PM360 DECEMBER 2010

THE SCENE

HBA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE BREAKS ATTENDANCE RECORD

Building upon the “Innovate, Orchestrate and Perform” theme, the 11th Leadership Conference sponsored by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) featured workshops, plenary sessions, one-on-one coaching sessions, and ongoing networking and social opportunities.Of the more than 900 registrants, more than 50% were first-time HBA Leadership Conference attendees. The disciplines of the conference were brought to life through programs to innovate to harness strengths and build personal skills, to orchestrate to help understand multiple perspectives and cross-functional teams, and to perform to ensure performance to produce measurable results.

Kicking off the conference was an innovative leadership training symphony with Maestro Roger Nierenberg at the podium. To Humperdinck’s magical opera, Hansel and Gretel, Nierenberg took the audience through a series of exercises to help build listening and team-building skills, using the orchestra as a microcosm of the workplace to show the importance of interconnection and individual performance and the value of different perspectives on the same experience.

Another conference highlight was The Moth (www.themoth.org) storytelling by three HBA members—Wendy White, founder and president of Siren Interactive; Una Ryan, OBE, PhD, DSc, CEO of Diagnostics for All; and Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, chief medical officer and senior vice president of Pfizer—who worked with The Moth’s Ophira Eisenberg to craft their own powerful stories in Moth style and who captivated the audience on the opening day’s luncheon session.

Created in 1999, the now annual conference focuses on building leadership skills for women and men who work in and support all aspects of the healthcare industry. This year, the use of emails blasts, production technology, and social media were prominent, culminating in over 300 Tweets.

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s HBA Leadership Conference, to be held at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center located near Washington DC, from November 9 to 11, 2011.

—Donna K. Ramer, President, StrategCations, and Editor in Chief, The HBAdvantage

The Scene highlights significant events in the pharma marketing industry. Companies interested in having event photos published in PM360 should contact editorial@PM360online.com for more details.