Jackie Lee
Director, Entyvio Launch Lead
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Personalized Leadership for Large Teams
The backbone of the launch of the Entyvio Pen (a maintenance therapy for adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), Jackie Lee led her first launches in the pharmaceutical industry with excellence by leveraging her unique marketing experience from the consumer package goods industry and inspiring her team with a sense of curiosity, bias for action, and fresh thinking.
Leveraging aspects of design thinking, taking a “what would have to be true?” approach to solving complex issues, was core to how Jackie led her team to success. She believes that approaching challenges in this way reframes them as opportunities which can then be tackled via new ways of thinking and acting, unencumbered by invalid assumptions and perceived obstacles.
“Jackie knows what good looks like and continues to keep a large, multi-layered, cross-functional team grounded to ensure focus on priorities and results while continuing to learn, optimize, and pivot when needed.”
When FDA approval was received, the team efficiently sprang into action and all came together seamlessly and effectively with Jackie as the conductor, orchestrating a strong plan which was fine-tuned through exercises such as “mock launch” and “speed dating” workshops. Then, during the days and weeks following approval, she executed a “feedback loop” via daily meetings to gather, address, and act quickly on insights through the identification and prioritization of action-oriented solutions. Jackie knows what good looks like and continues to keep a large, multi-layered, cross-functional team grounded to ensure focus on priorities and results while continuing to learn, optimize, and pivot when needed.
Beyond counting her success by the numbers, Jackie has made a deep impact on the team members who greatly respect and appreciate her guidance, grace, and grit. As one person stated, “Jackie has a special talent and skill for recognizing the negative or challenge of a situation while simultaneously refocusing the team on the positive path forward. This combination is key to her successful leadership—gaining the trust of her audience without fanning the flames of discontent but rather, motivating solution-based action.”
Jackie’s leadership remains pivotal to the evolving Entyvio story; she’s integral to strongly positioning the brand to continue to meet varying medical needs, circumstances, and personal preferences of people living with UC and Crohn’s through their lifelong journey.
