Advisory Board spotlight: Carol Collins PhD, MBA, Senior Executive & Board Member

Carol Collins, PhD, MBA, is a senior executive and board member with more than 30 years’ experience in the global life sciences and healthcare sector. Across CEO, C-suite and non-executive director roles, she has a strong track record of driving growth in CRO and pharma services, clinical development and commercialisation, digital health, technology and healthcare data. She now advises private equity investors and venture-backed businesses on growth strategy, commercialisation, operational transformation and value creation, and holds a PhD in biophysics, an MBA from London Business School and a Harvard Medical School certificate in AI in healthcare.

As a member of the Advisory Board, Carol brings that board-level perspective to how BioTalent, BioX and Talent Science™ evolve. In her answers, she explains why technology doesn’t alter the need to find the right people to lead, and why she sees the long-term impact of AI as the greatest talent challenge for life sciences to plan for.

What attracted you to join BioTalent’s Advisory Board?

I haven’t known James for very long, but we hit it off as soon as we met. We have both spent our careers in healthcare and life sciences, which means that we have a similar outlook on the world.

The pace of change is continuing to accelerate, but technology, digitalisation and AI don’t alter the fundamental need to find the right people to lead and execute in the new order. It promises to be particularly rewarding to work with the executive team and other industry experts to help shape BioTalent’s talent strategy during this exciting and challenging phase.

What do you hope to get out of being part of a peer forum like this, rather than a traditional advisory role?

I really like the diversity of the Advisory Board and am looking forward to hearing perspectives from current pharma and life science leaders living the reality of transformation in their companies, as well as investors and advisors observing the broader impact across the industry.

So, the key attraction for me is that, as well as the opportunity to advise BioTalent, everyone in the room is going to benefit from the discussions and the networking opportunities the peer forum creates.

What do you see as the biggest opportunity or challenge for life sciences over the next few years?

From a talent management perspective, the long-term impact of AI is perhaps the biggest uncertainty, and the greatest challenge to plan for. AI will touch every part of the life sciences value chain, from discovery through to commercialisation, reshaping both workforce architecture and the demands placed on leadership.

The transition itself will require different skills as organisations determine where to build, buy or partner for new technologies, while effective change management will be critical to embedding automated processes and new ways of working.

The next few years are therefore likely to be characterised by continual evolution rather than a single transformation, requiring the talent community to anticipate changing needs and respond with agility.

Hear more from the Advisory Board

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