Last December, we hosted a discussion with industry leaders on COVID-19 and Vaccines, Return-to-Work, and the Economy. We were delighted to host Dr. Jay Bradner, President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) and Biospring’s advisors Sir John Bell, Katie Burke, and Dr. Peter B. Henry.
A few highlights from the hour-long discussion can be found below.
COVID-19 and Vaccines
Sir John Bell is the Regius Chair of Medicine at the University of Oxford. He also serves as the Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Scientific Advisory Committee. John oversaw the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
John discussed the vaccines in development and he shared his perspective on safety, efficacy, and timing of distribution. John and the team at Oxford set out to develop a vaccine that could be distributed globally, in an affordable manner.
Return to Work
Katie Burke is the Chief People Officer at HubSpot. She also serves on the Board of Directors at Paycor. During her time leading people initiatives at HubSpot, the company has been named the #1 Best Place to Work by Glassdoor, the #1 Best Place to Work for Women by Comparably, and a Best Place to Work for Parents by Fortune.
Over the past year, Katie led HubSpot’s workforce of over 3900 employees, across 11 global offices, through a rapid transition to remote work. Katie discussed some important considerations for managing and maintaining culture, operations, and productivity through a sustained period of remote work. She also discussed the lasting impact of remote work during COVID-19; one positive trend being that career growth is less likely to be predicated on an employee’s zip code going forward.
The Economy
Dr. Peter B. Henry is an economist and he is the Deam Emeritus of NYU’s Stern School of Business and the William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business. Peter is a member of the Board of Directors of Citigroup and Nike.
Peter discussed top issues related to the US economy and the global economy, and he shared ideas to drive economic growth. Peter also described his perspective on teaching and learning in a remote classroom environment. In the video below, Peter emphasizes the importance of the restoration of public health — substantively and also from a confidence perspective.