Delta Chi_Knight Errant_Spring23

24 KNIGHT ERRANT | THE DELTA CHI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Captain of Industry:
Adrian Gottschalk
BBrother Adrian Gottschalk’s family immigrated to the
United States in 1984 from Johannesburg, South Africa,
to the Dallas, Texas area. Dedicated to his studies while
attending JJ Pearce High School, Adrian became a
National Merit Scholar with interests in math and
science. Adrian’s parents had no concept of American
college and had not saved up money to help him pay
for his education. When it came time to select a school
to attend, Texas A&M offered a great scholarship.
During his time at A&M, he joined Delta Chi, became
President of the A&M Honor Society, and even worked
on the IFC board.
Adrian earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
in December 1997 and was then accepted into medical
school. Adrian initially intended to follow in his
father’s footsteps to become a physician. Footsteps his
two younger brothers did follow, all with great careers
as orthopedic surgeons. Adrian ultimately decided to
put med school on hold to try something completely
different, taking on a position as an IT consultant at
Price Waterhouse in their petroleum division.
“Thank goodness I did that because that’s where I met
my wife, Amy. She was located in the Chicago office,
and we initially met in Tampa at a three-month training
session. We’ve had a great life together. We have
a 15-year-old son who made varsity as a freshman
goalkeeper in soccer in high school and fraternal twin
11-year-old daughters, Marin, who is into gymnastics,
and Analise, who is into tennis; both are also into the
piano. My family is the most important part of my life.”
“After three years at Price Waterhouse, I decided I
missed science. I applied and got accepted into the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) MBA
program. My wife Amy (girlfriend at the time) and
I moved to Boston so I could attend MIT. After my
“The best leaders are those who
adopt servant-based leadership”
IPO Celebration at NASDAQ, October 2020
Texas A&M ‘98
first year at MIT, I was fortunate to be accepted into a
joint degree program called the Biomedical Enterprise
Program (BEP), part of the Harvard Medical School and
MIT Health Sciences & Technology collaboration.”
During BEP, Adrian did his graduate work at the Food
and Drug Administration in the Commissioner’s office
and also interned at Biogen in the finance group.
He rejoined Biogen in 2004 as a Senior Manager and
worked his way up to Senior Vice President and head of
the neurodegeneration therapeutic area for the company.
Adrian explains that the biotechnology industry is the
application of the study of biology to discover and develop
medicines. Biotech companies attempt to develop
medicines and take them through a rigorous regulatory
process to ensure they are safe and effective.
“I can’t think of a better thing to do with my life than
to try to help my fellow human beings. One of the main
reasons I love this industry and the space I’m in is that
you will never have a drug make it to market without
a great team. The process of researching, testing, and
refining medicines while dealing with regulations and
economic conditions is very complex. It requires many
intelligent people with varying areas of expertise
working together to do something special.”
In 2017, Adrian met with Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D., one
of the scientific founders of Foghorn Therapeutics, to
learn about their new outlook on medicines to combat
cancer. “I just felt the science was incredible. Cigall left
a massive impression on me with her energy and passion
“Shortly after a series of meetings with members of the
board and key team members, Adrian agreed to join
Foghorn as their Chief Executive Officer. In this role,
he has grown the company from 12 employees to over
160, and working with a dedicated team, he took the
company public in October 2020.