Three Big Shows
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL
June was a busy month for me; I attended three conferences. The first was the IBC 8th International Single-Use Applications for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing in Boston. Prior to going to the show, I reviewed the agenda and got the crazy idea of putting together a single-use roundtable article. So, I began reaching out to folks to see who might be interested in participating. On page 28 you can read some responses to the questions I posed to executives from companies such as Xcellerex, GE Healthcare, Sartorius, Pall, and others. I hope you find their expert insights helpful.
Post the single-use conference, I jetted off to Chicago for DIA’s 47th Annual Meeting and then to the Bio International Convention in Washington, D.C. Both of these events were loaded with great topics and thought leaders. I had the opportunity to network with a variety of these execs and pick their brains on what is going on in the industry, as well as gain valuable feedback on how to improve the magazine. One improvement I continue to work on is building the editorial advisory board with experts willing to pick up the phone or drop me an email with their thoughts and suggestions for how to improve our content. One CEO from our ed board recently wrote me an email about a post to my blog. The feedback was very insightful. Here’s why. I know executives read the magazine. I recently met Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, CMO at Pfizer, and she told me as much. However, I was not aware that executives were reading the posts I make to the Life Science Leader editor’s blog, let alone have the willingness to send a 500+ word email to comment on a blog post.
This month’s Leadership Lesson’s submission comes from Patrick Ropella, whom I met while attending an event in NYC. I decided to run his article this month after a conversation I had recently with a life sciences industry CEO. This executive was explaining to me not only the importance of hiring, but also placing the new hire in a position for success. I thought Patrick’s article was most appropriate based on his hiring experience. I am currently reading his book, The Right Hire, which we are also using for this month’s “Ask the Board” promotion (see page 8). If you want to take a crack at winning a copy of this book, be sure to send a question you would like us to pose to the editorial board to atb@lifescienceconnect.com.
What else are we working on at Life Science Leader? Well, I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but I will give you a bit of a teaser. We are in the process of putting together an awards program for leading contract research and contract manufacturing organizations. More details to follow. Just be sure to keep your evening calendars flexible around the last week of October. Perhaps your company will be one of the winners receiving an award at the AAPS show in Washington, D.C. Stay tuned.