Welcome to the Woman of the Week podcast, a weekly discussion that illuminates the unique stories of women leaders who are catalyzing change throughout the life sciences industry. You can check out all our podcast episodes here.
As a child, Ester Banque dreamed that she would have the opportunity to play for Spain’s national soccer team. And despite major obstacles — she was the only girl in her school who played soccer — she persevered.
“Every night, I pictured myself playing with the national shirt and then scoring goals and it happened,” she said.
Today, Banque is still scoring goals. After 30 years and the launch of several blockbusters across 90 countries, she now leads a multinational and multimillion-dollar franchise for Bristol Myers Squibb as senior vice president and general manager of hematology in the U.S.
“This business contributes one-third to the global net sales of our company, so it is a very relevant business,” Banque said. “It’s a portfolio that’s in transformation … (with) 10 brands — all of them are medicines to help patients who have hematological malignancy conditions. We know that the work that we do help(s) patients every day by extending their lives and improving their lives.”
Banque noted that she has been very fortunate to have worked at two major companies, Bristol Myers Squibb for four years now and Novartis for 25 years, which is where she started her career. Her professional journey has included stints in Spain, the U.K., Switzerland, Germany and the U.S., and has provided the her with a unique perspective in the healthcare industry.
“You learn so much about different healthcare systems, government priorities, regulatory bodies, cultures (and) realities,” she said. “But the one common theme across all those realities is access of innovation to patients, which continues to be a challenge. Understanding so many differences helped me build a lot of best practices or different models … and perspectives into my jobs.”
Inclusion is particularly important to Banque, who noted that over the years she found her authentic voice and changed her leadership style to embody her whole self.
“When I started my career, I would mimic the leadership I would see around me, which was quite male-dominated back then in Spain,” she said. “I was fierce and I was decisive, all those great attributes that you need in business and in any company. But I was missing something I knew I had, which is (an) even bigger heart. And it was years of personal development that made me realize that I am a whole being. I’m not only a brain. I’m not only a heart. I’m both. And by the way, a lot of guts because I have a lot of emotion too. I’m (a) whole person and everybody is. I was in the closet for 17 years. And when I came out, naturally I embraced who I am as a person and what I can bring to people. And the balance between the heart and the mind made me not only happier, but also express myself more authentically.”
In this episode of the Woman of the Week podcast, Banque discussed how her global experience influenced her career and family life, why leveraging digital capabilities to launch new products is producing efficiency across multiple brands and why creating an environment that fosters innovation can lead to scientific transformation.
In this episode, Taren Grom, editor-in-chief Emeritus at PharmaVoice meets with Ester Banque, senior VP and general manager, US Hematology, Bristol Myers Squibb.
Taren: Ester, welcome to the WoW podcast program.
Ester: Thank you for having me. I’m really looking forward to this conversation.
Taren: I as well. Ester, can you please share a bit about what your role is as senior VP and GM of hematology, what does it entail?
Ester: I lead the commercial organization for the hematology business for Bristol Myers Squibb in the US. And this business contributes to the global net sales of our company, it’s a third of the global net sale, so it is a very relevant business. It’s a portfolio that is in transformation. So we are very excited and busy and thinking about the future. It’s a portfolio of 10 brands that all of them are medicines to help patients that have hematological malignancy conditions. So the so-called blood cancers and so it’s very relevant. We know that the work that we do help patients everyday by extending their lives and improving their lives. So we take these very seriously with an amazing team.
As I said before, our portfolio is in transformation and just to illustrate why I’m saying that is, because we have certain brands that have been iconic over the years in multiple myeloma while at the same time we’ve been launching recently new brands, actually five new brands. So you can imagine that we have a lot of work and we are very excited about contributing to the company as we do at the same time of helping patients every day.
Taren: As you said, it counts for one-third which is pretty darn significant. So you’ve launched five new brands recently?
Ester: In the last two years.
Taren: What has that been like? That’s pretty aggressive. That’s a lot of launches, especially during a pandemic.
Ester: Well, it has kept us very busy, let’s put it this way. We had to be very innovative and you’re right, we launched through the pandemic, several of them. But at the same time, now that we are back and we have more in-person interactions fortunately, because that’s where magic happens and when you have that, one-on-one, in-person, we continue our work. But I have to say that I was really impressed by the good work that was done over the pandemic and that means that we can do a lot that sometimes we are not even aware of in terms of being resilient, resourceful, and creative. We always kept as a North Star that everything we do no matter how hard it could help patients and that gives you extra energy.
Taren: Absolutely, I love that that North Star is your patient and that patient-focused. You said about innovation and launching, I’m curious to hear, what are some different things you did for these launches during the pandemic that were new? Because in a commercial space, it seems to be follow-a-formula, but you all had to break that formula in order to get your drugs out there. So what were some of the innovative things you did?
Ester: We leverage a lot of digital capabilities because you have to. You connect to the world remotely and the good news is that the entire world connected remotely. So also,
HCPs had to adapt the way they will operate. So we had to ramp-up our digital capabilities of connecting remotely with HCPs, also of leveraging more digital channels, retriggered emails, and actually meetings and virtual conferences. So we have to really ramp-up so fast and so quickly that if you think about a week before the pandemic we ever envisioned that we will be able to ramp-up those capabilities so quickly digitally, all of us will have said, ‘it’s impossible’ but we did it. And I think that applies to most of the companies also in the industry.
So that was really important. And then once we learn how much we could leverage with digital capabilities, we also started to use more machine learning and personalized targeting to be even more focused and more effective. Because if you need to connect remotely, you have to be ultra-focused on who you are knocking on the door. So, all these things were, I think not only a great learning but reinforce our capabilities in a way that I think would have taken much longer if we have not had that critical platform of the pandemic.
Taren: Earlier you said the magic happens when people get together but some of the things you just described really seemed to help the efficiency and maybe effectiveness of some of these campaigns. Do you see you managing through the next iteration of launches keeping some of those learnings from the pandemic and doing both the in-person as well as the digital?
Ester: Yes. So what I envisioned and actually we’ve been since then launching in a more normalized environment and new indications of some of those brands also in a more normalized environment. And while we are leveraging that we have more in-person meetings which is important, we definitely are leveraging all the capabilities we build on connecting from a multi-channel perspective definitely. Then we are also offering more flexibility to HCPs in terms of how they prefer to engage with us. And some HCPs would like to have more regular contexts virtually especially to attend education, medical education meetings, programs, et cetera. So that’s for example, something that we are leveraging constantly. And what I said about machine learning and personalized targeting, this is obviously our default in the way we are operating with several of our brands.
Taren: That’s exciting. So it’s nice to hear that it’s going to be, you’ve taken these learnings and you’re going to keep moving them forward. Since we are at the start of the brand new year, what are some of your near-term goals? What are you looking at strategically over the next six to nine months or even the year?
Ester: So as I said, our portfolios is in transformation. So basically, that is front and center and will influence everything that we do. So basically, number one, we need to make sure that we are evolving our focus, our resources. Also putting more effort from a people perspective into the new launches and the in-line brands, in-market brands that are still active in the marketplace. So that being part of our, I would say, one of our biggest priorities already last year and continues this year. And at the same time, with products going LOE or close to LOE, you start also obviously reducing the effort. So that’s quite common in all the businesses that will go through transformation like that. So that’s one.
Then another one is in that execution that I’ve mentioned, when you have so many brands, you need to make sure that you are very focused on where you put your efforts from an execution perspective and becoming even more effective in leveraging all those digital capabilities. So this is still a journey and you need to be thinking that you need to improve every day and nothing that, “okay, because the way I operate with the pandemic, I’m now an expert.” This is just the beginning of what envision – a more effective way of executing and working.
You know that we have a business that is the cell therapy. These are two brands and this is a total different arena. I don’t know if you are very familiar with cell therapy platforms and it’s actually futuristic and I’m so passionate about what we’re able to bring to patients. But basically, in a nutshell, those therapies leverage the immune system of the patient that is re-engineered in our manufacturing sites and then it’s been infused back to the patient and those cells are equipped to kill cancer cells. So your own cells are re-engineered and then they’re brought back to you and then you are able to kill cancer cells. So that is quite simple to explain. It’s a very complex process in terms of producing that medicine and at the same time, it creates complexity in the customer end in terms of having also the right capabilities and the ability to do this.
So that by itself, it will also be a journey of great learnings within two to three years, depending on the asset on the market. And we continue to launch new indications and obviously, that’s a big area of attention as well.
Taren: Congratulations. That’s a big hurdle to have overcome, so that’s wonderful. That’s great. So, it’s great for you. It’s great for patients. It’s very exciting. Just to switch text a little bit, I noticed in doing a little bit of research that you started in the industry as they like to say, carrying the bag and then your career over the past 30 years has span so many positions, countries and disease areas, how do all of those experiences help lead you to where you are today? Tell me about those early days, what was it like to carry the bag?
Ester: Those days were a combination of feelings, exciting, scary, unknown, and fascinating. The last 30 years have been really fascinating. It’s been a fascinating journey. When I started as a sales rep and I finished my university studies as a chemist, I can tell you going to a hospital and starting to stop doctors on the corridor without knowing who they are and what they do, they didn’t teach you, at least back then in Spain about those life skills and all of a sudden, I find myself in a commercial arena. But also with the rigor, obviously, of the science, which was my forte because I study chemistry. So I must admit that the first few months were very intense and I was like, “am I in the right job?” I was really questioning if that was the pathway I wanted to pursue. But then when I understood the impact that I could make directly to patients by bringing therapies that will change, that could change their lives and I have to be very rigorous in what I will tell the doctor because it will make physicians based on information that the companies will provide about the brands.
And that put the whole the thing into perspective, because I realized that while I always loved science, I also cared deeply about people naturally since I was very young. So I thought, “okay, actually, these tends to be the right pathway for me.” So those where the starting days carrying the bag. And at that time, 30 years ago, there were no GPS, no navigation system. So I will drive all around Barcelona and Catalonia was part of my responsibility and I will get lost. I didn’t have air conditioning also in the sunny Spain back then in my car.
So those were a very, very exciting times, but fast forward, I’ve been very fortunate and I was able to work at two major companies, Bristol-Myers Squibb four years now and Novartis for 25 years and that’s where I started also like my career. And since then in those 30 years, I had P&L experience across six continents, more than 90 distinct countries, which includes the US. And with my family, we lived and I worked in Spain, UK, Switzerland, Germany and two times in the US. And, you know, Taren out of those 90 plus countries you learn so much about different healthcare systems, different government priorities, regulatory bodies, obviously, different cultures, different realities. But it’s interesting that there is one common theme across all those realities, which is access of innovation to patients continues to be a challenge.
And understanding so many differences really helped me built along the years a lot of best practices or different models that may work also in other countries. So I brought a lot of different perspectives, insights into my new jobs, so that’s from a business perspective. But there was something that was even richer than that, which is meeting so many different people, different cultures, different ways of seeing life, different languages and you get to appreciate the difference of people’s behaviors and culture, traits in a way that makes you very respectful of diversity and also, without a big mindset about inclusion, right? Because you live through all those different backgrounds.
So, I have to say that all these 30 years really served me well and equip me. I feel that I got a lot on my back to then now lead a top priority business for one of the top five companies in pharma.
Taren: Before we get into the responsibility and how that feels to leading such a major franchise for a top five pharma company, I want to just touch on the 90 countries. I think you hold the record amongst the woman I have spoken to in terms of the number of countries that you’ve had responsibility for – wow. So my next question is, how many different languages do you speak?
Ester: I speak three. I’m bilingual in Spanish and Catalan, and I speak fluently English. Obviously, being bilingual in two Latin languages makes you also very, if I lived in France or Italy or Portugal, Brazil, I will pick up very quickly on those languages. I must admit though, Taren, that I lived in Switzerland and Germany, combined to four years, I took lessons in German, but my German is very rusty. So I cannot take pride of speaking so many languages. I think I’m proud of being sensitive to cultural differences more than bragging about the many languages I could speak.
Taren: I love that. Right, because when in Novartis you’re sitting at that intersection point right there of Germany and Switzerland and France, so they really do get quite that cultural. So when you talked about that common theme and how all those different intersections and being so respectful of those cultural differences has had to play a huge role in your progression as an executive. Any advice to other women or even men who are coming up through the ranks and how important that’s been to your career, like should they take advantage of that global role comes around? Should they jump on it?
Ester: It’s an excellent comment, Taren. The answer is yes. If there is opportunity to work internationally – Yes, yes and 10,000 yes. It’s not only the cultural agility you’re going to gain, but also the understanding of an industry that is global and is becoming more and more relevant to be global. So with all the changes that we have in the US in terms of pricing and reimbursement, obviously IRA is top of mind for all of us that work in the US. We are having more pressure than ever, obviously on pricing and reimbursement and that puts companies into position that the more diversified that they are geographically, the more balanced they are.
Actually, those pricing and reimbursement prices have been there for years. So many things that we experience in the US, I experienced when I worked in the UK and that was in year 2004 already. And progressively, those challenges where extended across Europe later on to Spain and Italy very actively and also much later into Germany and later into France. So yes, I would say, it’s so critical because our industry is global.
Taren: Absolutely. I think it’s one of the few industries that is global that affects people in a very personal basis. So having that deep-seated appreciation for that, I think is tremendous. What was it like to raise your family and have your family travel with you across all these different opportunities? Was that kind of like a challenge?
Ester: It was a great adventure, that’s what it was. So Eva, my wife and I, we both knew we wanted to live internationally. So I was very fortunate that she wanted also to do this. And then we both have been living in several countries and when the kids were born, obviously, they became part of this travel family. There are a lot of great things with that international life. So the kids have grown. The kids left Spain at the age of three. And since then now, they are 13, they are twins. And since then, they’ve lived in multiple countries. Multiple having gone to different schools, changing schools every two to three years. That was not easy, but they did it very well. They speak also fluently the same three languages, Catalan and Spanish and English. They are better in German because obviously, they picked up in German much better than my wife and I. And the truth is, that they are very mature for their age.
That’s feedback we get constantly from people, from the school because I think they have a perspective of the world. Thanks to living in so many countries, that really allowed them to understand the globality of the world we live in today. I mean, even beyond the industry, I mean, we live in a global world. We travel everywhere just in a second that we can book tickets and we just go everywhere, et cetera. So the kids are I would say, really benefited from these international life. I was really amazed and I were very amaze about the resiliency and the learning agility.
I’m going to share a quick anecdote that I think illustrates the whole thing. We were leaving in the US the first time we lived in the US and were leaving to Germany that was in year 2017. So imagine that we, literally leave on a Sunday, land on a Monday in Germany and the kids go to school on Wednesday and I go to work on Wednesday. So like boom, boom, boom and we go to temporary housing. You just need to find where to do the groceries, I mean, you need to basically start a new, again your life. And then we gather for dinner and I asked them, “how did it go and the kids, oh, it went very well. I really have a friend here or there.” They were talking, like nothing had changed. And I tell them, and they were seven years old at that time, and I tell them, “wow, this is impressive. Look at you, I mean, you are adapting so quickly” and Zoe, one of the twins says, “it’s not a big deal mom” and I was like, “all right, I’m glad it’s not a big deal. It is for me, I’m glad it is not for you.”
So that mindset that they were just landing and starting a new life and starting from day one connecting to the new life and that was really impressive to witness that.
Taren: I love it – not a big deal, mom. We should all have that mindset and adopt that kind of mindset when a challenge faces us – not a big deal. We got this. So kudos to you and your wife for raising such resilient and agile children with an aperture that’s wide and understanding that it’s not…so often in the States we think of everything is so parochial. But we do live in a global world and we do live in a global society, and it is important to have those appreciation for difference. That’s wonderful.
Ester: Yeah, no indeed. And actually I have to also to say that after traveling and living so many countries, we also decided with my wife now to settle and we chose the US as home. We love it here. And also the girls because they are now teenagers and they are also happy that they are also more settled and rooted and with friends, that they are not going to say goodbye in two or three years. Like I said, there are great things and there are also things that you pay somehow a prize if you move so quickly, but now we are here to stay.
Taren: And timing is everything right? So, it’s so much easier when your kids were younger and they didn’t have to have that kind of rooted as you said in a community. Are you based in the Princeton area? Is that the BMS?
Ester: Yes, that’s where we are.
Taren: Wonderful. So, as you started along, let’s go back to running this huge franchise first of all, for a major pharmaceutical company. It’s a huge responsibility. How do you manage the weight of that? Because you are expected to perform. So that feels like a lot of pressure.
Ester: It’s a big responsibility, but I guess that the last 30 years really helped me as I said get a lot of things on my backpack in terms of managing complexity – that’s number one. I led intercontinental market before this job and only that was 70 markets. So you cannot get more complex than that. And volatility because all those markets most of them were in emerging economies including China. So that was an incredible experience that really helped me with now managing the complexity of a portfolio of 10 brands, but the attention which is what makes that complexity may be more relevant. So that’s one.
The other thing that I think I also learned along the way, I already led a critical business for at that time Novartis in the US, with my team we launched Cosentyx. That became the biggest blockbuster for Novartis. So we had all the attention more back then with my team, that was the first time I was really on a business that I will have these reviews with the CEO directly every month and underneath with every other manager every two weeks and every week. And also, that’s the first job I had when I realized that the work that my team and I will do will move the share price up and down. And it was fascinating, that was an incredible time. We exceeded expectation internally and externally and it was really great. So that was really helpful, also to understand the market that was very different from other markets I have worked as well.
Then from a cultural perspective, from a leading team’s perspective, I have led many teams across the globe and that has also helped me, number one, understand pretty quickly what it takes to build a strong team and a strong organization. And in my current job, make the changes I had to do relatively quickly to get there, and at the same time creating a culture of inclusion and a culture where people thrive, where I put a lot of focus on mindset. A lot of focus on the mindset, because I’m sure that you are familiar with the above the line and below the line.
Taren: Yep.
Ester: And our mindset drives our entire world, ourselves and our ability to influence people that we work with. So I put our focus on what you can control and think about ways of overcoming challenges and let’s work together and think creatively as opposed to being below the mindset, below-the-line, sorry, which is why you are afraid and then that you are just in this fire flight mode, that doesn’t allow you to think actually. And so, I put a lot of focus there and that I have to say something I’ve been learning over the years and also in my own personal journey facing so many challenges along my career.
The truth is that yes, I’m living a large business is front and center for the company, but I’m enjoying a lot. And I know that that decision, which is the last part I want to bring, when you realize that you take every single position that is big and has a lot of influence to do good. All your energy is focused on doing something that is bigger than yourself with that strong sense of purpose of helping patients and helping the peoples that you worked with. That gives me a lot of energy and put things into perspective, about why I always wanted to lead this big businesses and large organizations. Because I always wanted to do this since I started my career. I always envisioned doing that, but the why I wanted to do that is what actually is giving me the energy. In the moment, you could be under pressure like in any business, if that makes.
Taren: Absolutely. I’m glad you didn’t say, “no big deal, Taren,” because it is a big deal. You got this though, that is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing those great insights. You talk about putting together teams and you’ve put together a number of high performing teams. What are some of those characteristics you look for in individuals who you want to work with, who you want to bring on board to help you achieve the why?
Ester: And this is the secret sauce, right? I always look for a combination of two dimensions. One is, I look for people that are smart, that are eager, that are talented. Experienced, it depends on the mix of the team. Sometimes, I purposely have very tenured members in other end and in the same team I have members with less tenure, so that they bring also different elements based on their experience. But there is one category which is, how capable they are. And then there are a lot of flavors as I mentioned.
The other is their values. I don’t compromise on those. I look for people that are extraordinary people from a human perspective. Extraordinary human beings. I look for good human beings that they want to do good with a strong sense of purpose, that they have high values of integrity, of inclusion, of honesty, of trust. They are willing to work together in partnership and that they have also that mindset about what is possible.
Those are with years I’ve been learning that this is why I’ve been in the past, I did that intuitively. It was funny. So how I will pivot towards those two dimensions, and with the years I learn that’s actually what I was looking for. And the teams that I had that composition will do extraordinary things and now, I’m intentional. And that’s why I can start from very early days when I see a team, very quickly understand in these two dimensions if I have the right team or if we need to evolve the team.
Taren: You talk a lot about that duality or the balance between heart and mind being kind and firm, caring and driven, which are not new as you said qualities. But there are traits that are more valued now than they have been in the past. They used to sort of be considered to be soft skills to be empathetic as a leader. And now, it’s really rising to the top as one of the key components of being a good leader and a lot of this was driven by the pandemic, but its leaders like you who have been using the skills all along the way, who are really coming out on top.
Ester: This is such an important point, Taren. When I started my career, I would mimic the leadership that I would see around me, which was quite male-dominated 40 years ago, back in Spain. And I will try to show that I had the brains and that I was fierce and I was decisive, all those great attributes that you need in business and in any company. But I was missing something that I knew I have which is I have even a bigger heart. So I hope I have a good brain where I have even a bigger heart. And it was years of personal development that made me realize that I am a whole being. I’m not only a brain. I’m not only a heart. I’m both. And by the way, a lot of guts because I have a lot of emotion too. So I’m whole and everybody is.
So I came out because I was in the closet for 17 years. And when I came out, somehow, I embrace naturally who I am as a person and what I can bring to people. And the balance between the heart and the mind made me not only happier, but also express myself more authentically. But interestingly, made me connect even better with people. So I realized that you can be decisive, make hard decisions, be driven, accomplished and at the same time be caring and be compassionate and trying to help. I mean, you can do both. So I’ve been for years also, somehow be more aware and more also intentional on how I lead with the combination of to what some people will call blended leadership.
Nowadays, this is even more relevant than 30 years ago. Why is that? – Well, number one, the world is in transformation and so is our industry, but it’s not only our industry, the entire world is changing fast. When you have this, you need to be flexible, you need to be agile, you need to innovate. So there is no way that you can foster innovation, unless you create an environment where people feel safe, feel encouraged to speak up, also to try new things. And you don’t do this by just being very logical and rational and challenging, you have to be all of those things in certain moments. But you also need to have a broader spectrum of behavior, so you allow people to have the space to innovate – so that’s one.
Second, new generations. New generations are coming very strong. They know what they want. New generations are number one, very well-prepared, very capable, very smart. They want also to work in an environment that they feel valued, that there is a sense of purpose that they also can contribute to the greater good and they want to be appraised for what they bring to the table. And they want also to fast-track their careers. So, you need to have that more diverse leadership style that will allow you to connect as well.
And the last thing, is that corporations over the last few years are becoming even a bigger reference to society than they were maybe 20, 30 years ago. Meaning, the expectations around corporations are rising in terms of the values of corporations hold, of integrity, of inclusion, of representing the good things that society needs – so that’s one. Number two, they’re also expected to make a positive impact from a purpose perspective. It’s not enough that the corporation will bring value to the shareholders. They also need to bring value, exquisite value to customers and to society in the end.
So because of those three things, I honestly believe that blended leadership is going to be more relevant for companies to succeed in the future.
Taren: I love that exquisite value. I think that’s absolutely spot on. There’s another piece of this in terms of diversity and you talk about this quite a bit as well as ageism. So you talked about the needs of the younger generation, but being on the other end of that spectrum, myself, I’m curious as to your like, thoughts around ageism right now in the industry?
Ester: It’s such an important point and is deep in my heart, because also I had started with my granny many years ago that really made me realize that older adults when they need health care, they can be misdiagnosed or they can be not treated properly or denied medication that they will need. And just very quickly on my granny, she was 85 years old, that many years ago. And she need a medicine that will help her with rheumatologic condition that will make her actually feel good and she was still mobile, with her crane but she will be still moving. And then at some point, the doctors made the decision to take that medicine off because it was very innovative and very expensive and obviously, my granny was 85, so that mindset that she’s not going to last long. Well, she lost mobility. She ended up in six months on a wheelchair. And obviously, because she saw herself starting a new maybe the last phase of her life, and she still live for another 15 years.
So, just seeing her and I can tell you, I went and I talked to the doctor. I did my very best definitely, I failed miserably. I wasn’t able to get her back on her medicine and that really still today that I remember that and I get emotional, because I love my granny so much and that really impacted me. And now I’m in an area, hematology where you have a lot of people of 60, 70 years old, sometimes be misdiagnosed. People with multiple myeloma often present with back pain. Very often the first interaction with healthcare practitioners will be, well, you know, your age, your muscles, your bones, et cetera, et cetera. And it turns out that later on maybe that person has a hematological condition.
So this hasn’t changed tremendously and that’s something that especially in healthcare, I think we need to improve.
Taren: Absolutely. Thank you so much for sharing the story about your granny. I can’t imagine how proud she would be of you today. Amazing. All of this sort of dovetails into another one of your passions and that’s about health equity and challenging the status quo to make sure that everyone has access and equal measure to healthcare today. Talk to me about what you’re doing at your organization to improve health equity.
Ester: Bristol Myers Squibb is very committed to improve health equities and actually is central across the value chain. So from clinical trials, where we ensure that we have diverse patient population entering our clinical trials and also ensuring that we have a diverse investigator pool or running clinical trials in underserved communities from medical education, and obviously, in terms of supporting patients in underserved communities as well.
Let me give you quickly an example of what my team has been doing even before I arrived. So, that’s been a program that’s been running for the last seven years. And is meant to increase awareness of multiple myeloma patients in the black community because they get under diagnosed often because of age and like the rest of the multiple myeloma patients. But also at the same time because of being in underserved communities. So what this program does and it was a pioneer, it was the first one of its kind seven years ago and has also influence and inspire many other programs now in the space. There is a Facebook page with more than 60,000 followers of that program. And we know because it is referenced in the medical community and is being used to help increase awareness, to improve diagnosis and health care of patients with multiple myeloma in the black community.
Taren: Wow. Congratulations. That is quite an achievement and a milestone. You’re doing other things also within BMS in terms of promoting a positive culture and mentoring and commercial excellence. Talk to me a little bit about some of those DE&I efforts that you’re leading.
Ester: It’s a passion of mine in general to help people develop their potential and be at the very best. I get so much satisfaction when I see someone that I can see the potential in people, I think that’s one of my skills. I see someone and somehow I, boom, project what that person could do and so for me to help them go and coach them and guide them through that journey and see them blossoming, because of what they do is a big passion of mine. Equally, I’m very passionate about helping diverse talent, and I guess it’s personal for me. Because as a gay woman and Hispanic, I’ve been so many times not fitting in and feeling that I was different, that I have a lot of passion to help people to make sure that they have also equal opportunities. So in my prior role in intercontinental, 50 percent of the GMs, of the general managers across the 22 countries where we had an affiliate, because the rest of the country we operate it through third parties up to the 70. But we operated in 22 countries with an affiliate, half of them, were women and I appointed many of them.
And we’re talking about countries in the world where women do not have necessarily the same right that we have in the US or in several countries in Europe. So we are talking about countries where women will have not an easy task to get to those positions and we appointed them. I made that decision and I’m very proud of that. Obviously, you appoint them and then you need to make sure that you support that person for success. It’s not that you just drop a person and then, okay off you go, you need to really support the success of that person. So I took personally, very seriously the development especially those who were new in role as a GM.
In my current team when I started we had 35 percent of women. In my leadership team now we are up to 53 percent, 50 actually percent. And also in the changes I had to make, I have also increased the UG leaders in my team. So my team is very diverse and I’m proud of that. So this is what you can do directly and that’s why I said before that when you have positions that allowed you to have high influence, you take that as an opportunity to make a difference.
The other thing that I’m also very passionate and we do in my current team is to create a culture of inclusion. So we are putting a lot of focus on speak up in my team and overall across BMS. So that’s one of our biggest priorities as a company. We know that you cannot create a culture of inclusion if people do not speak up. And for that, it comes from the top. You really need to role model. You need to show vulnerability. You need to show yourself as you are and you need to be open saying, “you know, sometimes, I don’t know this or I’m concerned about these or I didn’t have a good day yesterday. I’m sorry or listen, I was not at my best.” You need to show vulnerability if you want to create that safe space.
And secondly, you need to encourage to speak up. So in conversations either if they are small groups or larger audiences, you need to ask for people to speak up is like, “would you have a different opinion I will love to hear, because I may not have necessarily the best opinion or I may not necessarily be right.” So that kind of role modeling is very important. And appraise those leaders that create that speak up culture and inclusive culture and we also reward them. We have an award of diversity and inclusion amongst the awards that we give to the different projects and teams. We have one award of diversity inclusion. That’s decisions that you make in your own team that you can implement.
Those are just a few things, but hopefully it will illustrate what we do.
Taren: Amazing and congratulations to you for really taking on that mantle because obviously, DE&I and inclusion is a very hot topic as well as we talked about for other things. But to take it so seriously and make it a personal mission, not everybody does. So congratulations to you and to the company for embracing what you’re bringing the culture. As you said it starts at the top, so you have to get buy-in to make sure that these things happen, so good for you all. Just to switch a little bit because I’m fascinated by this. I also learned in doing my research, you played soccer for the national team of Spain. Like how did that play into your leadership philosophy over the years?
Ester: Actually, it made me realize that the team is the most important part of the equation. And I was the captain not of the national team, but of the team that I will play during the year of my club, I was the captain. But were batters in the equation is the team, so it made me realize about that, to the point that I was a striker, so I would love to score goals.
Taren: No surprise. Let’s face it, this is no surprise.
Ester: I love the feeling of the ball hitting the net. Oh my God, I still close my eyes and they still fly. So I love that. But what I would really, really thrive is when we will all hug as a team after scoring the goal. That had no parallel. So that was important and also, you as a captain playing a role of helping people in their bad moments, appraising people when things go well, having these mindset of, “we can do these.” So it’s life skills that you learn.
And the other thing, Taren, you’re going to laugh at this one is, I learned the power of dreams. So dreams come true. Here I am, I’m 10 years old. I’m in Spain. I’m the only girl in the entire school that plays soccer, the only one. And every time I go to bed I’m envisioning that I’m playing for the national team and that was a big ball dream because I didn’t know any other girl that will play soccer in my entire environment, female, women’s football or soccer was not popular in Spain. It was not like in the US when they started. It was like very marginalized, not many women. It was perceived, it was a stigma. So you play soccer that’s the boys thing, you must have something wrong. So I didn’t know there were other girls like me playing soccer at some place in Spain. I found these actually four years later when I found my first soccer team to play in competition. But here I am going to bed every night and I’m like, dreaming and I’m picturing myself playing with the national shirt and then scoring goals and I was dreaming and it happened. It happened.
So seriously, that was the first time, I think, I realized that dreams do come true if you pursue them, if you are passionate about them and you believe. And these I brought to the teams and organizations I’ve been working with over the last few years, when sometimes we see challenge, when sometimes we see a lot of hurdles I always encourage us to dream. What if. What happens if? Let’s dream. What we’ll need to be true to achieve these. So that mindset of above the line of dreaming, I learned at a very early age.
Taren: I love that story. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. And obviously, you’re still scoring a lot of goals. So no surprise that you’re a striker and I love that dreams do come true. Because it is that aspirational part and it comes through so clearly with you about the bigger picture and how you’re always future-focused. And it’s about the patients and it’s about the mission and it is about the teams. I love the fact that it’s all about the big hug at the end too. That’s wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that. You won in 2020. I’m going to brag about you a little bit. You were recognized at the Woman of Excellence award by the NAFE or Working Mother Magazine. What does the award mean to you? Was it validation for all the things you’ve done or was it humbling, were you proud? What was that like?
Ester: You can imagine that when I receive an award, I’m very humble, very humbled by the award. And its number one, I always share with the team, I said this is a shared award always. This is something we do collectively and I get to be visible and recognized, but without the team, this is not possible. At the same time, it fuels my energy to keep pursuing that commitment to make a difference to patients by making the right decisions in a company that has this responsibility. And also to people by helping them be at the very best, helping them that they have a strong voice and is a relevant voice, every one of them. So we create that inclusive culture. So it’s humbling and it’s energizing and it’s something I love to share with the teams. And then my kids at home will really not pay much attention and say, “well, mom, it’s not a deal. It’s not big of a deal.”
Taren: So, we have to talk to those because it is a big of a deal. So, congratulations to you on that and I would imagine there are future awards in line for you as well. Sadly, we are coming to the end of our time. So as we end all of our WoW podcasts, I’m going to ask you – can you identify and I don’t know how you would, because your career has been so amazing. What has been like that one Wow moment that either change the trajectory of your career or has left a really lasting impression on you?
Ester: As I know that your podcast finishes with such a big question, I thought about that a little bit and I came to two moments that are connected – one is personal and the other is professional. I’m going to share this quickly, but I think it is relevant. The personal is when I came out. So I had been 17 years in the closet, in the darkest corner of the closet because I was so afraid, so afraid, I’ve been talking about different times a few years ago, I was so afraid that if people will find out that will affect my career and that will give me less opportunities. I’ve always been very comfortable with my sexuality and I was very blessed that my family was super supportive from day one, which gave me a lot of strength. But I was afraid, I was terrified. And one day, we just had the kids with Eva and I’m looking at the babies and I’m looking at Eva, and it was like an epiphany. It was like an aha moment and, like, “what are you doing? You are hiding the most important part of your life who you are and who you love.” And I on that spot, I decided – enough, I’m out. I’m proud. I’m not going to provide explanations. I’m just going to talk about my family and that coincided we’re going to Switzerland.
It was a very nice opportunity that I change lives and I started anew and I started from day one talking about my family like any other person will talk about those families, unapologetically and it felt so good. That was when I connected to that whole self and was able to connect more from a human perspective. And so, that was a key moment that allow me then my next job actually to do a very good job. And after that two years later, I have this incredible opportunity in the US, picture that I’m from Spain. It’s a small country in the global context. And what are the odds that I could end up working in the US for a US business and Christi Shaw, whom I believe that you know that also has been recently announced that she’s going to receive the Women of the Year award by HBA and I couldn’t be prouder of her. Kudos to an incredible leader like Christi. She gave me the opportunity of these big US job that was going to launch Cosentyx among other products that we have in the franchise. She gave it to me without US experience – wow.
And she and I spoke and we hit it off, just 10 minutes on the conversation, we hit it off. And one of the things she valued in addition to the experience I had already on that brand in Europe, which I have been preparing the launch for a couple of years and the learning agility and improving myself in many different countries. She also said that my authentic leadership, my purpose doing leadership connected very deeply with her and my passion. So my career took off after that position. And my leadership journey took off after coming out.
So the two things combined are for me, I think the most defining moments in my career. And now, I am also very fortunate to work with Chris Boerner who gave me two great opportunities intercontinental and now, a big business in the US. I think that having those two Wow moments that were connected have really allowed me to be where I am and be a proud mom, a wife of the family that Eva and I have created and use every platform that I have to speak freely and openly and in a normal way of a family that is very normal. Even if we may not be a conventional family, with the strict definition. But I’m so proud of talking about my family and encouraging other people to pursue who they are and make a difference in what they do.
Taren: Ester, wow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing your whole authentic self to our WoW podcast. It has been an enriching conversation and I look forward to staying in touch. I actually got to meet Chris last year at the HBA Woman of the Year when he was honored with the honorable mentor. So you got two really great folks that you mentioned there, so congratulations to you. I want to congratulate you on all of your successes and on all the goals you’ve scored and all the goals you are yet to score. Because I am sure there are more to come. So thank you very, very much.
Ester: Thank you, Taren. It’s been a true pleasure to have this conversation with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the opportunity to share some insights and learnings. And most importantly, thank you for everything that you’re doing for women in the pharmaceutical industry and starting with PharmaVoince 20 years ago and look what it is now. You should be very proud of what you’ve done. I feel honored to be part of this podcast, so thank you so much.
Thanks for listening to this episode of WoW, the Woman of the Week podcast. For more WoW episodes visit pharmavoice.com.
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