Indiana University’s MBA Life Sciences Program Can Kickstart Your Career in Healthcare

The Kelley School of Business has a unique program run by the Center for the Business of Life Sciences (CBLS) called the PLUS Life Sciences Academy, which allows Master of Business Administration (MBA) students to learn about the life sciences and healthcare industries through classroom discussions but also to take part in numerous interactions with professionals from companies like Eli Lilly and Company, Abbott Labs, Anthem, Zimmer Biomet, Mead Johnson Nutrition and more. Students can choose to complete certain course requirements to obtain a certificate of participation, and they also have opportunities to do hands-on consulting work for companies like Cook Medical, IU School of Medicine and more.

Indiana University (IU) CBLS has been building relationships in the life sciences and healthcare industries for over 10 years, and it’s no surprise that academy director George Telthorst, who has greater than 20 years of experience working in manufacturing, product development, procurement and distribution at Baxter, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson is able to pull in amazing speakers that students can network with. Many of the CBLS Industry Advisory Board members have been able to bring their knowledge to the classroom.

Our team had the opportunity to catch up with Greg Hudnall, an Associate Marketing Manager of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Ethicon, to see how his transition from a background in statistics—working primarily on lean six sigma process improvement—to healthcare marketing has gone since graduating from the IU MBA and PLUS Life Sciences Certificate programs in 2017. Here was what Greg shared with us:

Q: What’s working in life sciences and healthcare like compared to other industries?

A: People in healthcare are there because they want to be. Nurses, doctors and surgeons don’t have easy career paths or working hours. To support them and the healthcare industry takes more than financial goals, it takes real passion to want to improve the lives of others. I’ve worked in the grocery industry and while food is important, there is nothing as fulfilling to me as working with a doctor to help ensure success on his or her upcoming colon cancer case or helping to develop a device that will save the lives of millions of people.

Q: Why did you chose medical device over pharma, insurance, software or something else?

A: Medical device is a unique combination of businesses and is engineering focused. I love being able to see the tangible and immediate ways these innovative devices improve patients’ lives.

Q: What most surprised you about working in your industry?

A: I was surprised to learn that selling medical devices is as personal and relationship-orientated as it is contract-driven and price-oriented.

Q: What’s your favorite part of working at your company?

A: I love working for a company that lives by what it says and follows its core principles. Patients and employees are equally important at J&J, and it shows by how much the company is willing to invest in me.

Q: What’s the most challenging part of your job?

A: This answer would be no different at any other Fortune 100 company – bureaucracy. Having to manage multiple layers and understand the best way of working in a highly matrixed organization takes time and patience.

Q: How has the Kelley MBA and the Life Sciences Academy helped prepare you in your career?

A: The Kelley School of Business helped ground me in the fundamentals of business and then dive deep into business marketing. The Life Sciences Academy was an excellent way to understand the broad industry of healthcare and see what was available to MBA graduates, helping me to decide to pursue the medical device segment. They both helped launch me into a business-to-business medical device career starting with a summer MBA internship at Johnson & Johnson then into a rotational program there post-graduation. The IU brand and Life Sciences connections helped me land these job positions.

Since graduating 2 years ago, Greg has helped J&J develop a global marketing strategy, support product sales with surgeons in the field, create pricing best practices and train over 100 sales reps on a new device launch. He has also been an active alumni contributor at IU, visiting campus for events like the Kelley Roundtables and a Business Marketing Academy speaker series. 

Whether incoming MBA students are looking to participate in the Kelley Healthcare Club, go on the annual healthcare trek, complete The Washington Campus healthcare policy partner program or join the PLUS Life Sciences Academy, they will have a multitude of resources available to them to grow their career.

Greg was able to share his perspective on how IU helped him kickstart his career in healthcare, and it’s not too late to kickstart yours! Learn more about the program, the executive certificate or join our LinkedIn group to hear the latest on how our students and alumni are making an impact in the life sciences and healthcare industries.