In this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Rondu Vincent, executive director, Global Supplier Diversity and Sustainability. 

Growing up in both Queens, New York, and Plainfield, New Jersey, Rondu has seen homelessness, drugs and unemployment in his community. He realized early on he had a choice to either panic or persevere and decided to align with individuals who were more progressive. Rondu wouldn’t change his upbringing because it taught him resiliency and that he could rise above those circumstances. He credits his upbringing for making him a shrewd negotiator and eventually choosing a career in procurement. Rondu uses his procurement skills with a desire for servant leadership in a manner that elevates the Black, minority and underrepresented communities. He attributes Bristol Myers Squibb as a company that celebrates and appreciates differences with the resources to create real change. Rondu advises, if faced with a daunting task or negative circumstances, you must decide “do we panic and let it fester or do we persevere because we have a bigger role to play and impact to create.”

Rondu is boldly passionate about leveraging his platform to change lives of the underrepresented and marginalized. “I am fighting for something bigger than me. My goal is to talk myself out of a job,” said Rondu. “The day there is no longer a need for supplier diversity is the day diversity is part of the culture and society in general.” Rondu continues to challenge the status quo and is okay with being in difficult situations. He stated, “As long as we are being comfortable, I don’t think we are challenging the status quo enough.”

Rondu advises to make sure to give back in some way and don’t forget to “Reach back to pull up,” he states.  His work in the Power to Impact program is just one of the ways Rondu gives back and gives voices to diverse populations. The Power to Impact program’s influence goes beyond a procurement supplier diversity standpoint and reaches out to the community by hosting events such as health screening for the homeless and reading literacy.

In Part 2 of this two-part episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Nnenna Kalu, Commercial Leadership Development Program associate and Youssef Jouichate, aCTivate associate, Science and Technology, both early careers hires at BMS.

Born in West Africa, but sent to the UK for boarding school, Nnenna never forgot where she came from. She was led to the United States for PharmD studies and has since earned an MHA and an MBA.  During her attendance at National MBA conference, she was introduced to Bristol Myers Squibb. Nnenna wanted to be in environment that would foster her professional growth. She was able to have real candid conversations with the company, which led to working on the worldwide VAP team and eventually full-time employment. Nnenna is impressed with the number of women in senior positions and feels Bristol Myers Squibb is an environment that pushes women to be their best and have work life balance. Nnenna advises new career hires to always remember what it felt like to be new and as they progress in their career to have empathy for new colleagues. 

Youssef was born in Morocco, Africa, and came to the U.S. at age 3.  Attending the Drexel University co-op program first led him to real world manufacturing experience in active pharmaceutical ingredients, biopharmaceutical manufacturing and opportunity in labs. Eventually, Youssef secured an internship opportunity through Pan Asian Network, a mentorship program at Bristol Myers Squibb. Youssef advises being comfortable with getting uncomfortable, whether that is trying something new, volunteering or mentoring and believes in making changes in the world around him where possible.

In this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Gaetano Crupi, general manager, Brazil, and Fernanda da Silva Joao, senior manager, Global Procurement, Brazil site.

As a son of immigrants, Gaetano Crupi grew up embracing two cultures, Brazilian and Italian.  He was the first member of his family to graduate from a university and began a pursuit of an international career.  Gaetano is an advocate for diversity and inclusion and has a passion for eliminating any type of discrimination in his environment. Whether it is looking for new ways to attract Black talent by offering to pay for English classes to qualified talent or looking to see if there is diverse representation when hiring, promoting or offering tour of duties, Gaetano is passionate about stopping racial discrimination, one person, one job, one mentorship at a time. Gaetano states, “Lets go after minority talent. Talent attracts other talent.”

Fernanda da Silva Joao joined Bristol Myers Squibb for the opportunity to work in her passion and purpose. Receiving mentorship and support for her personal development, Fernanda is passionate about supporting others to succeed in their career. As PBRG lead, Fernanda is able to work in her passion to move forward diversity and inclusion in Brazil. She speaks of diversification of suppliers to provide innovative solutions for patients. Although the Black and Brown population is a majority in Brazil, we still have opportunities to improve racial and gender inequalities and to connect with those that are unseen by others. Fernando is optimistic about the progress she sees with diversity and inclusion and attributes some of that progress here with engaging leadership. She states, “We have seen great progress. I see more opportunities that my kids will have when I was their age.”

In Part 1 of this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Carla Ayala, manager GPS Emerging Leaders Program and Stefan Ade, Business Insights & Analytics MBA Rotational Development Program, two recent early career hires at BMS.

Born in Ecuador, South America, and educated in Mexico, Carla came to the United States as a Harvard Medical School intern where she was exposed to both academics and the manufacturing production field.  But it was going after new credentials in the biotechnology business that brought her to Bristol Myers Squibb. Craving a sense of community, Carla found Bristol Myers Squibb a workplace where she was able find a sense of community.  She is an active member of the PBRB Organization for Latino Achievement or OLA, where she is able to leverage this community’s talent to create opportunities for top international students at highly competitive universities find pathways to be considered for roles within the company.

Born in Cameroon, West Africa, Stefan received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Stefan worked as a technician which led him to pharmacy school, internships and MBA program. It was one of his mentors that recommended an internship at Bristol Myers Squibb.  Stefan describes his internship as an amazing experience, which led to a full-time role in Business Insights & Analytics MBA Rotational Development Program. Stefan seeks to bring his experiences at Howard University pharmacy school and his business education to Bristol Myers Squibb and bring value to projects that create innovations for unmet patient needs.  He talks about the power of mentorship and connecting with a diverse network of people who shared an interest in helping him develop. Stefan enjoys sharing his experiences and is paying it forward by participating in the Tomorrow Innovator Initiative where he works on the pillar created to increase visibility and recruit the next generation of minority talent.

In this month’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Adam Taliaferro, director, Strategic Alliance lead, U.S. Policy & Government Affairs. Passionate about playing football, Adam was offered a scholarship to play at Penn State bringing him closer to realizing his dream of possibly playing professionally. At the fifth game in his freshman year against rival Ohio State, Adam made a routine helmet-to-helmet tackle that would change the course of his life. He had broken his neck — a similar injury suffered by the late Christopher Reeve. Given only a 3% chance of ever walking again, Adam fought insurmountable odds to not only walk, but to walk well.

Adam’s hope that he would walk again was fueled by the constant support of people, family and friends that encouraged him every day. “No one person can get through this type of injury by themselves,” Adam explains. His desire to help patients overcome adversary led to an advocacy position at Bristol Myers Squibb in U.S. Policy & Governance Affairs. Adam educates patient advocates on health policy and how to make their voices heard to state policy makers about the importance of access.