SpreadLove In Organizations - Healthcare Leadership

What happens when a scientist’s career leads from the laboratory to Wall Street? In this episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Johanna Grossman, Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences Capital Markets at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Group, shares her unconventional journey from aspiring physician and organic chemist to Yale PhD, healthcare leader at GLG, and NYSE executive. Her story highlights the power of mentorship, curiosity, and staying open to unexpected opportunities—and how scientific training can become a foundation for leadership far beyond the lab. Johanna brings a unique perspective on biotech leadership, healthcare innovation, and the life sciences capital markets, drawing on years of experience working with investors, founders, and hundreds of healthcare companies. She discusses what she sees in biotech leaders who successfully turn scientific breakthroughs into companies and medicines: fearlessness, passion, courage, persistence, and the ability to tell a compelling story. She also explores the evolving biotech IPO market, what investors are looking for in emerging companies, the importance of human clinical data and de-risked assets, and how founders can prepare strategically for going public. Looking ahead, Johanna sees AI, data, and digital transformation reshaping drug discovery and development, from identifying new targets and designing medicines to optimizing clinical trials and accelerating the path to patients. But her most enduring leadership lesson is simpler: keep an open mind. Say what you are thinking, have the conversation, seek out mentors, and remain open to where the next opportunity may lead. For Johanna, leadership is ultimately about helping people and companies connect the right ideas, people, and capital to move innovation forward and make a difference for patients. "Science is not enough. You need to be able to communicate, tell your story, and bring people along with you." MEET OUR GUEST Johanna Grossman, Head of Healthcare & Life Sciences Capital Markets at NYSE. Johanna Grossman, PhD, is Head of Healthcare & Life Sciences Capital Markets at NYSE Group, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE). In this role, she leads efforts to attract healthcare and life sciences companies to the exchange, advising businesses, private equity and venture capital firms, and other key stakeholders on the IPO landscape, NYSE initiatives, and listing venue selection. Prior to NYSE, Johanna served as Head of Healthcare at GLG, where she oversaw the strategic and operational direction of the firm's U.S. healthcare practice. She led a team of content and client service professionals who organized executive meetings and managed client diligence engagements across all healthcare sectors. Johanna holds a PhD and master's degree in Organic Chemistry from Yale University and a BS in Chemistry from Florida International University.

What does it take to lead in biotech when science, business, uncertainty, and patient needs all collide? In this episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Naji Gehchan sits down with Bradford (Brad) Zakes, Former Senior Vice President of Emerging Companies and Economic Affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), for a candid conversation about biotech leadership, drug development, entrepreneurship, innovation, and putting patients at the center of healthcare. Brad shares his journey from serving as a U.S. Army officer to working in pharmaceutical drug development, becoming a biotech CEO and entrepreneur, and ultimately helping emerging biotechnology companies navigate the challenges of building and financing the next generation of medicines. Brad’s story becomes deeply personal as he reflects on losing his son, Ethan, to adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare genetic disease. That experience transformed his understanding of the purpose of biotechnology and inspired his family’s work to advance ALD awareness, research, and newborn screening. Brad explains why keeping patients and families at the heart of biotech requires more than words, sharing a powerful example from his leadership experience: bringing patients directly into the workplace so teams could hear firsthand what it means to live with disease. His message is simple yet profound: “Behind every disease is a family. Behind every therapy is a patient. And behind every scientific breakthrough is the possibility of changing a life.” The conversation also explores the future of biotechnology and healthcare innovation, including gene editing and CRISPR, cell and gene therapy, CAR-T, mRNA, AI-driven drug discovery, regenerative medicine, and the convergence of emerging technologies. Brad discusses the challenge of making breakthrough therapies accessible to patients while maintaining the capital and incentives necessary to sustain biotech innovation. He also shares lessons on leadership, integrity, team building, risk-taking, resilience, and entrepreneurship, before offering a powerful message to healthcare leaders: “We’re not in the business of molecules; we’re in the business of patients.” This episode is a reminder that successful biotech leadership is ultimately about combining scientific ambition with purpose, discipline, and a relentless focus on the people whose lives we are trying to change. "Biotech is far more than molecules, clinical trials, or balance sheets. At its core, it’s about patients and families, hope and time." MEET OUR GUEST Bradford (Brad) Zakes, Former Senior Vice President of Emerging Companies and Economic Affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Bradford (Brad) Zakes serves as Senior Vice President of Emerging Companies and Economic Affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). In this position, he leads BIO’s efforts to support early-stage and emerging biotech companies, foster innovative ecosystems, and drive economic growth across the biotechnology sector. Brad joined BIO’s senior executive team in 2025 following years of service on BIO’s Board of Directors and as Treasurer. He brings more than 30 years of experience in biotechnology, spanning executive leadership, clinical development, and strategic business growth. Before joining BIO in an executive capacity, he was President and CEO of Cerevast Medical, a company he co-founded in 2009 to develop novel therapeutics for stroke and vascular diseases. He also served as President and CEO of ImaRx Therapeutics, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused on microsphere technology and biotherapeutics. Earlier in his career, Brad held roles at Hazleton Laboratories, Glaxo (now GSK), and ICOS Corporation. He also served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. Brad holds a B.S. in Biology from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Toxicology from American University, and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

In this episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Naji Gehchan sits down with Christian Stegmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evlabio, to explore the intersection of science, innovation, and leadership in biopharma. Christian shares his personal journey from growing up in his father’s pharmacy in southern Germany to training at the Max Planck Institute and building a career across pharma and biotech. He reflects on formative experiences working in an intensive care unit, where he witnessed firsthand the impact of teamwork, leadership, and unmet medical needs. These experiences ultimately shaped his passion for translating scientific discoveries into medicines that can make a meaningful difference for patients. Christian also shares a powerful leadership lesson from a drug discovery program that was ultimately discontinued—not because of its science, safety, or biology, but because the commercial case was insufficient. The experience taught him that “amazing science does not necessarily defend itself” and that scientific expertise alone is not enough to advance innovation. He discusses the importance of becoming an integrator who can bridge science and business, communicate with decision-makers, understand stakeholders, and build the support needed to bring promising discoveries to patients. He also reflects on his evolving leadership philosophy, which he describes as “challenge and support,” emphasizing the importance of rigor while creating an environment where people feel safe enough to tell leaders when they are wrong. The conversation also explores the transformative potential—and limitations—of generative AI in drug discovery and development. Drawing on his experience advancing AI-enabled biologics into first-in-human trials, Christian explains how AI can accelerate hypothesis generation and help tackle previously difficult targets, while emphasizing that human judgment remains essential to validate those hypotheses and decide what truly matters. He shares his vision for connecting large, well-curated healthcare datasets to improve clinical trial design, patient recruitment, and development timelines. The episode closes with reflections on passion, truth-telling, lifelong learning, and what it means to “spread love” in organizations: creating cultures where people are taken seriously enough to be honest, because in drug development, the truth ultimately protects patients. "I’d rather have a team that tells me the truth than a team that tells me I’m right." MEET OUR GUEST Christian Stegmann, Chief Scientific Officer of EvlaBio. Christian Stegmann is Chief Scientific Officer of EvlaBio AG, where he drives scientific strategy and the EVLA-101 program, a first-in-class anti-FGFR4 monoclonal antibody targeting FGF23-driven left ventricular hypertrophy in chronic kidney disease. He was previously Chief Scientific Officer at Absci, where he advanced the company's first clinical-stage biologics from AI-enabled design to first-in-human trials. Earlier, as VP Global Head of Research and Non-clinical Development at CSL Vifor, he built and ran drug discovery in nephrology and hematology. At Bayer, he served as Senior Director and Head of Precision Cardiology Laboratory, co-founding a collaboration with the Broad Institute to generate single-cell atlases of heart disease. Across his career, Christian has a track record of leading teams, inventing novel molecules, and advancing them from research into clinical development. He holds a PhD from the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen and an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Zahra Timsah’s journey spans biomedical research, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and healthcare innovation. In this episode, Zahra shares how her curiosity and passion for experimentation led her from medical school to PhDs in biochemistry and cancer biology, academic research, and eventually entrepreneurship. Her desire to move beyond generating scientific knowledge toward creating tangible impact for patients pushed her to develop new skills in business, finance, and technology. As early as 2016, she was pioneering the use of AI in drug discovery and disease modeling at a time when the technology was still considered futuristic by many. Zahra argues that the future of healthcare AI is not about replacing human expertise, but amplifying it through what she calls “collective intelligence.” She explains why specialized, expert-guided AI will be increasingly important in healthcare and why trustworthy data, transparency, auditability, observability, and human oversight are essential to responsible AI governance. Through her company iGentic, Zahra is working to turn complex regulatory knowledge, internal expertise, and organizational workflows into AI-enabled systems that can help healthcare and life sciences teams move from drafting to submission more efficiently. For leaders, her message is clear: educate yourself about AI, understand what good looks like, measure the value it creates, and start with focused pilots rather than following technology trends blindly. The conversation also explores Zahra’s personal definition of leadership and legacy. She sees leadership as inspiring others and creating impact that resonates beyond personal visibility, while emphasizing the importance of continually reinventing yourself in response to changing needs. She reflects on inspiring the next generation of her family, supporting talent in Lebanon, and the power of the BioLink community to connect Lebanese leaders around collaboration and action. Her final advice to healthcare leaders captures the spirit of the conversation: don’t follow trends, focus on what helps you achieve your mission and vision, and learn from the mistakes of those who went before you. "It’s not artificial intelligence. It’s collective intelligence." MEET OUR GUEST Zahra Timsah, Co-Founder & CEO of i-GENTIC AI. Dr. Zahra Timsah, PhD, MBA, MSc, is a scientist, entrepreneur, and AI governance leader with more than 18 years of experience across biotechnology, pharma, MedTech, healthcare, financial services, and regulated AI. Her career started at the bench, where she worked on biomedical research, published scientific work, contributed to patented innovation, and was affiliated with leading institutions including Cancer Research UK and the Royal Society. That foundation gave her deep exposure to the full bench-to-bedside pathway: discovery, translational research, clinical development, IND and BLA readiness, regulatory strategy, commercialization, and market adoption. She later moved from science into enterprise transformation, building and scaling AI-driven platforms and data businesses across healthcare, pharma, MedTech, and financial services. She has held leadership roles across organizations including IQVIA, GSK, and MassMutual, and has helped build AI and Data Analytics Centers of Excellence that brought together data governance, regulatory intelligence, AI strategy, operating models, and enterprise adoption. Zahra has founded and exited multiple companies, including one IPO, and has worked with Fortune 500 organizations on AI deployment, precision medicine, regulatory intelligence, compliance, and digital transformation. Her work bridges science, product, regulation, and commercialization, giving her a rare end-to-end view of how innovation moves from research into real-world clinical, enterprise, and market settings. She has also contributed to policy and advisory initiatives connected to the FDA, U.S. Senate, World Economic Forum, and broader regulatory ecosystems, with a focus on safe AI adoption, data compliance, Software as a Medical Device, and responsible deployment of emerging technologies. Today, Zahra is applying that same bench-to-bedside discipline to AI. Her focus is on making governance operational, not theoretical, by turning complex regulations, SOPs, clinical requirements, and enterprise policies into real-time controls that can govern AI systems, data workflows, MedTech submissions, healthcare operations, and enterprise decisions before risk becomes failure. This episode is in partnership with BIOLINK.org, For more episode with Biolinkers click here.

In this episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Sophie Kornowski reflects on a remarkable leadership journey spanning global pharmaceutical companies, biotech, investing, and entrepreneurship. From her early days in diagnostics during the AIDS epidemic to leading Boston Pharmaceuticals through its successful transformation and acquisition, she shares how both inspiring mentors and difficult setbacks shaped her leadership philosophy. Sophie explains why great leadership is built through continuous learning, self-awareness, and staying close to the people doing the work, while creating an environment where teams feel supported, challenged, and accountable. The conversation explores what it takes to build and lead successful biotech organizations in today's demanding environment. Sophie shares the principles that guided Boston Pharmaceuticals: identifying where true value lies, committing to a clear strategy without drifting, and remaining flexible in execution without losing sight of the mission. She discusses balancing empowerment with accountability, making courageous decisions amid uncertainty, and why exceptional companies combine a differentiated scientific vision with outstanding execution, commercial thinking, and teams that are willing to question assumptions and keep learning. Looking ahead, Sophie offers an optimistic perspective on the future of healthcare innovation, highlighting major opportunities in metabolic disease, oncology, and immunology while emphasizing that improving patient health remains the industry's ultimate purpose. In a memorable reflection on leadership, she describes leadership as "friendship," explaining that trust, psychological safety, and genuine human connection give people the courage to speak up, innovate, and achieve extraordinary results. She closes with a powerful reminder for leaders navigating uncertainty: stay the course, keep learning, and maintain open, honest dialogue with your teams and boards. "If people feel they are not in danger, they will have courage. They will be creative. They will speak up." MEET OUR GUEST Sophie Kornowski, CEO Sophiekor Insights. Sophie Kornowski is a long-time biotech and pharmaceutical executive and now the CEO of Sophiekor Insights. Prior to this role, Sophie served as Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Boston Pharmaceuticals, where she led a remarkable transformation of the company, culminating in its successful acquisition by GSK in 2025 for up to 2 billion dollars. Before that, Sophie was a Partner at Gurnet Point Capital, a private investment firm focused on healthcare, where she was a successful investor in several innovative start-ups and high-growth businesses developing and commercializing products across areas including ADHD, cancer, and food allergy. Earlier in her career, Sophie was Executive Vice President of Partnering at Roche and a member of the Extended Corporate Executive Committee of F. Hoffmann-La Roche, as well as a board member of Chugai Pharmaceutical. In that role, working closely with the R&D and commercial teams at Roche and Genentech, she led global partnering and M&A strategy across biotech, pharma, health tech, and research institutions worldwide. Previously, Sophie also led Roche’s largest affiliate outside the United States, based in France, for many years.