In this special episode in partnership with ESCP Business School, I’m joined by Clarissa Gorin, a pharmacist and ESCP Business School MSc Biopharmaceutical Management alum, who transitioned from the blockchain industry to head Medical Affairs at Ad Scientiam, a MedTech company specializing in digital biomarkers. Clarissa shares her journey from a traditional pharmacy career path to embracing tech innovation in healthcare, particularly in the fight against counterfeit medicines in developing countries. Her work at Ad Scientiam, which originated from the Paris Brain Institute, focuses on creating digital biomarkers using smartphone sensors and AI to monitor and predict the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Clarissa's unique perspective highlights the importance of adaptability and the practical application of technology to meet real-world needs in the healthcare sector.

Throughout the episode, we dive into Clarissa's experiences in navigating cultural challenges in tech adoption, particularly in developing regions, and how this has shaped her approach to leading innovative projects. She emphasizes the value of understanding the specific needs of both patients and healthcare providers when developing new technologies, and the critical role that digital biomarkers and AI can play in the future of medical diagnostics and treatment. Clarissa also reflects on the importance of accessibility and humility in tech development, ensuring that solutions are not only high-tech but also practical and adaptable to diverse healthcare settings around the world.

"Effective leadership hinges on adaptability and the ability to respond swiftly to change."

MEET OUR GUEST Clarissa Gorin, Head of Medical Innovation, Medical Affairs at Ad scientam.

Clarissa holds a dual degree in Pharmacy and a Master of Science (MSc) specialized in pharmaceutical and biotechnology management from ESCP Business School. She quickly developed a keen interest in emerging technologies, data management, and their applications in the healthcare sector. Following her initial professional experience focusing on the blockchain industry and the fight against counterfeit medicines in developing countries, Clarissa joined Ad Scientiam in 2020 as Head of Medical Affairs.

Ad Scientiam, a MedTech company originating from the Paris Brain Institute, specializes in developing digital biomarkers that enable the monitoring and prediction of the progression of certain neurodegenerative pathologies and rare diseases. These innovative markers are derived from proprietary algorithms for measuring precise analysis movements, vocal activity, or image processing derived from smartphone sensors and AI technologies. Within Ad Scientiam, her role involves working collaboratively with the Scientific Board to ensure the development and validation of these biomarkers, leveraging her medical knowledge and expertise. 

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Carl Dahlberg, who shared his fascinating journey from a computer science nerd to an emergency physician and medical innovator. Carl discussed how his passion for problem-solving has driven his diverse career, spanning IT, financial trading, and emergency medicine. He reflected on his transition into healthcare and how his tech background influenced his approach to medicine, emphasizing creativity and innovation.

Carl highlighted a recurring theme in his career: a desire to solve important problems for real people, which ultimately led him to focus on healthcare innovation. He expressed concerns about the U.S. healthcare system's inefficiencies and the need for a fundamental redesign to improve outcomes and reduce costs.

When discussing his work mentoring entrepreneurs, Carl emphasized the importance of listening to customers and stakeholders to truly understand the problems that need solving. He also shared his insights on leadership, noting that modern leaders should align incentives and communicate the mission clearly to their teams, rather than merely issuing directives.

In a reflective segment, Carl shared his views on concepts like innovation, entrepreneurship, health equity, and spreading joy in organizations. He underscored the importance of joy in work, distinguishing it from mere fun, and emphasized that true satisfaction comes from tackling meaningful challenges.

Carl concluded with advice for healthcare leaders: ensure that clinicians, who are the embodiment of the mission, have a voice in decision-making processes to avoid potentially disastrous oversights.

"True satisfaction comes from solving important problems for real people, not just making a profit."

MEET OUR GUEST Carl Dahlberg, President at Dahlberg Healthcare Solutions.

Carl Dahlberg, a physician innovator whose passion is solving important problems for real people.  Holding degrees from The University of Michigan Medical School and MIT Sloan School of Management Carl has a multifaceted background spanning technology, medicine, art and business.  He’s co-founder of the MIT Sloan Physicians Group and a mentor with the MIT Sandbox and UM6P Explorer innovation programs.  Carl blends medical proficiency with entrepreneurial spirit and relentless creativity to drive positive change in healthcare and beyond.

This episode is in collaboration with MIT Sloan Healthcare and BioInnovations Conference, an event that brings the healthcare ecosystem together. On today's episode, we had the privilege of speaking with Britt Wahlin, a passionate advocate for gender equity and reproductive justice. Britt shared her insights on the progress we've made in these areas, highlighting the development of more inclusive frameworks for discussing these crucial issues. She emphasized the importance of reproductive justice, a framework created by Black women that goes beyond just abortion rights to encompass broader issues like the right to have children, not to have children, and to raise children in safe communities. While acknowledging the progress made, Britt also discussed the setbacks we're facing in reproductive health and rights due to policies and politicians threatening bodily autonomy.

We delved into Britt's work with Free the Pill, a coalition-driven campaign advocating for over-the-counter access to birth control. She explained how, after two decades of advocacy, the FDA approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill last year. However, Britt emphasized that the work is far from over, as they now focus on ensuring the product is accessible and affordable to all who need it.

Britt also shared her leadership philosophy, emphasizing the importance of leading with values, collaboration, and principled partnerships. She discussed her approach to effective leadership, which prioritizes collaboration and empowerment. Finally, she offered valuable advice to healthcare leaders, encouraging them to prioritize innovation, listen to communities, and work towards expanding access to care. Britt's insights offer valuable lessons for anyone passionate about social impact and healthcare equity.

"Leading with values, collaboration, and principled partnerships is key to making impactful and sustainable change"

MEET OUR GUEST Britt Wahlin Vice President for Development and Public Affairs at Ibis Reproductive Health.

Britt Wahlin is the Vice President for Development and Public Affairs at Ibis Reproductive Health, a global nonprofit research organization working to advance sexual and reproductive autonomy, choices, and health. She leads fund development, communications, and policy and advocacy initiatives and serves on the senior management team.

Britt is proud to be part of the leadership of Free the Pill, a coalition-driven campaign operated by Ibis that aims to move birth control pills over the counter in the United States and ensure they are affordable, covered by insurance, and available to people of all ages without a prescription. Before Ibis, Britt created public engagement campaigns for social justice-themed films and worked in women’s and girls’ philanthropy.

Britt obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Modern Thought and Literature and Master of Arts in Humanities from Stanford University. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband and two daughters.

We hear a lot about transferable managerial skills from sports to corporate and entrepreneurial world, Ben Shields summarized those to two key components: common goal for teams and measurable performance. Along those comes a crucial leadership skill of creating and maintaining a winning culture, which is a collective set of actions and behaviors that defines it, and best teams are obsessive about ensuring the culture is sustainable daily. This starts by building a learning culture based on mutual understanding. On a more individual level, success for Ben is driven by passion, hard work and luck. What about data and decision making? "Data can help you be less wrong in your decisions."

"Great leaders make those around them better."

MEET OUR GUEST Ben Shields Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Ben Shields is a Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication at the MIT. He studies the multibillion-dollar sports industry to identify broadly transferable management lessons in areas such as leadership communication, data-driven decision making, and innovation. 

Ben authored three books, Social Media Management: Persuasion in Networked Culture (Oxford University Press, 2016), The Sports Strategist: Developing Leaders for a High Performance Industry (Oxford University Press, 2015), and The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace (McGraw-Hill, 2006), teaches and directs a number of courses and programs.  

Prior to MIT, Ben served as the Director of Social Media and Marketing at ESPN. He oversaw social media strategy for the ESPN brand and collaborated across the enterprise to develop and implement company-wide social strategy. He also worked on marketing strategy for several ESPN brands and sub-brands, including the SportsCenter “DaDaDa” campaign and the Emmy Award-winning “It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” brand campaign. 

Ben holds a BS and MA in communication studies and a PhD in media, technology, and society, all from Northwestern University. 

What if we start as leaders by sharing our own challenges, our vulnerabilities, our stories with our people? This might be the first step to bringing back humanity into leadership and building empathy with our teams. From engineering and technical expertise to leadership, executive coaching and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion role model, Angelique Adams shared her story, experiences, and learning with us. Focus on people, on their entire well-being and results at the same time, and most importantly care for the whole person they are. Finally, don't forget to celebrate more your team, even the small wins!

"Help people have a seat at the table."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr Angelique Adams, Author, speaker, and executive coach.

Angelique Adams is an author, speaker, and executive coach focusing on leadership development for scientists and engineers. Angelique is an engineer with 25 years of experience in operations, strategy, and innovation. She was Director of R&D at aluminum giant Alcoa, and Chief Innovation Officer at multibillion dollar steelmaker, Aperam. After leading hundreds of scientists and engineers around the world, she discovered her true passion is developing people, not products. 

Following the successful publication of her first book for women in STEM in 2021, she launched Angelique Adams Media Solutions, a distribution platform for her books, online courses, and coaching programs. Her second book, for women executives in college athletics will be out this summer.

Angelique lives in Knoxville with her husband and 2 children. She serves on the board of several local nonprofits and volunteers her time to mentor entrepreneurs. She has a Ph.D. from Penn State and an MBA from MIT.

Sustainability is all about: how are we on this planet and how are we with each other? We can't continue living on this planet looking at the world as a "pyramid", a lens of supremacy and extraction of natural resources and labor. Every year of delay means losses and communities we can not recover... Thinking of the world as an interconnected web is the most important action we can take as leaders in each of the decisions we make. Think of it in a staff meeting ensuring all voices are being heard, while building your next manufacturing site ensuring it includes all lives and flows, think of circular economies.... The most impactful projects are the small ones who started to fix a problem that resolved another and entered in a positive loop of change improving the broader environment and community. The key for leaders is to keep a role of learners as we tackle these issues and make disruption of inequities part of our priorities.

"Lead by thinking of the world as an interconnected web."

MEET OUR GUEST Elizabeth Sawin Founder and Director of the Multisolving Institute.

Elizabeth Sawin is the Founder and Director of the Multisolving Institute. Beth is an expert on solutions that address climate change while also improving health, well-being, equity, and economic vitality. She developed the idea of ‘multisolving’ to help people see and create the conditions for such win-win-win solutions. 

Beth writes and speaks about multisolving, climate change, and leadership in complex systems for both national and international audiences. Her work has been published widely, including in Non-Profit Quarterly, The Stanford Social Innovation Review, U. S. News, The Daily Climate, and System Dynamics Review.

She has trained and mentored global sustainability leaders in the Donella Meadows Fellows Program and provided systems thinking training to both Ashoka and Dalai Lama Fellows. Since 2014, Beth has participated in the Council on the Uncertain Human Future, a continuing dialogue on issues of climate change and sustainability among a select group of humanities scholars, writers, artists, and climate scientists. 

Beth is also a member of the advisory board to the Kresge Foundation’s Climate Change Health and Equity Program. A biologist with a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Beth co-founded Climate Interactive in 2010 and served as Climate Interactive’s Co-Director from 2010 until 2021. While at Climate Interactive, she led the scientific team that offered the first assessment of the sufficiency of country pledges to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2008. Beth also led Climate Interactive’s efforts to integrate measures of equity, health and well-being into decision support tools and computer simulations. 

Beth trained in system dynamics and sustainability with Donella Meadows and worked at Sustainability Institute, the research institute founded by Meadows, for 13 years. She has two adult daughters and lives in rural Vermont where she and her husband grow as much of their own food as they can manage.

Driven by curiosity, trying, failing, trying again while exploring the world, is what shaped Yacine Hadjiat's incredible leadership journey. This curiosity led him to reinvent himself constantly, putting himself in vulnerable positions that taught him lessons we all should learn from: listen, ask, observe, understand, be open, stay humble and most importantly be benevolent as a leader. Start with the "who", the people, the team to deliver exceptional innovations. Hear Yacine's thoughts on digital health and innovation crystallized beautifully with his words "what excites me is what I don't know yet, new vectors, new possibilities... digital will bring to health what internet brought to tech".

"Define your why, bring the who, and work on the what."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr Yacine Hadjiat Global Head of Biogen Digital Health Solutions

Dr Yacine Hadjiat holds medical degree with a specialization in Pain Management and supportive care (from both Paris Medical University and McGill University), as well as a MBA in Health Management. He has also completed several training courses and specializations in addiction, pediatric pain management, clinical research, health economics and Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare.

Throughout his career, he has covered several senior leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry as well as clinical practice and academic medical research in Europe, US and Asia.

He started his journey in the pharmaceutical industry in France with Sanofi-Aventis in the Strategy and Public Affairs department before joining Grünenthal in Medical Affairs. He joined Mundipharma in 2011 in Paris where he served as Head of Medical Affairs for France, and then as Head of Medical Affairs for Europe based in Cambridge, UK, before moving to Singapore as Chief Medical Officer for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America and Global Head of Medical for Consumer Healthcare. Currently, Yacine is the Global Head of Biogen Digital Health Solutions & Chief medical Officer. Based in paris, France.

Along with his career in the industry, Yacine had several years of clinical practice in pain and cancer care management including NGO work with Pain Without Borders especially in Africa and Asia and also fundamental and clinical research experience in the US at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington DC. He is also currently part of the French Health Institute (INSERM) in Public health research program.

Yacine also holds non-executive positions as advisor for governmental agencies in Singapore like the National Health Innovation Center (NHIC) and Entreprise Singapore, as well as MedTEch/healthTech incubators. He’s an author of several scientific publications from fundamental research science to clinical research projects, digital heath and health economics.

Yacine was recognised in 2018 as Top 50 Healthcare leaders at the SmartHealth conference in Dubai as a recognition for his work on equity in health and education. In 2019, he has also been awarded by the Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine Singapore (APMS) with the “Excellence in Medical Affairs Award” APMS is a chapter the International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Pharmaceutical Medicine (IFAPP).

We don’t get to sit every day with someone like Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi. His journey was inspired by incredible leaders he was fortunate to meet along the way. Noble prize laureates, or powerful figures in their community, who triggered questions around how to live a meaningful life. For Venerable Tenzin, in the history of humanity, the challenge of leadership is today more crucial than ever. Despite so many leadership programs thought in the best schools around the world, we suffer from a lack of ethical leadership... When we look around us, we are living in a society increasingly marked by a sense of polarization. More fear and hate than love and compassion. The world has quite often chosen to operate from a place of despair rather than from a place of hopefulness. “Hope is a game-changer”. 

No matter how small we think we are, individuals must recognize that they do have a voice, and need to exercise it; quoting Dalai Lama “if you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” In a world where nothing is constant, maintain a healthy sense of curiosity and hopefulness, talk more with people who don't believe in what you do …This is a powerful tool to value perspective in the complex society we live in.

This episode couldn’t have been timelier and resonate with the tense environment we are living in today.

"Aspiration + Reality = Hope."

MEET OUR GUEST Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi president and CEO of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Venerable Tenzin is an innovative thinker, a philosopher, an educator, and a polymath monk. He is Founding Director of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a center dedicated to inquiry, dialogue, and education on the ethical and human dimensions of life. The Center at MIT has 6 Nobel Peace Laureates as its founding members and its programs run in 8 countries and expanding.

Venerable Tenzin’s unusual background encompasses entering a Buddhist monastery at the age of 10 to receiving graduate education at Harvard with degrees ranging from Philosophy to Physics to International Relations.

Venerable Tenzin serves on the Board of several academic, humanitarian, and religious organizations.  He is a recipient of several recognitions and awards, including a 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from Harvard for his visionary contributions to humanity. 

Have you heard the latest word defining great Leadership? Humbitous. For Amer Kaissi, award winning Professor, exceptional leadership is all about humility and ambition combined.

While ambition might sound familiar, humility comes in 3 layers. First, relationship with ourselves: it’s about self-awareness, being aware of our strengths and areas of improvements, and looking at our capabilities as accurately as can. Second, relationship with others: it’s about generosity and giving time and effort to grow others. Finding appreciation to the intelligence of the group and having a growth mindset to go into every conversation with curiosity and assumption to learn something new. Lastly, relationship with the world: Taking the time to ponder in the grand scheme of things and acknowledge how small and insignificant we are. This layer comes as an "ego dissolver".

When thinking of ambition in leadership, it is not narcissism. Unfortunately, narcissists tend to be chosen more for leadership position, however in the long run, they are ineffective leaders because they are self-centered, and not good team players: short term turn around but no long-lasting impact.

I will leave us as healthcare leaders with this last statement from Amer ”In Healthcare, humility is amplified by 100 because we are in the business of compassion and empathy.”

"Humility is looking at your capabilities as accurately as can."

MEET OUR GUEST Amer Kaissi an award-winning professor of health-care administration at Trinity University, a Top-15 program.

Dr. Amer Kaissi is a professional speaker and a certified executive coach. His most recent book is “Humbitious: the power of low-ego, high-drive leadership.” He is an award-winning professor of health-care administration at Trinity University, a Top-15 program. His previous book, Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders, won the 2019 ACHE Book of the Year Award.

He is a national speaker and a faculty member with ACHE, the University of Colorado Denver, and Boston College. Amer is the director of the Executive Program at Trinity University, where he teaches courses in leadership, professional development, and public speaking. Amer works with MEDI — a division of Navvis — and with the Leadership Development Group as an executive coach, and consults with hospitals and other organizations in their strategic planning efforts. Amer is also a certified executive and physician coach. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and their two teenagers.

Looking back into your past, do you regret not taking the time to pause and cherish precious moments with your loved ones? Or not being there when they needed you the most? It is unlikely to listen to Christi Shaw and not pause and reflect on your personal story.

What strikes us is the strong sense of care, love, family and the desire to make an impact she conveys when sharing genuinely her story with us with all its highs and lows. Christi shares her lifelong learning and leadership philosophy “Never let success go to your head; never let failure go to your heart”. Because when you are at your best, you help people be at their best. For her, leadership is all about enabling others to move forward by leveraging what everybody brings to the table. It is about leading without labels, without hierarchy, and barriers to collaboration.

Listening to Christi, beyond respect, you can't but admire her strength from miles away and the genuine soul behind the incredible leader she is… As she says, life is too short, and "we spend too many hours at work just to be respected and not loved”.

"My biggest learning:  being compassionate and spreading love and caring at work is a good thing."

MEET OUR GUEST Christi Shaw Chief Executive Officer of Kite.

Christi Shaw serves as Chief Executive Officer of Kite, a Gilead Company. Kite is the only company with global scale dedicated exclusively to the research, commercialization and manufacturing of cell therapy to treat cancer.

Christi is driven by values, integrity and a deep connection to people living with cancer and their loved ones after losing both her mother and sister to cancer. Under Christi’s leadership, Kite has received four FDA approvals for its CAR T-cell therapies in just four years for certain types of blood cancer and is working to bring CAR T to more patients. Kite recently released 5-year patient survival data, a significant milestone showing durable long-term survival and suggestive of a potential cure for these patients.

Christi currently serves on the board of directors of Avantor and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) and is on the executive committee and the board of directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).

Christi holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. She resides with her husband and son in Santa Monica, California.

A transformational episode with a social transformer and thinker, Otto Scharmer. Hear in this episode from the creator of Theory U and the Presencing institute. The pandemic was a mirror of what is broken in our society. We all have a responsibility as leaders and change-makers to fix that, to improve the world, the planetary wellbeing. We can achieve that by sensing, feeling the emerging future possibilities, and embodying them now. Learning from the past is not good enough, we should learn from the emerging future... All we need to do is ask ourselves: What is mine to do? Find that one piece we are polishing as a leader and put it into the path of the future.

"Lead by activating the intelligence of the heart."

MEET OUR GUEST Otto Scharmer, a social transformer, an MIT professor and incredible leader.

Otto is a Senior Lecturer at MIT and co-founder of the Presencing Institute. He chairs the MIT IDEAS program for cross-sector innovation and introduced the concept of “presencing”—learning from the emerging future—in his bestselling books Theory U and Presence. He is co-author of Leading from the Emerging Future, which outlines eight acupuncture points for transforming capitalism. His most recent book, The Essentials of Theory U summarizes the core principles and applications of awareness-based systems change.

In 2015 Otto co-founded the MITx u.lab and in 2020 the GAIA journey, which have activated a vibrant worldwide ecosystem of transformational change involving more than 200,000 users from 185 countries. Otto is a member of the UN Learning Advisory Council for the 2030 Agenda, the World Future Council, and the Club of Rome’s High-Level 21st Century Transformational Economics Commission.

Otto has won several prizes and received in 2021 the Elevating Humanity Award from the Organizational Development Network.

A "global citizen" as he defines himself, a leader and multicultural manager, we had the pleasure to host Theodore Leondaridis in this inspiring episode! He shared about how he built a culture of feedback, a culture of trust, where people feel safe to say what they think and thrive towards the shared purpose of the company. Theodore defines leadership as being useful for people; what a great example of loving leadership!

"Get on the boat and change!"

MEET OUR GUEST Theodore Leondaridis General Manager at Pierre Fabre Spain.

Theodore Leondaridis is General Manager at Pierre Fabre in Spain. He always wanted to be a veterinarian but then decided otherwise! Moving to Basic Science then ESCP business school in 2013, he then joined Pierre Fabre as a trainee in Corporate Business Development. Theodore then had different experiences as Financial Analyst, Global Oncology Launch Manager, Oncology Business Unit Director in Portugal, along with different leadership responsibilities. Theodore is now heading Pierre Fabre Medical Care in Spain as the General Manager where he is leading a team of more than 250 people.

Theodore is a global healthcare leader, a husband, and a father of 2 amazing young kids.

From the island of Crete in Greece to the US, Georgia Perakis fulfilled her father's dream. We wouldn't have imagined that analytics could actually change the world and make a real difference. Georgia took it even further and talks about an analogy with data to understand the power of diversity and inclusion. Her pragmatic vision of using data is invaluable and makes us see things through a different lens. Start by filtering out the noise around big data and asking the big question: what is the problem I am trying to solve? Before big data, let's start talking about "little data" and missing data to put things in order and see the big picture. Georgia definitely won her students' hearts but also the analogy of the year by comparing MIT to a great candy store to choose from! Thank you for being who you are and for your exceptional leadership!

"The Love Large Numbers: Look at the long term goal, focus on the end outcome rather than looking at the present failure, persist... it will work out eventually."

MEET OUR GUEST Georgia Perakis, Professor of Management, Operations Research, Statistics, and Operations Management.

Prof Georgia Perakis teaches at MIT Sloan courses and performs research in analytics, optimization, machine learning with applications in pricing, revenue management, supply chains, transportation, energy, and healthcare among others.

In her research, Georgia investigates the theory and practice of analytics and its role in operations problems. She has received numerous awards and has several prestigious publications.

Currently, Georgia serves as the co-director of the Operations Research Center, on the council for the College of Computing, and faculty director of the Executive MBA (EMBA) program at MIT Sloan. She is also the editor-in-chief of the M&SOM journal. Prior to that role, she had also served as America’s editor in chief of the Journal of Pricing and Revenue Management, as a department editor for the journal Service Science in the area of Analytics and as an associate editor for the flagship journals: Management Science, Operations Research, M&SOM, INFORMS Journal on Optimization, and as a senior editor for POM. She has served as the chair of the RMP Section of INFORMS and as the VP of Meetings of the MSOM Society of INFORMS.  

Georgia holds a BS in mathematics from the University of Athens as well as an MS in applied mathematics and a PhD in applied mathematics from Brown University.    

This episode is in collaboration with MIT Sloan Healthcare and BioInnovations Conference, an event that brings the healthcare ecosystem together. In this episode, I sat with Michael McKeown Head of Research at Bullseye Biosciences. We discussed his journey from academia to entrepreneurship and his leadership experience in biotech. Michael highlights the importance of mentorship, learning from others, and the need for humility in leadership. He emphasizes the significance of reducing mistakes in scientific endeavors and adapting to new technologies and methodologies. We also discuss the future of clinical trials, focusing on the importance of biomarkers, decentralization, and innovation. Michael advocates for leveraging biomarkers to match the right patients with the right drugs, as well as embracing decentralized trials to increase diversity and accessibility.

"Science is hard. We've got to reduce our incidents of mistakes that we could have prevented."

MEET OUR GUEST Michael McKeown Head of Research at Bullseye Biosciences.

Michael McKeown is CSO/head of research for a stealth start-up at the Pagliuca Harvard Life Labs. Michael started out in California getting his BS in Chemistry at UCSD and working in the Nobel Prize winning Tsien lab on fluorescent proteins. He then moved to Boston, earning a PhD in Chemical Biology from Harvard while working on novel cancer therapeutics at the DFCI. During this time, Michael contributed to several start-ups spun out the the lab, ultimately joining Syros Pharmaceuticals.

As part of this work, he developed novel patient biomarker and pharmacodynamic markers to enable selection of the right patients and kinetic monitoring of response. With 10 years of industry drug discovery and development experience in the Boston area, Michael has contributed and led multiple successful programs.

Most recently, he led pharmacology at Kronos Bio supporting combinations, biomarkers, and PD assays for the clinical programs as well as leading biology for their most advanced pre-clinical program generating an asset currently in IND enabling studies.

If you are looking for inspiration, straightforward and pragmatic advice, this episode is for you! Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to start and scale a business or a healthcare leader looking to have an impact, Monty's authentic perspective will help you see things clearer. His favorite sentence "What the heck do I know" shows his powerful humility as he mentors hundreds of startups. Monty shares insights and guidance on how to build teams as an entrepreneur and build the crucial capabilities of a leader. Hope you will enjoy this open and candid discussion.

"Leadership has a moral obligation to help the team grow."

MEET OUR GUEST Monty Sharma, serial entrepreneur, Managing Director of MassDiGI.

Monty Sharma is a serial entrepreneur, a mentor in several start-up programs, and currently Managing Director of MassDiGI. 

Prior to joining MassDiGI, Monty, a respected game industry and technology professional, was co-founder and general manager of Vivox, a voice chat service provider in the games industry with key relationships to EA, Sony, Ubisoft, Nexon, Bigpoint, and many others. Monty advises a number of game companies and is a veteran MassChallenge and MIT Sandbox mentor.

From Brazil to MIT Professor of Accounting awarded multiple times by his students with teaching awards, Rodrigo is more than an accounting expert and teacher, he is an incredible human leader who cares for his people and students. Listen to the best lessons of life learned in kindergarten, and many other inspiring reflections in this episode!

"Legacy in life has to be the people... Those you touched."

MEET OUR GUEST Rodrigo Verdi Professor of Accounting at MIT Sloan.

Prof Rodrigo Verdi joined MIT in 2006 after receiving a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught financial accounting to undergraduate, MBA, EMBA, and PhD students over the last 15 years, and has received five teaching awards at MIT and Sloan.

Rodrigo is Senior Editor at the Journal of Accounting Research, and has previously been Editor at The Accounting Review and Associate Editor at Management Science. His research has been published in the premier accounting and finance journals and has also received the Distinguished Contributions and Best Paper Award recognitions by the American Accounting Association.

Outside MIT, Rodrigo has served as head of the Governance Committee on the board of the Cambridge Ellis School over the last three years and as Advisor to the Provost at Unisinos University, a Jesuit university in southern Brazil with more than 30 thousand students.

In 1972, an army doctor created the terminology “soft and hard” skills as he saw success resided not only in having people with strong machine operation skills but also in having individuals who could manage and supervise teams, along with other skills. Half a century later the world transformed enough for us as leaders to change the terms! In this episode, Prof Loredana Padurean shares her philosophy on the skills of the 21st century: SMART and SHARP! From "treating people like people", to "love with massive humility", Loredana, the Unapologetically Unconventional Professor, shares her incredible journey, great research stories, and her leadership beliefs, all with a very fresh perspective on the world of today.

"The job is easy, the people are not."

MEET OUR GUEST Pr. Loredana Padurean Associate Dean at the all-new Asia School of Business.

Prof Loredana Padurean Associate Dean at the all-new Asia School of Business, a collaboration between the Central Bank of Malaysia, MIT Sloan, and an International Faculty Fellow at MIT Sloan.

Loredana is the Faculty Director for Action Learning and Innovation and Entrepreneurship at ASB. She has been an energizing force behind the establishment of the school. Under her leadership, the Action Learning program at ASB was recognized repeatedly as one of the most innovative programs in the world.  She is an international keynote and TedX speaker. She has taught in various MIT Sloan executive programs, at IMD, as well as in major companies. Prof. Loredana has an MA in Communication and Economics and a PhD in Management from USI Switzerland.

Find more about Smart x Sharp and the white paper here.

36 episodes later, we are closing the year and our first season with a unique episode. Going from the principle that everyone has a story worth telling, Jill Donahue hijacked the mic and turned the table... and the host became the guest.

"Everyone has a story to tell."

MEET OUR GUEST Naji Gehchan or your host for the past 35 episodes.

High capability with low ego is the crucial combination for leaders of the future. It enables putting customers, businesses, purpose, and most importantly the people and the next generation of leaders before oneself. Hear from Prof Elsbeth Johnson on leadership, transformation, and more about the powerful framework she has developed after years of research on how to lead strategic change, and published recently in her great book: Step up and Step Back: How to Really Deliver Strategic Change in Your Organization.

"Great good ahead of benefit."

MEET OUR GUEST Elsbeth Johnson Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan and expert in leadership, strategy, and change.

Dr. Elsbeth Johnson is Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and an expert on leadership, strategy, and change. The main focus of her research is on what leaders need to do to help their organizations execute strategy, or deliver long-term, strategic change, without the need for the leader’s ongoing, personal involvement. Prior to joining MIT, Elsbeth was taught leadership at London Business School and London School of Economics.

Prior to academia, Dr. Johnson worked as an investment banker, a sell-side equity analyst, and a corporate strategist. She also spent three years as a special adviser to the first Blair Government in the UK.

As a consultant and executive educator, Elsbeth has worked with a range of companies, helping them develop their strategy and the capabilities and culture that will deliver it.

For our 34th episode, we talked to Enrique Conterno about his remarkable journey. Enrique talks about the importance of taking chances and risks in careers. There is no formula when it comes to building a sustainable business with strong performing teams. It's all about centering and focusing on the common purpose and the key values. Enrique explains the importance of implementing a culture of empowerment in an organization, leading to more accountability, thus teams will genuinely contribute to the success of their organization. Enrique shares with us his vision on leading in moments of crisis - "It is critical to remain true to your value, stick to your north star, otherwise one can get lost". Crisis challenges us on many levels, but it's an opportunity itself if it is framed the right way. It's all a matter of refocusing the priority and staying grounded. When asked about work-life balance, Enrique stresses the importance of time and space to replenish and refresh. 

"It's not about tough love, but rather true love."

MEET OUR GUEST Enrique Conterno Chief Executive Officer at Fibrogen.

A native of Peru, Enrique is a mechanical engineer with an MBA from Duke. He joined Eli Lilly in 1992 and spent the next two decades working in the U.S. and internationally across sales, marketing, finance, business development, and general management roles. Enrique became the President of Lilly Diabetes in 2009. In addition to those responsibilities, he took on the role of President of Lilly USA in January 2017 before retiring at the end of 2019 after 27 years of service with the company. Enrique is now the CEO of Fibrogen.

Some great articles Enrique wrote in "Fortune" can be seen here.

Daena Giardella's background is quite unique, she has enjoyed dual careers in business organizational development and in the performing arts for over twenty-five years. She makes an analogy between art and leadership...Because both careers are all about making connections with people and telling the stories that need to be told. Daena gives us her perspective on fostering a safe culture while still being in the hybrid environment missing the human live connections. Today we are at an inflection point, with a strong generational awareness about the psychological dimension of life-work balance and most importantly what to expect from work. Daena's word of wisdom to all leaders out there is to stop and reflect so they can repair and inspire and keep building exceptional things around them. Hope you will enjoy this heartfelt discussion, happy listening!

"Find a way to reflect so you can repair and inspire."

MEET OUR GUEST Daena Giardella Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Faculty Affiliate of the MIT Leadership Center.

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Daena has been an organizational leadership, teams consultant, and executive coach as well as a media, communication, and presentation consultant for over twenty-five years.

Before being a senior lecturer at MIT and teaching numerous amazing courses, Daena has enjoyed dual careers in business organizational development and in the performing arts. She combines these backgrounds to design innovative educational programs for numerous world-class companies, organizations, and academic institutions in the USA and abroad.

A fact I learned recently, Daena is also a talented actor who received kudos in the USA and internationally, the Boston Globe has called her an "impressive talent" and she definitely is an impressive talent, an impressive leader, coach, and an amazing person.

From impact as a front-line emergency physician to Chief Impact Officer, Dr. Adam Brown could not stay siloed in a single service line. He always believed in visionary leadership, powered by the trust component to be seen as the trusted voice. Dr. Brown takes us back to the early days of the pandemic talking about the number of deaths that could have been prevented, only if there were more trusted voices out there! We all assume there is health literacy and health illiteracy, whereas there are different types of literacy.

When asked about equity, Adam thinks that the concept is still misunderstood; equity is not about equality, because access doesn’t give you usage. To improve health, we need first to acknowledge the problem and identify the drivers of inequities, then start addressing all social determinants. Diversity alone is not the full answer to equality, neither is inclusion nor equity.; we need to have the 3 pieces of those parts to get to a sustainable solution. And this is only the beginning of a long journey! Thank you, Adam, for sharing your vision and genuine belief in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism. 

"Equity is not about equality [...] access does not mean usage."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Adam Brown Chief Impact Officer at Envision Healthcare.

Adam began as a front-line emergency physician with progressive clinical and administrative roles throughout the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, becoming the President of the nation's largest Emergency Medicine practice at Envision Healthcare. During the first waves of the COVID pandemic, he continued to serve as President of Emergency Medicine and was named Chair of the COVID Task Force for all specialties at Envision. That year, the CEO also appointed him to the role as an Executive Sponsor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In 2021, he assumed the role of a newly created position at Envision as the Chief Impact Officer and has continued in his roles in the pandemic response and DEI.

As an emergency physician and healthcare executive, Adam has a driving passion to improve the lives of patients. Using the skills and influence he's gained as a healthcare business leader and physician, he is expanding his reach to improve the health of millions of lives. His abilities as an outstanding communicator, visionary leader, and strategist position him as a recognized thought leader in the industry and beyond. 

In every possible way, we are all made up of stories that we accept and acknowledge. These stories shape how we see and define ourselves. Growing up in an immigrant family of 8 adopted children, Gayle Grader was perceived as an outsider. This experience was foundational to who she is today and what she wants to achieve in life; “You can be the outsider and look in” Gayle says. By being the outsider girl, she learned the skill of observation and developed a curiosity in people and society. 

In this episode, we discussed the common trait of leaders throughout history; answered complex questions, are we born or made leaders? Talked about optionality and how to mute the noise to find the signal and focus on the legacy we want to leave behind.

How we arrange the plot points of our story into a narrative, can shape who we are; and to know Gayle’s story is to know her philosophy and life's ultimate purpose: Bringing impact and scale by helping talents unleash their authentic themselves to lead the organization.

"Be fully engaged with who you are...accept the peak and valley of your journey."

MEET OUR GUEST Gayle Grader Executive Coach and Director of Executive Career Development at MIT Sloan.

Gayle Grader is an Executive Career Coach and the Director of Executive Career Development for MIT Sloan. She oversees the Executive Career Development Team and is responsible for setting the programming strategy, delivering career education workshops, and providing one-on-one executive coaching.

Before joining Sloan in 2018, she spent 13 years as a strategy consultant and business coach working with wide-ranging companies from Fortune 500 to start-ups. In her early career, before she took a hiatus to start a family, Gayle worked in consulting, investment banking, asset management, and executive search.

Gayle has a passion for understanding leadership and how great leaders become the people they are; she can be frequently found reading historical and contemporary biographies building up her perspective on what causes some to become those great leaders who go down in history books.

Reflecting on a personal unfortunate experience, led her to understand the missing piece of the puzzle she was always trying to figure out. Jill Donahue understood early on that articulating the “Why” will only connect you more to the difference you want to make in the world and eventually impact patient outcomes. Jill is an avid reader and will always refer to studies and research to support what she preaches. In this episode, she referred to Daniel Pink, Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose framework, being the key to exceptional performance.

Today, we have a greater set of expectations of our leaders that goes beyond delivering bottom-line performance and increasing shareholders' value, because the ripple effect of spreading love and being purpose-driven is key to thriving in any organization.

"When you connect with your purpose, things will change for you."

MEET OUR GUEST Jill Donahue Author, Speaker, Co-founder Aurora Project, Associate Editor at HS&M Magazine, and Cofounder of Excellerate.

Jill Donahue is on a mission to lift pharma! As a global thought leader in pharma, she won multiple awards for her work, author of 2 books (including the award-winning EngageRx: The 3 Keys to Patient-focused Growth), delivering talks at global conferences, publishing in industry journals, and serving pharma teams.

When Jill was 35 her father died of an avoidable prescribing error. As a pharma person reflecting on her family’s loss, she pictured the closed door. She, since then, strives to lift Pharma by inspiring our people to be more purpose-driven and enabling them to be more engaged and engaging. She believes in a world where pharma professionals contribute to better patient outcomes and better business outcomes simultaneously. Where they feel proud and can make a difference for themselves, their companies, and most importantly to patients. 

Jill is the co-founder and managing director of Excellerate, She also co-founded The Aurora Project; a global volunteer group of thought leaders trying to illuminate commercial pharma’s path to patient centricity.

Here's a list of Jill's recommended readings with a summary of her take about each of them. Enjoy!

1. The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
2. The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
3. Meaningful Work by Shawn Askinosie
4. Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia
5. Intrinsic Motivation at Work by Kenneth Thomas
6. Selling with a Noble Purpose by Lisa Earle McLeod
7. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
8. Give and Take by Adam Grant
9. Taking People with You by David Novak
10. The Purpose Economy by Aaron Hurst
11. The Purpose Effect by Dan Pontefract
12. Turn this Ship Around by David Marquet
13. Grow by Jim Stengel

This episode is in collaboration with MIT Sloan Healthcare and BioInnovations Conference, an event that brings the healthcare ecosystem together. In this episode, I sat with JR Clark, whose story is a testament to adaptability and recognizing opportunities for growth and change, from consulting to addressing the crucial issue of access and healthcare affordability. We discussed the imperative of addressing financial toxicity and ensuring equitable access to care. JR underscores the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders, including health insurers, employers, and technology innovators, in advancing solutions to mitigate barriers to healthcare. He emphasizes the pivotal role of leadership in achieving those goals by promoting compassion, empathy, and inclusivity within healthcare organizations, ultimately striving for better patient outcomes and societal well-being.

"People shouldn't have to make different decisions based upon whether or not they can pay for care"

MEET OUR GUEST JR Clark Senior Vice President at Paytient.

J.R. Clark is the Senior Vice President of Health Plan Product and Strategy at Paytient Technologies, where he partners with thoughtful employers, insurers, and health systems to help people better access and afford healthcare. J.R. is a former Director and Actuary of Anthem (Elevance), where he was known for his public exchange marketplace strategies and creation of alternative products in the Individual and Small Employer segments.

Prior to that, he was an actuarial consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide (now known as Willis Towers Watson). He began his career as a nuclear engineer with Florida Power and Light in Juno Beach, Florida, where he developed optimization strategies for spent nuclear fuel. J.R. obtained a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Mechanical Engineering and completed graduate coursework in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. J.R. resides in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife, son, daughter, and cat.

It is our responsibility as leaders to build fearless organizations. Organizations with low interpersonal fear for our people to be willing to speak-up their ideas, their beliefs, their thoughts, their experiments, their doubts, and team-up with one another for the greater good: it is not about me but about us. I had the immense pleasure to chat with Prof Amy Edmondson who pioneered work on psychological safety in organizations and its importance in leading successful teams. Enjoy the practical advice and words of wisdom in this special episode.

"Love is an invisible force that keeps us going."

MEET OUR GUEST Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School.

Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. She teaches, writes, and "ruminates" (as she says) on organizational learning, psychological safety, leadership, and teaming. Edmondson is one of the most renowned thought leaders who won multiple awards and published the best book we've read. Her most recent book, "Fearless Organizations: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth" is a must - not only to read - but a must to learn and do in our organizations.

Her prior books – Teaming: How organizations learn, innovate and compete in the knowledge economy, Teaming to Innovate, and Extreme Teaming – explore teamwork in dynamic organizational environments. In Building the future: Big teaming for audacious innovation, she examines the challenges and opportunities of teaming across industries to build smart cities.

We will let you enjoy listening to this episode, and promise you to experience Edmondson's impact on many of us leaders trying to make the world we all inhabit a better place.

“Integrity is the highest value that I have” Panos Alexakos summarizes in these words the purest version of leadership. You are not meant to be perfect, do not be afraid to talk about where you come from, your journey…and always make sure to check on the fire within you. Panos experience and reflections on his journey are so powerful and humbling. Fear keeps us human, and it is ok to show our vulnerability… Building a speak-up culture is more than ever what we need for us to navigate through all the crossroads that we come across in life.

"Never let your hands shame your face."

MEET OUR GUEST Panos Alexakos, Head of Integrity & Compliance Novartis Pharmaceuticals European Region.

Panos Alexakos was appointed Head of Integrity and Compliance, Region Europe, Pharmaceuticals, in July 2018. He was previously Head of Central and Eastern Europe. Panos has been with Novartis for over 20 years and has worked in senior leadership roles in Greece, Germany, the UK and in Switzerland. Panos brings with him experience from Oncology, Specialty and Primary Care and also the Consumer Health Division. In his role, Panos partners with the rest of the business to build the leading ethical pharmaceutical company in the world. Panos holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Media Communications and a Masters of Business Administration. Between receiving his MBA and joining Novartis, he served as an Officer in the Hellenic Military Air Force, and held Sales and Marketing positions with Johnson & Johnson Greece.

Panos was born in Athens, Greece and currently resides in Basel, Switzerland. When not working and not spending time with his family Panos enjoys participating in endurance events.

Chatting with a leader whose passion and purpose is to develop innovative principled leaders has a special taste! This is what Johanna Hising DiFabio, Assistant Dean Sloan Fellows MBA and Executive MBA at MIT thrive for! Johanna's inspiring personal story moving from her home country Sweden, to growing up in different European countries, then coming to the US to pursue her education, her personal experience with healthcare, and her passion for people, bring a different cultural lens of how communities come together to learn, both from their similarities and differences. Johanna is an incredibly inspiring leader fostering this lens of diversity and her leadership beliefs through the programs she leads at MIT, impacting hundreds of leaders joining those programs every year striving to invent the future.

"Have the courage to speak your opinion and truth."

MEET OUR GUEST Johanna Hising DiFabio Assistant Dean, Sloan Fellows MBA & Executive MBA at MIT Sloan.

Johanna leads all aspects of the Sloan Fellows MBA & Executive MBA programs at MIT Sloan by collaborating with faculty on the development of innovative curricula; co-working with global organizations on action learning labs to help them meet pressing strategic issues; and, with us, students to create a learning environment that is second-to-none in terms of the personal development and career enhancement.

Johanna is passionate about leadership and leadership development and that is why she joined MIT a decade ago. There is no better place for that and it is reflected in MIT Sloan’s mission: “to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice.”

In this special episode, you'll hear from a serial entrepreneur who successfully sold one of his companies to Apple and is now dedicating his life to helping people achieve their own goals of imagination by "removing the dragons to human subjective progress". He is now co-founder and "dreamer" of Love & Magic Company working with leaders and organizations on "magic" to turn potential into reality, putting structure in their imagination, making electricity, and bringing potential to life.

"Every uniqueness is a part of the human tapestry."

MEET OUR GUEST Chinedu Echeruo a serial entrepreneur who has dared to invent the future.

Chinedu believes that individuals, empowered by imagination and inspiration, can solve virtually any problem. He dared to invent the future starting in 2005, when he founded HopStop, the pioneering travel app that helped millions of users navigate public transportation in major metropolitan areas around the world that Apple acquired in 2013. Chinedu also founded Tripology, a lead-generation and referral business for the travel industry. Tripology was acquired by Rand McNally and now owned by USA Today.

Chinedu cofounded "Love & Magic Company" to co-build beloved organizations with innovative partners.

Prior to completing his MBA, Chinedu spent several years at J.P Morgan Chase where he was involved in a broad range of M&A, financing, and private equity transactions. Chinedu has been featured in multiple media, including and is committed to making the world a better, more cohesive place through the free flow of information.

From growing up in South Africa, in the apartheid era, to his early years in medical school, before moving to Canada and then the US, Barry Stein’s story and vision of the world is so humbling. Aware of the privilege he had in South Africa, Barry understood early on that you must develop a capacity of change management to change paradigm fixed in the mindset not only of a community but sometimes globally. In this episode we covered the aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship, being the catalyst and frameworks to solve problems in healthcare and accelerate new ideas for sustainable positive impact. When asked about change, Barry’s advice was to forget about interpersonal issues, surround yourself with people with talents, forget about the persona sitting around the table and focus on the mission and the vision that excites the group…. this is where the magic happens.

"You feel loved when you feel heard"

MEET OUR GUEST Dr Barry Stein, Chief Clinical Innovation Officer and Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Hartford HealthCare (HHC).

Barry Stein, MD MBA FSIR FACR RPVI, is the Chief Clinical Innovation Officer and Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Hartford HealthCare (HHC) where he also practices as a Vascular and Interventional Radiologist and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He has held numerous leadership positions including Chief Imaging Informatics Officer at HHC, Vice Chair of Radiology, Chief of Cardiovascular MRI & CT, and Director of the Advanced Imaging and Quantitative Analysis Core Laboratory at Hartford Hospital.

Barry graduated with his executive MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. He received his post graduate medical training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he did his Radiology residency, served as Chief Resident, and completed fellowships in MRI and Vascular & Interventional Radiology. He received his medical degree from the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. Barry is board certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiology and Vascular and Interventional Radiology and is a fellow of both the Society of Interventional Radiology and American College of Radiology. He is a recognized expert in cardiovascular MRI and CT and was one of the pioneers in Magnetic Resonance Angiography. Barry continues to remain engaged at MIT serving on the Sloan Alumni Board, participating as an invited lecturer in courses on Innovation as well as Quantitative and Qualitative approaches to leadership, is a mentor for LinQ programs in the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, a host to students from the MIT Initiative for Health Systems Innovation, as well as a co-principal investigator conducting clinical and operational heath systems analytics research in collaboration with Sloan faculty at HHC.

Barry is currently focused on leveraging technology, and building a differentiated healthcare Innovation ecosystem at HHC, to accelerate clinical transformation.

In today's episode, we get to sit with Julie Rachline, CEO at LallianSe. We will deep dive into Julie's experience as an entrepreneur living by a very genuine motto: Be an opportunity for others! Taking us through her personal journey, and learnings on choosing people over projects, simply because good people lead to great projects and generate outstanding impact. 

"Be an opportunity for others."

MEET OUR GUEST Julie Rachline Founder and Chief Executive Officer at LallianSe since 2015.

PhD in Neuropharmacology and ESCP Business School Alumni, Julie Rachline is a serial entrepreneur and former VC driven by passion for innovation and science. With more than a decade of experience as an early- stage and growth capital investor in France and Europe combined with two years as a head-hunter, she founded LallianSe in 2015 and is the Integrator’s CEO since.

LallianSe integrator builds the foundations for better health by relying on the LallianSe community of Experts, which offers outsourced management of key responsibilities to steer operations towards success as well as hospital immersion, with coworking spaces combined with dedicated events for innovation in healthcare.

Julie is also co-founder and CEO of Braintale, leader of Invest Health, the commercial affiliate of EIT Health , evaluator for the European Commission with EIC programs and independent board member of DTA Medical, Virdis and TechToMed.

"Be brave, and show your voice to the world."

"All children are born artists" but how to remain artists as we grow up? 

Do not put a ceiling on what you think, just like kids, do not be frightened to be wrong. Pause and focus on your inner WHY, What aspires you? What kind of footprint do you want to leave behind...

Let's take 5min out of our busy schedules to pause and enjoy a mindful moment.

Thank you Andrea for always reminding us what really matters!  

What can we take from being an art performer to becoming an exceptional leader? A silver line connects both: you have to shift your perspective and be genuinely interested in your audience, your people, allowing them to better connect with you. We all have a story, and we all have far more in common than what differentiates us. Understanding the core of humanity, our cultural background, and experiences make us unique, appreciate each point of view... From his hard beginning in the art to his unique experience in Nepal, to becoming a renowned performer and now an executive coach and leader, you'll hear in this episode Rob's stories and great advice for us to become better leaders, expanding our boundaries, bringing the quality of tolerance, appreciation of difference to a whole new level.

"Cultivate Positivity... Only if we have a positive view on the world, we are able to bring our best selves forward, and allow everybody else bring theirs as well."

MEET OUR GUEST Rob Salafia an Author, Speaker, Executive Coach and CEO of Protagonist Consulting Group.

Rob combines two decades of experience as a top leadership development executive with a well-established career in the performing arts. He has a passion for coaching leaders to develop their presence, tell compelling stories and establish authentic connections.

Rob is the author of – Leading From Your Best Self - an amazing book I strongly recommend.

What is unique about Rob is that for the first half of his career he was a performing artist where he traveled the globe delivering his unique, one-person variety show. Rob is a lecturer in MIT Sloan School of Management and an MIT Leadership Center Master Executive Coach. Over the past 20 years, Rob has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies.

When asked about leadership, you certainly don't expect to hear about basements and balconies... Our guest Lien Le is definitely not an architect but a dedicated physician with inspiring vulnerabilities, and powerful stories. Lien has a very interesting perspective on leadership and building performing teams: It's all about leading from the basement! All the stories that came out of the pandemic confirmed her firm belief in the true role of leaders: "Find your own checkpoints and get other people back to the path you initially set". Hope you will enjoy this heart-to-heart conversation as much as we did.

"Spreading love starts by building human connections one at a time…maybe over a cookie."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Lien Le, Medical Director of Inpatient Medicine at Newton Wellesley Hospital, Massachusetts.

Dr. Le focuses on operations, strategic and business planning for the Hospitalist Division through partnerships with clinical services at Newton Wellesley Hospital and hospitals within the Mass General Brigham Health System. Most recently, Lien led COVID-19 physician redeployment efforts for the Division of Hospital Medicine as well as other key COVID-19 inpatient surge operations. She oversees strategy, budget, operations, recruitment, staffing, as well as professional development for the medical staff of the unit.

In addition, Dr. Le is the co-founder of the Surgical Preparation and Negaviation Clinic, a perioperative clinic designed to risk stratify and optimize patients undergoing elective surgeries. Dr. Le continues her clinical practice as a hospitalist physician while also being an Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts Medical School. Dr. Le received her internal medicine residency training at Boston Medical Center. She attended Dartmouth and Brown Medical Schools. She is currently a student at MIT Sloan Executive MBA program. Lien was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 13.

What are the reasons and the differentiator that makes your organization a place you want to spend 8-10 hours a day working for? How to become an employer of choice? What is at the heart of your organization? Theresa Hummel-Krallinger an Emmy Award-winning comedian, senior training professional and performance consultant will tell us more about how to approach everything in the workplace from a place of love!

"When we come to work we have to bring our whole self...we cannot check our humanity at the door."

MEET OUR GUEST Theresa Hummel-Krallinger Corporate Prophet and Laughologist.

Theresa Hummel-Krallinger an Emmy Award-winning comedian, well-respected senior training professional and performance consultant, founder of High Five performance, BUT it is her work as a humorist and motivational speaker that sets her apart.  Known for her lively and interactive presentation style, she is a frequently requested speaker on topics of leadership, career management, organizational culture and workplace communications. 

Theresa is the past president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Association for Talent Development (ATD), and is the past president for a local Toastmasters club.  She has been a featured speaker at numerous regional and international conferences.   She facilitates “Meet the Author at the Pyramid Club,” which has been named one of the top 10 best networking associations by the Philadelphia Business Journal.  She won an Emmy in 2019 for her work on the PBS talk show, “Counter Culture.”

In this podcast interview, Joubin Hatamzadeh shares his journey from studying biomedical engineering in Iran to becoming a leader in sustainability. He emphasizes his diverse work experiences, from medical devices to quality control in manufacturing, which shaped his entrepreneurial mindset and problem-solving skills. Joubin stresses the importance of adaptability, drawn from his upbringing during the Iranian Revolution and wartime uncertainties.

Discussing his role at Greentown Labs, a climate tech incubator, Joubin highlights the need for genuine leadership and intentionality in driving impactful change. He emphasizes empathy and human connection, as crucial for organizational success. Joubin's optimism stems from the growth of climate tech startups and evolving corporate attitudes toward environmental responsibility. He underscores the importance of innovation and collaboration for a more sustainable future, advocating for spreading love and empathy within organizations to drive meaningful progress.

"As long as you work with humans, have empathy"

MEET OUR GUEST Joubin Hatamzadeh Chief Operating Officer at Greentown Labs.

Joubin Hatamzadeh Chief Operating Officer at Greentown Labs, a community on a mission to solve the climate crisis through entrepreneurship and collaboration. Prior to joining Greetown Labs, Joubin served as the Head of Operations and Administrative Services at French Tech Hub, where he led a team that helped international technology companies expand and succeed in the US market. He has also worked at MDL Corporation and NeuroRx Research.

Get ready to have your mind challenged with what social impact really means! In this episode, we will dive into Angel Perez's passion which became his company's purpose to build a better world. The "promised land is not about the output but the impact"! With the U.N. climate change report this week, this episode couldn't be more timely. We are in a "code red for humanity" leaving us all accountable for the future of the generations to come. 

"Only companies that include impact at the core of their business will be successful in the coming years."

MEET OUR GUEST Angel Perez Angejo founder and Managing Partner at Transcendent, a Business Impact consulting firm. He has an extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, leading commercial organizations as a general manager and marketing leader.

Angel is the founder and managing partner of Transcendent,  a consulting firm specializing in business impact, ESG active management, sustainability, and definition/ activation of business purpose. Transcendent is a certified BCorp.

Over the last 4 years Transcendent has worked with multinationals, family businesses, public listed companies, and SMEs in multiple sectors, as well as with fund managers.

Prior to Transcendent, Ángel worked for 20 years at Eli Lilly where, among other positions, he was Managing Director of Denmark and  Senior Director for Marketing, Operations and Transformation for Europe, Australia and Canada.

He is also a visiting professor at the University of Navarra and a mentor of social entrepreneurs.

From her experience as a journalist at CNBC in Korea to her move to the USA and now co-founding a biotech startup transforming research... Rhie-young Lim shares her story, and learnings inspired by her Asian culture, talking about grit and execution but most importantly about universal language, building a startup, and performing teams working for a shared vision and purpose. 

"Every different perspective makes us richer."

MEET OUR GUEST Rhie-young Lim Chief Operations Officer at LifeCanvas Technologies. Rhie cofounded Lifecanvas, an MIT biotech startup that is transforming biological tissue processing and phenotyping to radically improve human health.

Since the startup's incorporation 3 years ago, Rhie has successfully led fundraising and exclusive licensing efforts and has grown the company into a profitable venture. She now oversees day-to-day operations spanning marketing, sales, distribution, as well as talent management, and long-term strategy and planning. Previously, Rhie brought the very first overseas MIT entrepreneurship Bootcamp to Seoul, South Korea, and was a financial correspondent for CNBC Asia for 6 years!

Episode 17 is here, and we are joined by Sebastian Sorsaburu, Vice President, Global Medical Affairs, Specialty Care Head at AbbVie. Sebastian has an interesting take on leadership, team building, and self-awareness. This episode is all about how to stay true to yourself and lead by example to get to a point where the "total of your work is bigger than the sum of the parts". It is also a wake-up call to all leaders to nurture self-leadership, and practice self-awareness, and self-knowledge.

"We are the sum of our focused moments - Focus is the true multiplier."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Sebastian Sorsaburu Vice President, Global Medical Affairs, Specialty Care Head at AbbVie. Sebastian's passion is to help bridge the gap between Scientific Innovation and Clinical Practice to help optimize Health Population Outcomes.

Dr. Sorsaburu is a Physician executive with 20 years of portfolio management and leadership experience across Research & Development functions, in multiple geographies and therapeutic areas.

Sebastian is passionate about understanding and prioritizing effectively in 3 major areas.

1. Building high-performing teams by attracting, nurturing, and developing talent, by fostering a culture of diversity, belonging, and innovation, and giving special attention to communication frequency and style. 2. Driving Performance to deliver results that matter to patients, the organization and the broader enterprise. 3. Shaping the future through horizon scan (science, clinical practice, policy, capabilities), dynamic organizational design and digital culture transformation to accelerate learning and performance operating under 3 principles to evolve the ways we work: autonomy, collaboration and speed.

Sebastian is the author of over 40 scientific documents including 20 peer-reviewed publications, regulatory safety and clinical trial dossiers, NDA and IND submissions.

In this episode, you will hear from Rob Brown, CEO of a biotech, talking about the core element of any business: The TEAM. He takes us down memory lane, from his different positions as an executive in marketing, sales, and HR, from pharma to biotech... A common thread on this journey seems to be relevant to any sector or business: Following a strategy is one thing but owning it first is quite another. To get to this point you need strong leadership, which he defined as: "put the cause and the team First".

"Lead with brutal honesty and realistic optimism - Honest and transparent along the way, but also realistic and authentic."

MEET OUR GUEST Rob Brown Chief Executive Officer at Brickell Biotech after having spent over 30 years at Eli Lilly and Company, where he most recently served as chief marketing officer (CMO) and senior vice president of marketing from 2009 through 2018.

Prior to his role as CEO and CMO, Rob held the position of vice president and chief marketing officer for Lilly USA from 2007 - 2009, where he partnered with the business units to ensure the company continued to develop industry-leading marketing capabilities, streamline and improve marketing processes, and transform marketing by building a consumer marketing center of excellence.

From 2003-2007, Rob was the executive director of marketing for the Intercontinental region, including responsibility for Europe. In addition, he held a variety of other leadership roles of increasing responsibility within sales, marketing and product management departments, including serving as general manager for China, where he helped the company establish its presence. During his tenure as GM, he managed a joint venture in Suzhou, oversaw the construction of Lilly’s first manufacturing facility and expanded the affiliate’s reach from 12 to 45 cities.

Rob joined the pharmaceutical industry after receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics from DePauw University and a master’s in business administration from Indiana University. Rob currently serves on the board of trustees of Franklin College.

 An athlete and champion who took a pain point for cyclists, along with his co-founder Dr. Allen Lim, created a company now employing more than 100 employees. From accountability and grit to being real, empathetic, and radically candid, hear from a successful entrepreneur solving sports nutrition problems.

"Say what you mean with the other person's best interest in mind."

MEET OUR GUEST Ian MacGregor founder and Chief Executive Officer of Skratch Labs..

Ian Co-founded more than a decade ago Skratch Labs, a sports nutrition company based in Boulder Colorado that was recognized by Inc. 500 as the 3rd fastest-growing food and beverage company in the US. He is now the CEO. In 2007 he co-founded The Just Go Harder Foundation to provide mentorship opportunities for aspiring cyclists and ski racers. Ian is a former professional cyclist and two-time US National Espoir Road Cycling Champion. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from The Colorado School of Mines and currently resides with his family in the small mountain town of Nederland, Colorado.

This episode is like no other. You will be hearing from Brie Doyle on how to take care of yourself as a leader - a key subject, yet rarely seriously considered by many of us. Great advice, tips, daily practices, and habits to build that will determine who you are!

That is the first episode of a series in our Spread Love in Organizations Podcast that will focus on helping us as leaders take care of ourselves to serve better our people and patients.

"Shut down the world around you to focus on your inner world."

MEET OUR GUEST Brie Doyle hosts transformational wellness retreats throughout the US and across the globe and is the founder of She Glows Retreats, LLC.

Brie specializes in curating mental and emotional wellness curricula for groups, conscious companies, schools, and individuals.  A yoga and meditation teacher for over twenty years, Brie is a leader in the health and wellness space who helps people heal their past and reclaim their power.  Her first book, YOU SHOULD LEAVE NOW: Going on Retreat to Find Your Way Back to Yourself, comes out today.  She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband and three kids.

In this episode, you will hear from an international leader, walking us through her personal journey, starting with her upbringing in Australia in a very cosmopolitan environment, talking about all the diversity and richness you get from growing and thriving in such an atmosphere to her experience in healthcare leading marketing teams in pharma across the world to bring science into something that resonates, touches and impacts people. 

"Align on a common purpose that will drive your behavior... Look for the universal human truth."

MEET OUR GUEST Gabi Mittas, Chief Marketing Officer Australia, New Zealand, and North Asia Pacific Region at Eli Lilly.

Gabi is one of the most purpose-driven, human-centric leaders you'll meet. She has an extensive experience in sales, marketing, and commercial organizations across the globe. She led marketing teams in Australia, the UK, the US, and Globally. She was Senior Director in Global Marketing Oncology before taking the lead of the marketing organization as Chief Marketing Officer for Australia, New Zealand, and the North Asia Pacific Region. Gabi is passionate about people’s development and how to positively impact patients’ journeys.

His passion is his purpose and goes beyond the duty. Patrick is a leader in Humanitarian, risking his life and leading his teams in the most challenging but most in-need communities in the world. He shares his experiences from Irak to African countries, leading with his heart and striving daily to make health a simple right accessible for everyone.

"Purpose is not how much you deliver, but how you deliver and lead."

MEET OUR GUEST Patrick Youssef Director and leader for Africa in the International Committee of the Red Cross. In January 2016, he was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. He sits in the International Council of Advisors of Global Dignity.

Patrick Youssef joined the ICRC in 2005 and completed different missions in Sudan, Chad, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. Between 2010 & 2013, he was the deputy head of operations for the Near and Middle East covering Yemen, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Mr. Youssef was the Head of the delegation in Iraq for more than 2 years, before taking the role of Deputy Regional Director for Africa, where he managed ICRC operations in the Maghreb, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, and West Africa.

In addition to his field experience, Mr. Youssef worked on specific topics related to the respect of International Humanitarian Law such as the treatment and judicial guarantees of persons deprived of freedom, the recruitment of children in the armed forces, and Transitional Justice.

Prior to joining the ICRC, Patrick worked in the private sector in Lebanon & the Levant.

Born in 1978, Patrick Youssef has a bachelor’s degree in public law, a Master’s degree in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiations from Paris Sud XI, an LLM in International Law in armed conflicts from Geneva University, a certificate of completion of an Executive Education on Global Leadership and Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School as well as a training certificate from the Oxford Said Business School on ‘’Transformational Leadership’’

#Botox_Your_Brain #Make_It_Happen #Agility_Is_An_Attitude, Geraldine lives by those hashtags! A business transformer, digital enthusiast, artist, executive, leader, a citizen of the world so many powerful words can help us draw an image of who she is. Through her diverse, impressive life and career in different types of organizations including healthcare, one common thread defined her learning: "it's all about the Human".

"Doubt. Think. Believe in yourself. Dare to try. Re-do it again and again."

MEET OUR GUEST Geraldine Maouchi is an expert in Business Transformation. For the last 6 years, Geraldine has been leading Digital Transformations as a C-Level, member of Executive Committees in Retail, Luxury, and Healthcare. She was one of the first CDO to have joined the Chief Digital Officer Club in 2013. 

Since 2000, Geraldine Maouchi developed twofold expertise - both online and offline based on her vision of a Hybrid model blending the traditional and digital. She worked across Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Brazil, for all kinds of organizations (start-ups, SMC, groups, family businesses, entrepreneur, NGO), and in various industries (high-tech, telecom, hospitality, luxury, healthcare, retail, eBusiness...).  

Geraldine is, as well, a Guest lecturer for the HEC Master and MBA "Shaping Strategies in a Digital World" elective course and a Board Member of the EMlyon “Specialized Master in Digital Transformation, Marketing & Strategy”.

Geraldine wrote several articles that were published in various media in Europe, USA, Middle-East, these include: - Transformation in post-covid new normal (hybrid organization and holistic management): Will the new normal see the advent of novel leadership and hybrid organizations, The Economist Intelligence Unit, July 2020 - Building hybrid organizations (where online and offline merge) for both traditional companies and pure players: "The 4 steps towards a Hybrid organization" co-written with Affiliate Professor at Master of Strategy HEC Business School, Hélène Musikas, Forbes France, Q4 2019.  - Digital Bulletin UK "Keeping Up with Digital Transformation" 

In this episode, you'll be getting a booster shot by hearing from an amazing leader who believes that leadership is a privilege. Harout will give you his recipes of success in building highly engaged and performing teams. You'll be positively surprised to hear the first ingredient!

"Even if we are standing, the world is turning and changing."

MEET OUR GUEST Harout Semerjian, President and CEO of GlycoMimetics, a seasoned global pharmaceutical leader with a passion and focus in Oncology. Harout was elected top 10 emerging pharma executives in 2018, a strong believer in leading with care to deliver results for the patients we serve.

Harout is a seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with more than 25 years of expertise in commercializing specialty medicines across the United States, Europe, and emerging markets. He has built a reputation for building high-performance teams, leading transformations, and delivering exceptional results. He has deep expertise in oncology, hematology and rare diseases having launched more than 20 specialty products or major indications over the years. Harout spent 17 years in Novartis where his last role was Senior Vice President and global head of Ribociclib, the CDK4/6 inhibitor. Then he moved to Ipsen to be the Chief Commercial Officer and recently for a short period was the Chief Executive Officer of Immunomedics before its sale to Gilead. Currently, Harout works as a consultant and investor within healthcare.

Harout is passionate about healthcare disparities and coaching talent to achieve their full potential. In his spare time, he spends his time traveling with his family despite having a heavy travel schedule, as it provides an opportunity for his daughters to connect and expand their horizons.

In this episode, Moktar Diallo, a seasoned leader in healthcare, shared his remarkable journey from a rebel student to a passionate advocate for data optimization in healthcare. Moktar's trajectory into the pharmaceutical realm was serendipitous, stemming from an early knack for computing and various interim jobs. Throughout his career spanning various companies like BMS and Sanofi, Moktar was struck by the inefficiencies in managing data, driving him to harness his talent for data management to generate savings and improve practices.

Moktar's journey elucidates the critical role of data in revolutionizing healthcare. His insights underscore the pressing need for organizations to transcend data silos and embrace a unified data ecosystem. He advocates for transparency and shared knowledge, emphasizing that transparent data sharing facilitates better decision-making and fosters healthier, more equitable outcomes. Moktar's leadership philosophy revolves around embracing change, valuing transparency, and leveraging data to drive impactful decisions.

"Data transparently shared becomes a tool of performance, empowering individuals and fostering healthier, more equitable outcomes"

MEET OUR GUEST Moktar Diallo Chief Executive Officer at Mangabey.

Moktar Diallo founded Mangabey in 2022 and brings over two decades of expertise in creating cutting-edge business intelligence systems. Dedicated to transforming global pharma data interactions, Moktar is a leading authority on international change management and transformative data architecture for multinational commercial operations.

Having spent the past 20 years shaping the business intelligence landscape, Moktar has consistently been at the forefront of innovation. At Mangabey, he leads a team of data and analytics experts, driving commercial data operations focusing on lean, open, and unified data ecosystems. Moktar’s impact extends beyond technology and operations; he is passionate about helping top-level business leaders navigate enterprise-wide change.

Prior to Mangabey, Moktar’s transformative leadership at Sanofi revolutionized the company's Business Intelligence capabilities, contributing to substantial sales growth across a global footprint. His strategic initiatives included successful acquisitions and operational optimizations that led to significant cost savings. During his impactful tenure at Bristol Myers Squibb, Moktar centralized and automated performance management, created a fully integrated information system, and led a team of high-performing analysts, earning recognition for his contributions.

Moktar Diallo is not just a CEO; he is a seasoned expert, guiding businesses toward success through innovation, strategic vision, and a passion for transformative change.

A physician saving every single day lives through the mobile Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation program he created, a heart, lung machine. Jason built the most competitive network without competition… Because "sometimes you just have to change the game"! Since Jason led this change with his strong passion, creativity, and courage, he believes his teams are continuously "re-writing what they know" and reshaping what once was the best of care. Listen to sobering and inspirational stories from Dr. Gluck and how he leads his teams through change and moments of uncertainty.

"The power is in the word yes."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Jason Gluck Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support (mechanical heart/lung) Program at Hartford Healthcare Hospital.

Jason is a physician, founder of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation program, and creator of the first and only mobile ECMO program in Connecticut, bringing this life-saving technology to patients in need throughout New England. He invented, ‘VLAD’, a medical simulator family for training patients, families, pre-hospital emergency medical care, and hospital-based providers about patients supported by mechanical pumps. Dr. Gluck publishes and speaks internationally on mechanical support and acute cardiogenic shock. He has a passion for jazz and enjoys hiking, biking, and skiing!

So many times we hear about selfless leaders... Until you hear and meet Daphne, you obviously didn't really see what selfless leadership is. Her mission in leadership is "fighting for the underdog". Daphne is an impressive humble leader we can all learn from.

"It can never be about oneself, but the opposite."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Daphne Haas-Kogan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School.

Daphne is a Radiation Oncologist and thought leader at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Boston Children’s Hospital. She is a Professor at Harvard Medical School. After her Biochemistry and Molecular Biology degree from Harvard University, Daphne received her M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. While at UCSF she served as Vice-Chair for Research and Educational Program Director. Daphne has been elected in 2019 to the National Academy of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. She has been selected as one of the top physicians in the United States by several publications including Best Doctors in America.

In this heartfelt and insightful conversation, Kate Isaacs, a passionate advocate for connecting individuals with their deeper purpose and fostering positive change, shared her journey and wisdom with me. Kate, drawing from her background in social psychology and leadership development, emphasized the importance of aligning personal and organizational purpose with values to create meaningful impact. She highlighted the power of storytelling in driving change, citing examples of how compelling narratives can inspire action and mobilize communities.

Throughout this conversation, we talked about the significance of embracing polarities and cultivating a culture of empathy and understanding, especially in navigating complex societal issues. Kate encouraged us as leaders to foster environments where diverse perspectives are valued and collaboration is prioritized, emphasizing the transformative potential of collective dialogue and shared purpose.

In closing, Kate left us with a poignant reflection: "Where do I feel alive?" Encouraging us to seek out spaces and endeavors that ignite our sense of purpose and joy, she underscored the profound connection between personal fulfillment and meaningful impact. With her profound insights and compassionate approach, Kate illuminated a path forward for leaders seeking to navigate complexity, drive change, and spread love within their organizations and beyond.

"Go where you feel most alive"

MEET OUR GUEST Kate Isaacs Teacher, scholar, speaker, strategy advisor. Storyteller, gardener, ecologist, mom. Teaching @MIT Sloan. Creating systems for people & places to thrive.

Kate Isaacs is a scholar, teacher, and strategy advisor who designs organizations and stakeholder partnerships for people and places to thrive. She draws on design thinking, system dynamics, and developmental psychology to help leaders create conditions for collective intelligence, agile performance, and transformative change.

Kate is a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. A recent interview with Isaacs and her colleagues about their work on Nimble Leadership was selected for publication in HBR at 100: The Most Influential and Innovative Articles from Harvard Business Review’s First Century.

Kate is cofounder of a new MIT Sloan Executive Education program in 2024, Businesses for Inclusive Local Thriving Lab (BILT-Lab) for business-led teams to accelerate their impact on local talent development, workforce participation, and community prosperity. She also teaches short courses on topics of Leading with Purpose, Optimizing Team Performance, and Adaptive Distributed Innovation, all with a focus on inclusive innovation and human thriving.

Kate consults with organizations in all sectors on strategy and culture change, and she specializes in designing peer-based learning experiences and facilitating multi-stakeholder collaborations. She is a certified Shadow Work coach and is trained in Internal Family Systems therapy. She emphasizes the positive potential in people and organizations—noticing and expanding what is already working—and releasing obstacles that block our natural orientation towards joy, creativity, growth, and health.

She is a dynamic and engaging speaker who delivers inspiring keynote addresses to large corporate audiences. She is a frequent author on topics of leadership, innovation, systems change, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and corporate sustainability for publications including the Harvard Business Review, the Sloan Management Review, strategy+business, Chief Executive, The Hill, and The Conversation.

Kate holds a PhD in organization studies from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an MS degree in technology and policy from the MIT Engineering Systems Division, an MS degree in conscious evolution from the Graduate Institute, and a BS in biology from the Oakland University Honors College.