What have you been doing (for work, for graduate/professional school, or otherwise) since you graduated from LSM? Are you working on anything outside of your current occupation?
After graduating from the LSM program in 2016, I joined the life-science practice of a strategy consulting firm called Simon-Kucher & Partners, specializing in working on go-to-market and commercialization strategies for different life-science clients. I did this for 3 years in Boston, prior to taking a 6-month hiatus to work as part of the Hilton prize fellowship program; upgrading the patient interactions infrastructure for the largest eye-care hospital chain in the world, Aravind Eye Care System, based in Madurai, India. After this rewarding experience, I went back to my prior job at Simon-Kucher, this time however based in Milan, Italy.
After a total of 6 years in consulting, I left to join a multinational pharmaceutical company specialized in developing and commercializing therapies in Oncology, Rare-diseases, and Neuroscience. Based in Paris, I am part of Ipsen’s Strategy & Transformation team, working to facilitate key strategic decision making for management (e.g., short- & long-term company strategy, disease areas to focus portfolio development on) and transformation initiatives (e.g., integration / divestment of a business, organizational change initiatives)
What is the most rewarding part of what you are doing currently?
I have always been most rewarded by the people that surround me. In the case of Ipsen, I am lucky enough to work alongside and learn from a dynamic and smart team. The projects themselves are always incredibly interesting and require us to work with all the key leadership positions within the company.
Secondly, I continue to believe that LSMers are capable of excelling (whether that be financially or otherwise) in whatever field they chose to apply themselves at. The beauty of working within the life-science space is that the end-result is one that can literally be life-changing for someone.
Do you think LSM prepared you for life after college? What aspects were most helpful?
I have yet to come across a program that better prepares an individual for a career that touches on the intersection between science and business. While the academic rigor of the program can likely be found in other programs & universities, what truly differentiates the LSM program is how much it facilitates life-science opportunities, which otherwise are very hard to obtain. All housed in one spot, the LSM program provides you with tangible ways to implement all your science and business knowledge to real world and practical situations (LSM capstone project), chance to try different work experiences (e.g., working in top tier research labs during the term, aid in unlocking top level internship experiences, opportunities across vast breadth of life-science space, etc.), and provide a network of expert aids throughout college and beyond (including dedicated faculty; top level executives/managers in industry, finance, public health; the ever expanding alumni base; the program’s board).
Do you have future plans beyond your current role?
I still consider myself to be in my early career, with still so much to learn on what it takes to best develop and effectively bring a therapy to the patients that need them. I would love to one day successfully be responsible for doing this.