Naji Gehchan: Welcome to SpreadLove in Organizations, the healthcare leadership podcast where we explore leadership with purpose.
I’m Naji, your host, and I’m delighted to be joined today by Sophie Kornowski, a long-time biotech and pharmaceutical executive and now the CEO of Sophiecore Insights. Prior to this role, Sophie served as Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Boston Pharmaceuticals, where she led a remarkable transformation of the company, culminating in its successful acquisition by GSK in 2025 for up to 2 billion dollars. Before that, Sophie was a Partner at Gurnet Point Capital, a private investment firm focused on healthcare, where she was a successful investor in several innovative start-ups and high-growth businesses developing and commercializing products across areas including ADHD, cancer, and food allergy. Earlier in her career, Sophie was Executive Vice President of Partnering at Roche and a member of the Extended Corporate Executive Committee of F. Hoffmann-La Roche, as well as a board member of Chugai Pharmaceutical. In that role, working closely with the R&D and commercial teams at Roche and Genentech, she led global partnering and M&A strategy across biotech, pharma, health tech, and research institutions worldwide. Previously, Sophie also led Roche’s largest affiliate outside the United States, based in France, for many years.
Sophie, it’s such a pleasure to have you with me today.
Sophie Kornowski: Very happy to be here, Najee, today. I feel I’m 100 years old, but, uh, I’m not.
Naji Gehchan: Oh, no.
Sophie Kornowski: Long bio doesn’t mean I’m older than Jesus.
Naji Gehchan: No, no, you’re not. And you know what? Let, let’s start with, uh, where I, where I always like to start, uh, telling us a little bit more about yourself and your story.
Uh, take us through your journey from studying pharmacy to becoming one of the most respected leaders across biotech, pharma, and investment.
Sophie Kornowski: Well, I have, uh, been, uh, passionate about chemistry and science, uh, from an early age, uh, and this is what, uh, led me to, uh, go to pharma, uh, pharma studies. And then I had the opportunity to work at Labo diagnostics at the start of the AIDS epidemic, and that was a true eye-opener for me in terms of the difference we can make in our industry.
That led me to, first of all, very exciting experience at this company, and then go to get an MBA in the US because I felt this would give me, uh, leverage in term of accelerating my growth. And after that, I took a job as a sales representative in, uh, in the, in, um, the upper of Manhattan, uh, Harlem, the Bronx, uh, the Queens, which also gave me an eye-opener on the unmet need of, uh, so many populations in so many diseases.
And eventually, then I went into pharma and did all the corporate jobs that you wanna do to understand the business, stay close to the customers, and participate to transformations of company. I have to say, I was, uh, very fortunate to be able to work with remarkable companies between Labo Diagnostic, Labo Pharmaceutical, Sanofi, Merck, Roche, uh, before joining the Gurnet Point Capital, which was, uh, led by, uh, Ernesto Bertarelli of, you know, of the family of the Serono, a company which is, uh, also a remarkable biotech company.
So just the wonderful experiences until Boston Pharmaceuticals.
Naji Gehchan: So, uh, Sophie, looking back at your career and this incredible journey of you– you’ve had across multiple different organizations, uh, what were the defining moments or decisions that really shaped the leader you are today?
Sophie Kornowski: As in, you know, those points where, uh, when I was, uh, fortunate enough to, uh, either have a great leader somewhere in the company to advise me or fall on my face and, uh, be hurt enough to survive, uh, but realize that either I had to understand a situation better or work on myself to, uh, grow some skills that I didn’t necessarily have at the time.
So it’s a mix of, uh, great generosity from, uh, from leaders you work with or sometime direct reports. I have learnt an enormous amount from my teams. Uh, so this, uh, very special relationship you develop with colleagues and leaders in the company, but also being able to, to see that when you haven’t met expectations, most important expectations being yours, if you haven’t met them, you shouldn’t be shy to question yourself a- and get this next level of growth that is indispensable, uh, to stay excellent or become excellent in anything you do.
Naji Gehchan: So I love this. You touched on, uh, kind of your leaders, the people in your team, so it’s touching really this leadership style that you have. So I’d love to go there. And you’ve led across very different organization. We’ve frequently, and I talk about this, large corporations, smaller European, US, VC, biotech.
How, how did your leadership style evolve through this? And did you have… Was there, like, a same line that you kept following through all those different, uh, organizations?
Sophie Kornowski: I think that the, y- you know, for me at least, I don’t know for other people, some people are born great leaders. Uh, I was born a great worker.
Uh, I love to work, I love to produce, I love to see I make a difference. Uh, leadership, I had to grow into it and learn how to have my style fit with, uh, the majority of people around me. I have to say I am a leader who doesn’t build a distance between, uh, team members or even senior management. Uh, I say it like it is, and I roll up my sleeves like one of the team member.
Not everyone likes this, and not everyone can work with that, so I had to, um, evolve so that I would be able to, um, fit with most people I would interact with. And also get closer to people so that there wouldn’t be too much fantasy about, “Oh my God, she said this, she means that.” Um, you know, it’s, uh… I’m always ready to be one of the team member, and I’m always ready to be challenged.
Uh, but one thing I will not compromise is that we together achieve what we said we would, and together we raise the goal if it’s possible. That is something that has driven me all my life.
Naji Gehchan: I, I love this, uh, and totally relate, Sophie. Uh, o- one of the things when you said you roll up your sleeves and you get, uh, you get with the team to get the work done, I’d love to get your perspective.
Like, sometimes, uh, you know, like the counterbalance of this, some people would say like, “Oh, it’s micromanagement,” and they don’t like it, where, where I do not believe it is. Uh, but, but I would love to hear how you do this line of trusting the people who know what they’re doing, helping them solve for what is happening, especially when you were at, at the helm as a CEO of a company.
How did you make this balance? Like, rolling your sleeves and getting the work done with them, giving them, empowering them for decision-making. I’d love to know how you thought about all this, uh, during your last job.
Sophie Kornowski: So generally, you hire a team that is better than you are in-
Naji Gehchan: Mm …
Sophie Kornowski: some field. So you- you’d be really silly to do the job for them because this is not gonna work.
But on the other hand, you also wanna be explained and collaborate to make sure goals are met because you don’t have, for example, a goal in clinical development, a goal in technical operation, a goal… Everybody has the same goal, which is a company goal, and it’s so easy to drift away. So easy.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah.
Sophie Kornowski: So what you want is everyone go and do their own thing, but then you wanna meet and discuss it.
Uh, sometime people have complained, “Well, why do we have to meet? We know what we have to do.” Yeah, everyone knows what they have to do, but it’s nice to just make sure we’re all staying on track. And, uh, if it’s investing a bit time into that, uh, then I’m ready to stretch my own agenda to fit other people’s needs.
Uh, but I also wanna make sure we stay together. So, you know, micromanagement is always a fine line. Uh, but I think that I have, uh, mostly avoided it. To be honest, the, the jobs I’ve had for many, many years were so big that you don’t have time to micromanage anyone. Yeah. Yeah. You… And generally, I try to do the minimum, uh, but my minimum can be a lot more than, uh, the, sometime the maximum of other people.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah.
Sophie Kornowski: So it’s, it’s, it’s a balance. Uh, what you want is your team to stay motivated and be engaged. Uh, I have to say I have, uh, been able to feel and see my team, uh, engaged and performing and, and results meeting expectations, so, um- Any, any advice- But self-awareness, yeah, self-awareness, uh, is a learning skill.
So you- Yeah … you all have to think about what you just said, Najid. So true
Naji Gehchan: Yeah. And any, any advice on this when you’re saying motivating and engaging the team? Any advice you can give leaders how you’ve done this, especially you’ve done it in high uncertainty, high stressful moments for, for companies and, uh, I, I wanna go into the, the Buson Pharmaceutical work you’ve done.
Uh, but any advice, like small advice on how to keep your team engaged?
Sophie Kornowski: I think if people feel that they are, um, um, protected against failure and developed to meet success, it goes a long way. Uh, I am, uh, sharing the responsibility of the team, and I feel responsible if someone, uh, doesn’t do well. Uh, I don’t feel like I should delegate and then, “Okay, this is their problem, not mine anymore.”
I’m not someone who works like this.
Naji Gehchan: Yes.
Sophie Kornowski: Uh, it’s a style that can be very effective for other people. It’s not my style. I feel I am, uh, co-responsible for anyone. So I don’t have a secret of, uh, keeping people engaged. I have not been always successful at doing that. But what is for sure is I, uh, step up with people to help them be successful, and that has worked enough that, uh, I have stayed close friend to– with most of the people I’ve worked with.
Maybe not all of them, but most of them.
Naji Gehchan: But this is powerful when you’re saying you don’t have the magic sauce. Like I– Th- this is, this is really mas- right? Like you’re– in other words, you have their backs, right? Right, exactly. Their failure is yours- That’s the idea … and you’re with them, and it’s all the idea of this podcast.
So le- let’s go into what you’ve done. You’ve done incredible work at Buson Pharmaceuticals that led revamping the company, transforming what you’re focused on, uh, and really ultimately resulted in this, um, GSK, uh, acquisition. What, what were the key principles that guided your kind of decision-making during that journey?
Sophie Kornowski: So the first one, uh, was where will be the value in the company? I had to figure this out because it wasn’t obvious with, like, a, a large portfolio all in development, some parked assets, and what is the priority? What will be successful? So first of all, let’s be technically right. This was my first thing.
Let’s be technically right. What drug will make sense at what cost in what timeframe? Uh, so the principle for that was to lean on whoever could help me decide this and have the courage to, to, to say it and, and take a risk. So- Mm … you know? Uh, courage feel better when things went well . But- Mm … so this was the first principle.
The second one was, uh, once we’ve determined what we’re gonna do, let’s not drift.
Naji Gehchan: Mm.
Sophie Kornowski: And, uh, so we decide we do wanna do this, then we were gonna be best in class in mash. Okay, what does it mean? Uh, let’s agree and let’s get there, and, uh, and not be shy to push back, uh, on anybody who would prevent this, uh, either because of, uh, challenges in the team or challenges with the board or challenges into, you know, decision-making, uh, versus competition, whatever.
Then stay true to what we’ve decided and be courageous, and then readjust along the way at all times. Uh, so be flexible, nimble, and creative. Uh, I had an exceptional team in terms of flexibility, creativity, and, uh, what definition of what excellent means. Uh, we had, uh, for that we had expertise internally, and then we didn’t, weren’t shy to bring in exceptional experts from the outside.
Um, so, you know, it was very, very challenging times, uh, to say the least. It feels great after it’s done. While it was being done, it, it was a, a, a very exceptional time.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah. Well, I, I hear you, and I love those, three kind of framework, uh, you gave. Well, one of the questions we always get, and I’m sure you kind of, uh, as you said, like, being courageous to choose the asset, the indication, focused on it, uh, the challenges that goes with it, the creative ideas that come every single day on why this won’t work.
So my question is, b- because I loved what you said, like, once you decide to not drift, right? And we have tons of reason from our teams, from the board, from whoever we’re talking with to drift, right? Even though they don’t want you to drift. But, but how, how and when? Because you said this, and then you said readjust and be flexible.
But I’m, I’m sure the readjust and be flexible is not your strategy.
Sophie Kornowski: It’s more- No, no, to stay on it.
Naji Gehchan: Exactly.
Sophie Kornowski: So we have to… I remember there was a board meeting where we had this strategy, and then we– it was too expensive, and my team said- Wow … “We cannot do it less expensive.” And then we were able to find how to delay six months of whatever it was and then still not buy, uh, more time for that.
So the, you know, in front of the challenge, figure out a better budget. They could figure out how to stage things step by step. Yeah. We wait to get that result before we decide this spending. Okay, makes perfect sense.
Naji Gehchan: That’s… Yeah. And, and so, so my question on the strategy piece and, and not changing and not drifting once it’s fixed, like, one of the questions we always think of is when do you actually need to pivot, right?
Especially in startup, like small biotechs, where at some point you’re like, “I need to pivot my strategy probably.” Uh, do, do you have kind of a framework on when to do that? How long do you stay with your strategy until, till you say it’s not? Is it readout basically in our industry that would define the strategy needs to shift, or…?
Sophie Kornowski: Well, it can be the competition. It can be feedback from investors. Um- You know, the, the– it’s a really interesting question. The secret sauce is to really understand what your strategy is- Yeah … in its minute details. What did we agree we were gonna do? Let’s flush it out in multiple aspects and, and so that you will know when you need an adjustment.
I think, you know, um, it’s always challenging, uh, to have commercial profile, uh, as a CEO of a company. Uh, okay, I’m not fully just commercial because I’ve had, like, a large experience in BD, but I, I still consider myself commercial. Uh, then I think that really helped me because I remember vividly what is to be a sales rep.
I remember vividly- … going to a KOL and telling him my story on anything and, uh… Or going into a doctor’s office and telling a story, and that was the guiding principle on are we gonna be able to be that best-in-class asset? And if we are gonna be that best-in-class asset or in a BD discussion we’re gonna be that best-in-class asset, what is it gonna look like?
And then if you really, really get that in depth, uh, in general you’re not gonna miss a turn you need to do or the adjustment you need to do.
Naji Gehchan: Oh, I love this. And it’s, uh, it’s so true. Like, well, you know my background, but it’s one of those things I keep in mind. Obviously, patients and the impact on the patient, I know how much, how passionate you are about that.
And at the same time, I always think, uh, I, I, I need to know how to sell it. Like, I’ve been in places where it’s hard to sell for physicians who would prescribe. Like, having this knowledge of both world, how to develop drugs and how to commercialize them is, is so important.
Sophie Kornowski: Just, uh, one point about the patient.
For me, when I speak about a doctor and a KOL, I speak about the patient because this is the discussion. It goes to would it make sense for a patient? Why would a patient wanna do that? Um, I always make the joke that because I am very hypochondriac, I am the ideal commercial person- … because I can absolutely imagine I have the disease, and why would I wanna take that drug?
Yeah. The, the patient is, is… I mean, especially with, uh, the, the pleasure we have on what we work on, which are- Yeah … really di- that really hel- need help for patients, so.
Naji Gehchan: Is– And so, so, uh, having really worked in this intersection of science, medicine, business, investment, and now with your, with your own company, uh, working with even more, uh, companies trying to build, uh, biotechs, uh, w- what do you believe makes, uh, uh, makes a biotech, uh, really stand out in the current environment?
Sophie Kornowski: A great value proposition that, uh, you know, they do something unique. Uh, they do it uniquely well, and they have a path to be a successful financial company, uh, or a successful dispensable company to another company. So already, i- the product has to be, you know, something you really think, “Wow,” you know? If all goes well, this is big deal.
Secondly, you want a team of high quality. Uh, the technical knowledge, the experience, and the personalities. Uh, it has to be fun to work with them, uh, because they have to wanna learn and grow. Um, and, uh, not be shy to, uh, question what they’re working on and how they’re working on it. This is, uh… With all of that, then I am keen to interact with them.
I
Naji Gehchan: love it. I love the start, like do something unique and do it uniquely well. It’s, it’s both, the execution too- Absolutely … and the team, as you said. So, uh, w- when you look for the next five, 10 years, with all that you’ve seen and all the work you’re doing now, uh, what is… what, what do you think would be the greatest opportunities, uh, in healthcare innovation in the future?
Sophie Kornowski: Well, you know, people still, uh, die enormously from cardiovascular diseases. Uh, I think the, the whole wave of metabolic drugs is gonna be very helpful, uh, but it’s not gonna be enough. We’ve seen the recent, uh, challenges on how do you keep the muscle mass where it needs to be. Uh, the epidemic of obesity remains something massive.
Uh, the system has to welcome the innovation. You know, we’re gonna cure MASH. Uh, that’s the goal. But then we have to make sure access will exist. So that’s already one, like a, uh, one of the biggest killer. Secondly, cancer, uh, is just a massive one, and, uh, it… The good news is there is more survival, there is, uh, more science, deeper science, more targets.
But it still remains a, a, a diagnosis that, you know, is worth your attention, and, and, uh, knows that it, which… it’s life-changing in so many ways. And then you have the whole field of immunology, uh, that is enormous, that may be growing or maybe it’s not growing, but it’s become more awareness on it, and it still remains for a dire diagnosis, uh, and still few options in many of those conditions.
So the unmet needs are there, uh, all around, and I think that, uh, the opportunity is to, as always, people back into health.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah.
Sophie Kornowski: Because health is a first determinant of, uh, how happy you’re gonna be in life. Yeah. If your health is gone, everything else is just a whole different story. Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah, certainly.
And we’ll never be done, as, as you said, until cures for these diseases. Uh, Sophie, I’m gonna give you now one word, and I would love your first reaction to it. So the first one is leadership
Sophie Kornowski: Uh, well, I will, uh, say friendship
Naji Gehchan: Oh, I’ve ne- This is a really big word … I, I’ve never had this.
Sophie Kornowski: Yeah, well- Yeah,
Naji Gehchan: tell me more …
Sophie Kornowski: it, because I think that, uh, you work for people you actually like, and, uh, and you, you have to like the people who work with you, your team- Mm … and y- you, you want them to like you. I don’t, i- in some ways, uh, uh, you know, sometime people make jokes that, uh, you know, I’m so difficult but, you know, they still love me and, you know-
but, and my, my team had, I’ve had some real characters and, and I still really like them. So, um, I, I think that it’s funny as a kid, uh, as a younger executive kid, I would have never- Yeah … said that expression. Who cares about being loved? You wanna be respected and, yeah, right, uh, friendship in a team is really, really fun.
It’s really, really great. You can raise mountains, you can laugh at something that goes wrong. Uh, you know, some of my very closest friend are people I’ve worked for or with, uh, including long ago. So, you know, there is all kinds of other things you could say, but I just chose that word.
Naji Gehchan: A- and it’s powerful, and my last, my last word will, we will talk about this again.
The second one is biotech
Sophie Kornowski: Courage. So I think that, uh, there is a lot of companies who do stuff that have been done before, and that should not be. I think, uh, biotech has to be there to have the courage of that, to do things that larger pharma won’t be able to do because of the size or of the, you know, of the level of risk. Uh, this is where the real reward is.
Uh, many people in biotech don’t wanna be in big pharma because they feel that the right decisions aren’t being made in big pharma. I disagree with that, but that’s not the point. They generally have a lot of courage. And, uh, so I, I think biotech should remain a very courageous environment
Naji Gehchan: What about Suficore?
Sophie Kornowski: Oh, s- well, you know, that was easy. Suficore Novsky, so Come up with something smarter and simpler. Uh, I, I came up with that.
Naji Gehchan: I love it. And so the last word is spread love in organizations
Sophie Kornowski: Yes, so, um, yeah, we go back to the friendship, the courage. Uh, you know, if people are– feel that they are not in danger, they will have courage. They will, uh, be creative. They will speak up. Uh, they will- Yeah … stretch themselves beyond, uh, beyond expectations. Um, so yes, spreading love is a good thing.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah. Well, I certainly am biased and so believe in that.
And I love how you related both the friendship, the courage, and how you say, like, if they are not worried or feel they’re not in danger, they will speak up, and how many times we see this actually not happening. Uh, and it’s a great reminder on the cultures you wanna build, uh, for us to be able to advance with courage for patients.
Any final word of wisdom, Sophie, for healthcare leaders?
Sophie Kornowski: Stay the course. You know, these are very challenging times. Uh, stay the course of your mission. Uh, don’t fall into a panic or thinking that you have to give up some things because the wind is blowing in one direction or the other direction. Um, the wind is always blowing. It’s blowing now. It was, uh, not easier f- 20 years ago, and it will not be harder or easier in 20 years.
Just stay the course, and have the true dialogue with your team, uh, with your team and with your board so that you are, uh, constantly learning. I think the day you think you know it all, then this is not good. Uh, it can happen. Uh, just, uh, if that happens, uh, have a true conversation with your team and then you, you realize that you don’t know it all.
Naji Gehchan: Well, thank you so much, uh, again for being with me today and for this incredible chat.
Sophie Kornowski: Thank you, Naji, for giving me the opportunity. This was, uh, fun and interesting for me, very much so.
Naji Gehchan: Well, thanks for listening to the show. For more episodes, make sure to subscribe to spreadloveio.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Let’s inspire change together and make a positive impact in healthcare one story at a time
Naji Gehchan: Thanks for listening to the show! For more episodes, make sure to subscribe to Spreadloveio.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let’s inspire change together and make a positive impact in healthcare, one story at a time.
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