BOLD Innovators podcast

In this month's episode, we are delighted to feature Doxie Jordan, Vice President, US Hematology Sales. Hosting the episode is Kwaku Sarfo Mensah, BI&A Rotational Development Program Associate, and the creative director of the BOLD Innovators podcast series. Doxie is a senior healthcare executive who has reshaped commercial models, ignited innovation, and demonstrated leadership in some of the world’s most respected pharmaceutical and biotech companies. In his current role, he leads a field-based team of about 350 commercial professionals, along with a strategy and operations team, all focused on advancing the uptake of world-class treatments for a full spectrum of blood cancers. In this episode, Doxie shares his journey from being a college athlete with an opportunity to go professional, to corporate America within the biopharmaceutical industry. He discusses the immense value of human connections in both personal and professional realms, sharing enriching stories of how fostering good relationships has played a pivotal role in his career. Doxie also shares his evolving perspective on competition and what it means to him as he has matured. When asked about a time when he was boldly urgent in his career, Doxie talks about a moment when he had to go against his usual pragmatic nature to deliver a project that addressed a critical business need.

In this month's episode, we are delighted to feature Tania Small, senior vice president and head of Global Medical Affairs and Wendy Short Bartie, senior vice president, U.S. Hematology and Oncology. Hosting the episode is Bryant Powell, associate director of social media in Omni-Channel Capabilities and the host of the BOLD Innovators podcast series. In this special BOLD Innovators Podcast Episode, Tania and Wendy share what Black Leaders Awareness Day means to them and how past and present Black leaders have motivated them throughout their journeys. During the interview, Tania, a pediatric hematology-oncologist, shares an eye-opening moment in medical school when she learned that being Black was a risk factor for mortality. This realization motivated her to aspire to be a leader to cause positive change. Wendy shares that while she didn’t initially aspire to be a leader, she did strive for excellence in whatever she did, and that quest for excellence led to leadership opportunities. When asked what legacy they hope to leave for future Black leaders, especially the young individuals who aspire to be like them, Wendy says, “I want our young leaders to be better than me.” She goes on to share her guiding principles of leadership: Grit, gravitas and grace.

In this month's episode, we are delighted to feature Patricia Cornet, executive director of Patient Advocacy in hematology and oncology. Hosting the episode is Bryant Powell, associate director of social media in Omni-Channel Capabilities and the host of the BOLD Innovators podcast series. Pat leads the Patient Advocacy oncology, hematology and CAR-T team. Her primary focus is to amplify the patient voice and promote health equity perspectives within our company and the industry. She and her team develop strategies for key accounts while fostering a collaborative environment to strengthen internal and external partnerships. Their goal is to advance research, improve access and enhance patient education initiatives in cancer care. She is a founding member of Women of Color in Pharma (WOCIP), a non-profit organization that seeks to empower women of color in pharma to excel in their personal and professional development and to transform their pathway within the pharmaceutical industry. During the interview, Pat shares an eye-opening moment from her career after returning to the U.S. from an assignment with BMS in China. She reflects on the importance of actively participating and having a seat at the table. In the past, she often found herself sitting at the back of the room and not fully leveraging her voice. She now realizes the significance of exerting oneself and actively engaging in discussions. On urgency at work, Pat emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and self-knowledge. She suggests utilizing self-assessment tools to gain a deeper understanding of oneself. By knowing our strengths and weaknesses, especially in situations where urgency is not a natural trait, we can better navigate our professional journeys.

In this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking to Awara Gbeblewo, senior manager, RCO, vendor operations and engagement. This episode was hosted by Bryant Powell, associate director, social media, Digital Platform Strategy, and host for the BOLD Innovators podcast series. Awara leads a team of SRMs who are responsible for building and managing clinical site relationships for outsourced studies in Europe. Since joining BMS, Awara has been actively involved in inclusion and diversity initiatives. She founded and led the BOLD chapter in Switzerland for more than two years, was on the leadership team of the local B-NOW chapter and is now the co-lead for the BOLD LIFT program. Awara shares her inspiring story of perseverance in the face of setbacks and adversities. She discusses her journey from being a first-year medical school student to selling camera lenses for a decade before returning to school and pursuing a career in life sciences, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. When asked about moments of being boldly urgent in her career and personal life, Awara credits her mother and husband, both of whom have careers that require composure while being urgent. She draws motivation from them and emphasizes the importance of proper planning and anticipation, which leads to faster acceleration and efficient execution. Awara’s biggest life lesson is always to have a contingency plan. She says, “Something I learned is to always have a Plan B even C and D, because if your first plan doesn't work, you need to have something else because otherwise you feel really helpless.”

This season we will be focusing on a new Bristol Myers Squibb core value. In season 2, our focus was on Passion. In season 3, we will be focusing on Urgency, and how that has driven our guests throughout their careers. For BMS, urgency is best achieved with all of us working together to move forward with speed and quality because patients are waiting.