Fractional commercial leadership for pharmaceutical & biotech CDMOs

Grow your CDMO’s revenue with senior commercial leadership, on a fractional basis.

Sunstone Advisory steps in as your fractional commercial and operational leadership team, focused on one thing: growing your top line. We’re a high-tier commercial partner delivering knowledge-based growth strategy and elite executive leadership, without the full-time overhead.

Welcome

Meet Sunstone Advisory

A one-minute introduction from Rachel Timberlake, founder and CEO.

Read the transcript

“Hi, I’m Rachel Timberlake, founder and CEO of Sunstone Advisory, and welcome to our channel. Sunstone is a family-owned advisory firm that helps pharmaceutical and biotech contract development and manufacturing organizations, or CDMOs, grow their revenue. We step in as fractional operational leaders, so you get senior commercial leadership without the cost of a full-time executive. And we’re focused on one thing: growing your top line. We build your go-to-market strategy, territory plans, and sales pipeline. We use AI to get from RFP to proposal faster. And we represent you at trade shows and industry events, so your team can stay focused on the science. Most importantly, we find the funded customers who need exactly what makes your company different. At Sunstone, we leave no molecule unturned. Let’s grow your business together.”

What we do

Everything it takes to grow your top line

From strategy to the show floor, we help pharmaceutical and biotech CDMOs turn scientific strengths into revenue.

  • Go-to-market strategy

    A clear plan for how you win in the market, built around what makes your company different.

  • Territory plans

    Territory plans that point your commercial effort where it will count.

  • Sales pipeline development

    We build and develop the sales pipeline that grows your top line.

  • AI from RFP to proposal

    We use AI tools to get you from RFP to proposal faster.

  • Trade shows & industry events

    We represent you at trade shows and industry events, so your team can stay focused on the science.

  • Funded, well-matched customers

    Most importantly, we find the funded customers who need exactly what makes your company different.

Why fractional

Veteran experience, built into your commercial blueprint.

Leverage more than 20 years of CDMO commercial experience to build your commercial blueprint. Our knowledge-backed strategy and executive-level leadership are tailored precisely to your specific needs and growth phase.

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  • Expertise earned in the field

    Strategy grounded in two decades of CDMO sales, pipeline, and deal experience, working alongside your team as a fractional partner.

  • Tailored to your growth phase

    Executive-level leadership shaped to where your company is today and where it’s headed, without the full-time overhead.

  • Focused on one thing: your top line

    Strategy, territories, pipeline, proposals and events, all aimed at growing revenue.

  • Your scientists stay on the science

    We carry the commercial load so your team can stay focused on the work that sets you apart.

Portrait of Rachel Timberlake, founder and CEO of Sunstone Advisory, with long white hair and a navy blazer, arms crossed, in front of autumn trees

About

Rachel Timberlake

Founder & CEO, Sunstone Advisory

Rachel is a sales leader with more than 20 years of experience driving top-line growth for leading pharma and biotech contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). She combines strategic vision with Six Sigma expertise and operational excellence to forge partnerships, negotiate complex contracts, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions.

Before founding Sunstone, Rachel led business development at several CDMOs, including private-equity-backed organizations. Her career is defined by securing multimillion-dollar contracts, accelerating client pipelines, and fostering transformative collaborations. She holds an MBA from Marist University and is a passionate advocate for advancing healthcare through science-driven solutions.

“At Sunstone, we leave no molecule unturned. Let’s grow your business together.”

Rachel Timberlake
  • Specialties

    Long-cycle B2B sales across small and large molecule modalities, where 12 to 18 months to close is typical.

    • Assessing and valuing complex pipelines, from pre-clinical through commercial
    • Building accurate revenue forecasts and growth models
    • Implementing scalable, proven sales strategies that drive sustainable, long-term results
  • Dosage form expertise

    • Oral solid dose, including immediate- and modified-release forms
    • Liquids and semi-solids
    • Aseptic orally inhaled nebulized solutions and topical ophthalmics
    • Dry powder for inhalation
    • Parenteral delivery in liquid or lyophilized vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges
  • Technologies & manufacturing

    • Bioavailability enhancement and spray-dried dispersions
    • Particle engineering for inhaled therapeutics and poorly soluble compounds, using spray drying and micronization
    • Biotherapeutic stabilization and drug delivery innovations
    • Clinical and commercial manufacturing, including DEA Schedule I–V, high-potency, and solvent processing
  • Career highlights

    • Two-time President’s Club winner
    • Delivered 110% of quota in 2025, with 35% year-over-year team growth and 15 new molecules signed
    • Built and onboarded a five-person sales team
    • Six Sigma Black Belt; certified in Miller Heiman Strategic Selling and Scotwork Negotiation
    • MBA, Marist University

For PE-backed CDMOs and investors

Faster deals, clearer pipelines, stronger exits.

Rachel’s expertise helps private-equity-backed CDMOs accelerate deal velocity, improve pipeline visibility, and maximize exit multiples in a competitive market. If you’re involved in CDMO investments or portfolio optimization, or know someone who is, she’d love to connect and explore how she can add value on a flexible, fractional basis.

Let’s connect

Testimonials

What colleagues and clients say

  • Rachel knows pharma CDMO sales. Years in the space have given her fluency across dosage forms, CMC development, and tools like Salesforce. Her clients trust her because she tells them the truth.

    Richard Sidwell Strategic Advisor; former Senior Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer

  • Much of the credit for our growth in the past year goes to her… What sets Rachel apart is her ability to understand client’s needs and find creative solutions (timing, cost) to aid clients in their drug development process.

    Carolyn Berg Formerly Vice President, Business Development Catalent

  • Rachel is one of the best ‘hunters’ I know. She is a consummate professional that always helps the customer find the right solution, even if it isn’t one that directly benefits her. This is why people trust her.

    Formerly Vice President, Global Partners Catalent

  • Rachel is the best I have seen with regards to Customer Service, Technical Input and meeting our needs.

    Connect and Develop Manager Procter & Gamble Personal Health Care

Sunstone Advisory molecule-sun icon

Leave no molecule unturned.

Ready to grow your top line? Let’s grow your business together.

Email rachel.timberlake@sunstoneadvisorygroup.com · Call +1 845.392.1909