Women Leading Healthcare’s Transformation

On November 19, 2015, I had the privilege of leading a panel discussion via webinar with three extraordinary female leaders in healthcare, all of whom are HBS alumnae. The discussion was organized by the HBS Healthcare Alumni Association. We chose the topic - Women Leading Healthcare’s Transformation - deliberately because we are in a time of monumental change in the industry and women are playing a pivotal role.

Having just celebrated my 20th reunion, I thought it would be interesting and instructive to hear from women who have had a significant impact on the industry at different points in their careers so we had three decades represented:

Leslie Bottorff, MBA 1985 Managing Director, Healthcare GE Ventures

Martha Goldberg Aronson, MBA 1995 EVP & President for Global Healthcare Ecolab Inc

Darria Long Gillespie, MD, MBA 2005 SVP Clinical Strategy, Sharecare Emergency Physician, Northside Hospital

Some of my favorite comments:

I always tell people early on in your career focus much more on who you work for not what you're working on. Don't worry about product, look more for the best people managers. Martha Aronson

Ask yourself not just “Why not?” but also “Why not now?” Darria Gillespie

You can take risks and move on. Leslie Bottorff

Ask yourself whether you are getting or draining energy from work. Martha Aronson