Nora Gardner

What skills and experience are required to be an effective health equity leader in today's landscape? We spoke with several leaders in the health equity space to find out: https://lnkd.in/emchN9Ye

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People-First Leadership Last week, I had the pleasure of leading a 90-minute virtual leadership lab with a group of Takeda leaders as part of their leadership development. We explored the impact of people-first leadership—specifically, the power of Clarity, Autonomy, Relationships, and Equity (CARE) in bridging the gap between what teams get and what they truly need to do their best work and be their best selves. Research shows that when there’s a disconnect between leader intentions and team needs, cognitive dissonance and mistrust can creep in, setting the stage for workplace toxicity. According to Gallup, 70% of variance in team engagement can be directly linked to the team leader's approach​​. When leaders intentionally manage their biases and actively prioritize people over results, they create the psychological safety needed for teams to thrive. Key data points from the session: ✅ People-first Culture Matters: Organizations with cultures rooted in empathy and trust see lower turnover and higher engagement rates. MIT Sloan found that a toxic workplace culture is 10.4 times more likely to drive attrition than compensation​. ✅ Clarity Reduces Stress: Teams with clear expectations are better aligned and experience reduced stress​. This clarity allows leaders to close the “gap” and align their teams better. ✅ Equity Drives Engagement: Recent studies on equitable leadership strategies have noted that leaders who individualize support based on team member needs foster greater engagement​. The CARE to Win approach is more than just a leadership framework—it’s a shift in mindset that places people at the center of performance. When leaders intentionally close the gap between what teams receive and what they need, they create high-performing cultures built on trust and resilience. Here’s to a future of intentional, human-centered leadership. Thanks for having us present our mission to your leaders. What leadership habits do you use that help close the gap between what your team gets and what they need? References: - Gallup, 2022. 70% of the variance in team engagement is due to team leaders. - MIT Sloan Management Review. Toxic Culture is 10.4 times more likely to drive attrition than compensation. - Draper, A. CARE to Win: The Four Leadership Habits to Build High-Performing Teams. Brown Books Publishing Group, 2024. More on CARE to Win here: https://lnkd.in/gXtwpF2z #CAREtoWin #LeadershipDevelopment #EmpathyInLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #PeopleFirst #care #trust #leadership #leadershiptraining

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Really looking forward to being on this panel and exploring such an important topic alongside great people. Mentoring plays a critical role in the development of high-potential biotech companies. Let’s get candid and productive to help the next generation of entrepreneurs! #Mentoring #Innovation #Startups #EastWest24

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In the article at the link below, Spencer Stuart reports on how much time board members spent on board service and how they spent their time on those boards. (This is for all boards, but 60% of respondents sat on public company boards.) A few takeaways: 1)       What is the time commitment? Private company directors spend ~3 hours per week per board, and public company directors spend ~5 hours per week. This is not minor, but then again public boards, at least, pay well for board service, so it is compensated fairly, if not well. 2)       How is board time allocated? Board members wanted proportionally more time spent debating strategy/performance, succession, talent, and AI. The largest changes in what they want to spend more time on include #AI, new technologies, and #cybersecurity (i.e., all things tech-related). Do members of your board have expertise in these critical areas? Directors want less time spent in meetings on ESG and DEI topics. 3)       Are the agendas the right agendas? Directors want #boardchairs, CEOs, and management teams to be even more purposeful and strategic about setting the agenda. Here’s an excerpt: “Several respondents noted how management presentations take up huge portions of [board] time. Even those intended to be 'information-only' can consume more time than expected as board members ask questions and precious time is spent on topics that don’t necessarily need board attention. One respondent suggested sharing more management presentations several days before the meeting. 'The executive team needs to think more carefully about the board agenda and not overloading it with topics that require lengthy discussions.'" 4) What about executive sessions? Respondents noted that a best practice was to hold #executivesessions at the beginning AND end of meetings. In the initial executive session, the board can also improve the agenda and prioritize for the meeting ahead. This is an interesting best practice. I have yet to be in a board meeting with two executive sessions. Have any of you? I don’t think I would have done this with boards I was on because attention spans were too short for two executive sessions. I have been on boards where CEOs hosted a dinner with board members and key staff. Staff presented and we all debated a key corporate topic, which worked very well. #governance #boardofdirectors

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#HR and #TalentAcquisition leaders --- check out The Conference Board's own Robin Erickson PhD during the Change, Transformation and Organization Design conference next month!

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There's been a lot of negative news in the alt protein space recently. There are real challenges and setbacks -- this is not going as we hoped it would. But I think it's far too soon to give up on alternative proteins. In my new newsletter, I highlight three trends that give me hope for the future of alt proteins, especially in the longer-run: 1. Improving Product Quality: Taste tests show plant-based nuggets now competing with chicken nuggets in consumer preference. 2. Better Retail Strategies: European retailers are cutting prices and improving merchandising of plant-based products, with some pledging to make 50-60% of protein sales plant-based by 2025-2030. 3. Increased Research Funding: Major philanthropic organizations and governments are investing more in alternative protein research and development. I also point to how long and uncertain the path to impact was for other transformative technologies like solar energy and electric cars. With persistence and patience, I think the future for alt proteins can be very bright too.

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My latest post on navigating/leveraging Identity during life transitions. When life's 8-10 cycle runs through, our worlds & roles change. How we see & manage our identity(s) can turn this into an extraordinary growth moment or an emotional boat anchor. Fortunately, modern research & ancient wisdoms align on how to navigate. https://lnkd.in/gXjUUFQC

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The case for emerging managers: “What we don’t want to do is lock ourselves out of these high-performing, differentiated strategies for the simplicity of going with the big guys”, Taffi Ayodele director of the emerging manager strategy at the NYC Office of the Comptroller #investmentstrategies #investmentreturns #roi #assetallocation #emergingmanagers #riskreward #premium #performance

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Proud and grateful of our #CEO Brian Becker for his leadership! Check out his thoughts on AI in the WSJ CEO Council. RSM US LLP “Generative AI offers a unique opportunity to reimagine how we work. It’s not about the technology itself, but about how it can unlock new ways of thinking and working. My advice: Think about AI as a catalyst for growth and focus on how it can complement your people, not replace them. It’s more about AI technology empowering human insight and creativity to solve challenges in new ways that neither humans nor technology could do separately on their own.”

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Interested in Corporate #VC? Check out Global Midwest Alliance's 9th annual Corporate Venture Capital conference this week in #Chicago. I'll be there to discuss #CVC's role in the innovation ecosystem alongside investors Tony Palcheck (Zebra Technologies), Subra Balakrishnan (Nourish Ventures), and Eric Steager (Band Venture Partners). 👇 See below to register. Look forward to seeing you there! #CorporateVentureCapital #GlobalMidwestAlliance #innovation #midwest #startups #venturecapital

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My EisnerAmper Engaging Alternatives Podcast with Todd Perman, President & CEO, Seed Healthcare who shares his outlook for venture capital investing in health care, including the greatest opportunities, challenges, how the firm integrates ESG and more. #venturecapital #healthcare #opportunites #challenges #esg

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As we approach the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Annual Conference, it seemed timely to announce that I have stepped into an Operating Partner role with FVLCRUM Funds! Starting with the co-founding of Gun Lake Investments, then an amazing experience consulting for the NMSDC, I've spent a decade+ exploring how minority-owned private capital firms could help Fortune 500 corporations strengthen their supply chains. I could not be more grateful for the support of Benjamin C. and the rest of the FVLCRUM team for the opportunity to continue this work. The world of PE is evolving. McKinsey & Company forecasts that 60%+ of future PE returns will come from operational improvements. That means better determining your customers' needs, how to more efficiently reach target markets, and ensuring that you can deliver your value proposition. With this shift, there's never been a better time for Corporate America to connect with mission-aligned capital firms to drive impact into all communities that they serve.

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My phone blew up today with news of Junior State of America (JSA) winding down after 90 years. For a '90s high school student, JSA was formative (I was a Mayor, a Lt. Governor, and went to Georgetown & Montezuma). What made JSA special? 1️⃣ 👫 💡 Diversity of people & ideas. NJ high school was ... beige, racially and intellectually. At JSA, kids (and their parents) came from all over the place, with ideas which were all over the place. The most diverse environment I experienced until - a decade later - HBS. 2️⃣ 🛩 Travel. 🏛 DC, 🗽 NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco. Without parents, and cell phones! Opened up new worlds for me. 3️⃣ 🗣 Speaking and Conflict. Once upon a time I didn't like public speaking (I know, hard to believe). JSA's approach to debate taught not just public speaking & opposing ideas in public, but also building friendships & leaving public conflict behind when the debate was done. Unique in today's world. 4️⃣ 📜 Paperwork. Hear me out. JSA had a lot of paperwork -- Resolutions. Agendas. Membership rolls, all with minimal computers. Effectively navigating bureaucracy is perhaps the defining skill of adulting. Without even realizing it, I learned to do that in JSA. 5️⃣ 🤗 Friends & 🤝 Leaders. JSA alums of that era became lawyers, business leaders, political leaders, social justice activists, and even rabbis. Several married each other. People like Israel "Izzy" Klein, Cindy Chen, Rachel Derkits-Gelman, and Abby Gordon still influence how I think about friendship, politics, and even parenting today. JSA's moment may have passed. No doubt other groups will fill these roles for the post-COVID high school generation. But it will be missed.

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Good morning. It's Tuesday, Nov. 12, Markets: Stocks cooled somewhat from last week’s post-election surge, though all three indexes still managed to end the day higher as investors started to wonder how much longer the rally can last. AbbVie tanked after it revealed its experimental schizophrenia drug failed to deliver results during a recent clinical trial. FTX sued Binance for ~$1.8 billion. Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, was also named in the suit. The estate of FTX—the crypto exchange that collapsed in 2022, sending co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried to prison for 25 years for fraud—alleges that it’s owed $1.76 billion after funds were fraudulently transferred by SBF to Binance as part of a share repurchase deal. FTX also claims that CZ made “a series of false, misleading and fraudulent tweets” that “triggered a predictable avalanche of withdrawals at FTX.” Binance has denied all of the allegations. CZ, meanwhile, was released from a US prison in September after he pled guilty to charges of money laundering. Salesforce is hiring 1,000 people to sell its new AI product. Agentforce, which launched last month, can provide customer support and perform other tasks without human intervention. CEO Marc Benioff said the product already has “amazing momentum” as Salesforce seeks to dominate the emerging AI agent space, which counts Microsoft as an entrant. Benioff has criticized Microsoft’s autonomous agents, calling the company’s Copilot assistant “disappointing.” Salesforce stock jumped 2.5% to a record high last week. "Truth is the only safe ground to stand upon." - Elizabeth Cady Stanton “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw

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Lexington Books managed to release my book Disagreeing despite the Data before the election. It argues the belief segregation underway in the US may be irreversible. Today's battles over climate change, disease mitigation, and election results run deep -- they're cognitive, not just strategic. Here's the gist of it. 20th-century revolutions in the philosophy of mind, meaning, and matter uncover three surprising requirements for widespread factual agreement. Critical thinking and community building have the potential to reverse two of them -- the growing refusal to test assumptions and individual isolation. Factual agreement between groups is impossible without the third one, though -- shared projects or other meaningful interaction. And a large part of American society has insulated itself from the rest. Without shared projects, communities gradually lose the ability to tell whether they agree or not regardless of the words they use. Belief segregation with similar roots has led several developing countries to the brink of failure. We'd better watch out. The attached flyer gives a discount code that makes the book -- priced in this initial run for academic libraries -- a little more affordable. Please feel free to forward it and, if you're connected to any libraries or book stores, pass it on!

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With President Trump’s nomination of Robert Kennedy, Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, there is the potential for significant changes in FDA and CDC tobacco policy. Though Kennedy has apparently not taken a public position on tobacco harm reduction, he would clearly bring to his new position a distrust of past decisions at FDA and CDC on a broad range of issues and a desire for major change. This will be the first in a series of posts on how I would recommend approaching tobacco policy reform at FDA and CDC. I don’t intend to weigh in on politics – for example whether Robert Kennedy, Jr. is or is not the right selection for this cabinet position. Rather, my focus is on trying to analyze the implications of the upcoming changes in leadership at the White House, HHS, FDA and CDC for nicotine and tobacco issues. With respect to FDA, the overarching priority should be to reverse the regulatory capture of its tobacco policy by well-funded tobacco control advocacy groups, led by Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. My recent article in the Food and Drug Law Institute Journal (https://lnkd.in/e_ytZb-y) describes the history and impacts of this capture and provides a set of recommendations on reversing it. The nation’s smokers need an FDA that is attending to all issues related to smoking and harm reduction – particularly including product authorizations – based on science and without surrendering to special interests. The denials of all PMTA applications for flavored vapor products are the clearest example that FDA’s product review decisions have been captured – and this is a situation that should not be allowed to continue. It is long past time for FDA to begin authorizing flavored products, subject to appropriate marketing restrictions to limit the risk of youth usage. As capture is being reversed, there is a risk of an over-correction – either dispensing with any need for FDA product reviews or issuing authorizations without regard to the strength of the scientific showing. There is nothing wrong with the fundamental idea, central to the Tobacco Control Act, that we should have FDA review of new tobacco products. Such reviews are needed to assure adults who smoke and doctors who treat them about the relative safety of these products as compared to continued smoking – and is essential given the years of misinformation on the part of advocacy groups about the health effects of vaping. The problem has not been the requirement of FDA reviews. It has been that political forces have insinuated themselves into the process and driven the Agency to ignore the science and summarily deny authorization to entire categories of products - and to delay for years decisions on applications for which there is ample evidence that authorization is warranted. I will address additional policy reform issues at FDA and CDC, in upcoming posts. #publichealth #election2024 #mondaythoughts

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Our conversations about executive career paths with 7 high-achieving women of color highlight important lessons for companies working to increase representation in the C-suite. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eGGQAiS2

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What a great night at the J.P. Morgan Pharma Insights Panel & Reception! Thank you P. John Chorzepa for organizing, and thank you to the panel for being so high energy and sharing great insights. Opening Comments: Kathryn McDonough (Walsh) McDonough, Managing Director, Head of Life Sciences, J.P. Morgan Moderator: Terry-Ann Burrell, Vice Chair, Investment Banking J.P. Morgan Panelists: - Marcello Agosti, Global Business Development Officer Takeda - Adam Keeney PhD, PhD, Head of Corporate Development Biogen Inc. - Philippe Lopes-Fernandes, Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer Ipsen SA - Arpita Maiti, PhD, Vice President, Immunology Search & Evaluation AbbVie Inc. - Jenny Wang of Search & Evaluation for Oncology AbbVie Inc. To summarize key points: 🤝 The future internal champions of the partnership must be fully aligned in advance of the transaction, as BD is just making the bridge 🖋 When to sign a CDA? This varies by organization. Making a good non-con is an art, and should intrigue the other party to want to see more. A CDA should not be automatic or a fishing expedition. 🗣 "BD can talk their way out of any deal, it takes courage to set up and get a deal done" 💡 Transactions come from pre-existing relationships and take time, it's extremely rare for a transaction to go quickly from inception to execution. ⏰ If you are going to have data soon, most pharmas would rather wait to see the data and pay more The Deal Phases: 1️⃣ Getting comfortable with the space and the science, BD and R&D teams are interested 2️⃣ Something triggers a tipping point, this can be internal pharma data, the partner is now considering an IPO instead, external data 3️⃣ Conviction from senior management. BD and R&D must be a joint aligned force going to senior mgmt with a case for why the deal should go through

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In this week's VERTESSPress article, Miriam Lieber, President of Lieber Consulting, shares key insights for three types of companies — small, mid-sized, and large — and the considerations for business owners and operators as they work to successfully move their companies up the growth ladder. VERTESS thanks Miriam for her perceptive and useful suggestions to healthcare business owners! https://lnkd.in/gRPFxqWj

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