What Advice Do You Have For Getting Up To Speed On A New Discipline As A Leader (E.G., Your Move To Cell & Gene)?

SEEKING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CUSTOMER INPUT IS CRITICAL to launch a transformational leadership role in a new discipline. Stepping into a cell and gene therapy technical operations role, I found the following internal insights helpful: organizational aspirations, disease area, products, pipeline, technology platform, supply and demand. Explore any nuances to navigate about the operating model. For example, a make-to-order CAR-T cell therapy adds complexity to the capacity planning equation.

Sit with external constituents, a patient, caregiver, and/or physician to understand each challenge. Understand the end-to-end process and how the patient is part of the manufacturing steps for a personalized medicine. Participate in commercial/ customer meetings to understand needs and opportunities to enhance competitiveness. Understand the regulator perspective through summaries of interactions. Wrap it all into an on-boarding plan, and off we go!

CHARLENE BANARD is the global head of technical operations for cell and gene therapy at Novartis.