Leadership Lab 🔪- Dissecting life science success stories

About Leadership Lab 🔪- Dissecting life science success stories

Join Maurice Thornton, founder and managing director of headcount AG, as he hosts top leaders and innovators in pharma, biotech, medtech, and digital health. Each episode delves deep into the personal journeys behind groundbreaking achievements in life sciences. From unexpected challenges to pivotal breakthroughs, Maurice uncovers the hidden ingredients of success, asking the questions others don’t. Curious how they made it? So are we 😉 Tune in every month for candid conversations that reveal the untold stories behind some of the industry’s most transformative leaders.

Publisher

Maurice Thornton

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Dec 2024

Latest episode

13 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Aug 2026

   10 career lessons from life science leaders

   This episode is a little different. Instead of sitting down with one guest, Maurice looks back at some of the conversations that have stayed with him most — and the lessons that keep coming up again and again. From taking career risks and building your network before you need it, to asking for help, hiring people better than you, seeking feedback and knowing when it’s time to get uncomfortable, this episode brings together some of the strongest moments from leadership lab so far. Featuring insights from Catherine Leduc, Jana Herrmann, Annick Whyte, Armend Håti, Marc Bauer, Michelle Bridenbaker, Tiago Nunes, Veronica Gambillara Fonck, Daniela Marino, Adrian Cuadra Leon and Agata Baranowska. Maurice reacts to each clip, shares his own perspective from nearly 20 years in recruitment, and connects the themes that have appeared across these conversations. A few things worth stealing, indeed. What’s one lesson you’re taking away from this episode?

2. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Why Regulatory affairs Is the “Science Lawyer” of pharma | Neila Benabadji

   What does regulatory affairs actually involve, and why does Neila Benabadji describe it as being a “science lawyer”? In this episode of leadership lab, Maurice Thornton speaks with Neila, VP and Head of Regulatory Affairs Europe at Cytokinetics, about the strategy behind bringing medicines to patients. From her early career at Pfizer to leaving big pharma for biotech, Neila shares what she has learned about risk, impact and leadership along the way. They explore how regulatory strategy shapes drug development, the realities of working with health authorities and why scientific expertise alone is not enough to build a successful career in regulatory affairs. 🫵🏻 Hiring in life sciences? Get in touch at hello@headcount.ch. 👔Explore life sciences opportunities: https://www.headcount.ch/life-science-jobs (https://www.headcount.ch/life-science-jobs) #leadershiplab #RegulatoryAffairs #LifeSciences

3. 

   5 Jun 2026

   Christopher Hertz on Medtech, wound care & the reality of building a startup

   In this episode of leadership lab, Maurice Thornton speaks with Christopher Hertz, Founder and Managing Director of Piomic, about what it really takes to build a medtech startup. Christopher shares his journey from molecular biology at ETH Zurich to co-founding piomic, a company working in advanced wound care. What started as a nine-month “let’s see if this works” idea became a much longer journey through prototypes, investors, clinical studies, FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, and the reality of trying to bring a medical device to patients. Together, Maurice and Christopher talk about non-healing wounds, the hidden burden of diabetic wound care, why staying close to physicians, nurses and patients matters, and why healthcare innovation cannot happen only from behind a desk. They also discuss the founder side of the story: building the right team, making difficult decisions, raising money, creating a board, almost giving up, travelling endlessly, and learning how to keep going when things get heavy. Need to hire exceptional talent in pharma, biotech, medtech, or digital health? Write to us at hello@headcount.ch — we’d love to hear what you’re building. Follow leadership lab and share this episode with someone who might find it useful.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

17,812

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 53 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

76

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.