Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to “Spread Love in Organizations”, a podcast for purpose-driven healthcare leaders, striving to make life better around the world by leading their teams with genuine care, servant leadership, and love.
I am Naji, your host, honored to be joined today by Rob Perez. Rob is an Operating Partner at General Atlantic, providing strategic support and advice to the firm’s investment team and portfolio companies in the Life Sciences sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2019, he was Managing Director of Vineyard Sound Advisors, LLC, an advisory practice focused on growth companies in the biopharma industry. Prior to that, Rob had several roles in the biotech/pharma industry starting as a medical representative to becoming President and CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals before its sale to Merck in 2015. Rob is also the Founder and Chairman of Life Science Cares, an organization that provides human and financial capital from the life sciences industry to the best non-profits working to alleviate the impact of poverty in the US.
Rob, It is such a pleasure to have you with me today!
Rob Perez: Thank you Naji, a pleasure to be here!
Naji Gehchan: I remember the first time we talked, you shared that if there is one thing you’d want as your legacy, it is a legacy of impact in life science. And what an impressive legacy you’ve built… How did it all start?
Rob Perez: Well, Life Science Cares actually started, um, with, I guess I can go back a little bit and say the reason that I got involved in, um, kind of giving back and community service is I’ve felt since kind of my early days in my career that I’ve been very fortunate to have found this industry.
Um. It was really dumb luck more than anything else. Uh, I didn’t know about the industry growing up. I didn’t have any desires to do it when I was in college. I wasn’t even that big of a fan of science to be candid. Um, but somehow I lucked into a job as a sales representative in, um, in biopharma coming out of school.
And that’s how I kind of started in the business. And so, um, the, the fact that that dumb luck, um, afforded me this amazing life, this amazing career, when so many that I grew up with, so many of the people I went to school with had even more or just as much certainly talent and smarts and, and desire, um, as I had, but they didn’t have the same luck.
So because of that, I’ve always felt like part of the return for this blessing is to, um, give other people this chance, try to help other people access this amazing, uh, this amazing industry and frankly, just help people generally. So it’s been a big part of my life, and it was a big part of who we were at Cubist, a big part of the culture that we built at Cubist.
And so when Cubist was acquired, uh, we, you know, I really wanted to do something else related to community service. And so I, um, talked to a lot of people in Boston about philanthropy and, and ideas, uh, on how I could be involved. And the, frankly, the idea for Life Science Cares. hit me in the middle of the night one night like a lightning bolt.
Um, and, uh, I’ve been kind of following that, that epiphany ever since. And so that’s really what started life science cares. And since that very night when I wrote out the deck or what would become life science cares, uh, and I sent a message out to an A number of dozens of leaders asking what they thought with a lot of fear, frankly, that they would come back and say, Hey, this is crazy.
And B who are you to be asking about this? You’re not like the leader of the industry. Um, they all came back and said, this is great. How can we help? We’re in. And that’s the way it’s been since the very beginning.
Naji Gehchan: I love it. And for sure, we’re going to dig more into what you do, uh, through a life science case.
But before that, you talked about the culture you built in Cubist, uh, and you’ve had several roles in biotech. You led Cubist Pharmaceuticals as its CEO and through acquisition with Merck. So I’m intrigued about the culture and what is really your biggest leadership learning through the journey as an operator in, in the biopharma industry.
Rob Perez: Well, culture was a big part of what made us different. We weren’t the biggest company. We were competing against large pharma in markets that were, that were typically, um, dominated by larger pharma previously. And so, uh, you know, we believed that we needed to have a different business model in order to, uh, be effective at our size.
And part of that was having the right people. And in order to attract the right people, you really need the right culture. So, um, I would say I could, could, could describe cubists, um, uh, culture in, in three words, one was patience. And that was the first. Um, the second was, uh, employees. We were big on our people and the third, which may be a little bit different, was community.
Um, and we, we really believe that if we got those three things right, um, we were going to attract the best people we were going to do right by our shareholders and ultimately, um, Deliver tremendous, um, and outsized outcomes for them and ultimately, um, do right by the world. And so we spent a lot of time thinking about our broader community, allowed our people to, um, both get involved with the things that the company was involved with from a community standpoint, but also individually, we encouraged them to, to do what they felt was important to make the world a better place.
And. I always had this view that, that extraordinary people, which is who we were targeting, are not just extraordinary when they’re in, in between your walls, they’re extraordinary all the time. And so to ask them to only focus on being extraordinary for you is a little selfish. And so what we did was we tried to get extraordinary people to be extraordinary.
And that meant with Cubist and in other ways, and because of that, we attracted extraordinary people.
Naji Gehchan: I love this vision. And I’m so I’m intrigued, you know, in moments of growth, obviously, with investors, and shareholders, as you said, how did you convince them that focusing on this is as important as anything else, if not more focusing on people and community service?
Rob Perez: Yeah, we didn’t need to convince them. Um, the, the, the fact that, that they were the people who they are, um, or who they were, uh, uh, was, uh, something that they were looking for. I mean, the reason, one of the reasons that they chose Cubist was because of our commitment and our focus. Both in terms of patients, most importantly, um, but also on the broader world.
So, um, we, I believe culture is something that if, if your, if your culture is like everyone else, if it’s kind of milquetoast. You don’t really have a culture. Um, and so your culture should, uh, attract those who your company and business model need and frankly repel those who aren’t going to fit well in your culture and in your environment.
And so, um, this, this focus on togetherness and on, you know, doing something bigger for the world. Which we were trying to do in the anti infective space when, frankly, most companies had left. We were going to attract people who had that kind of mindset. And the folks who were really kind of more self, uh, more independent, if you will, you know, they wanted to just do it for themselves and, and were all about kind of the financial driver of their independence.
Those people weren’t going to fit that well within Cubist. And so they, they tended to roll off. Um, and what, what it left was an organization that was very much aligned on how we were going to win. And so when you have a strategy and a culture that align, that’s when the magic happens. And I think that’s what we had at Cubist.
I certainly
Naji Gehchan: relate and agree with any tips that you give leaders and healthcare on how to build this culture because we hear about it. We talk about it. And as you said, it’s not only saying that it’s actually living it and ensuring your people live it and transfer it across the organization. So any, any tip you found as you were building it, uh, super important.
Rob Perez: Yeah, I speak on this a lot with companies and, um, and it’s not easy. And so the first point is what I said before is, um, you have to ask yourself how much your culture is unique. Because what I find a lot is, um, management teams and leaders trying to develop a culture. They often involve, you know, consultants and, and, um, you know, these broad groups and you end up with this, uh, very middle of the road.
Um, set of principles, whatever, that if you closed your eyes, it could be any company USA, right? Or at least any company, healthcare and life sciences. So that’s the first thing is to make sure you avoid the, um, the, the cultural norms that, um, could be anybody’s because then it’s nobody’s. Um, the second is trying to create a culture that isn’t really you.
So the, you know, the cultures that, um, have. Uh, this aspiration. But if the employees look at it, they say, that’s not us. That’s not who we really are. Um, that is really can be actually damaging, um, because it’s not authentic. And so the, the wiring of the leaders, um, I think really does matter. And you have to kind of look in the mirror and decide who you really are.
And then the third thing, um, is I think cultures have to match how you’re going to compete. Um, we are, and, and you realize that you’re, like strategy, you’re making choices with your culture. No culture is perfect. So, at Cubist, we wanted to Um, we were competing against larger companies, and we did not have the scale that they did.
So our belief was, we were going to be smarter, we were going to learn faster than, um, our competitors. So that was our competitive differentiation. We were going to learn faster, adapt quicker, and move To what the customer needs better than our competitors. Well, if you have that kind of environment, you’re not gonna be able to have a culture that is very kind of dictatorial, very top down, et cetera, because you’re never gonna learn sitting in a home office.
So we had to have a culture that enabled people to challenge to, to bring new ideas. To, you know, we had a culture where anybody could, um, could come up with an idea and could share it with the president and CEO. Um, you know, the, the Mike Bonney and I would have lunch with employees. In the, uh, cafeteria, you know, uh, between the two of us, like two or three times a week and just employees from all levels.
And we get everything from people questioning our, our strategy to our shareholders, to what are you going to do to fix the phone in the Washington conference room, right? There was, but when you’re. When you have a culture where anybody can comment about anything, um, that’s, that’s the kind of place that you have to, you have to realize.
And, but you give up some things too there, Naji. I mean, you, we weren’t as fast as Some companies would be we were not competing on speed. Um, and when you have this kind of culture where everybody has a comment and the ability to comment, it’s not as easy to say we’re going right. And everybody just says, Yes, sir, we’re going right.
That’s not the way it worked. The cubist. If I said we’re going right, people would say, Why? Right. You know who chose right? Who gave you the right to say it was going to be right, right? So it was very, very collaborative. Inclusive environment and that worked with the way we we competed. If you’re a different company and you need to compete differently, then you have to think about how that culture fits into your competitive dynamic.
Well, that’s
Naji Gehchan: certainly a culture as you’re describing where people were thriving and obviously it led to great results. Anything you would have changed in it through? You know, growing the company to acquisition anything when you reflect, you would have done differently.
Rob Perez: Well, look, I think, um, different, you know, I was a cubist for 11 years.
And so the company went from a small company to well over a thousand employees. And that change involves. Uh, you know, kind of evolving the company as well. And so the culture had to change. Um, you know, well, I shouldn’t say the culture had to change. The processes had to change and we tried to do it consistent with the culture, but you also had to realize there that there were times when you just had to adopt new thinking.
I used to write a blog at, at, um, uh, Cuba’s to try to the employees to try to help them to understand this. Some of these changes that we need to make as we got bigger and A lot of that blog was about trying to, to, to understand that even though our cultural values remain, our processes do need to change from being a 1200 person company, from a a 200 person company, there’s things that we have to do differently.
We can’t have everybody in a meeting room. For example, um, you know, at some point when you’re in a meeting room and you’re broadcasting that meeting to a different meeting room, you’re probably off the rails in terms of inclusiveness. So, at some point, we had to say, look, not everybody needs to be at every meeting.
Um, and so, uh, some of those cultural norms. Start, you know, kind of busting at the seams as you get bigger, and you need to, you need to try to figure out ways to, in a way that’s consistent with who you are, um, develop the processes that are, that are needed for a bigger organization. Well, thanks for that.
Those
Naji Gehchan: are great learnings. Uh, let us know more about Life Science Cares and how really your organization is empowering the life science community to make change and impact on one of the most intractable social issues. poverty. That’s a very big commitment you’ve done and you’re having impacts. Can you tell us a little bit
Rob Perez: more about what you do?
Thank you. And thank you for the question. Yeah. So life science cares essentially is the industry’s way. And when I say industry, I define that broadly in life science. It’s not just biopharma companies, but the industry’s way of trying to harness the amazing talent, resources, and compassion. Of the life sciences industry and bring those resources to bear on issues related to poverty.
So what we do is we aggregate resources, both human and financial with an emphasis on human, frankly, um, and then find the best nonprofits. Doing work, um, in poverty in, in one of three areas. The first is, um, areas associated with access to, to needs of basic human survival. So hunger, homelessness, um, opioid addiction, health equity, et cetera.
The second area is access to education. And we define education pretty broadly from early at all the way to college entry and college success. And then the third is access to economic opportunity or nonprofits that Um, work on breaking the cycle of poverty, and those are organizations doing work in job training, job creation, um, uh, economic development, et cetera.
So, um, we, we search for the best nonprofits who can really use our help and partner with us, and we provide financial and human resources to help them do what they do bigger and better. So we started that in Boston in 2016, um, and are now operating in five. Um, uh, life sciences hubs. So it’s Boston, Philadelphia, New York, San Diego and San Francisco Bay Area at present.
Um, and there’s a, there’s a fledgling operations just getting underway in Basel, uh, in, in Switzerland as well, which is. Oh, wow. Yeah. There’s a few folks there who’ve taken it up. So, um, and really the goal is to, um, to, to make a difference, to make an impact. Um, it, it really is a very simple idea and it’s a very grassroots effort in, in those.
In those communities, the leaders of the industry have come together to bring themselves and their companies, um, to, to, to make a difference. As a matter of fact, the, the organization is essentially funded, all the administrative or back end costs are funded by the leaders of the industry. In each, in each area, there’s a board of directors and a board of advisors.
Uh, in Boston, I think there’s 200 plus board of advisors. And those those individuals give money out of their pocket every year to cover the administrative costs of the organization so that when we take in donations from companies or philanthropists, we can give give pass that through directly to our nonprofit partners.
So it really is a grassroots effort. That, um, has, you know, just blown up. And so I’ve just been amazed by the, um, the impact of the organization in a pretty short amount of time. Oh, it’s certainly
Naji Gehchan: impressive, uh, all the impact on, uh, people, as you said, and the communities that you’ve been able to, uh, touch and help through these.
Three different areas you’ve been focusing on, uh, and any specific program you would like to highlight. I know there was some communications during JP Morgan that happened last week. Anything you want to highlight specifically on the program as I know you’ve been expanding?
Rob Perez: Thank you. Yeah. So, um, a couple of things.
Well, one is JP Morgan was kind of a, a pinch me moment for me. Uh, I was really blown away to have, and we had a panel at the conference. Looking at industry reputation, which was amazing. Um, JP Morgan helped us to have a reception at the Westin, which is like unheard of, um, and, uh, um, you know, just, uh, amazing support.
Additionally, we had a, um, the Gilead foundation agreed to match. Funding that came in in and around the conference up to 250, 000. And we’re, we’re really close. We may have hit it. I haven’t heard today, but there’s still time if people want to donate, they should go to our website and help us to get over the top.
But we’re going to be really close, if not at that 250, 000. Raise. So Gilead will put in another 250 to get to 500, 000 raised to impact poverty just around the JPM conference. So that was just really cool. And again, to see this idea taken up like that was was crazy. And then the other thing that we’re super proud of, as I mentioned, one of the areas of our focus is in economic access to economic opportunity.
And the one thing we didn’t see. Um, nationally, at least, was an internship program. There’s great data about the power of that first internship, particularly for students who don’t have access to those, to those kinds of connections and resources. So we created, um, our own, uh, internship program called Project OnRamp.
We started this in Boston a few years ago. And the goal is for students who’ve been impacted by poverty, um, and though all these students are what’s called Pell Grant eligible, so they, um, they are, um, in college now, rising sophomores and juniors, but all who’ve been impacted by poverty, many of whom are, um, students of color and first generation students.
We allow them to get their first paid internship in a life sciences company, and that includes. You know, clinical and lab, um, lab internships as well as business, uh, internships within companies and well as well as companies associated with or that serve the industry. This has been tremendously successful for students, many of whom have gotten their 1st job now that we’ve been doing it a few years, um, in a life sciences company.
But what I’m really impressed with. What’s been really remarkable. I love to hear the stories from the, from the young people. That’s always great. And always, you know, pulls on your heartstrings, but so many individuals in the industry have talked to me about, um, how impactful this program has been for them because they didn’t realize that there was talent at the types of schools that many of these kids.
Um, uh, go to or attend. So we’re talking about state schools, frankly, schools that I school like the one I went to that, you know, weren’t places that biopharma companies usually recruit at. Um, but but these students are showing that there’s talent everywhere. And that’s the point of this. We really believe that we can make a difference in the workforce of the industry.
So we now have a, um, uh, a philanthropic donor who’s remaining anonymous, who looked at the program and what we were doing and said, this is amazing. I’d like to see if we can do it bigger. And so he has given us a challenge. To figure out how to get to greater than 1, 000 student internships a summer, um, in over the next, it’ll be now for we’re in year one of that plan, um, uh, over five years.
And so last year we did about 300 internships last summer, and we’re growing to to get to over 1000 kids every summer. So that’s another fund that we’re raising to get the remaining. Um, it’s like a 6 million commitment. Um, we’ve got about 5 million in, um, and so if people are interested in donating to Project OnRamp, we can use their help to get us over the top there as well, but I truly believe that that program is going to be impactful for, um, for the industry because it will expand the talent base, um, where we’re targeting, and that I think can ultimately lead to new insights, new innovation and ultimately serving patients better.
Uh, certainly.
Naji Gehchan: And this is, this is really congratulations. It’s impressive, inspiring, and definitely it will help us, uh, grow, think differently, be more inclusive and ultimately serve better the patients, uh, that we, uh, we have constantly on our minds. Thank you. Going out of JP Morgan, also a lot was happening during this week, and you’re an expert in the biotech field.
What are you most excited or looking forward to for our biotech industry when you think for the decade ahead of us?
Rob Perez: Well, I think, first of all, the pace of change. You know, I’m an old guy. I’ve been in the industry 30 plus years, and innovation has been a part of the industry, obviously, for all 30 and certainly predating me, but the pace of innovation, in my opinion, has sped up.
Um, you know, we’re talking about cures in diseases now that we couldn’t have imagined when I started. Um, the, um, the amount of I know I’m in the capital markets business in my day job. Um, and I know there’s times when, uh, this past year when folks were hurting a little bit from a capital markets perspective, but the amount of capital that’s that’s available currently for that for these innovations is also something that we’ve not seen previously.
So I’m really bullish on the industry. Um, I think the, the, um, you know, we’re just scratching the surface on the types of technology that can really make a difference in human health. So, um, overall, I’m, I’m definitely bullish and I, I wish I was younger and I wish I had another 30 years, um, because I think what we’re going to see over the next Over the next several decades, it’s going to be just mind blowing.
Naji Gehchan: You’re still young, Rob, and your impact is beyond only capital. As you’ve been doing, you’re touching communities, bringing young talents throughout our organizations. It’s just impressive what you’ve been doing.
Rob Perez: Thank you. Well, the other, one other thing I’ll mention, um, and back to J. P. Morgan. The other thing that we did at J.
P. Morgan is I’m a co founder of an organization called Block. biopharma leaders of color. Um, and another just amazing, uh, night, we had a reception at JP Morgan and to see a room full of, and I mean full, of leaders who were at the JPM conference who are black and brown people who, um, frankly had never been to a meeting like that, where they were, uh, you know, not one of the only.
Um, people, uh, in a room, um, to be in a place that was full of high level C suite leaders, um, and as well as young people from the industry together. And that’s another thing that I think is really exciting about what’s to come is we’re tapping into talent everywhere. You know, we had a fireside chat with Yvonne Greenstreet, who’s a good friend, uh, who runs, uh, El Nihilum, and, um, Yvonne was amazing in that, but it was great for, uh, people both, uh, at the top of their career and folks who were just getting started to hear her story and to see The kind of leadership that, you know, the, this is a woman of color leading one of the industry’s most significant companies, and that’s happening over and over again.
So that’s another area of great pride. Um, and, uh, area we’re looking to grow to be able to help enable. And, um, and amplify, uh, people of color in the industry. For sure. And
Naji Gehchan: it’s, uh, it’s, it’s a good start, but so much still needs to be done. And you’re definitely making a huge impact to make these things move forward.
I’m going to give you now a word, and I would love your reaction to it. Okay. The first one is leadership.
Rob Perez: Um, my first reaction is misunderstood. Um, I think, you know, number one, I think leadership, great leadership is, um, is still more rare than it should be. Um, and that’s because A, it’s misunderstood. B, um, people don’t work at it the way that they work at their technical skills.
And because of that, I think we sometimes, um, don’t achieve potential because, uh, leadership is lacking. I know in the capital market space, and a lot of my venture capital friends will tell me that they’re, that the, the, the capacity constraint on their, um, starting companies and growing companies It’s not ideas or technology, it’s leadership.
Um, it’s finding the right people, not, not people who aren’t smart. There’s a ton of smart people in the industry, but finding leaders. So, um, my first thought there is, is, uh, I think leadership’s a bit misunderstood and mis uh, and underappreciated. Um, and I think if people spent more time both studying and thinking about leadership as they think about their technical skills, uh, we’d have even better companies.
The second one
Naji Gehchan: is DEIB. We talked about a lot diversity inclusion before, but I’d love your perspective on
Rob Perez: that. Oh man, if we only had more time, Nagi. But look, I’m, uh, I’m concerned about, uh, about DEI because I think, um, it is being kind of misappropriated as a culture war, um, topic. And that’s unfortunate because I don’t think it’s, um, you know, I, I think there are people who, uh, you know, want to kind of weigh in on that part.
I don’t, I don’t go there because I, well, I have my own points of view on, on the fact that it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think that’s the reason why companies should adapt, um, DEI policies. I think the reason to adapt it, um, DEI policies is because it’s good business. Um, there is tremendous data that suggests that companies that embrace, um, D.
E. I. Policies do better, um, for their shareholders. And it’s not rocket science. It’s because you’re tapping into talent from everywhere. You have a bigger pool from which to, um, to, uh, to gather talent and your customers, your shareholders and your employees. all happen to be, uh, people who come from all walks of life.
So why you wouldn’t want to tap into talent from all those walks of life, um, also just kind of, um, uh, remains a little confusing to me. So I think DEI is good business. Um, I think it’s become A, you know, political, um, and, and it actually being turned into a negative statement, which is really unfortunate.
And I guess part of a sign of the times, but without going into that part, which again, I have lots of opinions about, but probably not the right time and place. I would just say that I would ask people to think about. The benefits to the business. Um, uh, last week, I think Mark Cuban and Elon Musk were going at it on X about DEI Mark Cuban said something like, look, I hope you, you, uh, uh, you get rid of all of your DEI policies and, and basically piss off all of the.
Uh, candidates who don’t come from your one, um, kind of way of, of attracting talent. I’ll take all those people. I’ll take all those people, I’ll take all that talent and I’ll beat you every time. Um, and that’s, that’s, he’s not arguing that it’s a, um, that it’s the right thing to do. He’s arguing that it’s the best way for his business.
And I think that’s the way I think about it is, um, we really need to, to appreciate that ideas can come from anywhere. And the more we do that, the better off we’re going to be. Oh, for sure.
Naji Gehchan: And it’s proven again and again. And personally, how I build team, I’ve seen it building team that are diverse from, uh, different perspective, thoughts, ethnicities, et cetera, would definitely bring richness to, uh, to the work and, and impact broader.
And there’s something else you said that really resonated with me. When I think about being different or being yourself at work, you talked about, um, the energy tax. Of being different in the workplace. Can you can you share a little bit more
Rob Perez: about it? Sure. Um, I wrote a blog about this, um, you know, several months ago, or maybe even years ago.
Um, and, uh, it was about this, this, this energy tax. And a lot of people, I think it resonated with them because they, they, they feel it. And the point of the piece was not necessarily written towards the different. But written towards the people who were in the majority, um, to be able to say, Hey, understand that this exists.
We’re not asking you to change anything. We’re not asking you that there shouldn’t be government programs on it. That’s not the point, but just understand that it exists. And let me just go a little bit deeper. So people understand what I’m talking about. Um, first of all, different is in the eye of the different, right?
And so in, in, uh, you know, you have protected groups. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about situations where you feel like almost everyone else. comes from a very similar point of view. They all kind of get this spoken and unspoken rules. And you have to interpret them. Um, you have to kind of be in that environment and you have to go through some mental process to try to understand how to best fit in, in that environment.
That’s what being different feels like. And it’s, again, it’s the, it’s, it’s women in boardrooms, it’s people of color in management suites. It’s, um, it’s, you know, people who, um, are LGBTQ who are, um, you know, working in a, in a team where they’re the only. Uh, person with that sexual orientation. Um, so those folks, when they, uh, have an idea, or have a point of view, they don’t just get to spew it, out of, from their brain, out of their mouth.
They’re, that, that thought has to go through a process of, okay, if I say it this way, How might that be perceived? May or will I be offending anyone? What will they think of me? Will it impact my advancement? Um, all of that, uh, wiring is exhausting and it is a, it is a, um, an extra filter that, um, others don’t have to do.
And you could argue that even in the most Um, welcoming environments where people would say, why would you do that? I have no, no inherent bias. I, you know, you’re the greatest. Even in those environments, they’re going through that process because that is how they achieve. That’s how they’ve gotten to where they’ve gotten.
So the point that the point of the piece was really to say, be aware. that this exists, both for the people who are going through it and who may have this, this fatigue, um, that builds up over time and, and weren’t really sure what it was, but also to the people who are in the majority to say, it’s not, not a bad idea to check in with people at times to say, how are you doing?
I get it. And how can I be helpful? To make sure that this isn’t a problem for you. So that was the point of the piece. Rob,
Naji Gehchan: for sharing it here. The third word is health equity.
Rob Perez: Oh, wow. That is a, that is a really huge, um, issue, uh, particularly right now, I think. Um, and for Life Science Cares, it’s something that we’re scratching our heads on how we can engage, um, uh, best.
Let me, let me break it down a little bit and talk a little bit about at least how, how I’m thinking about it as a, as a chair of Life Science Cares. Um, and this is only one small part of health equity. But, um, I think people in the industry will, will appreciate this. Those of us in the industry, even people like me, who I’m a marketing major from Cal state LA, I am my family’s go to person on medical issues because of the access that I have to, uh, to care, to the medical industry, and I’ll bet that most people who are listening now.
Either those who are absolutely qualified to be them, but even those like me who are unqualified tend to be that person within their broader circle because of the access that we have to information to, um, experts, et cetera. Now, think about. Uh, the person who is in an inner city or in a, in a rural area with no connections at all.
Um, you know, uh, I’ve, I have, I’ve had, you know, like most people my age, health things that pop up, um, and I, you know, can access the best physicians. Um, and be able to cut months off of the time that it would take me to get it. Um, that’s just because of the, the blessings of my career and, and, and the access that I have.
But then I think about people who are, who don’t have that access and who, you know, have diseases that progress because they just don’t, either they don’t trust. the medical system or they just don’t have the access. And that’s one of the things that we love to try to work on it. Life Science cares is how can we tap into this amazing resource?
That is the life sciences community and help people to get more access, help people to, um, to, you know, just essentially get more information, get more access to care. And again, I’m not blaming our healthcare system. I know that this is a challenge and I’m on the board of Dana Farber, which does a fantastic job in the community.
And I know how much we talk about it at Dana Farber, trying to make sure that we have access to, or that people in the community have access to. The Institute, and they do a great job. Once people get in, the problem is getting in can have a lot of barriers. So when I think about health equity, first and foremost, I think about the barriers to access.
And what we need to do to be able to break down those barriers for everyone. And this is a great
Naji Gehchan: reminder for all of us as healthcare leaders to think about access, health equity, and how we can improve it. I’m eager to talk more about this, and I know we can’t in this forum, but I’d love to talk a little bit more about this with you.
Thank you. The fourth word is spread love in organizations.
Rob Perez: Well, first of all, I love what you guys are doing. And, um, ever since I kind of heard about you, I just thought, wow, this, what a great idea. Um, first and foremost, we need more focus on kindness, compassion, and love in the world. Um, you know, if I might editorialize a bit there.
So the fact that you’re, you’re talking to some of the industry’s most accomplished people about this topic, um, is really extraordinary. So thank you for doing what you do. Um, the other is it’s not surprising to me that the people that you’re talking to who are at the top of their game, um, are also people who have leaned into, um, spreading purpose within their environment.
They are purpose driven people. Um, who care about the world and it gets back to kind of what I was saying before about I think extraordinary people, um, are not just extraordinary in their day job. They’re extraordinary all the way around. And so, um, being able to have this forum and frankly, all forums to use it to, um, to make the world a kinder, um, better place.
Ultimately is going to mean better business as well. You know, the, the, at JPM, the, uh, the panel that was, uh, where Lifescience Cares was featured was really focused on industry reputation and, um, you know, how do you reboot this industry’s business? Unfortunately, terrible reputation. And, um, I know I don’t have all the answers there, but there’s two things that I do think I, I know.
One is the answer is not, you know, more ads about, uh, how great the industry is. Um, that’s just not going to work. Um, but what I think the answer is, the second point is to just show people the compassion, the commitment to human health. That, um, our industry is focused on through our actions, through our actions, um, that I think is where the answer lies.
And, um, you know, there’s I have a this friend who wrote a book called Good is the New Cool is actually written a couple of books after Aziz. Um, it’s called Good is the New Cool and after, uh, focuses on, um, companies and marketing that leans into doing good and how attractive that is to employees to shareholders and most importantly to customers.
Um, that this is, I think, what the industry needs to embrace the good that we do, um, because I think the more we share that with people, the more they’re going to realize, wow, this industry is, um, it’s full of extraordinary people and really about helping people, not about all the negative things that we get tagged with.
Naji Gehchan: Can’t agree more than what you said. It’s a, you know, for me, it’s every time taking it back to this human level we are. And as you’ve seen hundreds of people working in this industry, I’ve seen, I had the pleasure to interview now more than 130 leaders and what’s fascinating is this purpose we all have, right?
We all wake up in the morning with this service that we want to bring good. We want to help. People live better, and I think those stories will shine way more than any advertisement campaign. And it’s not, I’m a marketer too, so it’s not around not, not having impact, but it’s really about us making this industry at the end.
It’s the industry is the people and the passion of scientists, physicians, and all the employees working hard to make life better for the patients we serve. So I definitely agree with you. Thank you. Any final word of wisdom Rob for healthcare leaders around the world.
Rob Perez: Um, I don’t know. I guess my word of wisdom is really thank you and gratitude.
Um, I, uh, feel extremely fortunate to have, uh, been a part of this Industry and to have met so many amazing people, many of whom you featured on your podcast. Um, and there are folks who are out doing things that I couldn’t even imagine. So first and foremost to healthcare leaders, my point is, is to say thank you.
Um, keep it up. Um, there’s, there’s so much more to do. And, and I guess my call out because, you know, they’re focused on their day jobs of, of, you know, working on really hard problems. Is let’s come together and see what the benefit of collective impact can do on issues associated with our community. I think life science cares is the way that, um, that, that, you know, we put together and we think it’s only think it’s the best, but it’s not the only way to do it, um, regardless of how I hope everyone will consider, um, their part in helping the world to be a better place.
And the good news is you don’t have to do all the research yourself. You don’t have to find the right organizations. We’ve kind of done that for you. So whether you’re a small company, um, uh, that needs, that doesn’t have the resources and needs to kind of outsource its corporate social responsibility, we can help you with that.
Um, or a larger company that has a lot of resource, but needs to kind of connect with others within the industry so that we can make a collective and larger impact. Um, regardless of where you fit on that spectrum, I think we have a way to, uh, really harness the passion. The enthusiasm and compassion of the industry at life science care.
So I would really encourage people to get in touch with us. Our website is life science cares dot org, um, and, you know, or ping me on linked in and let me know that you’d like to get involved and I’ll get in touch with the right person. But we together we can have a huge impact on people. We’re doing it right now, and I think it can be bigger and better over time.
Well,
Naji Gehchan: thank you so much, Rob. I will, uh, I will definitely share all the contacts about the life science cares on on our on your episode and on our pages. But really, it’s it’s impressive what you’ve been doing. And I love the charge you’re keeping us with and asking us to really think about the collective impact that we can do together as a healthcare industry to, um, to improve and make health more equitable and also make sure that Poverty disappears.
I think that’s the ultimate goal that you’re trying to push with organizations. So thank you for for that.
Rob Perez: Amen. Thanks for having me, Naji. I appreciate it.
Naji Gehchan: Thank you all for listening to SpreadLove in Organizations podcast. Drop us a review on your preferred podcast platform
Follow us on LinkedIn and connect with us on spreadloveio.com. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and feedback. Most importantly, spread love in your organizations and spread the word around you to inspire others and amplify this movement, our world so desperately needs