Speaker: Derrick Richardson | 2024 Biomed. Conf.

Derrick Richardson

About the Speaker

Derrick has spent the last 30 years working in medical devices and drug development as a technical subject matter expert, project manager, independent consultant, and functional leader. He has worked in FTE and consultant roles at Stryker Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Genentech, Bristol Myers Squibb, and multiple start-up companies. He currently serves as Vice President, Program and Portfolio Management with Alumis Inc, a clinical-stage VC-funded biotech developing oral therapies for autoimmune diseases through the application of a precision medicine approach. At Alumis he leads a talented team responsible for complex

cross-functional program management, portfolio governance and decision-making, and alliance management. He believes that people, relationships, and emotional intelligence are central to excellence in project management. Derrick is dedicated to doing the difficult work required to combat limiting stereotypes and institutional bias. His lived experience and lessons learned from many mistakes and failures serve as a renewable source of fuel and passion for forging company environments ripe with opportunities for representation, inclusion, and growth for people from historically marginalized and overlooked groups. Derrick is a native of Brooklyn, NYC. He earned his BS in Product Design from Stanford University and a Master of Engineering in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University. He also holds the Project Management Professional (PMP©) certification from the Project Management Institute.

Abstract: Project Management as a Driver of Organizational and Societal Sustainability
A widely held belief is that Project Management is limited to managing schedules and budgets, tracking information and meeting facilitation. Forward thinking organizations recognize the tremendous added value of leveraging Project Management as an enterprise-level capability that integrates functional workflows, optimizes human resources and provides the decision-making machinery that connects tactical execution with organizational strategy and vision. Intelligent deployment of fit-for-purpose Project Management capability in organizations of all sizes can be a force for sustainability of the organization itself. Correctly deployed Project Management can enable efficient utilization of capital and talent through creating a vehicle for disciplined, smart growth and avoiding many forms of waste. Good project management is about assembling and influencing teams with diverse technical skills, styles and viewpoints and maximizing their effectiveness. Organizational success is tied to ensuring that the device or drug that is the output of a team’s effort is deliberately designed for the populations that need it, development timelines are optimized to balance risk and reward, and impacted groups can actually access the solution. Achieving these ends drives sustainability in the workforce and patient populations with unmet needs. Project Management leadership can influence company strategy and catalyze success through conscious recognition of sustainable business models and cultures that don’t stop at profitability – they actually work in service to society.