---
title: "Listen: A conversation with Sheila Mikhail, serial entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of AskBio"
description: Influential biotech leader and EY’s 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year Sheila Mikhail shares insight on her entrepreneurial journey with MATTER
---

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# [Listen: A conversation with Sheila Mikhail, serial entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of AskBio](https://blog.matter.health/listen-a-conversation-with-sheila-mikhail-serial-entrepreneur-and-founder-and-ceo-of-askbio)

 Written by [Emma](https://blog.matter.health/author/emma) | Dec 17, 2021 6:00:00 AM

## Influential biotech leader and EY’s 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year Sheila Mikhail shares insight on her entrepreneurial journey with MATTER

Sheila Mikhail founded [Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio)](https://www.askbio.com/) in 2001 and set out on a mission to bring life-changing drugs to patients in desperate need. Started during a time when gene therapy was not thought of as a realistic therapeutic approach, AskBio went without a round of funding for more than 15 years.

With the belief that their therapeutics could change the world, Sheila, her co-founder Jude Samulski and their team persevered. Over the course of 20 years, Sheila transformed AskBio into a gene therapy pioneer with an established global operation of more than 350 employees. In 2020, [AskBio was acquired by Bayer AG for $4 billion](https://www.askbio.com/bayer-acquires-askbio-to-broaden-innovation-base-in-cell-and-gene-therapy/).

Sheila was recently named Ernst & Young’s 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award Winner. Among her many notable accomplishments, Sheila’s commitment to diversity and inclusion stands out — today, 41 percent of AskBio’s leadership positions are held by women, which is significantly higher than other biotech companies.

**Listen to the full conversation here:**

Follow us on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/3iUyrN4dtrtq4bXg6tRYG6?si=vn38MhsSSCGH--Re0xZyVQ) and [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1561255165) or visit [podcast.matter.health](https://podcast.matter.health/) for updates. Find the video recording of this event and others at [matter.health/live](https://blog.matter.health/live).

The *Tales from the Trenches™* series invites seasoned healthcare entrepreneurs to the MATTER stage to share their journeys — from how they got started to what they’re trying to accomplish and what they’ve learned along the way. *Tales from the Trenches* is sponsored by VillageMD.

[View full post](https://blog.matter.health/listen-a-conversation-with-sheila-mikhail-serial-entrepreneur-and-founder-and-ceo-of-askbio)

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