LifeSciences Leadership podcast

Meet Tom Cirrito, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Filament BioSolutions, Biotagenics and Immunovent. He is also the CEO of AGelity BioMechanics, the first start up company out of Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Cirrito previously served as Vice President of Research and Development and Director of Business Development at Stemline Therapeutics (NASDAQ: STML) since March 2012. Dr. Cirrito joined Stemline in 2005 as the second full-time employee, and was responsible for business development, preclinical, intellectual property, manufacturing, analytical, and operations. Prior to joining Stemline, Dr. Cirrito was a biopharmaceuticals equities analyst at Piper Jaffray, where he covered large and small cap biotechnology companies. Previously, he was a life sciences consultant for A.G. Edwards Capital Partners, a venture capital group. Dr. Cirrito received a B.A. in Biological Sciences and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri). He currently serves on the Scientific and Business Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. He serves as an investor, mentor and Board Member to early stage biotechnology and health care companies. He has published in a wide variety of scientific fields and is the inventor on numerous technologies.

Meet Norma Beauchamp, President and CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.   Cystic Fibrosis Canada is a national charitable not-for-profit corporation established in 1960, and is one of the world’s top three charitable organizations committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis (CF). As an internationally recognized leader in funding innovation and clinical care, we invest more in life-saving CF research and care than any other non-governmental agency in Canada.   Today's guest is Norma Beauchamp, President and CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.    In addition to her current role Norma also sits on the boards of various public and private organisations.   Prior to her current role Norma held senior leadership positions in the Pharmaceutical industry - giving her a unique insight into many different aspects of the life sciences ecosystem.   Her passion is in supporting patients and families living with CF (including her nephew). Norma is inspired by the CFC volunteers, donors, scientists, clinicians, families and staff's endless dedication in finding CF healthcare solutions and eventually a cure. ​ One of the books she recommends is ​ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R.Covey ​ One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has captivated readers for 25 years. It has transformed the lives of Presidents and CEOs, educators and parents— in short, millions of people of all ages and occupations.

Meet Naheed Kurji, CEO of Cyclica.   Enhancing Drug Discovery by Harnessing Big Data and Predictive Analytics ​ Cyclica is a bioinformatics company focused on helping scientists navigate the drug discovery pipeline by assessing the safety and efficacy of drugs. Whether pre-clinical, clinical, or FDA approved, Cyclica can offer novel insight and analysis into drugs’ effects using their in-house, drug-centric and structure-based bioinformatics platform.   Before being named CEO, Naheed joined Cyclica as CFO - a job for which he gave a position at one of the big Canadian banks.   Hear what he has to say about leadership, innovation and why Elon Musk will probably try to solve the problem of human longevity. ​ Some of the resources he mentions: ​ White Tiger  by Aravind Adiga  The white tiger of this novel is Balram Halwai, a poor Indian villager whose great ambition leads him to the zenith of Indian business culture, the world of the Bangalore entrepreneur. ​ The Real-Life MBA by Jack and Suzy Welch Your No-BS Guide to Winning the Game, Building a Team, and Growing Your Career ​ McKinsey Global Institute The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has been named the number one private-sector think tank in the world in the 2016 Global Go to Think Tank Index Report published on January 26, 2017 by the Think Tank and Civil Society Program at the Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania. This is the second year in a row that MGI has been awarded this top spot in the global ranking. ​ The Economist No description needed ​ MaRS Discovery District, Toronto The Launchpad for Leading Innovators ​ Startup Health Entrepreneurs Transforming Healthcare

Meet Daniel Penn, CEO of Shift Health.   Improving outcomes through patient reported data. ​ Daniel Penn is the CEO and Co-Founder of Shift Health, an award winning company that help healthcare organizations improve outcomes through patient reported data. Prior to founding Shift, Daniel’s eclectic and accomplished career includes: - Ski Racing for Canada - Founding Happening Hamilton - Being President of the McMaster cycling club - and publishing 3 cookbooks Daniel sits on the boards of ITAC health and WIMTAC representing the growing healthcare startup scene. He was named to Forbes 30 under 30 list for healthcare, has twice been a TEDMED Scholar. He has presented on the topic innovation in Healthcare at conferences like, MedicineX (Stanford), Health 2.0 and Queen's Innovation Summit. ​ Some of Daniel's biggest inspirations came from the work with Startup Health and their moonshot mindset.    He also uses the information that Rock Health puts out as a source for what is happening in his industry.  ​ Other things he recommends:   TED and TEDMED ​ Maybe the world's most amazing collection of inspirational speeches   A Forbes article on the importance of doing nothing   and finally his most important trick, which is to get away from the job and just go play with his dog. 

Meet Ben Sainsbury, CEO of Marion Surgical.   VIRTUAL SURGERY GIVES SURGEONS REAL OPERATING EXPERIENCE ​ From film maker to computer scientists while selling CAD software and 3D printers to CEO of a company that helps prevent unnecessary surgical errors by giving surgeons and medical students a realistic virtual operating experience.  ​ Listen as Ben explains why he has stopped reading books and blogs on business and leadership and instead uses meditation, Yoga and his network of mentors to move ahead as CEO.  ​ Some of the items he recommends: ​ Headspace ​ Guided meditation app ​ Brad Feld ​ Brad Feld's books and blog are what Ben recommends to learn about VC investing and financing ​ In addition to meditation Ben also surfs and plays golf. Both serve as metaphor to running a startup - an art you never master and get beat up along the way.

Episode 1 Meet Eric Dolan, Co-Founder and CEO of Neutun Labs. Neutun turns your mobile devices into life saving devices.  ​ Fuelled by a passion to make things better for patients with epilepsy Eric and his brother Alex founded Neutun to solve a problem very close to his heart.  ​