In this episode Charles discusses with Val, the previous VP of Medical Affairs at ITM and AAA, the importance of genuine relationship-building and personal presence in the field of Medical Affairs and pharmaceutical industry leadership.

Val emphasizes that success in this field isn't just about scientific knowledge or achieving immediate results. Instead, it's about how you behave as a person, your ability to be present and attentive in interactions, and your capacity to build long-term relationships based on trust and transparency.

He sums this up nicely with the quote: "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."

Here's what you're in for:

03:00 Starting a Career in Nuclear Pharmacy

07:07 Moving to Medical Affairs

10:03 Making Connections in Medical Affairs

18:38 Difficulties and Skills Needed in Medical Affairs

23:25 Building a Good Medical Affairs Team

28:22 Leadership Growth: Pros and Cons

29:19 Handling Growth and People in Organizations

31:15 Keeping Staff in Expanding Companies

36:42 When and How to Hire the Right People

45:15 Overused Words in Job Ads

51:19 Wrapping Up and Last Ideas

About Val Nassiri

Dr. Val Nassiri, MBA, PharmD, Head of Medical Affairs U.S., leads the Medical Affairs team at ITM. He works on strategic plans for radiopharmaceutical projects. Before this, Val was the Head of Medical Affairs at AAA, a Novartis company. He also worked as Senior Director at Daiichi Sankyo. There, he formed teams and made partnerships to help with research. His aim was to help patients live longer. Val graduated from the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy in Virginia.

Connect with Val:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/val-nassiri-pharmd-mba-84b7961/

About Charles

Charles Spence leads Discera, a leading recruitment firm specializing in the biopharma industry.

He graduated with a biomedical degree, has worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent years doing diabetes research. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.

In 2023, Charles decided to launch his firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with Charles:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/

Website: https://www.discera-search.com/