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Patient a dirty word for new Lilly leader
Posted 7 September 2017
Libby Driscoll
Occupying the only office at Eli Lilly's expansive premises on the banks of Sydney's Parramatta River, the room in many ways reflects the company's new boss Libby Driscoll.
With whitewashed walls and furnished with a white metal stand-up desk and a small 70s-style table complete with butterfly-winged chairs, the only flash of colour in the room is a large abstract artwork hung on the wall behind the desk.
Like the occupant who moved in earlier this year fresh from Taiwan, the room is practical and understated but with a flash of warmth and colour.
It would be easy to underestimate the diminutive Libby Driscoll, a former enlisted Navy nurse, but like her chosen artwork, Driscoll is likely to have a colourful part to play in shaping the future of Australia's pharma landscape.
She describes herself as on a mission to change the way Australians view diseases amd the people who have them - a seemingly huge task but not for someone brought up in a country with a population 14 times larger than Australia's.
Driscoll joined Lilly in the US 16 years ago as a diabetes rep after her service as a lieutenant in the US Navy came to an end. Her early beginnings in patient care have clearly shaped her outlook and influenced her leadership just as much as her globetrotting career.
"More than half of my career has been outside the US and across many different countries," she said. "What I've found is that while we all like to say we are different, we are actually more similar than we are different.
"Yes we do have different healthcare systems and regulatory bodies but they are still all doing the same basic functions."
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion is a theme which clearly resonates with Driscoll and which is likely to define her time at the helm of Lilly in Australia and New Zealand and as the company's North Asia Pacific hub Vice President.
Already the Lilly Women's Network has been rebranded as the Diversity and Inclusion Network and, rather than talk about issues like gender equality, Driscoll talks about inclusion.
"For me it's not just about having diversity in positions but diversity and inclusion," she says. "It's easy to put diversity around the table; it's harder to make sure everybody's voice is encouraged and included and goes into the decision making."
While keen to attract and keep the best pharma talent, Driscoll also wants to look outside the pharma community "to transform how we communicate with customers".
And with a strong pipeline of drugs coming through, communication will be essential in bedding down new products - preparing the local Lilly team for this is one of Driscoll's immediate goals.
"I am very much focused on launch excellence and using all the different multi-channels that we have available here so we can communicate effectively with all our different customers," she said.
Engaging and developing the company's 150-plus Australian employees is also a priority.
"My responsibility is to develop the next generation of Lilly people," she said. "When you have the right people, the right team, what you can achieve is endless."
Change the conversation
Yet ultimately, Driscoll hopes that her leadership will be characterised by a change in the Australian conversation surrounding patients, diseases and treatments.
"A big mission for me is to de-stigmatise a lot of the diseases we are working in; to empower the individual to be heard, respected and encourated to actively participate in successfully managing their disease," she said.
"A lot of that has to do with changing the language, how we speak; we should be talking about people and individuals, not patients."
While Driscoll may have grown up in one of the largest first-world countries, Australia's relatively small population creates "the possibility to really create this type of change", she says.
"Australia has an opportunity to use its size to its advantage because we can make advancements in healthcare probably much more quickly than other places," Driscoll said.
"We need to change the conversation about how we talk about and manage disease. That's a big mission that I have."
Megan Brodie
megan.brodie@lushmedia.com.au
Posted 7 September 2017
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| Libby Driscoll |
Occupying the only office at Eli Lilly's expansive premises on the banks of Sydney's Parramatta River, the room in many ways reflects the company's new boss Libby Driscoll.
With whitewashed walls and furnished with a white metal stand-up desk and a small 70s-style table complete with butterfly-winged chairs, the only flash of colour in the room is a large abstract artwork hung on the wall behind the desk.
Like the occupant who moved in earlier this year fresh from Taiwan, the room is practical and understated but with a flash of warmth and colour.
It would be easy to underestimate the diminutive Libby Driscoll, a former enlisted Navy nurse, but like her chosen artwork, Driscoll is likely to have a colourful part to play in shaping the future of Australia's pharma landscape.
She describes herself as on a mission to change the way Australians view diseases amd the people who have them - a seemingly huge task but not for someone brought up in a country with a population 14 times larger than Australia's.
Driscoll joined Lilly in the US 16 years ago as a diabetes rep after her service as a lieutenant in the US Navy came to an end. Her early beginnings in patient care have clearly shaped her outlook and influenced her leadership just as much as her globetrotting career.
"More than half of my career has been outside the US and across many different countries," she said. "What I've found is that while we all like to say we are different, we are actually more similar than we are different.
"Yes we do have different healthcare systems and regulatory bodies but they are still all doing the same basic functions."
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion is a theme which clearly resonates with Driscoll and which is likely to define her time at the helm of Lilly in Australia and New Zealand and as the company's North Asia Pacific hub Vice President.
Already the Lilly Women's Network has been rebranded as the Diversity and Inclusion Network and, rather than talk about issues like gender equality, Driscoll talks about inclusion.
"For me it's not just about having diversity in positions but diversity and inclusion," she says. "It's easy to put diversity around the table; it's harder to make sure everybody's voice is encouraged and included and goes into the decision making."
While keen to attract and keep the best pharma talent, Driscoll also wants to look outside the pharma community "to transform how we communicate with customers".
And with a strong pipeline of drugs coming through, communication will be essential in bedding down new products - preparing the local Lilly team for this is one of Driscoll's immediate goals.
"I am very much focused on launch excellence and using all the different multi-channels that we have available here so we can communicate effectively with all our different customers," she said.
Engaging and developing the company's 150-plus Australian employees is also a priority.
"My responsibility is to develop the next generation of Lilly people," she said. "When you have the right people, the right team, what you can achieve is endless."
Change the conversation
Yet ultimately, Driscoll hopes that her leadership will be characterised by a change in the Australian conversation surrounding patients, diseases and treatments.
"A big mission for me is to de-stigmatise a lot of the diseases we are working in; to empower the individual to be heard, respected and encourated to actively participate in successfully managing their disease," she said.
"A lot of that has to do with changing the language, how we speak; we should be talking about people and individuals, not patients."
While Driscoll may have grown up in one of the largest first-world countries, Australia's relatively small population creates "the possibility to really create this type of change", she says.
"Australia has an opportunity to use its size to its advantage because we can make advancements in healthcare probably much more quickly than other places," Driscoll said.
"We need to change the conversation about how we talk about and manage disease. That's a big mission that I have."
Megan Brodie
megan.brodie@lushmedia.com.au
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