Strategy – and Humanity

Tell us about your path to ophthalmology...

I actually spent 23 of my 25 years in pharma services within the field of oncology. I came over to ophthalmology in 2018, when I was approached by a head-hunter who was looking for external board members to support the evolution of Ora. I learned more about the company and came to adore the family who started it – the Abelsons. They are a special family; very passionate about advancing ophthalmology and supporting their pharmaceutical and device customers as they bring new medical interventions to the market. And that’s what brought me over.

Right after I agreed to join, a long-time work colleague and friend of mine died of ocular melanoma. Christine was a larger-than-life woman who ran a non-profit group focused on advancing clinical research. We had spent a lot of time together trying to progress clinical research as a care option. I didn’t even know that she was sick. It was heart-wrenching. There I was, about to start work in ophthalmology, and Christine died of ocular melanoma. It felt like the field was calling to me.

How do the two specialties compare?

There are a lot of differences. For one – and please forgive the wording – ophthalmology is a more “hopeful” field. In my 23 years in oncology, I dealt a lot with death. I worked at a Cancer Center in North Carolina and often found myself reading obituaries, looking for my patients because they were so sick.

I also find that ophthalmology moves at a faster pace and is more collaborative. Maybe it’s because you’re dealing with hope; you have the opportunity to help somebody to see better and people rally around that. The ophthalmology community is open to discussion, new ideas, and different people’s perspectives and opinions. Communication is authentic – and I’ve found that very refreshing.

How did you transition from board member to CEO?

I joined the board in 2018, then took over the role of Chief Strategy Officer in January 2019. And finally assumed the role of CEO in August. The board, the family, and I were working behind the scenes to plan my move to CEO. We wanted to be careful because Ora is a special company; it is a 44-year-old, family-owned, privately-held organization, and many of the employees have been here for 10, 15, or even 20 plus years.

Why do you think that is?

Ora’s foundation is unique. First of all, it is built on science. We have an established R&D Center that connects clinical researchers with KOLs, allowing us to understand current challenges facing the market. For example, we speak with pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulators to understand why drugs and devices aren’t getting approved. It also allows us to design new technologies to support the accelerated development and approval of products in select therapeutic areas. The second thing I love is that we combine science with services. When I looked at the team at Ora, I realized it was made up of really smart, dedicated people. It was a great culture and I had the chance to help it evolve, which was super exciting.

You describe Ora as a family company – does that extend to employees?

Very much so. We make sure that families come first, whether that’s through our flexible work policy, our industry leading maternity and paternity policy programs or the healthcare benefits that we afford. We carry a large burden of that cost, which is unique in the USA. In addition, we hold many family events to which partners and kids are encouraged to come. We respect that our employees want to pick their kids up from school, so we allow them the flexibility to balance those responsibilities with their job. I think that’s one reason why our retention rates are so good for a service-based industry.

Can you tell us more about your time as President of the Quintiles Women in Networking group?

When I took over, the group was focused on women, and our challenge as a large multinational, multicultural company was that we had very few of them at the top. Women wanted to become directors, senior directors and vice presidents, but something was holding them back. I realized they were excellent technically, but their general leadership and management skills – their business acumen and skills around finance, like knowing how to read a financial statement – were weaker, so that is what we looked at tackling. We created actionable plans that gave women the skills they needed to get to where they wanted to be.

Is that something you still care about now?

Definitely. When I came over to Ora, I immediately became active in OWL – I even helped to set up a chapter in North Carolina, what an honor. A lot has happened in the last couple of years, some of it driven by the #MeToo movement. People in leadership positions are now spending more time understanding workforce metrics – myself included. I believe we’re not doing enough for minorities and people with disabilities, and that’s something I wanted to change at Ora. We’re an ophthalmology company, but how many people in our company truly have vision impairments? What can we do to create opportunities for people with impaired vision?

We partnered with the Perkins School for the Blind, located about 45 minutes from our offices in Andover, to create an internship to help people get their first job and for those who have been underemployed – either underpaid or working below their grade level – to get more appropriate work. I wanted to create a sustainable pathway for women, people with disabilities and minorities to get adequate opportunities, and make sure Ora is more representative of the talent available. Hopefully these initiatives will reap dividends in years to come.

How is the partnership going so far?

We’ve actually just had our first hire, Thomas! We were supposed to start our second intern in March. However, due to the virus, we’ve had to put recruitment on hold because the offices aren’t open. But when the world restarts, we will restart that program as well.

How does ophthalmology compare to oncology in terms of diversity?

I don’t see a big difference, though in the physician space, there seems to be more women in ophthalmology than there are in oncology. I’d love to see the data on that, as well as the number of minorities and disabled individuals – I feel like those two groups of important, intelligent professionals are completely underrepresented in our industry.

Why is that so important to you?

I think it’s my upbringing: my father was a teacher and my mother was a nurse. I grew up in a very modest home. They instilled in me very early-on the need to be open and accepting of people of all ethnic backgrounds, genders, abilities, religions – you name it. I carry that on – it’s who I am.

What were your biggest breaks professionally?

Back in 2010, when I was still at Quintiles, I was working on a project called “Project Asia.” We were trying to figure out how to grow our operations in Asia because we believed we were missing out on a tremendous amount of business that was available domestically over there, in favor of work that would be delivered in Asia, but sold in the United States. At the end of the project, the CEO of our Asian department said, “Hey Jeanne, why don’t you move over and help us set up the sales and strategic planning division for a domestic-based business?”

“That sounds amazing!” I said. “I’ve always wanted to live someplace else, but I’m married and I can’t ask my husband to close down his business...” He suggested a one-year secondment. But one thing I have learned is that there is no such thing as a one-year secondment. I ended up there for over two years. I moved to Singapore on my own, hired 50 people in under three months, set up a domestic sales team, along with strategic planning, marketing and communications, and grew it into a billion-dollar business in 18 months.

What a fantastic accomplishment...

The work was done on the backs of a lot of smart people; a lot of amazing salespeople and fantastic operations folks that supported the delivery. I would say it was probably my biggest break – but also one of the biggest risks I’ve taken.

How did business in Singapore compare with the USA?

First of all, it was very fast-paced and less process-oriented, which could be unnerving at times. The focus was more: “let’s just create as we go.” Because it was such a new and burgeoning market, at least in terms of pharma services from a local perspective, it was really interesting.

Do you think you were treated any differently because you are a woman? Did people accept you?

I think because I had a good title and was one of the most senior people out there, they did accept me. I didn’t always get invited to go out for drinks with “the boys”, and I’m okay with that.

What did you take away from the experience?

You don’t always have the right answer, so make sure that you talk to people who do. It also really taught me to respect cultural diversity – even more so than I ever had before. It was a great learning opportunity.

You’re a board member for Senior PharmAssist – could you tell us more about that?

Senior PharmAssist is a non-profit organization that supports seniors who live under or within a certain percentage of the poverty level accessing Medicare and Medicaid. Senior PharmAssist works with providers to get seniors advice and counseling, and help them better understand their medication. Now, with the elderly so much at risk from coronavirus, it makes me appreciate the work Senior PharmAssist does even more. I like to think it gives me a good balance; the warm and fuzzy side, and the matter-of-fact business side. 

How did that come about?

I used to work with Tom Wollman – now Chairman of the Board – and he asked if I had time to get involved. I said I didn’t – but I could make time. I’m not somebody who goes home and watches TV at night, I don’t like to sit still, so I decided to participate. I’ve been a member of the board for over two years and it’s been great to contribute where and when I can.

Is that something you plan on continuing to do?

Definitely. There are three-year term limits to the board, but they’ve been allowing some of the board members to extend, so I’m planning to stay actively involved for as long as they’ll let me!

What do you do to unwind?

I love to listen to podcasts. I’m a true crime person, so Dr. Death, Dirty John – all of those. I also like Planet Money. They’re good for when I need 20 or 25 minutes to myself after a stressful afternoon. I’m also a geek who likes to birdwatch. I cook a lot. I’m not a big baker, but since the pandemic started, I really got into making bread. I’m also active, so I like to play tennis, I hike, paddleboard, kayak, and I’m a certified scuba diver, which means I can go to caves and deep-water wrecks.

I got seriously into it in 2002 when I was getting divorced from my first husband. I had just moved to Philadelphia and needed something to talk about that wasn’t, “How do you feel about your divorce?” I’d always been involved in scuba diving – I got certified in 1995 – and decided that was what I was going to do. Quite frankly, when you’re on a dive boat with a bunch of guys off the shores of New Jersey in cold water and limited visibility, when you come out of a dive, nobody asks you about your divorce. It was a lot of fun.

If you had to start your career again tomorrow, what – if anything – would you do differently?

I would do a better job supporting women early on in my career. I can think of one or two people who didn’t get as much of my attention as they deserved. When I was coming through the ranks, it was a very different culture – nowhere near as open, authentic and genuine as it is now. You didn’t talk about your feelings, you went to work, did a 10- or 12-hour day and didn’t complain about it. I was also told early in my career that I don’t suffer fools and that really stuck with me. It’s a reminder of how important it is to treat everybody with respect. But this is part of aging – you realize what you could have done differently.