12 Questions with Jenny Reid-Young

With 17+ years in Medical Information, Jenny Reid-Young excels in managing diverse, multilingual teams across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. She understands the evolving business and customer needs to ensure she is providing industry leading services to the pharma industry. She's been pivotal in integrating Pharmacovigilance acquisitions in Europe and expanding global PV services.

What is your background prior to this role and how did it prepare you for the work you do now? I have worked in Medical Information for most of my career, having gained a BSc from Bristol UWE University. I started ‘on the floor’, picking up calls and answering questions, allowing me to truly understand the services and customer needs. I then progressed into management and realised how much I enjoyed seeing people and business succeed and grow. I was given incredible opportunities to live and work in Europe and the JAPAC region during my career and spent the last 10 years supporting US clients to expand and/or globalise their services. Understanding the global landscape is so vital in pharma, and that landscape varies considerably, even if ‘the world is getting smaller’. Understanding cultural perspectives, regional compliance, regulations, and even how customers interact with clients, are all critical to developing and tailoring solutions.

My mind is always thinking three to five years ahead and I like to strategically push the boundaries of our industry to consider how we will make it better for the patient, healthcare professionals, and companies. Joining a company that was forward thinking and innovative from a business perspective, but also understood the generational expectations from the employee and customer point of view, was critical for me. That’s what I believe I have found with Inizio.

What motivates you about working in pharma? Pharma is not just one place or activity; it is people, teams, departments, organisations, and businesses working tirelessly to improve the health and lives of people. Every single person in pharma makes a difference in somebody else’s life. They might not realise it, but they do. That’s powerful stuff when you think about it. It’s humbling.

What is your personal mission statement? What values keep you centred in your work? Always ask why, ensure you make decisions and act on them, and always keep moving forward.

People keep me centred. Their different perspectives, experience, opinions, values, and priorities are important to hear and take into consideration. Surrounding yourself with diverse leaders and perspectives will build a better, stronger, and more adaptable business.

What are your biggest long-term goals for five years or 10 years from now? To see Medical Affairs/Medical Information actively considered as a key business activity, rather than a regulatory requirement. We need to change the narrative; we need to embrace data and analytics to demonstrate impact and support more strategic decision making. There are huge gains to be made by working more collaboratively and cross-functionally. There needs to be a shift away from department/function silos and a move towards a more cohesive cross-functional strategic structure. This is going to take progressive and ambitious leadership (and budget), but I believe the gains would be significant, given the changing healthcare landscape and increasing emphasis on a patient-centric approach.

We’ve come a long way in the past five to 10 years, and I can only see that accelerating in the future.

What are the most important professional skills in your work and how do you hone them? Vision, adaptability, empathy and, most importantly, communication. It’s a continuous journey – observing, listening, reading, watching, and absorbing as many different perspectives as possible. You find what works for you, but then I always challenge myself to do better, and acknowledge that I must put the effort in and step out of my comfort zone to better myself.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the industry right now? The speed with which technology is evolving. It is moving at an incredible pace. Healthcare, regulations and compliance have not historically moved quickly, but the pandemic showed that they can. If we don’t keep up with technology, we risk less regulated approaches being adopted, and we need to be mindful of this and its repercussions on our healthcare delivery. We should challenge the industry to more quickly react to evolutions and operationalise change.

What excites you most about current industry trends? The fact that healthcare is becoming such a predominate part of everybody’s lives; from fitness to mental health, to ‘well-being’, to tailored gene-therapy and customised medications, to technology and apps being considered ‘medical devices’ – it’s all truly incredible and offers a whole world of opportunity!

How do you foster diversity in your workplace? Diversity needs to be a business strategy, with people at the core of your business values. If you’re focussed on the people, you unconsciously provide them with a voice. Having diversity in the workplace gives you the broadest perspective, which in turn puts you in the best position to make strategic, long term business decisions that will differentiate you from others.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your work or your workplace culture? It’s highlighted just how quickly the pharma industry and healthcare can move, and it would be great to continue with some of that momentum. It’s changed the workplace culture in many ways; it’s shown that you can make changes quickly, and we are all a lot more adaptable than we realised! However, it has also highlighted how important communication is, less ‘in person’ connections mean you have to ensure you are more actively connecting and innovating to create that engagement. It has also enabled access to a broader and much greater talent pool for business that is open to flexible but engaging solutions. I believe that this puts those businesses in a better position for retaining top talent.

What sports do you follow and who do you root for? I’m definitely a motorsport fan and bit of a petrol head (moto GP, F1, etc.).

What is your dream vacation? I would love to go to Alaska. I love the outdoors and nature – total escapism!

How do you manage health, fitness, and wellness in your life? I proactively make time; it’s too easy to be consumed by everyday tasks. I always have a ‘to do’ list that is unrealistic and a heart that wants to do and experience as much as possible. I constantly tell myself I will never do everything, so I focus on what is important to do now.

I have hobbies that take me away from situations and I try not to mix things; I read (a lot), I have my dog, so I am out walking, and that’s what I do. I don’t mix these activities with thinking about work or DIY to do at home, etc. I ride a motorbike, so I get to explore new places and seek out that adrenaline rush.

Connect with Jenny Reid-Young on LinkedIn.