Business Development Manager Learned to Be Uncomfortable

Name: Adam Pirie (he/him)

PhD: Pharmaceutical Science, University of Tasmania, 2014

What was your main area of research?

My PhD was a drug-discovery project looking at the ability of extracts from Australian plants to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

My PhD essentially ran across 3 disciplines: plant physiology (how do we make the plants produce more of the compounds we’re interested in); organic chemistry (how do we purify these compounds and what are their structures); preclinical pharmacology/toxicology (are they safe, are they active).

What is your current job?

I am a Business Development Manager for Neuroscience Trials Australia (NTA) in Melbourne, Australia.

I am responsible for helping companies bring their therapies through the clinical development pipeline and engaging NTA to help with this. The role is a combination of relationship and trust building, strategy, marketing and commercial (finance)/operations.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love the diversity of what I do and it being at the intersection of science, business, and operations.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

The broad nature of my PhD meant I was effectively relationship building, problem solving, and project managing to enable my PhD to successfully complete. All these skills readily translated across to my post-PhD positions.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

I gained this experience from previous roles. This involved slowly and strategically building broader skills, leap-frogging roles in the direction I wanted (technical =>broader, more general), and formalising this with further study (Executive Master of Business Administration, etc.).

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

The role was advertised.

PhD ➡️ Regulatory Associate (industry) ➡️ Government grants role ➡️ Communications Manager early biotech ➡️senior role larger biotech (medical cannabis) across operations, regulation, business development, and product development ➡️ General Manager Australian pharma ➡️ Business Development NTA

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

1. Broaden your demonstrable skillset (finance, communications, marketing).

2. Think how to repackage your existing skills more broadly (e.g. PhD is complex project management, dealing with uncertainty and challenging stakeholders).

3. Try to handle large, complex datasets.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I only used my PhD to change career paths. I always wanted to be in industry/out of academia.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

1. Work on the general “soft” skills, network, start early, reach out and remember people (despite their various titles) are humans.

2. Learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable (i.e. doing the things that cause manageable levels of stress because that’s where we grow).

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

Consistency is key. It’s a marathon not a sprint.