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In this segment of Dean Ian O. Williamson’s Thought Leadership Series, Ms. Pooja Sharma Rao was invited to talk to Dean Williamson about the convergence of health and business. Rao serves as the senior vice president of Strategy Program Management and Advanced Analytics at Edwards Lifesciences.

Dean Williamson began by asking Rao what she believed were the big macro-level trends or factors that are changing the way she thinks about healthcare broadly and with Edwards Lifesciences. Rao stated that a trend that has accelerated throughout the pandemic was a general focus on health through people’s delayed pursual of healthcare, which has consequently increased the gap of both health equity and access. In addition, she expressed her belief in technology and the hope that it could advance to give people the ideal treatment for their concerns.

Rao added that in terms of long-term success, Edwards Lifesciences is an organization that has an infinite vision through an extensive focus on their areas and the disease states that they treat as well as unmet needs. Dean Williamson went on to ask her about how she manages to lead her organization through the pathway between infinite vision and focus.

 She said: “One piece is to stay very close to the customer and the patient’s needs and understand when it evolves. When we say focus, it’s not just about going after this giant need or giant market. [It’s about] what element of that are you trying to go after.”

Dean Williamson then asked Rao about the balance of her work as an engineer with medical devices and marketing in her position as a leader. Rao said that combining the skillsets she obtained in both engineering school and in marketing has helped her in her career immensely. She answered: “This intersection of [my] analytical background and an understanding of technology and [my] ability to translate really complex information that is technical into a message or communication both internally and externally to physicians and learn how to story tell is where my passion and skillset lie.”

Dean Williamson lastly asked Rao what she would recommend current UCI students do to prepare themselves for careers after graduation. She said: “Stay very curious. Keep your eyes open and diversify your learning. Talk to people outside of the thing that you’re interested in.”

She went on to say: “[A] broad, diverse network is something that you should start building today. Those trusted relationships [are] critically important in your career. The other piece of advice is every setback is going to teach you something if you listen. That gets me to my last theme, which is a very big core value for me– resilience. Train yourself to absorb shock and recover; that is the difference, I think, between very successful businesses like Edwards Lifesciences and successful leaders. Listen to what’s going on, listen to how you would do things differently; be self-reflective. Those skill sets start today for your students and, frankly, they should continue for a lifetime.”

Dean Williamson ended this segment by thanking Ms. Rao for her insights, leaving the audience much to be inspired by in terms of innovation, leadership, and professionalism.

You can listen to the entire conversation between Dean Williamson and Ms. Rao here.