Leaders in Life Sciences: Recent Episodes
Mike Ferletic
Our podcast is for leaders at any stage in their career.
We hope to inspire leaders at every level by sharing stories of leaders in the life sciences, how they progressed in their career, and their advice for those who wish to follow in their footsteps.
Our show will include a lot of storytelling, provide advice for listeners, and always include some elements of fun!
How does a woman in a male-dominated military field develop a leadership voice, and how does that translate to corporate work? You’ll learn more during today’s interview with Harriet Johnson.
Harriet earned a Navy scholarship to afford school outside of her home state of Georgia. She went to Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, then went on to active duty in the Navy for 12 years as a helicopter pilot and staff officer, and then served an additional 5 years as a reserve officer. She's been in pharma now for over eight years, mostly in manufacturing at large- and medium-sized companies.
Listen to the episode to learn more about all the different places Harriet has lived, how she made it through difficult experiences, and how military leadership translates to both her work now and her home life.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- Harriet’s background and how she got to this point in her career
- Harriet's many destinations throughout her life
- Harriet’s time as a female helicopter pilot of a Seahawk helicopter
- Harriet’s challenges in finding her way in the tactical squadron
- How Harriet found her leadership voice as a pilot
- How Harriet kept her head up through difficult experiences
- A decision Harriet wishes she hadn’t made
- What leadership was like in the military, and how that leadership translates to her home and work life now
- The differences between a military experience and a corporate experience
- Harriet’s callsign
- Harriet’s ideas for someone who's growing in their career
Resources:
Harriet Johnson
What does it mean to be a lifelong learner, and how can you do it? How does it benefit you? Today’s guest, Sam Howard, explains what it means to him to be a lifelong learner and how he does it.
Sam Howard was previously a managing consultant for Enterey. Today, he’s a Senior Program Manager at Dendreon. In today’s interview, he discusses his career, going back to his days in the military and how he transitioned from that to life sciences. He also talks about whether leaders are born or made, the difference between managers and leaders, and how he recommends getting more reading time in.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- How Sam decided on a military career coming out of school
- Correlations between Sam’s scientific training and military work
- Whether leadership is innate or something that can be fostered
- The difference between managing and leading
- How Sam adapted to different leaders he had to work for or follow
- Who influenced Sam’s development as a leader
- One minimally viable self-improvement thing that can be done daily
- The best books Sam has read
- How to get more reading time in
- Sam’s networking strategies
- Speed question game
Resources:
Sam Howard
What is the secret to dealing with people and establishing connections? How does this help when transitioning to a leadership role?
Sue Marchant is the Vice President of Product Management at MasterControl. In today’s episode, she talks with hosts Mike Ferletic and Courtney Boudreaux are joined by guest host Nancy Coughlin for a discussion. Listen to the episode to hear them discuss the goals she has as a product manager, the challenges of transitioning to a leadership role, and her early experience with developing and launching her own software.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- How Sue got to where she is today
- What a product manager does & the goal of a product manager
- How Sue incorporated her team’s talents into projects
- Sue’s experience with developing and launching her own software
- Challenges of transitioning to a leadership role
- The rise of remote and virtual work options
- Advice for connecting with and dealing with other people
- Where Sue is headed with products at MasterControl
Resources:
Sue Marchant
What are the pros and cons of the freedom of leading your own company? That’s one of the things that Paul Garafolo talks about in today’s interview.
Paul is CEO of Locus Biosciences, an emerging biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision medicines using CRISPR-Cas technologies. Listen to the episode to learn more about what Paul is doing with CRISPR technology, what applications exist for his company’s technology, and what Paul wishes he’d done differently.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- How Paul came to his position as CEO of Locus
- What CRISPR technology is and how it works
- How Locus applies ethical considerations
- Other areas Locus envisions their technology will be applicable beyond infectious disease
- Reflection on what Paul could have done differently
- Paul's thoughts on the difference between running a company vs. working as an employee of a company
- How Paul manages the perspectives of different stakeholders in the company
- Key characteristics that Paul wants to bring into Locus
Resources:
Paul Garafolo
What makes a good corporate citizen, and what makes one less solid? Whose job is it to find out? Today’s guest will answer those questions and more.
Tommi Papson is the president of Regulatory Consultants Group. She’s also an ex-FDA investigator and Consumer Safety Officer, among other things. Both as an FDA investigator and now as a consultant, she works to ensure that companies play by the rules, but those two different roles require different approaches.
Listen to the episode to learn more about Tommi, her role as an investigator for the FDA, and how it stacks up against her current consulting position. She discusses the different types of leaders she’s encountered, the challenges she’s faced in her career, and the differences between how she was received as an investigator vs. a consultant.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- Why Tommi goes by a different name than she used to
- How Tommi ended up in the FDA
- Different types of leaders Tommi experienced in different environments
- What Tommi sees in people she wants to mentor
- Characteristics of solid corporate citizens and less solid ones
- The differences between how Tommi was received as an FDA investigator vs a consultant
- The biggest challenges Tommi faced in her career
- How often Tommi found companies she needed to spend months in
- A favorite story Tommi has about somebody being convicted
- Some basic rules of the road that anyone needs to know
- Rapid-fire questions
- Key takeaways from Tommi’s interview
Resources:
Tommi Papson
Ryan Coughlin has significant experience working with different types of leaders. He spent 20 years in the US Marine Corps working with a variety of military leaders. Then, he transitioned into civilian life and began a career with Enterey Consulting.
In the military, Ryan worked in strategic planning. He's an expert in project portfolio management, project management, and operations management. Listen to the episode to hear what Ryan has to say about adapting to different leadership styles, the leadership points that carried over from Ryan's military career to his civilian career, and learn about who the standout leaders were in Ryan's life.
Originally recorded on July 28, 2021
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- The reasons Ryan pursued a military career.
- The different leadership styles in the military and how Ryan adapted to them
- Leadership styles Ryan carried over from the military to his work in the life sciences
- What similarities exist between leadership in the military and the civilian world
- Hear about some of the standout leaders in Ryan's career
- What it means to fight for a seat in the boat! Resources:
Ryan Coughlin
Enterey Consulting
Valerie Brown is the Senior Vice President of Global Quality Assurance at Gilead Sciences. Hear her insights regarding science, the pharma industry, and what its like to work in a regulated field.
Listen to the episode to learn more about Valerie, her career journey, and her advice for being successful in your own career.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- Valerie's career journey and her advice for your success
- Her mentors and why they were important
- Advice for motivating your team
- How to learn from your mistakes
- Characteristics that Valerie admires in other leaders
- Key takeaways from Valerie’s interview
Resources:
Valerie Brown
Neelu is the WW Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at BD. In addition, she has many years of experience working in Regulatory Affairs for J&J. Although life sciences weren’t originally her niche, she was drawn into a long and fruitful career in the medical device industry.
Listen to the episode to learn about how Neelu progressed to her current role and how she entered the life sciences industry in the first place. Learn why she finds regulatory affairs exciting, and get advice on who to learn and lead in a new environment at a large company, even when you are not a subject matter expert.
Originally recorded on January 10, 2022
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- What inspired Neelu to a career in the life sciences, and the companies she worked for
- How Neelu took ownership of her leadership role
- What excites Neelu about regulatory affairs
- Neelu's approach to learning and how she "learns beyond the job"
- Mentors that helped Neelu along her career journey
- Advice for career advancement
- How to navigate difficult conversations
- Recommendations for taking risks
Resources:
Neelu Gibson
This podcast is hosted by Mike Ferletic, CEO of Enterey Life Sciences Consulting. Co-hosting is Courtney Boudreaux, a Senior Consultant at Enterey. Mike started this podcast to share stories about leadership within the industry. In today’s promo podcast, Mike and Courtney discuss how sharing stories can inspire leaders, the guests that will be appearing on this podcast, and the topics you’ll hear about on this podcast.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
- Introducing the hosts
- Why Mike started this podcast
- Inspiring leaders at all levels
- The guests and topics that will be appearing on this podcast
- The most exciting guest so far
Resources:
Mike Ferletic
Courtney Boudreaux