In this episode, Paula Brown Stafford and Lisa T. Grimes discuss the importance of organizational culture and the need for individuals to be able to showcase their personal strengths and skills in the workplace. They share personal experiences of struggling with conformity and emphasize the importance of authenticity in creating a healthy organizational culture. The role of communication in staying true to oneself is also explored, along with the significance of continuous learning and taking calculated risks.
Paula Brown Stafford and Lisa T. Grimes are Co-Founders and Managing Directors of Habergeon, a boutique consulting company, and co-authors of the best-selling book, released in 2018, Remember Who You Are: Achieve Success. Create Balance. Experience Fulfillment.
Paula Brown Stafford served most recently as President, CEO and Chairman of Novan, Inc., a micro-cap pharmaceutical company. She has nearly 40 years of biopharmaceutical services and consulting experience, including sales and marketing. She spent over five years as President of the Clinical Development division of Quintiles (now IQVIA), a position with global responsibility for over 20,000 staff, following 25 years in multiple roles with increasing levels of responsibility. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Health, a certificate in International Executive training from INSEAD and completed the Looking Glass Experience at the Center for Creative Leadership. In 2012, she was selected as one of the Top 10 Women in Biopharma by Fiercebiotech. She serves on the Board of Alliance for Multi-specialty Research, Inc., and previously served on the Board of Directors at Health Decisions, a small CRO acquired by Premier Research. She is an Adjunct Professor in Public Health Leadership at UNC Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health and consults for biopharmaceutical and start up organizations. She and her husband have two adult children.
Lisa T. Grimes served most recently as the President & CEO of PurThread, a medical textile start-up. Lisa’s career has spanned sales, marketing, and executive management in healthcare and service industries. She began her career in sales at Beecham Pharmaceuticals and then moved into sales management roles at Glaxo (now GSK). Her first entrepreneurial experience was with PPDI where she led international business development and contracts. Since then, she has served as the CEO of several start-up companies including InSite Clinical Trials (an SMO for which she led the transformation to a full service CRO prior to selling it to United Healthcare, then served as its President) and AcSentient, an ophthalmology company, which she sold to ISTA. She spent a decade as an Executive Advisor to Campbell Alliance (now Syneos), a leading pharmaceutical management consulting firm. Lisa is a graduate of the School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she served as an Adjunct Professor, Associate Dean of the School of Pharmacy and on the School’s Foundation Board of Directors. She also has certificates in Strategic Marketing for Executives from Harvard and in Healthcare Administration from the University of Southern California. She and her husband have two adult children, daughter-in-law and new grandson.