Season 02: episode 04
In this special bumper episode, GOLD celebrates International Women’s Day by speaking to two influential and inspirational women working in the pharmaceutical industry.
Helena catches up with Nikki Jones, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, who explores the role of International Women’s Day, the importance of challenging discrimination and her hopes for the future of the workplace.
Aliya Omer, Vice President and Head of Global Portfolio and Program Strategy at Kite Pharma also joins the podcast to discuss how she has navigated gender biases through her career, some of her working mottos and what she would like to pass on to the next generation of female pharma executives.
In addition to all these inspirational conversations, Helena catches up with Assistant Editor Isabel O’Brien to look back on some of GOLD’s most notable features on diversity and inclusion to celebrate International Women’s Day.
A little more on GOLD’s guests…
Nikki Jones is the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the HBA, and is focused on ensuring DE&I initiatives are upheld and infused into every aspect of her company’s business operations. Having joined the HBA in 2009 as the first staff director of finance, her role has transformed over the years and has seen her progress through the HBA’s departments from finance, marketing and communications to technology and, most recently, HR and talent management. She holds a degree in accounting from the Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, where she earned the Certified HR Professional designation.
Aliya Omer is the Vice President and Head of Global Portfolio and Program Strategy at Kite Pharma – a Gilead company focused on cell therapy targeting tumours. She has lived and worked across four continents over her extensive career of almost 20 years in the pharmaceutical and consumer health industries, but now calls Los Angeles home. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science Engineering and Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from INSEAD.
