These innovators of technology-based solutions are improving connections across silos to facilitate the drug-development process and customer interactions. PharmaVOICE 100 July/August 2007
Vikas Vats The Sky’s the limit for innovation Current position VP, marketRx Place and date of Birth New Delhi, India; Nov. 10, 1970 Education B.S., Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India; MBA, Kellogg Graduate School Of Management, Northwestern University On his reading list Beyond Wall Street by David Rubenstein; The Assault on Reason by Al Gore; In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce; Biotechnology and the Human Good by C. Ben Mitchell, Edmund D. Pellegrino, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Frederic Kilner, and Scott B. Rae Family Wife, Gayatri; Shray Vats, 5 First job Field engineer for Schlumberger Oilfield Services, provided evaluation services to oil drilling companies Hobbies R/C modeling, squash, and racquetball Some people are very creative, some are brilliant technologists, others are great communicators, but someone who is all three is rare. And this is what sets Vikas Vats apart. Mr. Vats is always in sync with or ahead of new trends, yet manages to remain grounded; he is someone who not only leads by vision and example, but also teaches and inspires. He has a knack for synthesizing information and drawing on his expansive knowledge to create solutions for problems facing the industry, such as the need for a new selling paradigm and the complexities involved in product promotion today. His clarity of thought, clear perspective, and persuasive vision encourage others to embrace his ideas as their own. In building a common commitment to a goal, Mr. Vats strives to get people on the same page and to understand what needs to be done and how each person in a team impacts the outcome. He makes decisions that he believes will get the team to the next goal, always ensuring he is transparent and explaining why he took a certain approach. He has demonstrated innovative thought leadership while developing new commercialization models, promotion optimization, and an ability to blend consumer, physician, and other influences to provide a holistic strategy and direction for the trends in this industry. An entrepreneur at heart, Mr. Vats has played an active role in three ventures, including a start-up enterprise providing category-based consumer targeting solutions for electronic and wireless media. Entrepreneurship, or the willingness to tirelessly pursue a dream, inspires Mr. Vats. While business is full of smart, talented people, it is easy to lose sight of dreams and aspirations. It is the people who make the commitment and overcome all hurdles in the quest who add value to an enterprise and society. In each of his endeavors, Mr. Vats has brought broad business experience, spanning four continents and four industries — from small companies to multibillion dollar corporations. In addition, he has a strong command of both the clinical and commercial aspects of the life-sciences business. Within the company, he is regarded as a role model and mentor; he is a friend, counselor, and inspiration to customers and employees alike. His ability to listen and provide honest, creative, and constructive feedback are hallmarks of his leadership style. With a belief that there is the need for a new commercial model in the industry, Mr. Vats is looking to bring sales and marketing to a common understanding and promote a different approach to product marketing and the healthcare environment in general, arguing that the industry needs to redefine itself to focus on the customer. His goal is to drive toward more orchestrated commercial management. As VP of marketRx, Mr. Vats has been a driving force in the company’s rapid success and the recognition it has earned in the industry on national and regional levels, such as being named as a fastest-growing technology company by the likes of Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has been an active participant in the community as well, volunteering his time to lead his alumni club, providing tutoring, and contributing to organizations such as PMSA, IEEE, NJTC, among others. Vikas Vats excels in creating solutions, drawing on his broad business experience that spans four continents and four industries — from small companies to multibillion dollar corporations. Patrick Lindsay Hitting the Right Note for “Easibility” Current position Global Executive VP and General Manager, Strategic Clinical Solutions, United BioSource Corp. Place of Birth Kingston, Jamaica Education B.S., Management, Rosemount College On his reading list The Power of We by Jonathan Tisch and Karl Weber; A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington Person Who has inspired him The wisdom and foresight of a very wise lady, his mother, Serville, have been a true inspiration to him; her teachings are at the core of his everyday actions There is always a creative alternative for Patrick Lindsay. His style, vision, and energy, which spill over into all of the teams around him, encourage people to search together for answers to problems. An example of his inspirational thinking is demonstrated in his key leadership on the design team in developing the United BioSource Corp. UBC Portal, which puts sites, patients, providers, and sponsors in one online community and allows customers to be on top of all of the issues in real time. He has even created a word to define the concept: “easibility.” Client relationships truly matter to Mr. Lindsay. He recently served as speaker and chairperson for a conference exploring two key client relationship issues: the changing dynamics of relationship and communication strategies between pharmaceutical sponsors and service providers; and finding ways of improving shared strategy, expertise, and innovation with mutual responsibility and accountability. He is particularly committed to helping clients tackle one of the industry’s most significant challenges: consistently delivering safe and effective drugs to the people who truly need them. One aspect of that challenge is that since it is not possible to know everything about a drug’s safety at the time of approval, companies are being required more often to provide ongoing, credible evidence of drug safety in the real-world setting. Working with client/UBC teams, Mr. Lindsay has brought on a full-time professional for people and team development helping all to value self-knowledge, synergy, trust, respect, and interdependence. Mr. Lindsay believes in treating others with compassion, and he genuinely appreciates the gifts and talents unique to each individual. He tries to demonstrate this by his actions, and he believes that what people do has greater impact than what they say. For the United BioSource executive VP, truly inspirational people, no matter what they do, have two things in common: loyalty to their own core truths and vision and a true commitment to do whatever it takes to accomplish what they set out to do. Originally from Jamaica, he has never forgotten the children there: it is the reason he cosponsors the charitable project, Reach-One. Each year the charity identifies a group of students who need support during a given school year. For the upcoming year, he is collaborating with a noted musician and the charitable arm of the Jamaica Hilton hotel to upgrade and refurbish schools as well as provide scholarships. Mr. Lindsay actively supports the artistic development of a series of talented musicians. Participating in, encouraging, and fostering the idea of service to those in need is paramount for Mr. Lindsay. As the industry continues on its steady climb to new heights, Patrick Lindsay’s leadership and conviction make the journey real. Matt Wallach Leader of the CRM Pack Challenges are welcome opportunities for Matt Wallach. His knack for recognizing industry trends ahead of the curve has led to the creation of solutions that make the pharmaceutical industry more efficient and productive. A high-energy, smart, pioneering leader, Mr. Wallach has been involved in developing a number of technologies that have helped transform the life-sciences industry. He has been, and continues to be, at the forefront of the CRM revolution for pharmaceutical and biotech companies, helping to define a strategic vision for companies. And he has achieved all this while effectively communicating complex concepts in a way that is easily understood by the industry. When he joined Siebel Systems as the first product manager for its pharmaceutical vertical, the company had about 1% market share in the pharma salesforce automation (SFA) market. His team pioneered the move away from traditional SFA applications toward more integrated CRM solutions. In five years, the company achieved almost 90% market share. Along the way, Mr. Wallach and his team also developed a clinical trial management system (CTMS). Thanks to his ingenuity and creativity, he positioned IntelliChem, a small start-up software company, to be sold to Symyx by building an identifiable brand for its electronic laboratory notebook (ELN). He also organized the company’s first global ELN conference, which was such a success that global conference organizers followed his lead, and a new set of conferences on the topic emerged. An eloquent and engaging speaker, Mr. Wallach has a knack for inspiring the audience on a range of topics, from clinical investigator recruitment to account-based selling to customer master strategies. His engaging personality, warm sense of humor, and industry expertise always pack the house and audiences leave his presentations much better informed. A catalyst for innovation, Mr. Wallach now is investing his talents on behalf of Verticals onDemand, where he is already making an impact with the on-demand model of Software as a Service (SaaS) and leading the charge to transform sales and marketing effectiveness. Mr. Wallach’s ability to consistently raise the bar of excellence will continue to drive the industry toward promising new technologies and ideas. Technology can help companies operate more efficiently and more profitably, and Matt Wallach has these goals in mind as he develops the next generation of easy-to-use, Web-based CRM applications. Current position VP, Sales and Marketing, Verticals onDemand Inc. Place of Birth Burlington, VT Education B.A., Economics, Cum Laude, Yale University, 1994; MBA, with honors, Harvard Business School, 1998 On his reading list The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen; Confidence by Rosabeth Moss Kanter Family Wife, Cristina; sons, Benjamin, 3, and Noah, 1 Kelly Myers Fearless Foresight It takes a fearless, nonconventional person with foresight, intelligence, and passion to approach the traditionally conservative pharmaceutical industry with the prospect of radical innovation. Kelly Myers has provided pharma with new and better ways to approach old problems. Most importantly, he has motivated pharmaceutical executives to apply scientific rigor to market research, which has led to measurable and impressive results. Back in 2000, when the pharmaceutical industry was booming, Mr. Myers recognized that companies would soon be eroded by patent losses, generic competition, fewer blockbusters, and the resulting salesforce reductions that would make targeted customer promotion essential to maintaining a competitive edge. To overcome those obstacles, he has pioneered a unique approach to eliminating inefficiencies in traditional pharma sales and marketing techniques. Combining advanced analytic technologies developed by physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratories with pharmaceutical data, Mr. Myers has built powerful tools that enable marketers to determine who the key physician influencers are in any therapeutic category and more cost-effectively target their product launch efforts. He achieved this by building innovative products that identify useful patterns in the mounds of complex pharmaceutical data being churned out, and that deliver timely, actionable customer information to marketers. When working with clients, he takes the time to educate them about quantitative peer-influence mapping and how this approach can identify networks of physicians operating on regional and local levels that were not previously seen as influential. Clients say not only has this enabled them to identify influential speakers and audiences who are receptive to their messages but also to field more productive meetings. Setting the tone for customer focus, Mr. Myers inspires the Qforma team by demonstrating that success comes from listening to customers and delivering precisely what they need. His ability to straddle both the business and science sides of the pharmaceutical industry has defined his leadership at Qforma. Equally, however, he recognizes and acknowledges everyone’s unique talents and contributions to the company’s success, and he fosters a team atmosphere that is open, non-threatening, and encourages creativity for bold new ideas. With these ingredients in place, Mr. Myers hopes to be to industry what Starbucks has been to coffee and to revolutionize the way that products are marketed and delivered to patients who need them most. A problem solver at heart, Mr. Myers has goals beyond the workplace, including establishing a scholarship and mentoring system for college bound kids in need. Kelly Myers has not only come up with solutions to solve pharma sales and marketing inefficiencies, but he also has the patience to educate clients about reaching out to the right audiences. Current position CEO and Cofounder, Qforma Inc. Place and date of birth Llano, Texas; Sept. 14, 1956 Education B.S., Biology, Texas A&M University Qualities that inspire him People who view challenges as opportunities, and those who have the creativity, tenacity, and passion to translate those opportunities into successes On his reading list Publications that cover pharma industry trends and issues, from PharmaVOICE to the Wall Street Journal Health Blog Family Wife, Laura; two children, Seth and Emily First job Shoe shine boy at a barber shop Career highlights Before cofounding Qforma in 2000, the last seven positions he held in the industry did not exist until he created them Hobbies Hiking, skiing, cycling Person who has inspired him His dad, a welder by profession, who had a knack for solving difficult problems, offering clever, creative solutions William “Al” Godley Current position Director of Life Science Solutions, Edge Dynamics Place of Birth New Bern, N.C. Education B.S./B.A., The University of North Carolina; MBA, Campbell University On his reading list Anything Clive Cussler writes; Dean Koontz, especially Odd Thomas series; biographies on Patton, Kennedy; Ghost Plane by Stephen Grey Family Wife, 3 children –2 daughters, 1 son; 2 dogs — 2 rabbits, 1 mouse First job Worked in the tobacco fields of North Carolina Hobbies Fishing, woodworking, coin collecting, cooking, BBQ-as a noun not a verb or adjective Toughest task Raising children Person who has inspired him His father The Solution Channel Inspiration is similar to motivation; it has to be percolative not imposing. Al Godley inspires in just that way — he takes a stand, looks ahead, and speaks up so others feel free to express their opinions. A renowned thought-leader with more than 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical space, Mr. Godley has been an innovator in developing management solutions. He has helped pioneer dynamic demand management solutions, enabling both large and small manufacturers to optimize real-time channel visibility, security, and performance. As director of life science solutions, Mr. Godley is at the forefront of Edge Dynamics’ most recent initiative to leverage demand signaling data as a channel sales barometer. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in problem solving and is stimulated by being around other like-minded individuals. He led the development of an enterprise-level channel management system at GlaxoSmithKline. His solutions maximized the visibility of pharmaceutical products within the channel, reduced manufacturing costs, and increased security. At GSK, Mr. Godley also created systems for optimizing interactions between manufacturers and wholesalers through automation. His design for an online system for chargeback reconciliation was award-winn ng. Passionate about industry excellence, Mr. Godley believes one of the toughest tasks is to improve channel transparency and point-of-sale data for pharmaceuticals. Mr. Godley has been awarded two Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) technology innovation awards. He also received the CEO award at GSK, among other honors. Active in the HDMA, he served on its Collaborative Commerce Committee, and is an e-commerce taskforce member. In everything he does, Mr. Godley stands up for doing the right thing and defending those who can’t defend themselves. Passionate about industry excellence, William “Al” Godley has helped pioneer channel management solutions. Chan Russell The Quiet Innovator A quiet, unassuming manner masks Chan Russell’s razor sharp mind, keen wit, and focus on listening to customers. With an extraordinary track record for software development for the pharmaceutical industry spanning two decades, Mr. Russell has remained at the forefront of technological evolutions. He has made enormous contributions to applications and business processes for clinical trials and drug safety from the multipart NCR paper-based world to the emerging e-clinical era. Mr. Russell has founded two successful companies — Belmont Research Inc. in 1990 and Lincoln Technologies in 1999 — and incubated some of the industry’s most successful software products. At BBN, where he held several senior technical management positions, and later at Belmont he was a key player in the development of Clintrial, one of the first clinical data management systems, as well as Clintrace, one of the first safety data management and reporting systems. He has been the innovator behind many other leading solutions, including CrossGraphs, TableTrans, WebVDME postmarketing signal detection, WebSDM data submission manager, and CTSD clinical trials signal detection. Part of his motivation behind these solutions is to address one of the industry’s major challenges: identifying drug safety issues earlier. As president of Lincoln Technologies, which was acquired by Phase Forward in 2005, he is responsible for the development of safety signal detection methodologies and tools, initially for use in the postmarketing environment, but gradually expanding their reach into the clinical and even preclinical areas. He can do it all: recognize a market need; invent the solution; see it through, from conception to market delivery; and follow through with customer satisfaction. His achievements were recognized early in his career when in 1982 Research and Development magazine honored him as the developer of one of the best 100 new technical products. A creative and talented motivator, Mr. Russell inspires both individuals and teams to reach beyond their perceived limits and achieve goals that initially might have seemed impossible to them. He acknowledges people’s strengths and encourages brainstorming and problem-solving, while setting strategy and overseeing progress from the side of the stage — comfortable in his role as quiet innovator. Chan Russell has founded two successful companies and incubated some of the industry’s most successful software products. Current position President, Lincoln Technologies/Phase Forward Place and date of birth New York; June 26, 1947 Education B.A., Harvard, 1969; Special Student in Computer Science, Harvard University Graduate School, 1969-1972 On his reading list Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande Family Wife, Debby Russell; children: Kristin, Sarah, and Alex First job Programmer at BBN working on the NIH Prophet system, the first integrated system for early-stage drug development Person Who has inspired him Dr. John Snow, the father of modern epidemiology, best known for figuring out that cholera was a water-borne disease, at a time when the established thinking was that it was caused by miasms and vapors