Lydia Wu

Head of Finance, US at PharmaEssentia USA

Speaker

Lydia Wu is the Head of U.S. Finance at PharmaEssentia, where she leads finance for the U.S. business and partners with executive leadership on financial strategy, planning, performance management, and operational execution. With a Big 4 background and more than a decade in life sciences, she brings expertise across FP&A, technical accounting, internal controls, SEC reporting, strategic finance, going public, M&A, and fundraising.

Before PharmaEssentia, Lydia served as Head of FP&A at Orna Therapeutics, where she led the transformation of the strategic finance function. She holds master’s degrees in accounting and finance, an MBA, and recently completed an executive program at Harvard.

Recognized as a value-add executive to life sciences companies, Lydia is passionate about elevating finance into a proactive strategic partner. Outside of work, she is a marathon runner who completed Boston in 2025 and is preparing for NYC in 2026.