How would you describe your leadership style?

I would describe my philosophy and style as “servant leadership.” Our employees are intelligent, experienced, and passionate professionals who have what it takes to succeed. As a leader, my job is to set the bar and enable each individual to achieve their maximum performance. To this end, I empower my team members and provide resources, support, and the freedom to operate. I am collaborative and transparent, and I encourage open communication, questions, feedback, and solutions. For example, many of our sales processes and systems at ChemPartner, including our sales incentive plan, were developed from the collective input from the sales team.

In addition to employee rewards and recognition, team building is one of my passions and priorities. Our motto is One Team, One Success. Our principle influences how we think and act, and is evident in the way we communicate, coordinate and collaborate with our colleagues and clients. In addition to business meetings, opportunities are provided for colleagues to gather socially. We also have virtual forums to share information, commiserate and celebrate together. We maintain a high level of professionality, yet coming together looks and feels like a family reunion. Staying connected increases engagement and comradery, which are critical for a global team separated by large distances.

 What is your approach to talent acquisition and describe your ideal candidate?

My approach to talent acquisition is from the view of retention. I have a long-term outlook and strive to hire individuals who will be successful and satisfied at the company for the duration. Therefore, in addition to knowledge, experience, and skills, it is critical to assess the motivational and cultural fit. This requires authenticity and transparency on both parts. Since candidates are treated as future colleagues, they know precisely what to expect and what is expected when joining our team.

Additionally, my approach to talent acquisition is often opportunistic. The objective is to find and retain key talent by tailoring positions to optimize contributions. To this end, we have created roles for candidates based on their unique strengths and ambitions. Likewise, new roles have been created for tenured employees, including overseas assignments, to provide growth opportunities while meeting our business needs.

Our current team has diverse backgrounds, personalities, and styles; however, we all share commonalities that shape the framework for candidate selection. I believe the ideal candidate is self-motivated, self-directed, and self-accountable with a proven track record of success and stability. They are strong independent contributors as well as caring and committed team players. They are high achievers who work hard and laugh often.

As the Chief Commercial Officer of ChemPartner and General Manager of the Company’s international business entities, how do you manage stress and balance work-life responsibilities?

As I often say, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” We run hard and fast every day, but we must keep a healthy and sustainable pace for the long haul. In addition to avoiding burnout, this guiding principle also helps me make critical decisions, face challenges, and manage setbacks. I have enjoyed running the race for over twenty-five years, and I have no plans of finishing soon. Therefore, it is critical to find ways to build strength and maintain endurance.

One of my main strategies for managing stress is exercise, including walking, strength training, and boxing. In addition to fitness, my faith and family are my foundation. They give me the fortitude, encouragement, and perspective needed to face whatever comes my way.

Other strategies involve managing emotions, attitude, and mindset. Although my natural disposition is optimistic and resilient, it still takes self-awareness and self-control to remain calm, positive, and productive while under stress. In addition to pausing before responding, it is also critical to rest and reset when needed.

As a working mother of four children, I am often asked about work-life balance. In my view, balance is not about even distribution. It is about remaining steady. This takes focus, flexibility, and commitment. It is up to each of us to discern what balance looks like in our lives and to recalibrate when needed. I find it necessary to establish boundaries, and continually assess and prioritize across all domains.

Asking for help and relying on others is another way to manage the many obligations and opportunities. I am blessed to have an incredibly engaged and supportive husband and a network of friends who all help each other. This type of community support is reflective of the culture at ChemPartner. Team members readily offer a helping hand or an encouraging word, cover for one another, and donate time off to colleagues during times of need. In sharing the workload, you share the success while building a supportive and trusting environment. It is not surprising that the song chosen by the team to perform at one of our annual parties was “Lean on Me.”

What are the services provided by your company, and how has the company evolved?

Since its inception in 2002, ChemPartner has evolved from a pure Chemistry provider to a global, drug discovery and development service organization with laboratories and business operations in China, the US, UK, Europe, and Japan. Our portfolio of services includes chemistry, biology, pharmacology, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and exploratory toxicology, as well as biologics discovery, development, and manufacturing. Our growth and transformation have been fueled by successfully operating a business model based on operational excellence, customer satisfaction, and value creation.

Over the past twenty years in business, ChemPartner has acquired deep institutional knowledge and experience and has built a record of success. Our scientific leadership team has breadth and depth of knowledge in drug discovery gained through years of pharmaceutical industry experience. This enables our scientists to provide intellectual input to our clients, and jointly solve complex scientific and technical problems.

How does ChemPartner remain competitive and continue to grow?

As a science-driven, technology-based CRO and CDMO, we are committed to provide innovative solutions to serve the rapidly changing needs of our clients. We build for the future by remaining at the forefront of science and technology. To this end, we listen to our clients, participate in industry meetings, consult our Scientific Advisory Board, and follow industry news to identify emerging trends and to ensure that we remain current and competitive. Further, we attract talent with key expertise and develop future leaders through mentoring, training, and educational programs.

ChemPartner’s growth strategies are executed by our experienced business development professionals who are trained across the company’s broad portfolio of services and are positioned in major pharmaceutical hubs around the world to serve a large and diverse client base. Coupled with a holistic, multi-channel marketing strategy, the team works closely with the scientific leaders to accelerate our growth and reinforce ChemPartner’s favorable reputation and leading position in the industry.

ChemPartner’s success is powered by the success of our clients. We continue to align our goals, develop innovative solutions, and execute tailored strategies to enable our clients to successfully bring new medicines to market.

“We are committed to providing innovative solutions to serve the rapidly changing needs of our clients”

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”