Hear about a passionate leader in healthcare, from her childhood inspired by 3 powerful women in her family to now giving back every day what others gave her to help diverse talents in her organizations, and also impact socially youth in the Brazilian favelas. Listen to what Karla thinks about innovation and why inclusion means dancing!
“Stay humble to keep learning.”
MEET OUR GUESTKarla Alcazar is an international leader passionate about making life better for people around the world through driving innovation in her organizations and leading with genuine care. Karla is the General Manager of the Brazilian affiliate in the pharmaceutical industry, with an extensive experience in sales, marketing, and general management.
Karla is a native of Mexico and joined Eli Lilly as a Market Research Manager in Mexico in 2006. Her first four years within the business were spent in assignments in marketing and sales before moving to the United States of America to assume a Global Brand Leadership Role. In 2013, Karla returned to Mexico to lead the primary care business and then took over the responsibility of leading the BioMedicine Business Unit of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. In 2015, she assumed the role of Senior Director, Chief Marketing Officer of the LACAM region overseeing the marketing functions and leading the digital transformation within the business, before moving in January 2018 to lead as the General Manager of the Brazilian affiliate.
Karla holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (ITAM – Mexico) and a Master’s in Business Administration – MBA from Tulane University, USA.
Karla is a member of the CEO’s Committee at INTERFARMA (Pharma Trade Association), American Chamber (AMCHAM), and a Board Member of United Way Brazil.
If you want to hear from a leader who knew every person’s birthday in his 100+ team, a manager whose passion is to find and develop the next generation of leaders who will change the world, tune in and hear from John Bamforth! An inspiring story with strong advice for all of us leading our teams towards success with genuine care and love.
John’s recommended readings: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, The Obstacle Is the Way, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.
“Remove the shackles and let people fly!”
MEET OUR GUESTJohn Bamforth is originally from the northwestern part of the UK but emigrated to the US in 2001. He now holds dual citizenship. A pharmacist with a PhD in neuropharmacology, John joined the Pharma industry in 1989 with Eli Lilly. Spending most of his career in commercial functions, he became recognized as a builder of global brands and leader of highly engaged teams.
After retiring from Lilly after 30 years, John returned to academia to lead the Eshelman Institute for Innovation at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The institute was created by a $100M gift from Dr Fred Eshelman and is focused on translating the brightest and best ideas on campus into products and services that impact patients. In his current role, John continues to advocate for diversity and inclusion and its demonstrated impact on performance and innovation. John is on multiple boards including the Structural Genomics Consortium and Akanocure Pharma, where he is chairman of the board. He is also interim Executive Director of READDI, a public-private partnership founded to develop novel anti-virals for the next pandemic.
John’s passions outside work are his family, he has two children (Thomas and Rebecca) with his wife Sue. They also have two West Highland Terriers, Luke and Lucky, who he takes for endless walks.
John and Sue founded the Ciara Arts and Science Foundation in 2017 to support college scholarships for disadvantaged youth. John is a keen golfer and general sports geek. He loves to attend big sports events like the Masters, Ryder Cup, Super Bowl, and Rugby World Cup.
