View from the Top
The CEO of ASX 300 biotech company Starpharma Holdings is not afraid to use her networking skills to get what (and who) she wants, as she tells Kirsten Galliott.
Starpharma CEO Jackie Fairley shares her networking secrets
How do you define good leadership?
It’s a combination of effective communication and bringing people with you. You need to be able to articulate why you want to do something and have an understanding of the team you’re leading.
Obviously, in the biotech space you don’t get immediate results. How do you keep the momentum going?
It is challenging at times and I think it’s made more difficult by being in a listed environment. Tenacity in our industry is incredibly important. Science is science and you can’t control all of the outcomes but you have to be opportunistic, optimistic and willing to try a variety of things.
Can corporate Australia learn from scientists’ willingness to embrace trial and error?
Two or three years ago, I saw some figures indicating that 40 to 45 per cent of the chairs of top-200 companies were either accountants or lawyers. The percentage of scientists on boards was extraordinarily low. Science trains you to test hypotheses and calculate the risk. At Starpharma, if I had listened to what fund managers or the odd internal staff member said to me about the risk of doing this and the lack of value in “Y”, the company would be worth $50 to $60 million instead of $450 to $500 million.
How do you hire? What’s your secret?
I’ve been in the pharmaceutical industry for almost 30 years so I’ve met a lot of people. When I meet someone who I think will be a useful contributor and has a good skill set, I make sure I have their contact details. I keep in touch with them or use LinkedIn to find people I’ve lost track of. I’m quite opportunistic. If I meet someone really fantastic then I’ll think about whether we can create a role. Building the right team is so important and you need to have members who are not glass-half-empty people; they should have an optimistic outlook and an attitude that they’ll try things.
What if you’re considering a new team member who has the right skills but is more glass-half-empty?
You always have balance. You want a diverse set of views because you want to be challenged and questioned. We do have those among us who are naturally optimistic and others who see the things that can go wrong.