Meet Smita Pillai a visionary leader with over two decades of global experience in global learning, development, inclusion, and innovation across multiple industries. She excels in leading inclusive culture, innovation, and diversity efforts, delivering business-focused innovation results in complex, multi-cultural, and matrixed corporate environments, as well as agile, fast-paced settings.
The Early Years: An Incredible Experience
Smita was born and raised in India. She went on to live and work in 5 countries before finally settling in the United States in the life sciences industry. With her background in global marketing and social research, she had an incredible experience traveling and learning from cultures worldwide.
The Key Inspiration Behind Joining Regeneron
Regeneron is a science-first company. The pandemic highlighted societal disparities, especially in the healthcare sector, more than ever. With the lack of trust in medicine, science, and humanity at large, Regeneron stood out for Smita as a company that truly practices what it preaches in terms of doing good. Her inspiration to join the company came not only from its co-founders but also from the CHRO and her global colleagues who work tirelessly in the fields of science, medicine, and people to make a meaningful difference.
Embedding DEI in the Company Culture
Regeneron’s DEI Strategy is based on the company’s values, which shape its distinctive culture and integrate DEI across three main pillars: Better Workplace, Better Science, and Better World. Smita and her team believe in a leader-led model for DEI and have established a robust governance model to support their strategy at all organizational levels. This model promotes leadership accountability and defines specific outcomes to progress toward their objectives.
Crucial Leadership Qualities to Drive Meaningful Change
Smita firmly believes that to drive meaningful change in DEI on a global scale, inclusive leadership is crucial. This involves recognizing and appreciating diverse viewpoints, fostering a culture of inclusivity, and being dedicated to continual learning and advancement. Leaders need to demonstrate empathy, courage, and willingness to challenge the existing norms. At Regeneron, the team embraces a leader-led model for DEI, supported by a strong governance framework that enables leaders to be accountable for progress. Additionally, adaptability and proactive policymaking are crucial to addressing the varied experiences and perspectives of employees.
Addressing the Challenges in Fostering Inclusion
To tackle the obstacles of fostering inclusion in a global organization, it is important to promote cultural competence and encourage open dialogue about cultural differences. Smita believes in creating an environment where all employees feel respected and valued, regardless of their cultural background. Her global experience has given her a deep understanding of diverse cultural norms and values, which she leverages to foster inclusion. Additionally, Smita advocates for decentralized approaches, ensuring that individuals making daily decisions about hiring, promotions, and workplace culture are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to advance DEI initiatives effectively.
Strategies to Ensure Effective DEI Efforts
Smita implements strategies that extend beyond race and gender to encompass all aspects of diversity, including age, disability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. At Regeneron, DEI efforts are grounded in the company’s values and are integrated into the organization through the lens of three pillars: Better Workplace, Better Science, and Better World. The company also uses advanced analytics and AI to identify and address biases in hiring. It is not just about race and gender; it is about so many other dimensions, including disabilities, neurodiversity, cultural background, and language. Diversity, equity, and inclusion truly bring Regeneron’s culture to life.
Mentoring the Future Leaders
Smita inspires future leaders by sharing her own experiences and the impact of DEI on organizational success. She encourages leaders to prioritize DEI by integrating it into their professional journey and demonstrating its value through their actions and decisions. Her professional journey, which includes living and working in many countries, has provided her with a wealth of experiences that she shares with the next generation of leaders. She also emphasizes the importance of adopting a competency-based approach to DEI, which helps transcend political and ideological divides.
Collaborating with Biotech Leaders
Smita collaborates with other leaders in the biotech industry by participating in industry forums, sharing best practices, and advocating for collective action on DEI issues. She believes in the power of collaboration to drive systemic change and improve DEI outcomes across the industry.
Keeping the DEI Strategy Aligned with the Company’s Mission
Regeneron’s DEI strategy is closely aligned with its mission of ‘Science to Medicine’ by promoting diversity in scientific research and development. Smita and her entire team ensure that DEI principles are integrated into all aspects of the company’s operations, from hiring practices to product development. Their commitment to doing well by doing good is a key driver of their DEI strategy. They also emphasize the importance of tying DEI to competencies to ensure alignment with universal principles of fairness and inclusivity. From a cultural perspective, the firm aims to foster a culture that leads to science. This means having people who can challenge, are curious, can ask the right questions, and create psychological safety.
Overcoming the Obstacles
Smita has faced several challenges, including resistance to change and the need for continuous education and awareness. However, these challenges also present opportunities to engage employees in meaningful conversations about DEI and to develop innovative solutions to promote inclusion. Additionally, navigating uncertainty and responding to social, political, and global events are critical areas that require agile and proactive strategies.
The Road Ahead
Smita’s long-term vision for DEI at Regeneron is to integrate and elevate the work and embed it into broader talent development, culture, and innovation efforts to create a workplace where all employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to the company’s success. She plans to achieve this by promoting inclusive leadership, fostering a culture of belonging, and implementing comprehensive and inclusive talent and culture initiatives.
The Evolvement of a Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
Smita believes that the role of a Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer will continue to evolve to address emerging DEI challenges and opportunities. This may include leveraging technology to enhance DEI efforts, addressing new dimensions of diversity, and promoting global collaboration on talent, culture & innovation efforts. AI offers promising opportunities for enhancing these efforts, such as advanced analytics to identify and address biases, enhancing accessibility through tools like real-time translation and voice recognition and building opportunities for talent development through AI based tools.
Emerging Hurdles and Their Solutions: Smitas Take On
Some of the emerging challenges include the need to address intersectionality and the impact of technology on DEI. Organizations can prepare by staying informed about DEI trends, investing in continuous learning and development, and fostering a culture of innovation and inclusion. It’s also important to regularly audit AI systems to ensure fairness and accountability.
Advice for Organization’s DEI Journey
Smita advises organizations to start by understanding their current DEI landscape and identifying areas for improvement. It’s important to set clear goals, engage employees at all levels, and be committed to continuous learning and improvement. Additionally, companies should focus on developing strategies to effectively respond to social, political, and global events, and adopt a competency-based approach to DEI.
