The Ability To Pivot

Amel Lamrad always knew she wanted to do work that would have a positive impact on society. Today, in Genentech Research and Early Development (gRED), she fosters an environment where scientists can focus on the research and translation of promising new therapeutics for serious and life-threatening diseases.

“My team and I are always looking to get ahead of the curve,” says Amel, gRED’s vice president and head of business operations and communications. “Our job is to see around the corner, to make sure we are successful, especially in challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, was a great test for us.” Her team rapidly pivoted to ensure R&D could continue in the face of social distancing guidelines, health safety protocols, and shifting global priorities.

Amel’s road to becoming a gRED leader was non-linear – and as dynamic as she is. Rather than following a straightforward prescription, she bounded ahead by welcoming a variety of life and career experiences that ultimately shaped her into a beloved, positive and people-oriented leader.

LIFETIME OF LEAPS

Born in Algeria, Amel spent her early years in various locations – including London, Paris and the United Arab Emirates – before moving to Canada at the age of 13. She attended high school and college in Canada, and grew up fluently speaking English, Arabic and French. Along the way, she watched her parents leave their marks on the world. “My dad worked as a petroleum engineer, and my mom was a teacher. I grew up in a house with parents who were focused on making an impact in their community,” she says.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and environmental science, Amel seized a variety of opportunities to explore how to make her own impact on the greater good. First, she spent time as a kindergarten teacher, following in her mother’s footsteps. “I delighted in learning from children, and this taught me to always invite fresh perspectives,” Amel says. Managing input from school administrators and students’ parents imbued her with a strong set of influence and negotiation skills.

While she found great joy in teaching, she was curious about other careers and eager to try something new. She ventured into science and joined an embryology lab as a technician. While the science was fascinating, she missed the dynamic atmosphere of the classroom and the strong personal connections she nurtured as a teacher. So she next joined a diverse international media company that was launching content platforms for U.S. and Middle East audiences. (She recalls meeting musical artist Sting when he sang “Desert Rose” on the TODAY Show). There, Amel built her abilities to navigate and adapt to changing circumstances and uncertainties while focusing on achieving measurable and impactful results for the organization.

But Amel’s heart kept calling to find a career in science and healthcare. When Amel was 10 years old, her mother had a breast cancer scare. Her memory of that experience, along with witnessing the positive impact of medicine in treating her mother, continued to loom large in Amel’s mind.

So she decided to leave her media job to join a diagnostics company, reentering the healthcare industry. As she climbed the ranks to become a division head in product development, Amel’s life was touched by breast cancer again when a friend got sick.

At the top of the list of treatment options for her friend’s breast cancer? A medicine made by Genentech. Witnessing the positive impact of medicine, especially one from Genentech, inspired her to pursue a career there despite having no prior drug development experience.

THE RIGHT PLACE

To get up to speed, Amel attended a drug development class at University of California, Berkeley. Her instructor, who also worked at Genentech, suggested a contractor role might be a way to get in the door.

“It felt like Genentech was the right place to be,” Amel says. She accepted a contractor role contributing to numerous drug development teams as a project manager. “My job was to help the team develop a strategy, convert it to action, pressure testing and elevating the thinking in the room.”

From the start, she clicked with Genentech’s culture of innovation and making an impact for patients. Within a year, she converted from a contractor to a full-time employee.

“I really enjoyed my role but was interested in seeing the bigger picture, so I lobbied to join the portfolio strategy team,” she says. “And I’ve learned not to be afraid of asking for the things I want. When someone offers me a new opportunity, I negotiate and make sure I’ll be working on the things that are satisfying and meaningful to me.”

During the first decade she worked at Genentech, she made significant contributions to multiple programs in oncology, immunotherapy and ophthalmology, showcasing her ability to shape the lifecycle of medicines. “I helped the team to think about what’s next for this medicine’s life cycle; I worked on the submissions to regulatory authorities. I had the privilege of seeing the whole lifecycle of a medicine and working at the heart of it to help shape the direction those molecules went in. I have so many proud moments working on the portfolio side,” she says.

She earned a reputation across Genentech for her ability to define shared goals across diverse teams, build strong teams, and bring strategic plans to fruition. In 2016, her shoulder was tapped for a strategic business operations role within Genentech’s Early Clinical Development (ECD) team. “I was still building and optimizing teams, but I was flexing a new set of muscles. In partnership with the ECD leadership team, I got to help reshape the organization, and establish the guiding values and mission for what the ECD team wanted to achieve.”

She took on that new role at a critical time for ECD. Under new leadership, ECD was evolving to better serve the needs of the portfolio. “It was about making sure people felt heard, getting people to rally around the common goal of driving molecules through the portfolio pipeline, figuring out how to optimize that process, and understanding the key values and culture components that would enable success,” Amel says.

LEADING WITH GENEROSITY

More than two years ago, she was tapped again, this time to take the helm of business operations and communication within gRED and serve as Chief of Staff to Aviv Regev, executive vice president and head of gRED. Now, she leads a team that ensures gRED has the right systems, tools and lab spaces. She recruits and develops team leaders, equipping them with the support and skills they need to thrive. She shapes gRED’s catalyst organizations – business operations, communications, learning and development, and infrastructure – striving for team members to recognize the crucial impact each individual role contributes to gRED’s mission.

As a gRED Leadership Team member, Amel also works closely with her peers to develop the gRED strategy and operationalize it. Together, they proactively shape drug discovery and development throughout Roche, Genentech’s parent company.

While wearing many hats within gRED, Amel also spends a significant amount of time mentoring team members and actively participating in Genentech’s Women in Science and Engineering group.

“When people come to me to talk about challenges they’re navigating in their careers, my goal is to ask them enough questions to elucidate what they already know. I try not to give people answers – I want them to get there on their own,” she says.

Mirroring the time and energy she spends lifting up colleagues at Genentech, Amel’s generosity and passion for helping others also reverberates in her personal life. She actively engages in community activities and regularly volunteers whenever possible.

A doting mother of five, she also loves traveling and spending time with family and shopping for thoughtful gifts that surprise and delight her children, who range in age from 5 to 22. The mix of ages and personalities keeps Amel on her toes.

“They all need different things, and I love seeing each of them thrive in their own unique way,” she says.