About this episode
"People make the difference." We sit down with Berendia Jackson, a high-impact sales leader in the biotech industry.Berendia shares her unique journey from the lab bench to leading commercial teams for global life science giants. We discuss the critical balance between technical expertise and soft skills, how the "customer journey" has evolved over two decades (from Palm Pilots to AI), and the honest reality of being a minority in executive leadership. This is a must-watch for anyone looking to understand the human side of high-stakes scientific sales and the future of diversity in the boardroom.00:00:00 - Introduction: Meeting a powerhouse leader00:01:10 - The Journey: From aspiring doctor to life science sales00:01:55 - "People Make the Difference": The technical vs. commercial balance00:02:54 - Lessons from a Field Application Scientist (FAS) role00:04:18 - 20 Years of Change: From Palm Pilots and paper maps to digital tools00:05:40 - The Modern Customer: More knowledgeable and AI-empowered00:06:45 - AI in Sales: Will robots replace the human connection?00:08:44 - The Peak of Human Intelligence? AI’s potential for EQ00:10:47 - Transactional vs. Million-Dollar Deals: Where AI fits00:13:51 - AI in Healthcare: Predictive modeling and self-diagnosis00:16:30 - Diversity in Leadership: Breaking the glass ceiling00:18:28 - Executive Champions: The importance of diversity in thought and background00:19:40 - Mentoring the Next Generation: Volunteering with Women in Bio00:20:55 - Why the Boardroom Needs to Reflect the Real World00:22:50 - The Responsibility of Representation: Doing the job well first00:25:15 - Overcoming Unconscious Bias in Hiring00:26:55 - Healthcare Disparity: Diversity’s impact on clinical trials00:28:05 - The Next Chapter: Moving downstream toward diagnostics00:30:45 - Leading from the Trenches: Berendia’s leadership philosophy#SalesLeadership #LifeSciences #Biotech #DiversityInSTEM #AIinHealthcare #WomenInBio #CommercialExcellence #DiversityAndInclusion #CareerJourney #NorthStarScientific We'd be honoured if you checked us out:Pat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-tea/North Star Scientific on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIpR59D5c6N8iuYVBEVIShQNorth Star Scientific on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/north-star-scientific/Let's Navigate Science Careers Together!
