Sandra Clarke
VP, Finance & Chief Financial Officer
Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
Sandra Clarke is the CFO and Vice President of Finance for Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. Sandra has served in numerous roles within the healthcare industry and has more than 20 years of experience in finance and accounting. Her background includes diverse leadership positions with companies including Philips Healthcare and Siemens Water Technologies. Sandra holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from MIT and a Master of Science in Accounting from Bentley University.
How has the role of financial executive within the life science industry evolved over the last few years?
I believe the role has grown more strategic and more externally focused over the last few years. Internal transactional excellence is considered “table stakes” – you have to have that in place to even have a seat at the executive table. Now, more time is devoted to long range planning, scenarios, customer interactions, etc.
Describe an initiative or project you will be focusing on in 2014.
We have several system projects going live this year to improve our efficiency and to improve financial transparency within our company. Executing those flawlessly will be a major focus.
From your perspective, what are some areas of financial opportunity for the life science industry in 2014-2015?
We have to continue to rethink our business in 2014 – 2015, which means considering new business models and being open to revamp processes to become more efficient. The cost pressures are not going away.
How has the changing healthcare landscape (including the Affordable Care Act) affected your organization?
The expense of healthcare, particularly in western economies, has affected most organizations in life sciences. Life sciences used to be an environment where companies could continually launch more complex and more technologically advanced devices, or new drugs, without worrying much about the price. Now, it’s critically important to articulate the health economic outcomes, as consumers and payers are becoming more particular about how and where they spend their healthcare dollars.
How has your financial team contributed to improving operational excellence within your company?
My team contributes every day to operational excellence. They model the behaviors we want to see in the organization around cost sensitivity and process improvement. In addition, they use their business knowledge to partner with the rest of the organization to continually relook at how and why we do things.
What are you most looking forward to regarding the 5th Annual Life Science Financial Forum?
I’m looking forward to hearing other people’s experiences around these topics. There are always so many ideas from which I can learn, and I’m particularly looking forward to the discussion on talent development and retention.
Sandra will be one of our distinguished presenters at the 5th Annual Life Science Financial Forum.
