Michael Wong

In this installment of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) Q&A series, providing executive insights for readers to shape their own career paths, Rob Biederman, co-CEO of Catalant Technologies, speaks to HBSHAA Emeritus Board Member Michael Wong about why biopharma employees should consider a new career path. 

Michael Wong: With even non-profit jobs offering six-figure starting salaries, why should graduating students consider independent consulting versus the stability and higher-paying starting salaries of healthcare?[1] After all, upon graduating from Princeton, didn’t you take on a traditional career track with Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital? 

 While the HBS Class of 2020 and recent grads (less than five years) can and should take advantage of the relative stability that big pharma and other well-regarded employers provide in terms of compensation and training, workforce dynamics are rapidly changing the long-term career landscapes, not only for healthcare, but also other industries. With cradle-to-grave careers long gone

, individuals need to have the agility and fortitude to take on assignments that require different skills and capabilities. And, frankly, while many companies talk about reskilling their employees, one can continue to see how restructurings are instead the norm.

	So, it’s not surprising that one research report points to how freelancers are projected to be the majority of the US workforce within ten years.

For many workers, it means that they need to carefully rethink their assumptions about their future job prospects and especially the associated timelines. While the timeline will be different for each person’s unique situation, one should not assume that you can just choose a time, depart, and become a consultant. 

	At Catalant Technologies, of our 65,000 independent experts who support over 30% of the Fortune 100, approximately 35% are Generation Y/millennials (born between 1980-1994) and are currently between 26 and 40 years old. Interestingly, over 80% of this cohort have at least four years of Fortune 500 experience and hence one can see how people are choosing a non-traditional career path to their elder Baby Boomer colleagues. To me, these millennials see the value of joining the independent consultant ranks far earlier in their careers. 

MW: Well, ten years is a long time. Why not just invest the next decade at a premier big pharma and then look for one’s next gig? 

 If your current employer does offer a strong retooling of skills for its staff, then you might be in good shape. However, you need to realistically see if your skills synch up well with where your company is moving towards in terms of people, processes, and technology. For example, what is its human capital strategy in terms of its FTEs versus contractors? As for processes and technology, even if your department is not eliminated, do you honestly have the technical skills to meet the rapidly changing human-to-machine working hours’ interplay? 

 It’s very easy to stay put in the comfortable embrace of a large Fortune 500 firm.  Smarter workers embrace assuming stretch assignments which often are outside of their current employers. 

MW: So, what are the top three recommendations to introduce an independent consultant role within one’s long-term career map? 

	RB: First, you need a clear understanding of your specialties and skills. Creating a resume or robust profile that can highlight your strengths from previous consulting work and call attention to any niche skillsets you may possess.    

	Second, as an independent consultant you are responsible for all of your own business development.  That can mean calling connections and networking or it can mean signing up for an online talent marketplace that can allow you to find and bid on work. The benefit of a more tech enabled approach is being able to sort through hundreds of potential engagements and find something you’re passionate about. It also creates a digital record of the work you’ve done and the skills you’ve developed. 

	Finally, think realistically about your goals and motivations for getting involved. Is this something you are doing to replicate full-time employment? Is it about the intellectual challenge? Having a keen sense for what specifically you want to get out of working in this way will help you better align your efforts and time allocation.

Rob Biederman is co-CEO of Catalant Technologies. Michael Wong is an Emeritus Board Member and co-President of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association.

[1] Harvard Business School Class of 2019 industry statistics  

https://www.hbs.edu/recruiting/data/Pages/industry.aspx

Long-Term Employment Is Over - Where Does That Leave You,"

https://www.upwork.com/press/2017/10/17/freelancing-in-america-2017/

The jobs forecast is unsettled. It's time for a reskilling revolution," 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/denmark-reskilling-revolution-future-of-work/

Articles

Rob Biederman, co-CEO of Catalant Technologies, on why biopharma employees should consider a new career path. 

Planning Ahead with Rob Biederman, co-CEO of Catalant Technologies

In this installment of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) Q&A series, providing executive insights for readers to shape their own career paths, Dr. Paul Pospisil speaks to HBSHAA co-president Michael Wong about why biopharma employees should be excited about the industry's prospects and offers recommendations for those with aspirations for a career in healthcare.	 			 			

Michael Wong: At the 2019 HBSHAA annual conference,

 one cited challenge was pharma’s continued poor reputation among stakeholders. When even the federal government is ranked higher on Gallup’s annual poll,

 should my pharma friends continue to work in this industry? 

 Absolutely! Current employees and prospective newcomers to the industry should be excited about the prospects of biopharma for two key reasons. First, from my perspective, few other sectors provide as much opportunity to have an impact and improve quality of life for so many patients and their loved ones. For instance, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of preventable death globally, with nearly 400,000 deaths each year attributable to HCV-related liver disease. A few years ago, there were no therapies to treat patients; today the disease is curable with drug therapy. Several biopharma companies producing HCV drugs are creatively collaborating with governments and non-profits to help get these life-saving products to a broader set of patients.			 			Second, healthcare and biopharma will both grow and evolve. Companies will need to be more innovative and nimble in serving patients, including an increasing global aging population and those with unmet medical needs such as Alzheimer’s, more efficiently and cost effectively. Being able to solve complex business problems and harness the value of data and analytics are skills that will provide exciting, fulfilling career opportunities.			 			During my decade with Korn Ferry, I’ve already seen an uptake in client demand for biopharma leaders who are entrepreneurial, can articulate a vision, and have the ability to integrate the perspectives of patients, providers, payors and investors.  			 			

MW: With Fortune's top three “Most Admired” firms (2019's report identified Apple, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway) placing big bets in healthcare and emerging technologies (Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation to name a few), should my pharma friends join these firms instead, since they could still remain in this sector and work for employers which have better brand reputations…at least according to this well-established survey? 

 While a successful engagement between any given company and prospective employee is complex and challenging to generalize about, here are three recommendations to consider with respect to career aspirations in healthcare: First, join an employer who truly invests in people and innovation-not only in terms of employee training and development but also in terms of a culture that supports the conversion of new ideas to revenue-generating businesses.			 			Next, do your research and think hard about how the sector is evolving: How will innovation play a role in understanding the patient journey? Which patients will benefit most from a targeted therapy? How will you get that therapy to patients most efficiently? How will the therapy get paid for? Given these future developments, what combination of skills do you need to develop or acquire in order to contribute real value?			 			Finally, develop a personal communications strategy to amplify your capabilities. Even if you already possess an impressive combination of customer focus, industry knowledge, and business, innovation and tech skills, do employers know that? With Korn Ferry’s research showing that 84% of executives believe their organizations do not have the skills and capabilities to deliver on their digital ambitions,

 it’s up to you to appropriately but assertively inform others of your unique value proposition. Keeping these considerations in mind will help guarantee that your career growth is smooth and successful.			 			

Paul Pospisil has a Ph.D. from Harvard University and significant sector experience in strategy, business development and investing. He is currently a Senior Client Partner with 

’s Global Life Sciences Market. He is also an active member of the American Chemical Society and on the Board of Directors of the Société de Chimie Industrielle and the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research.

Michael Wong is co-President of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association.

http://www.hbshealthalumni.org/s/1738/cc/index2.aspx?sid=1738&gid=11&pgid=57576

			2. “The pharmaceutical industry is now the most poorly regarded industry in Americans' eyes, ranking last on a list of 25 industries that Gallup tests annually”, McCarthy, Justin, Big Pharma Sinks to the Bottom of U.S. Industry Rankings, Sept 3, 2019, 

https://news.gallup.com/poll/266060/big-pharma-sinks-bottom-industry-rankings.aspx

https://www.kornferry.com/challenges/digital-transformation

Korn Ferry's Dr. Paul Pospisil talks to HBSHAA's Michael Wong about why biopharma employees should be excited about the industry's prospects.

Planning Ahead with Korn Ferry's Dr. Paul Pospisil

In this installment of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) Q&A series, providing executive insights for readers to shape their own career paths, HBSHAA co-president Michael Wong speaks to 

Dr. Marc Grodman about his 30 years leading BioReference, his role as CEO of Genosity, and the promise of digital transformation.

MW: You started BioReference in the 1980s, spent 30 years as a public company CEO and grew it from a few hundred thousand in revenue to almost $1bn by the time it was acquired in 2015. Your growth was overwhelmingly organic, culminating in 20 years of 20% CAGR while competitors struggled to grow at all. How did you accomplish that and what skills were necessary to achieve that purpose?

	MG: BioReference was known for specialty innovation, launching more new tests than any laboratory in clinical areas as diverse as women’s health, oncology and especially in ultra rare disorders through a subsidiary, GeneDX, which grew from $5m to $175m in the 10 years after they were acquired. GeneDX was the first commercial clinical laboratory to employ Next Gen Sequencing for clinical conditions. First, it was cardiology, then other clinical areas and finally we launched an exome program that performed more of these tests in a clinical setting than any laboratory in the world at the time. In many ways, my training as a physician and clinician (Listening to patients, piecing together relevant facts, understanding the basis for your clinical decisions and always questioning whether you could be wrong) provided the critical skills to help me lead BioReference’s growth. While CEO, I still made medical attending rounds every summer at Columbia. Being a clinician made me a better CEO.

Over the years, BioReference created a great deal of value to shareholders, why start all over with Genosity?

	I always stated that laboratories were information companies; that was never more compelling than in genomics and simply put, I left something on the table. At the end of my time at BioReference, we spent a great deal of time and effort to thoroughly own the entire genomic enterprise, the relationship between genomic data and drug discovery, and the challenges of reimbursement. We even completed some disruptive deals to provide all genetic testing to a large health system (we had the widest selection of sequencing services in all clinical areas), in exchange for informatics that empowered the health system’s efforts in R&D, patient care and commercial collaborations.

	Still, the underlying mission remained unfulfilled and Genosity was created: to utilize the underlying assets of the clinical laboratory to 

generate, manage and leverage genomic data

	We relied upon our experience to understand the needs of those entities that comprise the genomic ecosystem: health systems, bio-pharmaceutical companies, patients, researchers as well as the economic interests of laboratories, IVD/RUO developers and sequencer manufacturers many of whom work in silos not only between them but within themselves.

	Finally, we understand that there are barriers that impact the segments noted and which should be addressed:

		Costs must be taken out of the system wherever possible.

		Regulatory changes need to be addressed and anticipated.

		Barriers that prevent more patients to be characterized should be removed.

		Data must be accessible for clinical care, research and potential commercial collaborations to allow for drug discovery.

		Ways to leverage the genomic data,  that technical advances have now enabled, should be identified.

“Digital transformation” continues to be a C-Suite focal point for many healthcare entities. Of the many different opportunities, which area do you feel offers the most promise? 

	When you have a market environment where the falling cost of genomic sequencing has outpaced Moore’s Law

, it’s not surprising that over 250 FDA-approved drugs are now labeled for prescribing based on patients’ genetics - a number that has tripled since 2014.

While Artificial Intelligence might be the topic 

 for some organizations, my prior experience taught me that securing tangible business value can only be achieved in understanding not only the value but also the barriers that stand in the way of adoption. In simple terms, genomics can provide limitless tangible value in the future, but it still needs solutions to unlocking that potential. The second point is that the eventual winners, not only defined as financial but those who will have the most impact, may not be the firms  which achieve the highest stock price. For genomics to achieve value, it will need to be incorporated in major systems, be part of our infrastructure and be readily available to both professionals and patients. That landscape is still to be defined and will not be determined by the sophistication of the technology but the ways those advances are utilized. 

Xun, Xu,“We are witnessing a revolution in genomics - and it's only just begun”,  World Economic Forum, June 24, 2019 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/today-you-can-have-your-genome-sequenced-at-the-supermarket/

Garvan Global Genomics Report, May 2018 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180504103811.htm

Michael Wong speaks to Dr. Marc Grodman about leading BioReference, his new role as CEO of Genosity, and the future of digital transformation.

Planning Ahead with Physician/Entrepreneur Marc Grodman, M.D.

Michael Wong of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) speaks to Tina Tianning Yu, Chief Executive Officer of Mevion Medical Systems, about engaging with China's pharma market and laying the foundations for success in 2020 and beyond.

HBSHAA: In 2002, one pharmaceutical firm's China sales had just crossed the $100m mark. Fast-forward to 2019 and the China market represents about 20% of their global sales. Given these positive trends, what are the strategic implications for the healthcare sector’s C-Suites? 

China’s healthcare market size is now simply too big to ignore. As such, China has been and is projected to be a growth engine which C-Suite executives need to personally engage with, and fortunately many have done so.

One thing to note is that the huge market size doesn’t guarantee every player gets a slice of the pie. Like the example you gave, it takes time and the right strategy to survive and then thrive in this competitive market. 

As some of the readers of this publication may not be physically based in China, shouldn't they just stay focused on their own geography's business opportunities and their respective individual career paths? 

	Historically, many firms launched new products sequentially with the US and or Europe at the front-end of the brand’s life cycle. As you mentioned, their playbooks of success were then shared with colleagues in other markets like China. What might have been the right decision to do back then has evolved though with China’s overall strategic importance and contribution to these firms’ global sales. As such, innovation pilots and brand launches are now starting in China and so I believe, physically in China or not, each employee should have a baseline understanding of the China market and its opportunities. 

As not everyone has a Ph.D. from Princeton, an MBA from Harvard, work experience at Wyeth BioPharma, and bi-lingual skills including Mandarin to serve as building blocks for engaging with these China opportunities, what are your top three recommendations to start one’s journey to acquire these competencies? 

	Well, even with these experiences, which I have been very fortunate to secure over time, engaging with the China market can sometimes be like drinking from a firehose! Still, here are my three suggestions for your readership’s consideration. 

	First, reallocate some time from your already-jammed schedule and actively seek learning experiences of the China market. It might already be available in your own office, since many firms have employee network groups and often, the Asian affiliation group will have co-workers who have worked and or lived in China. They can be a potential lens to uncover ideas around client engagement given cultural nuances. 

	Second, seek opportunities and join a team or a company that is already engaging with the China market or has a great potential to do so soon. And again, even if your current job is primarily tied to a non-China ecosystem, eventually it will likely evolve. According to a recent news article,  for the first time a total of 129 Chinese companies made the Fortune 500 list in 2019, more than any other country.

	Finally, stop looking for what another company has successfully launched for your business case in China. Be strategic and leverage your own strengths. For instance, my company invented the compact, single-room proton therapy system, changed the industry and has been fortunate to secure nearly 80% market share of the operating compact systems in the US

. Combined with a strong local team, those factors contributed greatly to the success of our China market entrance. After all, while the notion of 

sounds good, when you add that new bullet point to your 2020 resume, wouldn’t it be better to insert 

innovative leader selected for ABC company’s global launch which kicked off in China

https://pharma.nridigital.com/pharma_dec18/is_china_the_next_great_hope_for_the_pharma_industry

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/30/c_138437362.htm

https://www.mevion.com/newsroom/press-releases/mevion-equipped-proton-center-stephenson-cancer-center-university-oklahoma

Tina Tianning Yu, Chief Executive Officer of Mevion Medical Systems, talks about engaging with China's pharma market and laying the foundations for success in 2020 and beyond.

Author | Michael Wong

Articles

Planning Ahead with Rob Biederman, co-CEO of Catalant Technologies

Planning Ahead with Korn Ferry's Dr. Paul Pospisil

Planning Ahead with Physician/Entrepreneur Marc Grodman, M.D.

Planning Ahead with Mevion Medical System's Tina Tianning Yu