Tara Tibbs

Tara Tibbs graduated from Cornell University in 1999 with a BSc degree in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and began her career with Eli Lilly in 2000 as a process engineer in API insulin manufacturing. Over her 20-year career at Lilly she has performed several roles in Engineering and Operations and is currently the Sr Director of Engineering for the API/DPN networks of Eli Lilly globally.

Tara recently moved back to the United States from an overseas assignment in Kinsale, Ireland where she led the Engineering, Maintenance, and Utilities organizations for the site which manufactures both Small Molecule and Biotech Large Molecule drug substances. During her time in Kinsale, she led the engineering initiatives for continuous API manufacturing.

Prior to moving to Ireland, Tara was the Director of Operations in Indy API and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Lead Team for Manufacturing & Quality. In this role she led the start-up & launch of Basaglar for Manufacturing as well as implementation of the streamlined Humalog process. In her role as the Chair of the M&Q D&I Lead Team, she led the Women’s Journey for Manufacturing and was instrumental in incorporating diversity and inclusion into the Manufacturing Standards for Operational Excellence at Eli Lilly.

Tara has performed several roles in leadership across Lilly and Elanco (formerly the animal health division of Lilly) as well as associate roles in Engineering, Operations and HR. Tara has a passion for diversity and inclusion and was awarded the 2016 Stepping Up Award for female leaders making a difference in manufacturing by the Manufacturing Institute and was nominated for the African American Diversity Champion Award within Lilly.