Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moderna was riding the successes of developing a vaccine in record time and helping stem the tide of the crisis. However, the company had grown at an incredible rate, more than doubled its number of employees, and had to put on hold desired projects to push the company to continue to innovate and push the boundaries as a digital-first biotech company. The retirement of CTO and Moderna's digital architect, Marcello Damiano, prompted the company to reevaluate how best to proceed. The choice for who would replace him loomed large over many aspects of the company's strategy moving forward, and could potentially reshape its future.