Mar 21, 2022
WOW Series with Julie Kim, President, U.S. Business Unit, Takeda
Moving at a young age from Seoul, Korea to Cleveland, Ohio, Julie Kim often felt different. Much of her successful career and life has been shaped by that experience of being an outsider.
As the only non-medical doctor in her family, she has also forged a different career path. She started her career in consulting, where the fast pace and opportunity to work on difficult, complex problems was a good fit for her intellectual curiosity. But despite her perception of the pharmaceutical industry as ‘too big, too bureaucratic and too slow,’ a persistent recruiter persuaded her to take an interview at Baxter – and the rest is history.
The opportunity to make a difference has seen her progress through different roles at Baxter, Shire, and now Takeda, where as part of the executive team she was also tasked with creating a new business unit focusing on plasma-based medicines.
In this podcast Julie explains how diversity drives better decisions – but only if organisations have the courage to accept and embrace it. She also describes the experience that led her to fundamentally change her approach to leadership, the importance of trust, and how finding purpose in her work has helped her achieve both happiness and success.
*At the time of recording, Julie's title was President, Plasma-Derived Therapies Business Unit, Takeda. Her new title is President, U.S. Business Unit, Takeda.