WEST Wisdom Blog

Lessons Learned from April-June 2018 WEST Events

Posted by Jaime Luna on May 3, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Learn more about past events listed below

6/12: Leadership and Women of the Future Awards and Panel Discussion
5/23: Providing Impactful Feedback Up, Down, and Across
4/26: How to Present Technical Information so People Will Understand, Care, and Remember
4/23: How Does a Start-up Embrace Open Innovation with a Large Corporation
4/11: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Senior Panel Discussion

2018-04-11 Photogrid Networking     2018-04-11 Photogrid Panel

On April 11th, more than 100 people gathered for an exciting senior panel discussion on the topic of innovation and entrepreneurship – the two words synonymous with the Boston biotech scene. The expert panel was moderated by current WEST President Jo Viney (Co-Founder and CSO Pandion Therapeutics), and featured renowned names from our local life sciences community:

  • Kristina Allikmets, Head of TAK-079 Group, and internal spin-in at Takeda
  • Alan Crane, Entrepreneur Partner, Polaris Partners
  • Ros Deegan, President and CBO, Bicycle Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Meredith Fisher, Partner, Partners Innovation Fund
  • Danielle Lauzon, Partner, Goodwin Law LLP
  • Adelene Perkins, Chair, President, & CEO, Infinity Pharmaceuticals
During brief introductions, the panelists described the career journey to their current role before launching into some thought-provoking (and quite entertaining!) perspectives on (i) the status of innovation and entrepreneurship in life sciences, (ii) careers at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship, and (iii) career development and opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Hot topics included a discussion of new innovations and their potential to transform the life sciences industry, and a lengthy discourse on the professional skills and personal characteristics needed to become a successful entrepreneur. The panelists were in vehement agreement about the need for entrepreneurs to embrace team work, and provided many examples of the well-documented benefits of mindfully creating diverse teams. The discussion closed with tangible recommendations for improving the pipeline of women as a way to create greater gender parity at the leadership level.

Dinner and cocktails before the panel, followed by dessert and cocktails after the panel discussion, ensured there was plenty of opportunity for hobnobbing with the movers and shakers of our local STEM network. The evening was made possible by generous support from Roche, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Lab Central, Pandion Therapeutics, ThermoFisher Scientific, Goodwin Law, and Lake Pharma.

If you enjoyed the 4/11 discussion (or perhaps couldn't make it) continue it from the perspective of supporting open innovation in a larger corporate setting on at our 4/23 panel discussion.

 

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