Women in tech: Meet Sally

Tell us about your role at Datapharm

I'm responsible for marketing strategy and communications. Day-to-day that could be anything from promoting new products and brand building to doing videos like this!  

I've only been here about eight weeks and love it. I’ve found everyone to be really open to new ideas and new ways of working. The key tasks at the moment are learning to understand the business, setting up the marketing strategy for the year and deciding which campaigns we should be running to meet company goals.   

Can you briefly share your journey into the tech industry and what inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

I’m a scientist-turned-marketer. I started my career as an academic, completing a PhD in Psychiatry, where I investigated early markers of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's syndrome. I loved it - loved working with patients, loved planning projects, loved doing the research. Turns out, I also loved communicating about the science more than doing the science so following my degree I pursued a career in science communications.   

Until recently, I was Head of Marketing at a technology company that provides software solutions for clinical trials. Now, as Director of Strategic Marketing at Datapharm, it’s been great to bring together these experiences and apply them to the medicines information space.   

Can you share a recent project that you're proud of?

Pretty soon after starting at the company I ran a value proposition workshop collaboratively with stakeholders across the business. There were really great levels of engagement and ideas about how we might better communicate with customers. And, for me, that was really positive signalling that everyone is open and engaged and up for working together to drive things forward.   

What has surprised you most about working at Datapharm?  

I think what surprised me most is the culture. Everybody's really all in - they're all engaged in the company mission and committed to achieving it. I think this really comes through in the interview process.  

We do something called ‘dips’. This means, during your interview process, you meet lots of different people across the company for about 15 minutes each. Some people are involved directly in your role, some people aren't. Basically you're interviewing the company at this point and so it’s your opportunity to ask them anything you like about working here. I’ve been asked everything from “What do people wear in the office?” to “What's the company strategy?” And that's been really nice because you get exposure to lots of different people.   

This interview process is a very confident stance for the company to take because they feel very confident that everybody is brilliant and you'll love working with them, and also they're all engaged. I've not been interviewed anywhere else where they've been that open: meet whoever you want to meet, ask whatever you want. It's a big decision to join a new company and you want to be sure that it's the right place for you.  

What would you say to women who are not 100% sure about a career in the tech industry?  

For me personally, I've benefited a lot from women who have been mentors to me. All of the jobs I've taken on have focused heavily on “Are there women in leadership? Are there other dynamic women leading the business?” because that's important for my own personal development and my own values when I'm working somewhere. 

What would you say to someone who is considering whether to apply for a role at Datapharm? 

I believe it is important to have a few questions in your mind before you join, be curious and ask any questions you want to ask of everybody in the business. Be completely satisfied this is the place for you. I think you will be! I’m liking it so far.  

And when you get here, get involved. Everybody is really happy to have you in any meetings. I've been on customer calls, I've been involved in lots of internal meetings, and it's really the quickest way to learn about what the business does and where you fit in.

In a few words or a sentence, what does the future of medicines information look like to you? 

I'd like to see us move towards personalised medicines information so it’s more accessible and usable.  

With the advent of things like FHIR and tagging, you can start applying a lens on medicines information. This means you can focus on the elements of the patient information leaflet that are crucial for you and your health profile. That's kind of the whole point of having extremely high data quality and data tagging.  

You’ve then got a much cleaner data set and so, for you as a patient, the information becomes more usable because you're focusing on the elements that are important to you, rather than being swamped in reams of information that aren’t so important to you. So if you're not pregnant, you may not  need to read that section, for example. But if you are pregnant, you're very interested in that section and what it means.   

We’re building a vibrant community rooted in integrity and respect, dedicated to making a difference in medicines information. If you’re ready to elevate your career, explore our exciting opportunities. 

Visit our careers page today and become part of a story that’s unfolding—your story, our journey!