Digital Transformation Series

In this episode of the Digital Transformation Series, Mehrnaz chatted with Andrew Binns, Global Marketing Director of Croda Pharma.

Andrew Binns began his marketing career working with English Premier League football clubs and major tourist boards, including Visit Britain and Visit California. In these roles, he developed a deep understanding of audience mindsets and behaviours, recognising the power of strategic engagement.

Building on this foundation, he trained in COM-B, the behaviour change framework, and later became a BJ Fogg-accredited practitioner, refining his expertise in driving meaningful behavioural shifts.

His ability to engage audiences in innovative and creative ways caught the attention of the pharma industry, leading to his recruitment with a clear mandate: to disrupt the status quo and drive real change.

During his time at AstraZeneca, he challenged conventional thinking, tearing up unrealistic omnichannel theories and replacing them with a pragmatic, real-world customer engagement strategy. The impact was immediate - significantly increasing HCP engagement.

In this episode of the Digital Transformation Series, Mehrnaz chats with Nico Renner from BeiGene.

Nico isn’t your typical pharma marketeer: He considers himself as a hybrid between business and biotechnology, as he studied both.

Almost by coincidence, Nico started to work on digital transformation projects in oncology at Roche Germany. Further gathering experiences in Social Media Management for Patient Education in Ophthalmology. Currently, he is working for BeiGene in Switzerland as a product manager. Nico brings new perspectives and questions to pharma, as he does not even know "the old days".

Nico is a firm believer in outcome-driven marketing. His signature approach? "No shiny slides, but tangible results. Marketing is not about opinions, but data." When he’s not redefining the marketing playbook, you can find him sparking thoughtful discussions on LinkedIn about the future of pharma marketing, digital engagement, and customer experience in pharma.

In January, I chatted with Nyambe “Yam” Sumbwanyambe. 🎙️ 

Yam is a dynamic, innovative leader with nearly two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Yam has established a reputation for driving commercial excellence, fostering inclusion and championing professional development. 

In 2023, he founded The Black Sherpa Podcast, a platform dedicated to empowering social mobility through candid conversations on personal development, career progression and overcoming systemic barriers. 

Born in Zambia and raised in the UK, Yam’s journey reflects resilience, adaptability and ingenuity.

Carolina is known for her passion, energy, dedication, commitment, and her strong ability to build consensus. With over 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a background in public relations, marketing, and communications. She later specialised in digital marketing and transformation, taking on key roles at Pfizer and Grünenthal. 

In the next in the Digital Transformation Series, Mehrnaz Campbell will be talking to Christian Wöckel, Head of RSV Franchise @Vaccines Germany & Austria for Sanofi.

With a passion for Digital Transformation, and a strong drive for results and impact, Christian has helped different organisations and business units to transform in a world of constant change and digital disruption. 

With a fixer-mindset, Christian enables teams and individuals to solve challenges that come with (digital) transformation.

I talk to Marco Andre, Global Head of AI and Marketing Excellence at Novartis. I was particularly excited because Marco is quite unique. He possesses extensive experience in AI and automation, yet he brings a refreshing humility to how these tools can be applied in the pharmaceutical industry.

Marco is a keynote speaker, an AI advisor to executives, and a published author. With over 20 years of experience in companies such as Google, Procter & Gamble, and YouTube, he has held local, regional, and global roles in marketing, sales, partnerships, and operations. Outside of work, Marco is the author of the book Imperfect Stories, a passionate Lego enthusiast, and a proud owner of more than 20 sets. 

I believe I first met Marco in person in Dubrovnik in May this year, where he delivered two memorable presentations. On Day 1, he gave a talk titled "The Hype is Gone, It's Time to Grieve," focusing on generative AI. His presentation was so entertaining that I found myself sitting at the edge of my seat; it was fast-paced yet highly engaging. I think he received the highest score for the upfront presentation that day. On the second day, he led a brilliant interactive panel discussion about learning from failures. I thoroughly enjoyed his sessions—they were fun, interactive, and refreshingly real.

After a brief break for summer, the Digital Transformation Series is back and I've already lined up several months of interviewees! 🎙️
 
On the 22nd August, l chatted with the amazing Chiara Bolgnini.
 
Chiara is a Senior Marketing and Commercial Leader with 20 years of experience. She has worked for 14 years in life science companies in senior global and international roles at Novartis Global headquarters, Bristol-Myers Squibb Worldwide organisation, and Abbott Global headquarters. She is now working at Roche Pharma International. 
 
Chiara possesses proven senior marketing leadership skills and has led global, regional, and local marketing teams to drive key integrated omnichannel marketing strategies. She's also led blockbuster product launches and growth resulting in billions in sales. 
 
Listen to her amazing journey in Pharma. 

Mehrnaz Campbell chats with Emma Vitalini, Head of Global Medical Digital Strategy at Amgen. Emma has focused her recent attention and development on the strategic build and deployment of new and evolving technologies.

For our next Digital Transformation Series podcast, Mehrnaz Campbell welcomes Amish Patel, a marketing consultant who aims to simplify pharma marketing in today’s noisy world of shiny things. He is the founder of APC, a marketing consultancy that helps pharma companies create and execute effective engagement strategies while building in-house marketing capability.

Mehrnaz Campbell talks to Dario Safaric as part of my Digital Transformation Series. Dario, in addition to running the NEXT Pharma Summit events, is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Media-Soft. They operate in over 40 countries and it's his responsibility for creating and running global marketing initiatives. He's organised more than 25 events in 14 countries.