Humans of DH: Hany Anbar

Hany Anbar, Director, Data & Analytics

Every day, people hear things like “you have cancer” or “let’s try this to improve your health” from doctors, nurses, friends, family members, and media. At Digitas Health, we're committed to making these life-defining moments better.?

?DH is made up of more than 650 unique and inspiring people dedicated to healthcare marketing, all with different backgrounds and different stories. While our teams vary by location and capability, we are united by a shared purpose: to improve health outcomes and make things better, together. “Humans of DH” is a love letter to the people of DH, featuring employees across our agency and sharing their stories.

In this edition of Humans of DH, we’re featuring Hany Anbar, Director, Data & Analytics. Hany is a data and analytics expert who joined our team a year ago and he’s made an amazing impact on our agency and our clients’ businesses. Read more below as Hany shares words of wisdom on data and analytics, the pharma industry, and more.?

What role does your capability play in the DH process??

As a member of the data intelligence team, my role is to harness the increasing power of data to deliver accurate, actionable insights and create compelling narratives that help our clients answer key business questions and achieve their goals. Our team leverages analytics to continuously recommend tactics that deliver content-rich touchpoints throughout the patient journey. With visibility into doctor and patient workstreams, my role involves identifying the micro and macro moments that matter to the broader care continuum.?

What is your best piece of advice for people pursuing a career in data & analytics??

One of the behaviors I’ve modeled in my career is driven by the famous Steve Jobs quote, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” To both young and seasoned professionals, my advice is to stay curious, step away from your comfort zone, and never settle for what you’ve already achieved. While some advocate for hyper-specialization, I encourage lateral career moves—arming yourself with a breadth of knowledge that spans multiple disciplines.?

While learning analytics tools and platforms is easy, the ability to decode numbers and plot trends takes practice and hard work. To ensure adaptability and relevance in today’s evolving career landscape, I recommend adopting three disciplines...?

1. Rethinking: always evaluating your methodologies—even ones that have always paid off well.?
2. Unlearning: our brains have a finite number of neurons, so make room for new knowledge by unlearning outdated information or models of thinking.?
3. Emotional intelligence: shaping your behavior in a way that corresponds to, and blends with, your environment.?

How is DH supporting your growth??

Marcel is a hidden gem that can genuinely unlock one’s career. Amid the meetings, client deliverables, presentations, and last-minute ad hoc requests, pursuing personal growth and professional connections through Marcel is critical to staying relevant and abreast of the trends in today’s world.?

What has been your greatest learning experience at DH??

Digitas Health’s creative leadership hosts the Creative Loop, a series to stay connected, inspired, and keep DHers looped in on all things creative around the agency.??

I was personally impacted by a Creative Loop led by the brilliant user experience (UX) team at DH. It was a remarkable presentation that interwove UX design principles with complex human behavior and brain heuristics. If I were a TED board member, I would extend an open invitation to the DH UX team to present it on a TED stage.??

What made you drawn to the pharma industry??

A book titled “Range” by David Epstein. While it doesn’t necessarily mention pharma, the book’s core premise is built on the fact that adopting an outside-in approach is key to solving some of the world’s persistent challenges and problems.??

What advice do you have for professionals new to the pharma industry??

Pharma is like a Lego structure. The more pieces you have, the taller and mightier your structure can grow. Be passionate about building knowledge in the ever-evolving pharma landscape—from pharma’s nuances to understanding the ecosystem of physicians, patients, payers, and regulators. Like any other industry, pharma uses the universal marketing language and psychology pillars to appeal to humans’ cognition and emotions. And in terms of the analytics discipline, data is industry-agnostic.?

If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be??

The world’s happiest region: Scandinavia (the birthplace of Fika and Hygge that trigger contentment).?