bluebird bio, a clinical-stage company committed to developing potentially transformative gene therapies for severe genetic diseases and T cell-based immunotherapies for cancer, has announced two new appointments as part of the company’s ongoing preparation for commercial readiness. Susanna High was named chief operating officer and Andrew Obenshain was named senior vice president and head of Europe.

 “I’m thrilled to welcome Susanna and Andrew to bluebird bio,” said Nick Leschly, chief bluebird. “As bluebird becomes more operationally complex and prepares for commercialization in Europe and the U.S., they will be key to rounding out our growing leadership reach and depth to meet the challenge. Both Susanna and Andrew have not only very relevant experiences, but importantly they believe strongly in our mission and the value of a purpose-driven culture.”

High brings more than 20 years of strategic and operational experience in growing biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining bluebird, she worked at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, holding increasing responsibilities for company strategy, business planning, portfolio and program management, alliance management, information technology and broader organizational capability building initiatives. Prior to her time at Alnylam, High worked at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (now Takeda Oncology).

Obenshain was most recently at Shire in Paris, France where he was the general manager of France and Benelux overseeing a portfolio including seven rare disease products. Prior to Shire, he spent eight years at Genzyme and Sanofi holding roles of increasing responsibility in business development, marketing and global commercial operations.

bluebird bio has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; and Paris, France.