Cross-Pollination and embedding DEI Strategies within Biotechs

Join Seuss+ CEO and Co-Founder Sabine Hutchison as she engages in a thought-provoking discussion with Ben Osborn, a prominent figure in the biopharma industry and President of the Europe Eastern Cluster at IDM, Pfizer. 

This episode explores the dynamic interplay of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) within the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. 

The DE&I landscape is vast, intricate, and undeniably crucial, touching on various aspects such as gender, religion, family status, education, nationality, and work background.  

Throughout the conversation, the importance of DE&I in healthcare and its potential to drive innovation becomes evident. Ben shares the profound impact that a diverse and inclusive workforce can have on the development of innovative medicines and clinical trials.

Ben Osborn Bio

After graduating from Leeds University, Ben joined Pfizer in 1998, where his career has taken him through a variety of leadership roles both in the UK and internationally.

In recent years Ben served as IM Chief Marketing Officer across Europe, Japan, Korea and ANZ where he led the digital transformation of the commercial organisation and innovative partnerships across the sector. He is passionate about organisational culture and purpose to ensure patients benefit from breakthrough innovation and science. Ben was the UK Country Manager and Managing Director for Pfizer UK, leading the organisation through unprecedented times of opportunity to bring science, data, and technology together to transform healthcare. He led the UK roll out of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine and antiviral, working closely with government and the NHS.

In Jan 2022 Ben was appointed Regional President Hospital Business for the IDM region and then in July 2022 took on the role of President of the Europe Eastern Cluster, IDM.

 From May 21 to May 22, Ben was President of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Ben has also represented the industry on a number of committees with government and NHS. He is also an advisory board member for the EU HBA organisation.

 How I got started in Life Science:

“By total chance! On graduating I spoke to a friend’s dad who was a GP and mentioned about jobs as a Pharma Sales Representative. In those days, the roles were advertised in a UK newspaper on a Wednesday, so I bought the paper and applied for three roles. I was offered two jobs and went back to him to ask which medicines I should sell as I knew little about the two companies and he said, “I prescribe all three of the Pfizer medicines”, so with that I phoned the recruiter back and I was immediately off on my initial training course. 24 years later, here I am having enjoyed an amazing career and life changing experiences at Pfizer.”

Join the discussion and listen to the full episode here.