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Raj Nimmagadda, Global Head R&D Data Office (CDO R&D), Sanofi

Describe your career to date

Throughout my 20+ year career in the pharmaceutical industry, I have been driven by a passion for leveraging technology and data to solve complex problems and improve patient outcomes. My background in math, computer science, and strategy has provided a strong foundation for my work in data and digital transformations.  

After completing my master’s degree in computer science, I began my career at Johnson & Johnson as a programmer and data analyst, working on various projects involving data migration and analytics. I had the opportunity to contribute to pediatric drug submissions, where I saw firsthand the impact that technology could have on meeting unmet patient needs. This experience solidified my passion for the industry and sparked a desire to continue driving innovation through data and technology.  

Over the past two decades, I have held various leadership roles managing large-scale business, data, and digital transformation projects globally. Through these experiences, I have developed expertise in building teams, change management, and cultural transformation, recognizing the importance of fostering a data-driven culture that permeates every level of an organization.  

In my current role, I am responsible for accelerating data-enabled decisions and driving transformations to address patient needs. I collaborate closely with cross-functional teams across R&D and beyond, focusing on data strategy, standardizing data management practices, and building robust data foundations.  

As a leader, I prioritize building high-performing teams and promoting data literacy through training programs, ensuring that the organization is equipped with the skills needed to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. 

How are you developing the data literacy of your organization, including the skills of your data teams and of your business stakeholders?  

To enhance data literacy within our organization, we established the R&D Data Café, which serves as a platform for cultivating a data-driven culture and upskilling both data teams and business stakeholders. Our primary goals for the Data Café includes equipping the R&D community with basic data knowledge, connecting data enthusiasts and experts, and developing Sanofi’s overall data fluency. To achieve these objectives, we structure each Data Café session in two parts.  

Firstly, we invite senior leaders to deliver a keynote speech, emphasizing the significance of embracing data initiatives and highlighting the value of data in our R&D transformation journey. These sessions feature influential speakers, including CEOs, heads of R&D functions, who underscore the importance of data and its potential to drive business outcomes.  

The second part of the session features presentations from teams working on real-world data programs. We encourage these teams to showcase their business problems and approaches, highlighting the direct impact of data on their work. By engaging both data producers and consumers, we promote awareness of recent advances in data, insights, and management practices, empowering them to leverage new tools and techniques to streamline their workflows. We invite external speakers to share insights on cutting-edge technologies and data trends, further broadening perspectives and encouraging innovative thinking.  

Through the R&D Data Café, we aim to educate and inspire our teams top-down and bottom-up, bridging the gap between data and business stakeholders. By doing so, we create a cohesive environment where data literacy thrives, enabling Sanofi to capitalize on the power of data and drive scientific breakthroughs.  

Our Data Cafés have been well-attended, in total, we estimate that nearly 10,000 individuals have engaged with our Data Cafés in some capacity since their inception. This is a significant portion of our global R&D workforce, demonstrating the widespread interest and demand for data literacy and skills development. 

What role do you play in building and delivering conventional AI solutions, including machine learning models? Are you involved in your organization’s adoptions of generative AI? 

As a data leader, my role is to empower my organization to be #DATAFIRST and ultimately #AIFIRST. We achieve this by providing data scientists with the necessary tools and resources to efficiently access and manage data, allowing them to focus on extracting valuable insights rather than spending excessive time on data preparation.  

To accomplish this, we develop and implement robust data strategies, foundations, and policies that prioritize data ownership, ethics, and governance. One critical aspect of my role is ensuring the right people have access to the right data at the right time, enabling them to make informed decisions. This requires a deep understanding of data management and governance principles, as well as the ability to balance the need for data accessibility with the imperative to protect sensitive information.  

Moreover, my team actively participates in our organization’s adoption of generative AI (genAI). This includes working closely with data scientists, researchers, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities where genAI can enhance drug discovery and development. To ensure responsible AI development and deployment, we establish frameworks and protocols that promote transparency, accountability, and fairness throughout the AI lifecycle. Our data strategy and governance aims are to create a solid foundation for the ethical use of AI, benefiting both our business objectives and society. 

Have you been able to fix the data foundations of your organization, particularly with regard to data quality? 

We are currently transforming our organization’s data foundations, leveraging a use case approach and prioritizing initiatives based on their potential business value. Our data foundation’s cornerstone is simplicity and customer centricity, which we strive to integrate into every aspect of our work. To foster a data-driven culture, we emphasize data ownership, quality, privacy, ethics, and governance, acknowledging their vital role in establishing trust and reliability in our data.  

To achieve this vision, we have been diligently developing comprehensive end-to-end business processes and implementing robust data foundations, including an integrated master data management solution that seamlessly unifies data across diverse functions and systems. By focusing on data quality, we simplify processes and automate data flows, markedly reducing errors and inconsistencies downstream allowing us to make informed decisions. 

Raj Nimmagadda
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