Pre-Conference Focus Day
November 4, 2025
12:00 pm Registration & Networking
12:40 pm Chair’s Opening Remarks
Strengthening Communication of Your Leadership to Improve Organizational Clarity
12:50 pm Discover: Leveraging Executive Communication to Drive Agility in Biotech Startups
Synopsis
- How can lean leadership teams in preclinical biotech organizations make fast, aligned decisions in a volatile environment?
- Learn how Terray Therapeutics’ executive team leverages communication and systems to enable rapid decision-making, cross-functional alignment, and clear change management, without adding headcount
- Discover how this approach has built organizational clarity, improved execution speed, and retained focus on business and scientific goals while maintaining a lean operational footprint
1:10 pm Discover: Enhancing Leadership & Communication in Emerging Biopharma
Synopsis
- How can small biotech companies improve leadership and communication to navigate uncertain times?
- Explore Ensoma’s approach to creating leadership commitments focused on effective communication and psychological safety, and how these initiatives are being implemented to support organizational success
1:30 pm Develop: Executive Communication for Agility in Biotech Startups
Synopsis
This interactive Q&A session delves into the strategies and systems that enable lean leadership teams in preclinical biotech organizations to make fast, aligned decisions in a volatile environment. Building on insights from Terray Therapeutics, this session will explore how effective executive communication and systems can drive rapid decision-making, cross-functional alignment, and clear change management without adding headcount.
- Leveraging communication systems for rapid decision-making
- Aligning cross-functional teams in a lean operational environment
- Maintaining organizational clarity and execution speed
- Balancing business and scientific goals
1:50 pm Action: Enhancing Leadership & Communication in Emerging Biopharma
Synopsis
This roundtable discussion offers a collaborative space to reflect, share, and strategize on improving leadership and communication in small biotech companies. Drawing on Ensoma’s approach to creating leadership commitments focused on effective communication and psychological safety, participants will explore how these initiatives can be implemented to support organizational success.
- What leadership commitments are essential for effective communication?
- How can psychological safety be fostered in small biotech companies?
- What strategies can be shared to navigate uncertain times?
- How can these initiatives be tailored to different organizational contexts?
Participants will leave with actionable insights and strategies to enhance leadership and communication in their own organizations, along with valuable frameworks from peers facing similar challenges.
2:10 pm Networking & Refreshments Break
Developing Leadership to Drive Measurable Impact & Increase Cross Functional Influence
2:40 pm Discover: One Voice, Many Audiences: A Shared Approach to Leadership, Communication, and Culture
Synopsis
- In an era of constant change and heightened expectations, HR and Corporate Affairs play a critical role in shaping how an organization is experienced — by employees, patients, investors and the broader community. This session explores how intentional collaboration between these two functions can build aligned, values-driven leadership that resonates across diverse audiences.
- We’ll discuss how to form a high-trust, shared-value partnership between HR and Corporate Affairs, offer strategies for delivering consistent yet tailored communication, and reflect on what it means to lead with authenticity in every interaction. At the heart of it all: the belief that people may not always remember exactly what you said — but they will always remember how you made them feel.
3:00 pm Discover: Reimagining Leadership for the No Collar Economy in Biopharma
Synopsis
- How can biopharma organizations unlock the leadership potential of essential, often-overlooked talent like lab techs, QA specialists, and field trainers?
- Explore how MannKind is redefining leadership through its Manager Development Program, introducing a No Collar Leadership Track that embeds learning in the flow of work, prioritizes emotional intelligence, and recognizes influence over hierarchy
- Learn how this approach is driving measurable impact, boosting frontline retention, increasing cross-functional influence, and elevating diverse voices in decision-making, while building a more inclusive and resilient workforce for the future of biopharma
3:20 pm Develop: Bridging Leadership & Communication in Biopharma
Synopsis
This interactive Q&A session delves into the intersection of leadership and communication within the biopharma industry. Building on the insights from the Discover Sessions, we will explore how HR and Corporate Affairs can collaborate to create a unified leadership approach that resonates with diverse audiences. Learn from industry leaders who are actively shaping leadership and communication strategies in high-growth, innovation-driven environments.
- Forming high-trust, shared-value partnerships between HR and Corporate Affairs
- Strategies for delivering consistent yet tailored communication
- Leading with authenticity in every interaction
- Unlocking leadership potential in essential, often-overlooked talent
3:40 pm Action: Leadership in Motion: Scaling Values with Intention
Synopsis
This roundtable is your space to reflect, share, and strategize. Building on the insights from the Develop Session, you’ll collaborate with peers to explore how your organization can retain, evolve, and scale its leadership and communication strategies. Whether you’re expanding into new markets or navigating post-growth integration, this session is about turning ideas into action.
- What cultural elements are non-negotiable in your organization?
- How do you codify and communicate leadership values during growth?
- What tools or rituals help reinforce leadership and communication across locations?
- How do you measure the impact of leadership and communication strategies?
Leave with a clearer sense of how to operationalize leadership and communication in your own context, plus ideas and frameworks from peers facing similar challenges.
4:00 pm Networking & Refreshments Break
The Future of Work
4:20 pm Panel: The Future of Work
Synopsis
As emerging biopharma organizations navigate rapid innovation and growth, the future of work demands new approaches to talent, technology, and culture. This panel will explore how companies are adapting to new working models, upskilling for digital transformation, and building inclusive, purpose-driven workplaces. Leaders will share strategies for attracting top talent, empowering agile leadership, and leveraging HR tech to shape resilient, forward-thinking organizations.