# Steve Herne

> Steve Herne is the CEO of Unlearn.AI, a San Francisco-based company building AI-powered digital twin technology to transform how clinical trials are designed and run. With over 25 years of experience across pharmaceutical R&D companies including WCG, Bioclinica, and Covance, Herne joined Unlearn in May 2024 as Chief Commercial Officer before ascending to CEO in September 2024. Under his leadership, Unlearn — backed by $130M+ in venture funding including a $50M Series C led by Altimeter Capital — is pivoting from research-led to commercially-driven product delivery, with its digital twin models now EMA-qualified and adopted by major biopharma companies to reduce placebo arm sizes by up to 38% in pivotal trials.

- **Role:** CEO at Unlearn.AI
- **Organizations:** Unlearn.AI, WCG, Bioclinica, ERT, Icon Development Solutions, Covance, MDS Pharma Services, Inveresk Research
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree, Pharmacy Instrumentation, Glasgow Caledonian University, Master's degree, University of Strathclyde
- **Known for:** Led Unlearn.AI's pivot from research-driven to commercially-executed product company, Oversaw expansion of digital twin platform adoption across major biopharma partners, Helped grow Unlearn to record customer numbers in 2024

## Career timeline

- **early career** — Began career in pharmaceutical R&D industry at Inveresk Research
- **mid career** — Held leadership roles at MDS Pharma Services and Covance
- **mid career** — Joined Icon Development Solutions in a senior leadership capacity
- **mid career** — Served as executive at ERT (eResearchTechnology)
- **pre-2024** — Became Chief Commercial Officer at Bioclinica
- **pre-2024** — Served as Chief Commercial Officer at WCG
- **2024-05** — Joined Unlearn.AI as Chief Commercial Officer following the company's $50M Series C raise
- **2024-09** — Promoted to Chief Executive Officer at Unlearn.AI, succeeding founder Charles Fisher

## Achievements

- Led Unlearn.AI's pivot from research-driven to commercially-executed product company
- Oversaw expansion of digital twin platform adoption across major biopharma partners
- Helped grow Unlearn to record customer numbers in 2024
- Built executive team including new CTO (Krates Ng), VP Product (Kwame Marfo), and senior advisor Dr. Robert Lenz
- Under his leadership, Unlearn's digital twins demonstrated 38% control arm reduction in Parkinson's studies
- Unlearn's methods qualified by European Medicines Agency (EMA) during his tenure

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Unlearn.AI planning oncology expansion for 2026 as part of therapeutic area growth strategy
- **2025-01** — Published 2025 strategic vision focusing on proving purpose-built AI value in clinical development
- **2024-12** — Unlearn released 2024 achievements report; record customer numbers reached; AbbVie presented digital twin data showing 23% placebo arm reduction in Alzheimer's studies
- **2024-09** — Steve Herne elevated from Chief Commercial Officer to CEO of Unlearn.AI
- **2024-05** — Steven Herne joined Unlearn.AI as Chief Commercial Officer following Series C close
- **2024-02** — Unlearn.AI raised $50M Series C led by Altimeter Capital, total funding exceeds $130M

## Links

- Website: https://unlearn.ai
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-herne-9bb51b9
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/unlearnai/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/steven-herne
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-14