has since held leadership roles  at Merck, Watson/Actavis and Sandoz, a division of Novartis.  

She was drawn to Stevens’ Executive MBA program for its flexibility, focus on industries and technologies, and the opportunity to apply real-world case studies to solving work challenges.  

“My MBA is something I carried forward into my real world,” says Miller, a member of Stevens’ President’s Leadership Council. “Stevens gave me the tools to think strategically about leading a science, tech-based company. 

“My purpose in life is to help people live better lives,” reflects Miller. “I was very fortunate to choose the pharmaceutical industry, where I’m able to use my problem-solving talents as an engineer to impact peoples’ lives and realize my purpose.  

“There’s nothing more gratifying than having a career that gives hope to people impacted by disease.”