Appointments reinforce operational excellence and strategic growth to advance evidence generation and clinical trials

Target RWE, a leader in advancing modern evidence generation for complex clinical and regulatory challenges, today announced key updates to its leadership team, including the promotion of Steve Swanson to chief commercial officer, alongside the appointments of Emily Akin as head of delivery and Ashley Pierce as head of finance. These leadership updates position the company to scale operations, accelerate growth, and further the delivery of our clinical evidence generation solutions, including real-world data and clinical trials.

Now chief commercial officer, Swanson leads the company’s commercial strategy, including business development, partnerships, and go-to-market execution. In this role, he is committed to building deeper, more strategic relationships with biopharma and healthcare partners to drive stronger collaboration and improve outcomes for clients, partners, and patients.

In this new role, Akin oversees clinical and partnership operations, as well as data curation, bringing these functions together to enhance client experience. She is responsible for guiding the delivery of complex evidence generation and research programs, advancing Target RWE’s operational capabilities. Prior to Target RWE, Akin led the Flatiron Trials and Research Network at Flatiron Health, and a similar role at Paradigm Health, where she played a key role in building clinical research capabilities and scaling large, multicenter oncology trials.

Pierce joins as head of finance, leading finance strategy and partnering closely with leadership to drive operational discipline in support of long-term growth. Prior to joining Target RWE, Pierce led global finance operations at Syneos Health and most recently served as vice president of finance and accounting at Capitol Broadcasting Company. She brings experience driving financial strategy and operational discipline across complex, growth-oriented organizations.

“Emily, Ashley and Steve bring the leadership, expertise, and vision needed for our next phase of growth at Target RWE,” said Brad Hirsch, co-founder of Highlander Health, the investment firm behind Target RWE.

Hirsch continued: “Highlander Health was founded to improve and modernize clinical evidence generation—moving beyond traditional, slow, expensive clinical trials – and Target RWE fits perfectly within our investment thesis. Target RWE’s data isn’t just observational - it’s designed to meet regulatory and drug development standards for real-world evidence and establish a foundation for prospective clinical trials – and this is where the future of clinical trials is headed.”

Collectively, this group brings nearly 70 years of experience across life sciences and healthcare, alongside deep functional expertise. Their backgrounds include building leading real-world evidence partnerships, advancing global clinical trials from early to late phase, driving financial and operational transformation, and mentoring emerging healthcare innovators. Together, this breadth of experience strengthens Target RWE’s ability to deliver high-quality evidence generation, accelerate clinical trials, and improve outcomes for patients and partners.

About Target RWE

Target RWE enables continuous evidence generation to inform better decisions across the drug development lifecycle. By combining clinical, analytical, and technical expertise, we generate high-quality evidence from comprehensive longitudinal patient journeys, helping partners accelerate development and improve outcomes for patients.

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