Conference Schedule

Women continue to make up a significant portion of the healthcare and pharmaceutical workforce, yet their representation in leadership has not kept pace. According to McKinsey's 2024 Women in the Workplace report, women altogether only hold 29% of C-suite roles, while white men alone account for 56%. Despite increased awareness and conversation around equity, women clearly still face persistent barriers that limit long-term career growth and access to senior leadership roles. Drawing from three decades of experience as a founder and healthcare innovator, Elena will explore how women can move forward with clarity, take ownership of their growth, and pursue leadership in a way that reflects both ambition and authenticity.

  • Strategize ways organizations can better support retention and advancement
  • Build a framework for developing meaningful one, five, and ten-year career plans that match evolving personal goals
  • Go over the current state of gender equity and what the next decade could look like
  • Evaluate when it may be time to pivot out of the corporate path and what goes into building something on your own

Climbing to executive leadership requires more than ambition—it demands strategic foresight, intentional growth, and a clear roadmap. Preparing for this journey involves making thoughtful decisions, taking calculated risks, and aligning your actions with your long-term vision. How can you position yourself for success on the journey up the corporate ladder?

  • Define what success looks like for you and create a personalized roadmap for your career
  • Take risks and advance in your career
  • Network and build long-lasting career relationships

Making the leap from pharma to launching your own business is equal parts thrilling and daunting. Recognizing the internal and external signals that it's time to pivot, going over how to craft a vision and set boundaries that reflect your values, and the real, behind-the-scenes lessons learned along the way — both practical and painful, can help you understand when it's time to take that leap. Whether you're considering a transition or already on the path, grounded insights and hard-won advice can help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

  • Recognize the signs and listen to your inner voice to know when to pivot
  • Build confidence, boundaries, and a business aligned with your mission
  • Redefine success: From corporate metrics to personal impact
  • Go over practical steps to launch your business

Your personal brand goes beyond a polished resume—it's the narrative you craft, the impact you make, and the way others experience your unique value. In a competitive landscape where first impressions matter more than ever, standing out means being intentional about how you show up. So how do you build a brand that authentically represents you and opens doors to new opportunities?

  • Align your personal values with your professional goals to create a clear message
  • Leverage digital tools and platforms to amplify your presence

In fast-paced, results-driven environments, competition can often fuel progress, but how you manage it can make or break your team's success. Transforming competition into collaboration is about aligning individual ambitions with collective goals. So, how can you navigate competitive dynamics to foster a culture of teamwork?

  • Manage competitive peer dynamics
  • Turn individual strengths into assets for the team's overall success
  • Build trust and open communication in a competitive environment
  • Understand how to encourage healthy competition

Today's workforce spans five generations—Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z—each bringing unique values, skills, and perspectives. While seasoned employees offer deep experience and mentorship, younger generations often bring fresh ideas, digital fluency, and strong personal branding. Bridging these differences can be challenging, but when done right, it leads to richer collaboration and stronger results. How can you engage across generations to build a more unified, productive team?

  • Highlight the strengths and advantages of a multi-generational workforce
  • Explore practical strategies for effective communication, collaboration, and connection across age groups
  • Examine how mentoring programs and cross-generational teams can build stronger relationships

Becoming a leader means offering support and guidance to your team, but it's important to listen and empathize without taking on their emotional burdens. Learning how to care for your team while maintaining personal boundaries is key to effective leadership. How can you actively listen, offer constructive feedback, and lead with empathy without compromising your own well-being?

  • Set and maintain clear boundaries to protect your emotional energy while supporting your team
  • Build a culture of psychological safety in the workplace
  • Identify practical ways to offer feedback that is both compassionate and constructive

In today's high-pressure environments, maintaining well-being is essential for long-term success, especially for leaders. Prioritizing your own wellness, including getting sufficient rest, is key to staying effective and resilient in both personal and professional spheres. Since everyone decompresses differently, it's crucial to find self-care strategies that work for you!

  • Discover how stress and sleep deprivation impact mental health and overall well-being
  • Find the right balance between self-care and meeting professional demands
  • Understand the importance of sleep for mental clarity, mood regulation, and preventing health problems, especially for women during different life stages
  • Learn actionable strategies for managing stress, improving sleep quality, staying grounded, and leading with confidence

Endometriosis and PCOS are two prevalent yet often overlooked conditions that significantly impact women’s health, with little progress in research and treatment options over the years. Despite the challenges faced by those living with these conditions, they remain under-discussed in both medical and public spheres. How can we bring these issues to the forefront to improve the quality of life for patients?

  • Discuss the barriers that limit awareness and research around women’s health issues
  • Explore strategies to increase visibility, advocacy, and research funding
  • Amplify patient voices and create more open conversations around women’s health challenges
  • Partner with organizations and influencers to raise awareness and create systemic change

Day 1 Concludes

Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have unlocked unprecedented opportunities for innovation in Life Sciences. However, these advancements also present significant challenges for leaders tasked with navigating this transformative landscape. While the potential of AI to revolutionize patient care is undeniably exciting, the urgency to adopt the technology, make informed investments, and ensure those investments deliver meaningful returns can feel overwhelming.

  • Align AI Initiatives with Strategic Goals
  • Ask the Right Questions to Evaluate AI Feasibility and Fit
  • Develop a Systematic Framework for AI Adoption

A culture of psychological safety empowers employees to speak openly, share ideas, and ask for support without fear of judgment or retaliation. Colleagues who feel they are safe to share their ideas contribute to greater organizational collaboration. How can you create an atmosphere where your employees feel truly heard, valued, and supported?

  • Break down why psychological safety is a critical foundation for team success
  • Discover actionable strategies to embed psychological safety into everyday workplace culture
  • Explore the role of leadership in modeling psychological safety

In today's fast-paced world, women often face the challenge of balancing demanding careers with family responsibilities. A Women's leadership expert surveyed 750 women across different industries and found that 61% feel pressure to be perfect in multiple roles – mother, wife, professional - which creates unattainable expectations. How can you find the balance between maintaining a successful career and home-life?

  • Uncover how to build a strong, reliable support system
  • Examine how technology has blurred the boundaries between work and personal time
  • Learn what employers are doing to support flexible schedules and manageable workloads

Can you lead the room in under three minutes? In order to engage a room, you must command attention, deliver with authority, and turn words into impact. Selected attendees will take the '3-Minute Test,' presenting short talks followed by live coaching that unlocks fast, lasting transformation. Whether you speak to teams, clients, or the C-suite, you'll walk away with the power moves that separate the forgettable from the unforgettable.

  • Learn repeatable, high-impact techniques that top leaders use to speak with clarity, confidence, and impact
  • Discover what executive presence really looks like in high-stakes speaking moments
  • Witness how just a few intentional shifts can instantly transform delivery and presence

Starting and growing a business requires securing the right funding, but women entrepreneurs face significant challenges in accessing venture capital. Entrepreneur Magazine (Europe) found that while women own about a third of businesses in the U.S. and Europe, only 2% of venture capital funding goes to them. Why is there such a disparity, and how can you overcome these barriers to secure the funding needed for success?

  • Explore the common challenges women face when starting their own businesses and seeking funding
  • Secure grants and loans through targeted applications and
  • Identify funding opportunities designed for women entrepreneurs
  • Pitch your business confidently and effectively to attract potential investors and lenders

Women in healthcare often wear many hats—clinician, researcher, industry leader, and innovator. It is important to bring together voices from academia, pharma, patient advocacy, and other sectors like health insurance and venture capital to explore how women can successfully pivot their careers. Discuss how to embrace reinvention, overcome barriers, and build purposeful careers at every stage of life.

  • Understand the personal and systemic factors that influence women's career transitions in healthcare and life sciences
  • Learn actionable strategies for pivoting into new sectors, while maintaining impact and authenticity
  • Gain insight into how allyship, risk-taking, can empower your next professional chapter

Joining a board is a significant milestone in your career, offering increased credibility, networking opportunities, and the chance to expand your skill set. However, securing a board seat requires more than just experience—it demands strategic positioning, the right connections, and an understanding of what boards seek in candidates. For women with a science background, standing out in a business-dominated arena presents unique opportunities and challenges. So, how can you position yourself to land that coveted board seat?

  • Learn what boards prioritize when selecting new members
  • Discover how to identify companies that are seeking board members with your unique skill set
  • Explore the valuable impact of board membership on both personal growth and organizational influence

As regulatory landscapes evolve, organizations must adapt to new guidelines while maintaining a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. How can your team continue to provide an inclusive space in the midst of new regulations, executive orders, and evolving policies?

  • Go over the latest guidance from the DOJ and EEOC
  • Understand ways that you can lead your company in uncertain times
  • Identify tools and resources to keep your team informed and prepared for future regulatory shifts

Conference Concludes