Episode 206

🧬Career Reinvention After Leadership Shakeups | Amy Hay (Part 3/4)

In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore Amy Hay's remarkable evolution from a longtime leader at MD Anderson Cancer Center to an entrepreneurial consultant and medtech executive. Amy shares the deeply personal and professional challenges of leaving an institution that defined her for two decades, describing how a "painful" leadership change became the ultimate catalyst for her growth and reinvention. Amy details her global journey, from navigating the cultural nuances of opening oncology clinics in Brazil to the eye-opening experience of consulting in Nigeria, where she learned that healthcare innovation must meet people where they are. She discusses the founding of her consulting firm, Evolve, its timely acquisition by Varian just before the global pandemic, and her eventual full-circle return to the Houston biotech ecosystem to lead strategy in the burgeoning field of cell therapy.

The Biotech Startups Podcast · Excedr

January 12, 202636m 6s

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Show Notes

"The moment that you stop being curious in your job is the moment you need to run out the front door."

In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore Amy Hay's remarkable evolution from a longtime leader at MD Anderson Cancer Center to an entrepreneurial consultant and medtech executive. Amy shares the deeply personal and professional challenges of leaving an institution that defined her for two decades, describing how a "painful" leadership change became the ultimate catalyst for her growth and reinvention.

Amy details her global journey, from navigating the cultural nuances of opening oncology clinics in Brazil to the eye-opening experience of consulting in Nigeria, where she learned that healthcare innovation must meet people where they are. She discusses the founding of her consulting firm, Evolve, its timely acquisition by Varian just before the global pandemic, and her eventual full-circle return to the Houston biotech ecosystem to lead strategy in the burgeoning field of cell therapy.

Key topics covered:

Global Healthcare Nuances: Lessons from Brazil and Nigeria on why "plug-and-play" medical models fail without cultural adaptation.
Navigating Career Inflections: How to pivot with passion and curiosity when professional circumstances shift unexpectedly.
The Entrepreneurial Leap: Founding and selling a boutique consulting firm (Evolv) and the importance of timing in business.
Medtech Integration Strategies: Insights into the human psychology of acquisitions and the merger between Varian and Siemens Healthineers.
The Future of Precision Medicine: Bridging the gap between academic research and industrial scale in cell therapy manufacturing.

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Find our guest, Amy Hay at these links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amychay/

Website: https://ctmc.com/

Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

Learn more about Excedr:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Website: https://www.excedr.com

Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:

Website: https://flow.page/kyojin

Resources & Articles:

Proton Therapy for Cancer Treatment:

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/radiation/proton-therapy.html

Cell Therapy Manufacturing and CDMO Services:

https://resilience.com/cell-therapy

MD Anderson Cancer Network Model: https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/premier-pulse/2024-md-anderson-cancer-network-changes

Administrative Fellowships in Healthcare:

https://www.ache.org/career-resource-center/seek-new-opportunities/administrative-fellowships

Multi-omics in Precision Medicine: https://www.mdpi.com/topics/Z6ZWJQ7U1I

Theranostics in Cancer Care: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranostics

Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:

MD Anderson Cancer Center: https://www.mdanderson.org/

Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital (Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein): https://www.einstein.br/

Varian Medical Systems (Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company): https://www.varian.com/

Siemens Healthineers: https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/

Henrique Neves: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrique-sneves/?locale=en_US

James Cox: https://www.astro.org/about-astro/history/history-interviews/james-cox

Jason Bock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-b-bock/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:55 The Plug-and-Play Healthcare Lesson: Building Einstein's Oncology Program in Brazil

05:58 Meeting People Where They Are: Consulting Work in Nigeria

09:15 Getting Bored at the Top: Recognizing When It's Time to Leave MD Anderson

13:06 The Luckiest Unluckiest Person: Pivoting After a Career-Defining Loss

18:02 Founding Evolv Consulting and Selling to Varian Before the Pandemic

22:08 Navigating the Siemens Healthineers Acquisition of Varian

27:49 Full Circle: Returning to MD Anderson's Ecosystem Through CTMC

30:26 Key Lessons on Managing Humans Through Acquisition and Change

32:58 When to Integrate vs. Keep Separate: Alignment and Synergy

34:07 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.

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