Expertly Said

What separates good communication from communication that actually connects? Jay Sullivan is a consultant at Exec|Comm , where he leads the firm’s law firm group and previously served as managing partner. He is also the award-winning author of S imply Said: Communicating Better at Work and Beyond , with a second edition arriving in October 2026. In this episode, Jay joins Kristen to talk about com...

When was the last time you allowed yourself to pause, rather than rushing to provide an immediate response or solution?  Kristin Graham is the founder of Unlock the Brain and the host of the podcast Fewer Things Better. After a career in journalism and more than two decades leading culture and communications at companies like Amazon and Expedia, she realized the most interesting story she could te...

Every message that lands starts with the communicator listening closely enough to understand the people they are trying to reach.  Jennifer Gremmels is a communications leader with deep experience across internal and external communications, change management, media relations, and crisis communications. She currently serves as Director of Regulatory Communications at AbbVie , where she leads a tea...

Ever finish a meeting, read an email, or watch a presentation and walk away genuinely unsure what the person was trying to say? Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speaker, and speechwriter who helps professionals simplify and sharpen their points to make their words matter. A former speechwriter and national champion public speaker, Joel now coaches clients across healthcare, f...

A clear value proposition makes all downstream marketing and content initiatives easier.  Maria Elena Cruz Lopez is the Director of Digital Marketing at Harvard Business School, where she helps shape the digital experience for HBS audiences—students, alumni, and the broader business community—and works with marketers across the school to sharpen how they engage and measure digital efforts. She bri...

Right now, the person writing about your industry at 2 a.m. on Reddit may be more visible in AI search results than your brand.  Jonathan Ernst , Deputy Director of Strategic and Digital Communications at Bayer , is a storyteller at heart and an architect of brand authority by experience. Over 14 years, he's navigated the evolution of digital connection from the rise of social media to the current...

How do you lead people toward a future you can’t fully see yet? Jenn Azar is CEO of Stellix , a company that helps life sciences manufacturers build the digital foundation and operating models needed to apply AI in ways that improve real-world performance. With more than two decades of leadership experience, she’s known for turning vision into reality and building purpose-driven teams.  In this ep...

How do you build trust in the age of AI? Lead with originality and authenticity.  Justin Vajko ’s mission is to give a voice to 10,000 entrepreneurs who deserve it. Founder of Dialog Video Marketing , he developed the Content Buddy System, which helps even the busiest B2B entrepreneurs produce thoughtful short videos that build trust with buyers online. He now teaches that same system on podcasts...

Sometimes, the most effective leaders are the ones who are willing to say, “I don’t know.”  As Executive Director of Global Medical Excellence at ITF Therapeutics , Mary Jane Salinas, PharmD, provides strategic leadership across scientific communications, publications strategy, and medical affairs, partnering with cross-functional and global teams to ensure that science is communicated with clarit...

When your audience has less than a minute to spare, less is almost always more. Sean Sheffler-Collins , PhD, is Director of Global Scientific Communications and Content at Astellas Pharma . A global medical affairs professional with 14+ years of medical communications experience, Sean leads integrated, omnichannel scientific content strategy across therapeutic areas and the product life cycle. Bef...

If you’re using AI primarily to write a little faster, polish a little tighter, or summarize a little smarter, you could be missing out on a major opportunity.  Dan Gaynor is an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and founder of Kelp—now Signal AI —a company whose data analytics platform helps enterprises to better understand where their reputation stands and how to strengthen it. In this...

How might your approach to pharma communications shift if you suddenly found yourself on the patient side? Sara Noonan has dedicated nearly two decades to building patient communications in rare disease and oncology,  holding roles as the Senior Director of Product and Pipeline Communications for Servier Pharmaceuticals and Director of Public Relations and Investor Relations in the oncology busine...

What if the biggest barrier to effective communication is how quickly we react?  DeeDee Fisher , founder of Discover Response , is a strategic communication leader, executive coach, and entrepreneur with three decades of experience guiding executives and teams to communicate with compassion and clarity. Her speaking and coaching work centers on teaching people to move communication beyond the reac...

In a fully remote organization, the hallway doesn't exist. Neither does the break room, the impromptu lunch, or the moment you sit next to someone new in a meeting. So how do you actually build a culture? Kristen Oeltjen-Bruns is the US President of Ashfield Medical Communications , where she leads a 160-person organization working across 20 to 30 client teams. With more than 25 years in medical c...

How can pharma companies build marketing and communications strategies that truly put patients first?  Sara Zelkovic is a communications leader with more than a decade of experience supporting life sciences and biotech organizations through critical growth milestones. As Associate Director of Research and Development Communications at Astellas , she leads global scientific communication strategy a...

The best leaders aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones still asking questions. Eileen Habelow, PhD , is the CEO and founder of Leadership-Link and co-founder of Know 2 Grow . With over 30 years of experience improving the performance of people managers, teams, and leaders across more than 110 companies—most in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries—Eileen helps smart profession...

What happens when your side project starts feeling more like your real calling than your full-time job? Zach Randles-Friedman is a podcast host, content creator, and corporate communications professional with nearly 25 years of experience across banking, pharmaceuticals, and biotech. He's the voice behind two podcasts: Everything and Anything…and A Bit Gay and Listen Up Girl .  In this episode, Za...

Why does the same communication approach work in one region and fall flat in another? Stephanie Roberts is the Chief Communications Officer at Hitachi , where she leads teams responsible for brand, public relations, digital and social media, executive communications, reputation and crisis communications, and internal communications across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.  In this episode, Ste...

How do you create messaging that breaks through the noise and actually sticks? Steve Woodruff , President of Clarity Fuel Inc. and author of Clarity Wins and The Point, has spent decades focused on one core idea: clear communication is the most valuable professional skill. His work spans sales, marketing, consulting, and training, all focused on helping people translate complexity into language ot...

What makes a story truly resonate?  Evon Burton is Associate Director of Patient Marketing at Bristol Myers Squibb , where he leads integrated initiatives that connect brand strategy with real patient needs, blending data-driven insight, cultural fluency, and regulatory rigor. An accomplished marketing and communications leader, Evon has more than a decade of experience driving patient and consume...

What guiding principles inform your work?  D’Shonda Brown , Corporate Communications Manager at Tris Pharma , is a storyteller, strategist, and speaker who explores the intersection of creativity, technology, and representation. With a background in journalism and corporate communications, she's passionate about helping others harness the power of authentic storytelling to inspire change and shape...

When engaging busy stakeholders, clear communication is essential.  Davina Stanley , Director at Clarity First , advises executives and product managers on communicating high-quality insights that lead to better, faster decisions. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience—including time supporting consultants at McKinsey—she is an expert at bringing clarity to complexity and surfacing the big id...

What happens when you ask “why”—and then keep asking it? From her early career as a dietitian to her current role leading medical communications at Parexel , Nichola Gokool has built her work around the belief that understanding the “why” behind people’s needs, behaviors, and decisions is the foundation of impactful communication. In this episode, Nichola joins Kristen Sweeney to discuss how this...

What role, if any, should AI play in developing biotech and pharma manuscripts?  Svetlana Pidasheva , PhD, is the Director of Scientific Communications at Radius Health , with 19 years in biotech and pharma across multiple therapeutic areas and company stages, and a PhD in experimental medicine from McGill University.  In this episode, Dr. Pidasheva joins Kristen to discuss the rigorous, human-led...

Scientific discovery creates knowledge, but communication determines whether that knowledge actually helps people. Dr. Rajiv Saini , Chief Scientific Officer at H2Ocean and a Harvard Medical School graduate specializing in clinical operations and industry leadership, has significant experience leading R&D operations, creating high-value research propositions, and uncovering new pathways for sc...