In this episode of She Leads Biotech, I’m joined by Denise Dajles, President & CEO at Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc. who has built her career at the dynamic intersection of engineering, medical devices, and executive leadership.
Denise’s story starts with curiosity in Costa Rica and takes us through academia, entrepreneurship, and boardrooms across the US. She shares how being “naively fearless” helped her navigate male-dominated spaces, why saying yes before you feel ready can change your life, and how she’s now leading Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc. through a major relaunch and cultural transformation.
We talk about:
🔹 How she discovered her passion for engineering and medical devices
🔹 Moving from operations and R&D to the C-suite
🔹 The underestimated power of mentors (and why most of hers were men)
🔹 Balancing family, ambition, and identity and letting go of perfection
🔹 Why authenticity is non-negotiable in her leadership style
🔹 Her vision for Cytrellis: expanding from aesthetics to therapeutic and global applications
📌 Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Meet Denise and her journey from Costa Rica to the US
03:00 – Early career in medical device manufacturing
06:00 – Starting (and selling) her first company
09:00 – Moving back into academia and building programs for women in STEM
12:00 – Returning to industry and finding her voice in leadership
15:00 – Mentorship, femtorship, and creating space for other women
18:00 – Leading Cytrellis: restructuring, culture, and future growth
22:00 – The power of saying yes and preparing later
25:00 – Embracing authenticity and setting your own limits
28:00 – Cytrellis technology: aesthetics, scars, and beyond
🎧 Tune in to hear Denise’s refreshingly real take on leadership, risk-taking, and building a career that’s true to you.
#SheLeadsBiotech #DeniseDajles #Cytrellis #WomenInSTEM #BiotechLeadership #AuthenticLeadership #EngineeringLeadership #Femtorship #SayYes #CareerGrowth #CNAInternationalUSA
