Tag Archives: D&I

Work to Make a Difference – Michael Ullmann

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Being in healthcare is a privilege and a humbling responsibility; we impact lives. This is what Michael Ullman has done throughout his years at Johnson & Johnson from where he retired recently as Executive VP, General Counsel & Executive Committee Member. Leadership for Mike is grounded in humility, kindness, and optimism, it is above all a responsibility to other people. Hear Mike’s experience leading JNJ to deliver on covid vaccine that saved humanity during the pandemic, and his thoughts on ESG, Health Equity, social responsibility, and how to build high-performing teams to ensure we deliver on our purpose. As leaders, our job is not to be superstars but rather shine through others, through our people’s greatness. Kindness is underused in the world, create a culture that demands it, treat people with respect, trust them, empower them, and help them succeed.

“Kindness is underused. Create a culture that demands it.”

MEET OUR GUEST Michael Ullmann, (Retired) Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Executive Committee Member, Johnson & Johnson

Michael Ullmann retired from Johnson & Johnson earlier this year after over 33 years with the Company.  For the last 11 years, he served as a member of the J&J Executive Committee and the Executive Vice President, General Counsel leading a global organization of over 2,000 employees in 60 countries encompassing Legal, Government Relations & Policy, ESG Strategy, Intellectual Property, Corporate Governance, Data Privacy, Compliance and Security. 

As General Counsel of the world’s largest Life Sciences company, he successfully guided JNJ through high-profile and high-risk situations, while helping to grow the business to annual sales of $94 billion, increase shareholder value and maintain its reputation as one of the most admired companies in the world. 

Mike joined Johnson & Johnson in 1989 as a mergers & acquisitions attorney and held various management positions, including General Counsel of the Worldwide Medical Devices Group, before becoming the company’s General Counsel in 2012. Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of Americares and serves on the Columbia Law School Board of Visitors. 

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Michael Ullmann

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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, joined today by Mike Ullmann. Mike retired from Johnson & Johnson earlier this year after over 33 years with the Company.  For the last 11 years, he served as a member of the J&J Executive Committee and the Executive Vice President, General Counsel leading a global organization of over 2,000 employees in 60 countries encompassing Legal, Government Relations & Policy, ESG Strategy, Intellectual Property, Corporate Governance, Data Privacy, Compliance and…

Ask the Big Questions – Melanie Ivarsson

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In this episode, we chatted with Melanie Ivarsson, Chief Development Officer at Moderna, who led teams in times the world was anxiously waiting for them to deliver us a hope with Covid Vaccine… and they did. How did they achieve this? How do you lead in such unprecedented times? How do you ensure this sense of purpose continues to live today? Hear all about those stories and about Melanie’s biggest leadership learning throughout this once-in-a-lifetime experience: Enable others to be the best they can be, and don’t get in their way.

“Hang on to your true self.”

MEET OUR GUEST Melanie Ivarsson Chief Development Officer at Moderna.

Melanie Ivarsson is Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer at Moderna, where she leads the Clinical Development Operations department. In this role Dr Ivarsson and her team deliver all clinical programs within the Moderna portfolio.

Melanie has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Moderna, she was Head of Global Clinical Operations, at Takeda (following the acquisition of Shire) and spent 9 years at Pfizer in Clinical Development. She also held roles within the early clinical development group at Eli Lilly.

After receiving her PhD from the University of Bristol, she completed postdoctoral research at Lund University and New York University. Dr Ivarsson also holds an Executive MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Melanie Ivarsson

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 today, having the pleasure to be joined by Melanie Ivarsson Chief Development Officer at Moderna. In this role Melanie leads the Clinical Development Operations department and delivers with her team all clinical programs within the Moderna portfolio. Prior to joining Moderna, she was Head of Global Clinical Operations at Takeda and spent 9 years at Pfizer in…

Leaders Eat Last – Dave Noesges

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When we hear military leadership, we wrongly think of several concepts of management but not the true profound ones anchored in leading from the front while eating last. In this inspiring chat with Dave Noesges, a US veteran and pharmaceutical executive, we discussed leadership to its most profound meaning. For Dave, it is about 3 core pieces: Leading by example which translates into living the standards you want your people to have; Humility & Confidence; and Getting close to your people by caring deeply for them. We also talked about DEIB, high-performing teams, and several other learnings from Dave’s extensive experience leading highly successful diverse teams. His final words of wisdom are so profound as for him now, after an inspiring successful career, people are the ONLY thing that mattered to him.

“Enjoy the journey, it is way more worth than the destination.”

MEET OUR GUEST Dave Noesges a veteran and biopharma executive.

Dave Noesges is a retired pharmaceutical executive with Eli Lilly and Company, where he spent 31 years in sales, marketing, and general management roles in the US and abroad.  He spent much of his career leading sales forces in the Neuroscience and Diabetes therapeutic areas.  His last position was to lead the Lilly Diabetes sales force of nearly 2,000 people as Lilly re-established market leadership in diabetes over a 10-year period, and launched several best-in-class medicines.

Dave is a 1984 graduate of the United States Military Academy and served 5 years as a combat engineer in the US Army, most of that time in West Germany.  After the Army, he attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1991, joining Lilly immediately after that.

He has been married for 35 years and has two grown children, one an elementary school history teacher and the other a Physician Assistant working in urgent care.

He devotes his time now to caring for his 90-year-old father, spending as much time as possible with his wife and daughters, and engaging in many charitable endeavors through his church.  He and his wife also travel extensively working on a long bucket list of international destinations.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Dave Noesges

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this podcast joined today by Dave Noesges a retired pharmaceutical executive with Eli Lilly, where he spent 31 years in sales, marketing and general management roles in the US and abroad.  He spent much of his career leading sales organizations in both the Neuroscience and Diabetes therapeutic areas. His last role was to lead the Lilly…

Trust Yourself – Cathy Nolan

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In this episode, I sat with Cathy Nolan, an experienced international healthcare business executive and leader who shared with me her secret recipe for building high-performing diverse teams: it starts with the clarity of vision, giving people a voice, and having fun! And if you’re not having enough fun, be courageous to make a change. For Cathy, trust is built when we help each other. Hear more stories, life-learning experiences, and powerful words of wisdom. She leaves us with great advice: trust your instinct, you are good enough.

“If you’re not having fun, make a change.”

MEET OUR GUEST Cathy Nolan an experienced international business executive, and founding member at Chief.

Cathy has spent over 23 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, with nearly 20 years at Eli Lilly and Company, and 3 years at Aimmune Therapeutics. She is an experienced international business leader, creating value by delivering highly successful launch and growth strategies in Big Pharma, niche, and non-conventional biotech. She has extensive experience across US, UK, and Europe including multiple launches in Neuroscience, Oncology, and Immunology. She has a decisive, forthright and authentic leadership style with a proven ability to build and develop talented, diverse, and thriving commercial teams at a global, regional and local level.

Cathy is from a large Irish family and grew up on a farm in the west of Ireland. She is married to Jon from England, and lives in Twickenham, South West London, with Jon, their two boys, Lorcan (10) and Cormac (8), and their Labradoodle dog Ozzie. Cathy likes to spend time with her family and friends, stay fit and active, read, and watch movies. 

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Cathy Nolan

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this episode joined today by Cathy Nolan, an experienced international business executive. Cathy has spent over 23 years in the pharma and biotech industry, including Eli Lilly, and more recently Aimmune Therapeutics. As a leader, Cathy consistently created value by building and developing diverse talents globally and delivering highly successful launches and growth strategies in Big…

The Helping Profession – Shahin Gharakhanian

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Careers are a mix of decisions, serendipity, and chance. At least for Dr. Shahin Gharakhanian, this is his belief about his career reflecting his humility. Innovation is about “daring”. Through this chat, you’ll hear from a physician, a pharmaceutical expert, and a leader who lived through one of the most challenging outbreaks of HIV since its very beginnings and led teams who developed life-saving drugs. His deep belief is anchored in “doing well by doing good”, this is a constant motivation that we should all have in biotech. For Shahin, as biopharma leaders, we should have 3 facets: being an inspirational leader, a strong administrator, and a great manager. Hear more about the mix of those three capabilities, incredible other stories, and powerful words of wisdom in this episode!

“Have the guts to come out of your comfort zone.”

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Shahin Gharakhanian physician and Pharmaceutical Executive.

Dr. Shahin Gharakhanian is a physician and Pharmaceutical Executive with expertise in Pharmaceutical Medicine, Leadership/Management, and operational experience both in the US & in Europe.

Shahin is specialized in HIV Medicine and Infectious Diseases and has practiced clinical medicine for over 20 years in AP-HP Hospitals in Paris France. Shahin joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1991, progressing to Vice-President of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with roles in 3 main areas: Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, and Strategic Leadership including membership in the corporate Operating Council. Overall, within the industry, he has held positions ranging from General Manager of a Contract Research Organization to Program Executive leading product development, and regulatory approval/launch in multiple therapeutic areas across the world. Shahin has also founded, built, and organized full functional departments/units for biotechnology companies and hospitals and two LLCs as an entrepreneur.

He is a member of several international societies. His passion is Patient-focused programs for drug & vaccine development, approval, and launch.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Shahin Gharakhanian

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this podcast, having the pleasure to be joined by Dr. Shahin Gharakhanian, a physician and Pharmaceutical Executive with expertise in Pharmaceutical Medicine, Leadership/Management, and operational experience both in the US & in Europe. Shahin is specialized in HIV Medicine and Infectious Diseases has practiced clinical medicine for over 20 years in AP-HP Hospitals in Paris France.…

Love, Passion, Accountability – Stephanie Chen

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“Don’t defer your life.” This is a great word of wisdom to reflect on. We live one life but still manage to live it in a “deferred” way. “Someday we’ll get there, someday we’ll do what we really want…” With this advice, we force ourselves to think if we are living our life as we want, whether we are doing what we love, and working where we want to bring impact. It is easier said than done but worth a moment of reflection. In this episode with Stephanie Chen, we also talked about leadership, how she sees healthcare as a fundamental human right, and what she has done to get closer to serving that purpose with love, passion, and accountability.

“Love people enough to tell them the truth.”

MEET OUR GUEST Stephanie Chen Chief Legal Officer and Culture Officer at ChenMed.

Stephanie Chen serves as ChenMed’s Chief Legal Officer and Culture Officer.  She has been with ChenMed since 2006, and served as General Counsel prior to being named Chief Legal Officer in 2016.  A graduate of New York Law School, which she attended on a Harlan Scholarship, Stephanie was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008. She graduated cum laude from Boston College with a degree in economics.

Stephanie and her husband, Dr. Chris Chen, the CEO of ChenMed, have four children together and live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Stephanie Chen

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this podcast, having the pleasure to be joined by Stephanie Chen, ChenMed’s Chief Legal Officer and Culture Officer. Stephanie has been with ChenMed since 2006, and served as General Counsel prior to being named Chief Legal Officer in 2016.  A graduate of New York Law School, which she attended on a Harlan Scholarship, Stephanie was admitted…

Honest, Authentic, Truthful Leadership – Pravin Chaturvedi

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In this episode, you’ll hear from a serial biotech entrepreneur and incredible leader Pravin Chaturvedi. Many insightful words I kept with me from this episode as a leader in healthcare: Strive to Impact, not Impress. Life is short when you’re happy, long when you’re suffering. Never tolerate oppression of any form. Residual intellect. Powerpoint is useless :). Hear more about those leadership beliefs Pravin shared with us and also his experience in building biotech companies and teams. He left us with a powerful charge as healthcare leaders: “Never forget our huge responsibility: Patients rely on us to make their life better.” If this is not why you wake up every morning and strive for, you’re in the wrong industry.

“Hope is not a strategy to solve problems.”

MEET OUR GUEST Pravin Chaturvedi Co-Founder & CEO at Oceanyx Pharmaceuticals.

Pravin Chaturvedi is a veteran drug developer, serial biotech entrepreneur, and seasoned CEO. CSO and/or Board member of many life science ventures. Over his 30+ years in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, he has participated in and led the drug development teams for multiple drugs across the therapeutic areas of central nervous system (CNS), HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), cancer, and gastrointestinal disorders. He has participated in the successful drug approval and commercialization of seven drugs.

Pravin serves as the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for Napo Pharmaceuticals and Jaguar Health. He is also the co-founder and CEO of IndUS Pharmaceuticals and Oceanyx Pharmaceuticals. He is also the Executive Chairman of Cellanyx and Chair of the Board for Enlivity. He currently serves on the boards of several organizations including IndUS, Oceanyx, Cellanyx, Enlivity, and Sindu Research Laboratories. He has previously served as the President, CEO, and Board of Director for Pivot Pharmaceuticals and Scion Pharmaceuticals and has also served on the boards of Pivot, Scion, Bach Pharma, PRADAN USA, FuelEd Schools, Sindu Pharmaceuticals, TiE Boston, and ResoluteBio. Over his career, he has also been a part of multiple national and international strategic partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies as well as governments and has served on several advisory boards.

Prior to his current leadership responsibilities as (President/CEO/CSO roles in various companies), he served as the Head of Lead Evaluation at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. He held scientific positions at Alkermes and Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert (now Pfizer). He also contributes significant time to teaching and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown Medical School. He holds a doctoral degree from West Virginia University and an undergraduate degree in pharmacy from the University of Bombay.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Pravin Chaturvedi

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this podcast, having the pleasure to be joined by Dr Pravin Chaturvedi a veteran drug developer, serial biotech entrepreneur, and seasoned CEO/CSO, Board member of many life science ventures. Over his 30+ years in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, he has participated and led the drug development teams for multiple drugs across the several therapeutic areas.…

Move With Passion – Jennifer Kherani

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Leadership starts with passion: passion for your purpose, passion for your people, passion to do things well. Adding to this, two philosophies Dr. Jennifer Kherani believes in: “Be a YES person (then figure it out)”, and “no job is too small for a big enough person”. These are some bits of the incredible chat we had about leading teams from the Emergency Room to biotech and entrepreneurship. Hear Jen’s stories and lessons learned moving through her different experiences while always keeping her passion to help patients at the center.

“Tackle problems with humility.”

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Jennifer Kherani an Emergency Physician and former Head of Clinical Safety at Loxo Oncology.

Dr. Jennifer Kherani received her BA in Neuroscience in 2000 from Colgate University, completed her pre-medical post-baccalaureate studies at Columbia University in 2004, and her M.D. from Duke University in 2008.  She subsequently completed her residency training in emergency medicine in the combined Cornell/Columbia program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident in her final year.

Until August 2022, she served as Head of Clinical Safety at Loxo Oncology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company.  Jen is also a founder of Summus Global, a subscription-based healthcare advisory company aimed at restoring the human connection between patients and healthcare providers. 

Jen is currently serving on the Rye Country Day School (RCDS) Board of Directors (July 2021-current) and is a member of the Medical Committee, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, the Education Committee, and the Marketing and Communications Committee. She also serves on the DukeNY Board of Directors (2018-present), serving as Co-Chair of the Nominating Committee as well a member of the DEI Committee, the Women’s Impact Network (WIN) Leadership Counsel (2021-present), and as a mentor on the Reimagining Medicine (ReMed; 2019-present) course.

She lives in Rye, NY with her husband, Dr. Aftab Kherani, and their two sons Zayd (grade 5) and Rizq (grade 3).

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Jennifer Kherani

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this podcast, having the pleasure to be joined by Dr Jennifer Kherani. Jen received her M.D. from Duke and subsequently completed her residency training in emergency medicine in the combined Cornell/Columbia program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident in her final year. Until August 2022, she served as Head of Clinical Safety…

Authentic Imperfect Leadership – Lisa Matar

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Many talks about authenticity in leadership, being true to self, and vulnerability, Lisa Matar exemplifies this leadership style and added to those words “imperfect” leadership. From a childhood spent in bomb shelters to being the first woman serving on the Board of Directors of Innovative Medicine Canada, Lisa summarizes her success through hard work to bring some normalcy to life, and resilience. “Succeeding is easy when it is the only option you have, adversity shapes your identity thanks to resilience”. Hear incredible stories, learnings, and how Lisa challenged a system that was not made for her to succeed while challenging her own limits to excel in all she does toward her purpose in healthcare.

“Leaders with grit run a successful business, Leaders paying it forward leave a better legacy.”

MEET OUR GUEST Lisa Matar Global Life Science senior executive.

Lisa Matar is a Global Life Science senior executive with more than 25 years of experience leading organizations and driving significant growth, profitability, and launching excellence across the globe.

Lisa served as President and General Manager of Eli Lilly Canada from 2013 to February of 2020 and was a member of the North American executive committee at Eli Lilly. Lisa served on the Board of Directors of Innovative Medicine Canada from 2013 until early 2020 and chaired the Ethics and Compliance committee from 2018 to 2020.

Lisa currently serves on the boards of Directors of Delphi Diagnostics Inc and Starpax Biopharma Inc. and chairs the compensation and governance Committee of Delphi Diagnostics Inc. a breast cancer diagnostic company with an exclusive license to commercialize SETTM (Sensitivity to Endocrine Therapy) test to guide personalized Breast Cancer Treatment. Starpax Biopharma Inc. is a biopharma/MedTech company that has developed a revolutionary platform for 3D precision delivery of cancer drugs in solid tumors using Magnetodrones TM.

Lisa earned a Doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Saint Joseph in Lebanon.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Lisa Matar

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji, your host for this podcast, having the pleasure to be joined today by Lisa Matar, a global life science senior executive with more than 25 years of experience leading organizations and driving significant impact across the globe. Lisa served as President and General Manager of Eli Lilly Canada for several years and was member of the North American Executive Committee. She…

Immigrant Mindset – Maheen Junaid

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A single question Maheen Junaid thinks of daily as she leads her teams in her executive role: “What can we do for patients?” Having this as the true north for a healthcare company and living it is crucial as it ultimately simplifies decision-making. In this episode, Maheen shares her immigrant story, her leadership beliefs, and her learnings building a company from 4 to 1400 employees. Empathy and DEIB are her core leadership elements. And her words of wisdom are so powerful: Become comfortable being uncomfortable.

“Home is an environment of inclusivity, acceptance, love, and opportunity for growth”

MEET OUR GUEST Maheen Junaid, General Counsel, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer for KabaFusion.

Maheen Junaid is General Counsel, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer for KabaFusion, a home infusion pharmacy provider. Maheen holds a JD/LLB from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from MIT. In her executive role at KabaFusion, she is committed to fostering a positive work environment that celebrates diversity and inclusion. She also loves working for an organization that promotes a culture of prioritizing quality and compassionate patient care while being innovative and entrepreneurial.

Maheen has also worked in the non-profit sector, providing training and legal assistance for minority communities within the greater Boston area. She is passionate about empowering and enabling marginalized people through advocacy, and support.

Maheen was born in Pakistan and was raised in England and Canada. She currently resides in Massachusetts with her family.

Take Risks to Impact the World – Marcello Damiani

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“What really matters is impact”. Marcello Damiani started with this statement, and we all know now the impact he and his teams at Moderna had on humanity over the past years. He has led teams through those times, delivered on an incredible challenge that became a hope, then a reality: Covid vaccines. Hear him share those stories, his learning, the role of leadership, digital, innovation… From the focus on purpose to the culture and mindset to deliver on it, Marcello gives us great words of wisdom as we continue to navigate times of uncertainty and change. Let’s “not be shy to take risks to impact the world”!

“A leader alone doesn’t serve any purpose”

MEET OUR GUEST Marcello Damiani, Chief Digital and Operational Excellence Officer at Moderna.

Marcello Damiani is the Chief Digital and Operational Excellence Officer at Moderna, where he builds the technology, processes, and digitization landscape required to advance a new class of medicines based on mRNA science. Marcello has a wealth of experience from both Tech and Life Science companies, with a true passion for making digital a reality. He has 20years experience working in the IT field, with the last 10years being spent in leadership roles for multinational companies in Europe and the USA. Prior to joining Moderna, he worked at diagnostics firm bioMérieux and before that at Motorola.

Marcello has a Master of Science degree in Information and Communication Systems Architecture from the University of Toulouse in France, and an Executive MBA through TRIUM.

The Art of Possible – Andrew Bunton

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We have read a lot about leading in crisis. Andrew Bunton has definitely done so, leading his teams during the Covid pandemic and reinventing patient experience in one of the largest retail pharmacies in the US. Hear his thoughts and takeaways also on leading transformations including omnichannel and how focusing on purpose, empowering diverse talents, and helping them grow will lead to exploring the art of possible!

“It’s not just the output, it is about your people’s journey”

MEET OUR GUEST Andrew Bunton Vice President of Pharmacy Omnichannel Customer Experience at CVS Health

Andrew Bunton is the Vice President of Omnichannel Customer Experience at CVS Health, where he leads the efforts to create a differentiated frictionless pharmacy experience leveraging CVS’ digital and physical assets. Andrew has worked at CVS Health for 10 years, including leading the retail pharmacy’s development and management of clinical services to improve patient adherence, Enterprise Workforce Management where he led all aspects of resource planning, labor budgeting, and scheduling for CVS Health’s retail business, Omnicare, MinuteClinic, and Coram, and Retail Health Services Strategy and New Product Development, where he led all aspects of strategic planning as well as the discovery, design, incubation, and scaling of new business lines.

Prior to CVS, Andrew was a Case Team Leader and Consultant at Bain & Company in Boston and a Vice President in the Corporate & Investment Banking Group at Bank of America. Andrew holds a BA from Bates College and earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Andrew Bunton

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji your host for this podcast, joined today by Andrew Bunton Vice President of Omnichannel customer experience and at CVS Health, Andrew leads the efforts to create a differentiated, frictionless pharmacy experience leveraging cvs, digital and physical assets. He has worked at CVS Health for 10 years, including leading the retail pharmacies, development, and management of clinical services, retail health…

Authentic Impact – Geoffrey Roche

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Love driven leadership won’t have to deal with retention! People will thrive through the sense of belonging created. Leadership is truly about creating this environment and culture. Authentic impact is another responsibility for leaders. It should be deliberate and measured. It can’t be focused only on profits, it should seek to move communities forward. When asked about equity, Geoffrey Roche talked about creating a structure and system that meets people’s needs where they are. Several other words of wisdom to discover in this episode!

“If you really want to move the needle, do it with authenticity.”

MEET OUR GUEST Geoffrey Roche Senior Vice President, National Health Care Practice & Workforce Partnerships at Core Education PBC.

Geoffrey M. Roche, MPA, is an accomplished leader with steadfast commitment and passion for healthcare innovation, future-focused strategy, transformation, cultural change, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and workforce impact. His professional career has included over nine years in hospital administration where he served as a strategic advisor to the President and CEO and department director of various departments, including Business Development and Planning, Government Affairs, Community Health, and Public Relations, for Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono. Geoffrey also has served in senior leadership roles at two academic institutions where he led strategic partnerships, organizational strategy, and business development for both Lebanon Valley College and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Roche also has served as Senior Vice President, Business & Workforce Development at Dignity Health Global Education, where he led national conversations and initiatives to develop innovative diversity, equity, and inclusion solutions for the healthcare workforce.

He has extensive experience creating high-impact partnerships. He is also an Adjunct Instructor of Health Administration in the MBA/MHA Program at Moravian University, serves on the United Way of Lebanon County and United Way of Pennsylvania Board of Directors, IU 13 Board of Directors, Leadership Council for Moravian College, Patient Safety Committee for WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, and as an elected School Director of Annville-Cleona School District. Roche earned his Master of Science degree in Management and Leadership: Public Administration at East Stroudsburg University and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Moravian University. Given his robust focus on continued education and leadership development, he has also earned a Mini-MBA in Healthcare from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, Certificate in Innovation in Healthcare Management from Arizona State University, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Certificate in Healthcare Leadership from Duke Corporate Education, and a Certificate in Heroic Leadership from Santa Clara University.

Pain and Passion – Phil Johnson

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Pain and Passion - Phil Johnson
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Lowering your walls spreads love. People follow inspirational leaders because of love; they feel safe, they feel lifted up and not held down. Hear from Phil Johnson about his work and belief on emotional intelligence. There are two sources of motivation that will cause us to do the emotional labor and leave our comfort zone: One is pain, and the other is passion. For him, emotional intelligence is this experiential process. We must take the leap of faith to begin the journey so that we see its value in our life.

“Leadership is not a title or position; it is a choice that each of us needs to make.”

MEET OUR GUEST Phil Johnson Founder & CEO of Master of Business Leadership program.

For the past 21 years, Phil Johnson has been an executive coach, teacher, and mentor dedicated to helping executives and organizations achieve remarkable results. His program touched leaders across the globe and in different industries. Phil was a corporate executive in the semiconductor industry for 20 years before founding MBL.

Stop, Listen, and Learn – Myriam Hakim

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Stop, Listen, and Learn - Myriam Hakim
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Success is not how high you climb but how you make a positive difference in the world and even more specifically how you make a positive difference in people’s lives and anyone who came across your path. This says a lot about my discussion with Myriam Hakim, an accomplished leader in the pharma industry. From growing up with incredible women as her role models to now being an example herself to many in the Middle East and beyond, Myriam shares her personal story, her key learnings building teams and affiliates from scratch, while always being passionate about people, patients, and business.

“Every day is an opportunity to learn something new if you listen to others.”

MEET OUR GUEST Myriam Hakim Cluster General Manager at Kyowa Kirin Gulf Countries.

Myriam Hakim is an experienced pharma executive with 20 years of successful career in various key roles in the pharmaceutical industry in Europe and the Middle East. Her main focus has always been to create and add value to patients and medical communities in various therapeutic areas and particularly in rare diseases and Oncology. With her entrepreneurial spirit and results-orientation, Myriam has built, established, and grown teams to deliver profitable business covering the entire GCC and the middle east region.

Myriam is a fervent supporter to drive diversity and inclusion mainly around women in the workplace and in leadership positions within the pharma industry. She is a strong believer in leading with courage, passion, and love.

Let’s Get Busy! – John Sterman

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Let's Get Busy! - John Sterman
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Leadership for John Sterman means distributed responsibility. Each of us has influence and some ability to change the system. In this timely episode, while we see some places melting because of climate change, and some populations risking their existence, we should take our responsibility as leaders, humans, and global citizens, we should stand up, and take action through visioning, networking, truth-telling, learning, AND loving. John remains hopeful and believes that climate change is tough but solvable. We can solve for many sustainable problems by leading from a basis of love; love is more than empathy, more than care, it is the belief that we have the capacity for good, we have the capacity to sacrifice for the common good, and that we can nurture that! And if people believe this is naive, so be it. In this episode hear about the beer game, climate change, leadership, system dynamics, healthcare, and a call for us as leaders to GET BUSY!

“As a leader, design a system so that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.”

MEET OUR GUEST John Sterman Professor of Management at MIT Sloan in the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society; Director of the MIT System Dynamics Group and the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative.

John is a Professor of Management at MIT Sloan in the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. He is also the Director of the MIT System Dynamics Group and the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. John’s research centers on improving decision-making in complex systems, including corporate strategy and operations, energy policy, public health, environmental sustainability, and climate change. His work ranges from the dynamics of organizational change and the implementation of sustainable improvement programs to climate change and the implementation of policies to promote a sustainable world. Sterman pioneered the development of “management flight simulators” for corporate and economic systems which are now used by corporations, universities, and governments around the world.

He is the author of many articles on the challenges and opportunities facing organizations today, including the book, Modeling for Organizational Learning, and the award-winning textbook, Business Dynamics.

John has received multiple awards and recognitions around the globe and has been featured in several media for his innovative use of interactive simulations in management education and policymaking, particularly in climate change and energy policy.

I had the privilege to be John’s student, and I see the world now differently…. Definitely through a system dynamic lens but also through a lens of responsibility we all have as leaders to make the world a more sustainable and healthier place.

Learn more about climate solutions through En-ROADS an online simulator where John Sterman is Senior Advisor and Dr. Elizabeth Sawin is co-founder and Senior Advisor.

Fighting Inertia – Doug Bruce

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Fighting Inertia - Doug Bruce
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Leading through pandemics, crises, innovation breakthroughs, and transformations is Dr. Doug Bruce’s specialty. From HIV pandemic management in most hit countries to leading large transformations in the US healthcare system, Doug will share his key learning from overcoming silos to reaching the “truth” in moments of crisis and change. His leadership lessons are insightful for all of us whether in public health, private sector, or NGO: be creative, be a listener, and be humble. Doug spreads love by treating people with dignity, ensuring they know and perceive their value, and this spreads to patients…

“We build trust through transparency, humility, and honesty.”

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Doug Bruce associate Chief of Clinical Affairs at Boston University School of Medicine.

Dr. Robert Doug Bruce is Associate Chief of Clinical Affairs at Boston University School of Medicine and Director of Primary Care at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Prior to those roles, Doug transformed healthcare in the New Haven community focusing on the largest health center in new haven on quality and value-based care which resulted in significant savings for CT Medicaid and the community. Doug was also Chief of Medicine at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University.

Doug is a global expert in substance use disorders in people with HIV and hepatitis C. He has published widely on the topic of substance use disorders and HIV. He has provided technical assistance to CDC, NIH, and the United Nations.

In September 2020, Doug moved to Boston to join BU and BMC to continue practice transformation, innovation, and quality improvement within a safety net organization’s large academic medical practice.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Doug Bruce

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this podcast, joined today by Dr Robert Bruce Associate Chief of Clinical Affairs at Boston University School of Medicine, and Director of Primary Care at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Prior to those roles, Robert transformed healthcare in the New Haven community focusing in the largest health center in new haven on quality and value based care…

Know What You Don’t Know – Susan Silbermann

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Know What You Don't Know - Susan Silbermann
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When we think of inspiring leaders, we remember those we learned from by watching how they did what they do. It is those we want to follow and be like. It is those who made us feel valued and heard, those who made us grow after each interaction even when it is an unpleasant conversation. Because people remember how they felt when you left the room, lead from a place of genuine care and love. Hear more from Susan Silbermann, her journey, and more of those incredible insights and learning she’s sharing with us.

“Ask the questions because you want to move the ball forward.”

MEET OUR GUEST Susan Silbermann, an accomplished, global senior business executive, with broad experience in healthcare across multiple geographies.

Curious by nature, Susan is an authentic and communicative leader who is adept at leading remote, diverse teams and who excels at working cross-functionally. This reputation extends to interactions in the policy, government affairs, and public health arenas.

She is a Board Director at HilleVax Inc (Comp Chair) and LianBio (NomGov Chair) and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of IAVI, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. She is also a member of the board of Meet the Writers, a non-profit organization bringing together authors and students in low-income NYC public schools. Previously Susan served on numerous not-for-profit and NGO boards, including Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance (member of Governance Committee); Catalyst Inc; and the Council of the Americas. In March 2021, she stepped down as Vice-Chair of the President’s Council for Doing Business in Africa.

Before retiring from Pfizer last year, Susan led a then $8B revenue, 10,000 colleagues Emerging Markets division, and Pfizer’s internal Global COVID-19 Task Force, ensuring the safety and well-being of 75,000 employees, facilities, and medicine and vaccine supply chain. In her prior role, Susan was the Global President of Pfizer Vaccines, leading operations, commercial, and business development.

Susan is looking forward to whatever lies ahead — and looking backward doesn’t really lead you anywhere new, does it?

Committed to Serve – Umbereen Nehal

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and don’t forget Belonging. Belonging is one of the most crucial aspects we talk less about but greatly impacts us. We also talked about Health Equity, what it means, and what we can do as healthcare leaders – it starts by raising the problem for us to start solving it! Hear why quality is about love and other incredible insights in this conversation with a Top Voice in healthcare, Dr. Umbereen Nehal.

“You have to raise a problem for it to be problem-solved.”

MEET OUR GUEST Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH is a Dean’s Fellow and Sloan Fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Her work is at the intersection of technology, policy, and healthcare delivery to diverse populations.

Umbereen is a recognized thought leader on human-centered health information technology (HIT) design, ethical artificial intelligence (AI), payment reform, quality, and reducing disparities. Educated at Aga Khan University Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Nehal trained at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine followed by the Harvard Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Four times Dr. Nehal has been named “LinkedIn Top Voice” for “Healthcare” and as a “Top Female Voice” on International Women’s Day. As Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs of Community Healthcare Network, Dr. Nehal led a 14-site multi-specialty certified Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) serving 85,000 New Yorkers including behavioral health integration and telehealth. She had oversight of over 700 staff and a $100 million operating budget.

Dr. Nehal served as Associate Medical Director of MassHealth — a Medicaid program serving 1.6 million members and accounting for 40% of the state budget — providing leadership on program development and evaluation, cost effectiveness evaluation, population health initiatives, and state-wide information “HIway” for intraoperability. Dr. Nehal served as clinical lead for the 5-year restructuring to create new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) models, co-leading a successful bid for $1.8b in new investment from Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Nehal has expertise in leading multi-disciplinary teams for change management. She designed novel HIT for Medicare Advantage plans to track and rank new forms of data used for payment by CMS and contributed to a Series C fund raise for a client that offers an integrated cloud-based medial data and extraction platform enhanced by AI and natural language processing (NLP). As an MIT Sloan Fellow Dr. Nehal led an AI-focused hackathon, drawing hundreds of innovators from around the world, for human-centered
design solution in the age of COVID-19 and was an invited senior author on a chapter on business models, payment metrics, and business ethics for medical AI.

Dr. Nehal served as co-chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Healthcare Delivery and Disparities Research advisory panel, she informed national funding priorities for a portfolio of over $300 million clinical effectiveness evaluations. She co-authored national curriculum on the Patient-Centered Medical Home, now disseminated to over 8,000 residents. She is published on use of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to promote transition planning for children with disabilities. She provided expert review to the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s medical home curriculum. Elected by her peers, she served as district representative and on the board for the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A frequent invited stakeholder to the White House,
CMS, HHS, and NIH, she was asked to moderate a panel for U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina
Benjamin. Dr. Nehal served as the Principal Investigator of a community health grant to partner with community-based organizations and faith groups in low-resourced communities to promote improved heart health aligned with the Culture of Health. Dr. Nehal’s national leadership on community engagement won recognition from President Obama.

Mind Medication – Aden Eyob

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Mind Medication - Aden Eyob
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In this episode, I had a great conversation with a leader in Mindset: Aden Eyob. Aden is a clinical neuroscientist and author of the Book on Mind Training: The Secret for Positive Living. She is the founder and CEO of Mind Medication, a fusion of neuroscience-psychology and spirituality-based mindset consulting and speaker service that helps uncover people’s “why”, unlock potential, and free limiting beliefs to achieve the impossible. Aden’s mission is a world free from limiting beliefs. Her formula is straightforward: Change your thought for it to be positive, it brings positive emotions and leads to the correct behavior. Hear about her great CALM framework: Clarity of the why, Accountability of goals, Love and self-care, and Motivators.

“Thought + Emotion = Behavior”

MEET OUR GUEST Aden Eyob, Founder & CEO at Mind Medication, Author, Speaker, and Clinical Neuroscientist.

Aden has over ten years of business experience working with Fortune 500 companies, including Gilead Sciences, Kite Pharma, Medpace, Kantar Health, Ogilvy Healthworld, and academic institutions such as UCLA and Charles R. Drew University. Currently, Aden is the founder and CEO of Mind Medication, a fusion of neuroscience-psychology and spirituality-based mindset consulting, coaching, and speaker service that helps organizations uncover their why, unlock potential; and free limiting beliefs to achieve the impossible.

Before beginning her business, Aden spent most of her career in Biotechnology, most notable, three years at Gilead Sciences / Kite Pharma. She worked as a Clinical Trial Management professional within the oncology therapy unit. She also led Gilead’s Leadership Organization of Black Employees (GLOBE) Community Outreach Pillar, which engages in philanthropic endeavors and investments that provide opportunities to give back to the UK communities in which Gilead operates.

Aden’s innovative thinking and mindfulness approach towards her career, health, and personal commitments were recognized by her peers and awarded the Women at Gilead Life Balance Award for 2018. Moreover, Aden is the recipient of Brainz CREA Global Awards 2021 in recognition of her innovative ideas, adaptability in business, and contribution to mental health projects.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Aden Eyob

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji your host for this episode and I have the pleasure to be with Aden Eyob, a leader in mindset. Aden is a clinical neuroscientist and author of the book on mind training, the secret of positive living. She is the founder and CEO of mind medication. A fusion of neuroscience, psychology and SP spirituality based mindset consulting and speaker service…

The Key is People – Zen Chu

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The Key is People - Zen Chu
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Zen Chu built and invested in several successful medical and healthcare companies, his key to success: People first. When reflecting on the investor side, this doesn’t change either, it starts with people. For Zen, the best leaders and investors are those focused on impact, and when love is in their life, it allows them to be laser-focused on the impact they bring. In this episode, hear Zen’s incredible personal story and journey, his insightful advice, and lessons learned from leading turnarounds to building extremely successful ventures!

“Love in your life allows you to focus purely on impact.”

MEET OUR GUEST Zen Chu, Health Tech Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor.

Faculty Director for the Healthcare Ventures graduate courses and Hacking Medicine student teams at MIT, Harvard Medical School and UCLA.

As founder of four medical companies and Hacking Medicine Venture Capital fund, Zen has 25 years of experience building early-stage medical technology and healthcare service companies, usually serving among the first investors in companies like PillPack.com, Abridge.com, FeelMore Labs, Nurx.com, Aptible, Luminopia, Molecule.to, MycoMedica, DirectDerm and a few others still in stealth mode.

Zen cofounded and served as CEO for 3D-Matrix Medical Inc. a venture-backed MIT regenerative medicine company with a successful IPO in 2011. 3D-Matrix has wound-healing and drug-delivery products on the market outside of the US and multiple human clinical trials in process.

I met Zen through the MIT Healthcare Ventures, a course that teaches entrepreneurship, business models, and venture creation around technology that can transform healthcare. Zen actively consults companies in pharma, health tech, and healthcare systems struggling to adapt to global digital healthcare transformation and emerging markets.

Referent Leadership – Jim Dougherty

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Referent Leadership - Jim Dougherty
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You rarely chat with a leader with such extensive successful experience, from building companies to being on boards of large institutions, whose purpose is to make people happy. Through his humility and focus on mutual respect, transparency, and honesty, Jim Dougherty believes that one of the most important keys to success is the culture you create in a company. For him, culture should be created strategically in every company including startups, and not only be words on a wall or a slide. You’ll hear incredible advice on how to lead turnarounds while engaging teams to thrive and be at their best. In the end, people will remember how they felt with you, and this is the legacy that will remain…

“People want to work with you because they want to learn how to behave like you.”

MEET OUR GUEST Jim Dougherty Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Madaket Health.

Jim is an entrepreneur, senior executive, and also Senior Lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at MIT. He has extensive experience working directly with investors to execute highly successful turnarounds of troubled companies. He has stabilized and recapitalized such companies as Gartner, IntraLinks, Prodigy, and Small Business ISP. At Lotus Development Corporation, Jim was the founder of eApps (Internet Division), and he created the NOTES: NEWSSTAND business publishing service which was later sold successfully. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow for Business and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He sits on the board of different institutions too.

Jim is on the Board of Trustees for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he Chairs the Research Oversight Committee, Bright Spirit Children’s Foundation, and the Foreign Policy Association in New York City.

Jim holds a BA in government from Framingham State University, an MA in international economics from Columbia University, and a Graduate Certificate of Special Studies in finance and administration from Harvard University.

Here are the great articles from Jim Dougherty we mentioned in the episode published in Harvard Business Review – HBR.

Change Needs Courage & Data – Dimitris Bertsimas

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Change Needs Courage & Data - Dimitris Bertsimas
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AI is simply the future, more explicitly Dimitris Bertsimas likes to talk about analytics which is for him the science of using data to build models that lead to decisions that impact the world positively. Personalized medicine is the aspiring future that we will get to soon. As leaders, we will have to drive those changes. This needs courage and openness to what data tells us. Hear from a leader who changed medical practices through data, models and decisions and impacted positively thousands of lives. “The beauty of computers is they don’t get tired”, but they can’t replace humans, hear more about it in this episode.

“Love is the most significant aspect of human happiness”

MEET OUR GUEST Dimitris Bartsimas Associate Dean of Business Analytics, Boeing Professor of Operations Research, and faculty director of the Master of Business Analytics at MIT.

Dimitris is Global Operations Professor of Management, a Professor of Operations Research, and the Associate Dean for the Master of Business Analytics at MIT.

A faculty member since 1988, his research interests include optimization, stochastic systems, machine learning, and their application. In recent years, he has worked in robust optimization, statistics, healthcare, transportation, and finance. Dimitris is also a serial entrepreneur and was a co-founder of Dynamic Ideas, sold to American Express. He is also the founder of Dynamic Ideas Press, a publisher of scientific books, the cofounder of Benefits Science, a company that designs health care plans for companies, Dynamic Ideas Financial, a company that provides financial advice to customers, of Alpha Dynamics, an asset management company, P2 Analytics, an analytics consulting company, and of MyA health, a personalized health care advice company. 

Dimitris has coauthored more than 200 scientific papers and several books. He is the former department editor of Optimization for Management Science and of Operations Research in Financial Engineering. A member of the National Academy of Engineering and an INFORMS fellow, he has received numerous research awards, including the Harold Larnder Prize (2016), the Philip Morse Lectureship prize (2013), the William Pierskalla best paper award in health care (2013), best paper award in Trapsoration (2013), the Farkas Prize (2008), the Erlang Prize (1996), the SIAM Prize in Optimization (1996), the Bodossaki Prize (1998), and the Presidential Young Investigator Award (1991–1996). He has also received recognition for his educational contributions: The Jamieson prize (2013) and the Samuel M. Seegal prize (1999). 

Dimitris holds a BS in electrical engineering and computer science from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, as well as an MS in operations research and a PhD in applied mathematics and operations research from MIT.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Dimitris Bertsimas

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this episode joined today by Dimitris Bertsimas Professor of Management, Operations Research, and Associate Dean for the Master of Business Analytics at MIT. A faculty member since 1988, Dimitris’ research include optimization, stochastic systems, machine learning, and their application in different sectors including healthcare. Dimitris is also a serial entrepreneur, he cofounded several companies like Dynamic…

Compassionate Leader – Marissa Afton

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We’ve been hearing a lot lately about empathy and its importance in leadership (finally!), have you heard about compassionate leadership? Marissa Afton will take us through her work and research on what compassionate leaders do to build and engage high-performing teams and deliver success. You’ll also hear about self-care and the importance of “kindness to self” with great practical tips for us to fit in our daily schedules, like performance breaks and self space.

“Do Hard Things in a Human Way”

MEET OUR GUEST Marissa Afton International Partner & Head of Global Accounts at Potential Project

Marissa is a Partner and Head of Global Accounts at Potential Project. She is a driving force behind leadership development and change initiatives at multinational companies, helping leaders and organizations unlock their potential to create cultural excellence and superior performance, resilience, and innovation. 

A mindfulness practitioner for over 25 years, Marissa is recognized for her breadth of knowledge and deep experience in transforming organizations by transforming the mind.

She is a sought-after speaker at leadership conferences about the impact of mind training on high-performing cultures, as well as the mental qualities of excellent leaders. She works with many Fortune 500 companies including Bloomberg, Cisco, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and White & Case, among others.

Here’s the link to her latest book on compassionate leadership https://www.potentialproject.com/resources#01-books

The Two Should Coexist – Richard Kivel

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The Two Should Coexist - Richard Kivel
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VC and Love? Can those two words coexist? For Richard Kivel, a renowned VC in healthcare, the most valuable VCs in the end, are those who are empathetic and direct at the same time. They are with you when there are problems, and point them out recognizing that things don’t usually go as planned. For him, it is the love versus fear concept. When investing in companies, he looks for devoted CEO, truthful and focused, with a vision and passion for the company, a CEO who is loved rather than feared! “If people feel valued, they feel loved, if they feel loved they are going to be committed, If they are committed, the organization will have a higher probability of success.” So, it really comes down to LOVE.

“Look for a CEO who is loved, not feared.”

MEET OUR GUEST Richard Kivel Investor & Board Director in Technology and Healthcare.

Richard serves as the Managing Director of GrayBella Capital LLC, a Pan-European venture capital firm based in London, investing in growth-stage technology and healthcare companies.

Since 2021 he has served as a Board member of Lottery.com, a publicly-traded (Nasdaq: LTRY) leading technology company that is transforming how, where and when lottery is played. Since 2018, Richard has served as Chairman of the Board of BC Platforms, a Zurich, Switzerland-based bio-computing leader.

Before this, Richard was Executive Chairman of the Board of ViS Research Inc., leading to a successful acquisition by IMS Health. In addition, he was a Board Director and Chairman of the nominating committee of Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: RNN) from 2010 until 2013.

Richard’s executive management experience also includes a Senior Management position at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, and two Chief Executive Officer positions: TheraGenetics, Ltd. from 2006 until 2009, and MolecularWare, Inc. from 2001 until 2004. Both companies were successfully acquired.

He has served various roles at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including as the Chairman and President of the MIT Enterprise Forum, a Board member of the MIT Alumni Association, and is a regular Lecturer at MIT and other schools. He is also a Trustee of Bankinter Innovation Foundation, a technology think-tank based in Madrid.

Genuine Love – Bob Jones

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Genuine Love - Bob Jones
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When Bob heard the word love, he was really not sure… Hear his thoughts on the true meaning of spreading love in organizations from helping others realize their dreams to giving space for your people to thrive. Leadership is courage, entrepreneurship is loneliness, and if you go that route make sure the need is unmet, customers really think what you are providing is better, and ensure the sustainability of your venture.

“Help them connect the dots to the purpose, inspire them, and get out of the way!”

MEET OUR GUEST Bob Jones Entrepreneur, CEO, Speaker, Author of “The Start-Up Starter Kit”.

Bob is CEO of Scientific Nutrition Products, Inc. The company addresses medical conditions by creating and selling nutrition-based products. Bob was previously a Principal at Scientia Advisors, a strategy consulting firm, where Bob led the Nutrition and Wellness practice. Prior to Scientia, Bob was President and CEO of Vitasoy USA, Inc., the nation’s largest marketer and manufacturer of tofu and the pioneer of soymilk in America. This was a management turn-around.

Before joining Vitasoy, Bob launched three start-ups in the medical nutrition field. Each company addressed chronic medical disorders such as diabetes via specifically targeted nutrition products (rather than drugs). All three start-ups were with staff and faculty at Harvard Medical School. Each company turned leading-edge science into consumer products that were sold through retail pharmacies.

Bob has held executive positions at several other companies, including Abbott Laboratories and Baxter International. He has two awarded patents in the field of nutrition. He is an active mentor with MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service and has served as a judge in MIT’s 100K Business Plan Competition. He has an A.B. in biology from Princeton University and an MSM from MIT Sloan.

After hours, Bob plays in a blues band in the Boston area and is a springboard diver, and an enthusiastic motorcyclist.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Bob Jones

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji, your host for this episode joined today by Bob Jones, serial healthcare industry, entrepreneur. Bob is founder and currently CEO of scientific nutrition products, a company addressing medical conditions by creating and selling nutrition based products. Bob was previously a principal at CIA advisors, a strategy consulting firm, where Bob led the nutrition and wellness practice. Prior to that, Bob was…

Effective Leadership – Ben Shields

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Effective Leadership - Ben Shields
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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. 

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Ben Shields

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji your host for this episode, joined today by Ben Shields, senior lecturer in managerial communication at the MIT. Ben 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 teaches a number of courses. And I had the privilege to be in one of those where…

The Scientist Leader – Angelique Adams

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Angelique Adams

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji your host for this episode joined today by Dr. Angelique Adams, 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 and D. At aluminum, giant OAA and chief innovation officer at multibillion dollar steel maker, ARA after…

Multisolver Leader – Elizabeth Sawin

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Multisolver Leader - Elizabeth Sawin
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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Elizabeth Sawin

Naji: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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’m Naji your host for this episode joined by Elizabeth Sawin founder and director of the Multisolving Institute. Beth is an expert on solutions that address climate change while also improving health, wellbeing, equity, and economic fire fatality. She developed the idea of multisolving to help people see and create the conditions for such win-win solutions. Her work has been published widely. She…

Benevolent Leadership – Yacine Hadjiat

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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).

Ethical Imagination – The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi

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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. 

Humbitious Leader – Amer Kaissi

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Amer Kaissi

Naji: Hello leaders of the word. 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’m Naji, your host, having the pleasure to chat today with Professor Amer Kaissi and discuss his most recent book Humbitious: The Power of Low-Ego, High-Drive Leadership. Amer is an award winning professor of healthcare administration at Trinity university, the top 15 program. His previous book Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-performing Healthcare Leaders won the 2019 ACHE book of…

Lead Without Labels – Christi Shaw

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Christi Shaw

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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, having the pleasure and honor to have with me today Christi Shaw, Chief Executive Officer of Kyte. Christi serves as CEO of Kite, Gilead’s cell therapy company. Based in Santa Monica, California, Kite is pursuing the ambitious goal of a cure for cancer with industry-leading pipeline and manufacturing capabilities. In her role, Christi is responsible for all…

Open Mind, Open Heart, Open Will – Otto Scharmer

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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.

Be Useful To People – Theodore Leondaridis

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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 Data To Impact – Georgia Perakis

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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.    

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Georgia Perakis

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this episode from our new series focused on us as leaders. I’m thrilled to be joined by an exceptional MIT professor of Management, Operations Research, Statistics and Operations Management: Georgia Perakis. Georgia teaches courses and performs research in analytics, optimization, machine learning with applications in pricing, revenue management, supply chains, transportation, energy, and healthcare among others.…

Strategic Apathy – Monty Sharma

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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.

Be The Nice Kid – Rodrigo Verdi

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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.

Unapologetic Unconventional Love – Loredana Padurean

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Loredana Padurean

Naji: Hello, leaders of the word. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the podcast for purpose driven healthcare leaders, striving to make lives better around the words by leading their teams with genuine care, servant leadership and love. I’m Naji, your host for this episode, we’re joined by Professor Loredana Padurean, associate dean at the all new Asia School of Business, the collaboration between the central bank of Malaysia, MIT Sloan, and the 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…

Sharing Vulnerability – Naji Gehchan

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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.”

Naji Gehchan

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

Confidence with Competence – Elsbeth Johnson

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Elsbeth Johnson

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 for this exciting episode from our new series focused on us as leaders. I’m joined by Professor Elsbeth Johnson, Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and an expert on leadership, strategy and change. The main focus for her research is on what leaders need to do to help their organizations execute strategy, or deliver long-term,…

Not Tough Love, True Love – Enrique Conterno

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Enrique Conterno

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 today, excited to be joined by Enrique Conterno CEO of Fibrogen.  A native of Peru, Enrique is a mechanical engineering 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…

Water the Garden with Love – Daena Giardella

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Daena Giardella

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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. In this episode, get ready to learn and be inspired as I have the honor to be with Daena Giardella, a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Faculty Affiliate of the MIT Leadership Center. Daena has been an organizational leadership consultant and executive coach as well as a media, communication, and presentation consultant for over twenty-five years.…

The Trusted Voice – Adam Brown

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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. 

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Adam Brown

Naji: 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’m Naji your host for this episode. And I am thrilled to be joined by an outstanding communicator, a visionary leader, a healthcare thought leader, and one of the most amazing frontline emergency physicians. Dr. Adam Brown, Adam began as a frontline emergency physician with progressive clinical and administrative roles throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest becoming the president of the nation’s largest…

Outsider To Coach – Gayle Grader

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Outsider To Coach - Gayle Grader
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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.

Live Your Purpose – Jill Donahue

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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

Purpose & People – Amy Edmondson

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Amy Edmondson

Naji: Hello leaders of the world. Welcome to SpreadLove 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’m Naji, your host for this exciting episode from our new series focused on us, as leaders. I still can’t believe with who I’ll be chatting today and not sure if I even need to introduce my guest, Amy Edmondson. Amy is the Novartis Professor of leadership and management at the Harvard business school. She teaches rights and “ruminates”, as she says, on organizational…

The Fire from Within – Panos Alexakos

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“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.

People Come First – Johanna Hising DiFabio

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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.”

Kill The Dragons – Chinedu Echeruo

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Chinedu Echeruo

Naji Gehchan: Hello, leaders of the world. Welcome to spread love in organizations, the 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 for this very special episode with Chinedu Echeruo, a serial entrepreneur, Dreamer and cofounder of Love and Magic Company! 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…

When Magic Happens – Barry Stein

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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.

Transcripts

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Barry Stein

Naji: 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’m Naji, your host today, honored to be with Dr. Barry Stein, chief clinical innovation officer and chief medical informatics officer for Hartford Healthcare. He also practices as a vascular and interventional radiologist. Dr. Stein is also an assistant clinical professor at the University of Connecticut school of medicine and has held numerous prestigious leadership positions at Hartford Hospital. Barry graduated with…