Gertjan Bartlema
Vice President Information Knowledge Utilization
Celgene Corporation
Utilizing the Power of Data
A revolution is underway in modern healthcare, where Big Data is fulfilling many of the promises of personalized, outcomes-based medicine. Gertjan Bartlema is leading a bold initiative at Celgene—information Knowledge Utilization, or in short “iKU” (as in, IQ)—using Big Data to fuel new opportunities and transform how Celgene thinks, acts, and leads with data to continue to improve outcomes and address patients’ unmet medical needs.
If you’ve been watching closely, you’ve surely glimpsed the data-driven innovations that are transforming healthcare. Widespread adoption of digital recordkeeping and cloud-based platforms allows an unprecedented amount of data to be connected and analyzed. Real-world evidence and “-omics” data (from EHRs, digital devices, and genomes) are being leveraged alongside traditional clinical trial data, and healthcare data and innovations are increasingly open to new players.
For more than a decade, Gertjan’s tenure at Celgene has demonstrated tremendous leadership across several franchises and business operations. Today, he leads the bold ambition to harness the recent advancements in data, analytics, and technology. To design and implement these company-wide changes, Gertjan has a multi-workflow team, and each workflow is comprised of its own subject matter experts. Every iKU team member is passionate and looks for ways to do more, thanks to Gertjan’s unique touch as a motivator and team builder.
His management style is inclusive—recognizing everyone’s contributions and bringing them into his vision. It’s clear his team is eager to share and execute that vision. He’s comfortable in a heated discussion and quickly finds the alignment that keeps each discipline progressing toward a common goal.
Above it all, Gertjan removes the barriers and silos that are too often responsible for stifling or slowing down innovation. He understands that when you remove the obstacles and distractions, people are elevated to work together and deliver bigger, better solutions than they could reach on their own. Gertjan’s well-earned success is a reflection of his resolve to empower everyone around him to be leaders of an extraordinary company-wide transformation.
