Leading Across Cultures: Strategies for Building Transformational Global Teams

Patrick Bartosch, Ph.D., is the HBA’s Senior Director of Global Growth. He joined us from Waypoints Communications, a strategy consulting firm that supports clients across the healthcare industry navigate risk and achieve growth for novel products or service lines.

Before Waypoints Communications, Patrick oversaw communications for Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in San Diego, Calif., and Orlando, Fla. He has also worked for renowned communications and corporate consultancy firms in Europe, North America, and the Middle East, with a focus on large pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and payors, as well as regulatory bodies.

Patrick received an M.A. degree in Political Science from Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich in Germany and a Ph.D. in Health Sciences from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he was part of a team that studied the circulation and expression of moral capital in and between different types of healthcare systems. Patrick is based in Innsbruck, Austria.

Christina Hughes is a healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry. As Chief Operating Officer at Reverba, she oversees Finance, IT, Compliance, and People & Culture, and leads the Integration Management Office, ensuring smooth integration of acquired companies and alignment of culture and operations. Under her leadership, Ms. Hughes also leads the company’s Integration Management Office (IMO), playing a critical role in the successful integration of acquired companies globally, ensuring that not only operations but also cultures align to drive sustainable growth.

Prior to Reverba, Christina was COO at Medrio, where she drove over 25% growth in bookings, revenue, and EBITDA annually. She has held leadership roles at Clario, AiCure, and Signant Health, managing multi-million-dollar portfolios and building high-performing global teams.

Christina’s ability to foster employee engagement while scaling operations earned her recognition as one of PharmaVOICE's 100 Most Inspiring People in Life Sciences in 2016. She holds an MBA in Finance and Healthcare Management from The Wharton School and a BS in Biology from Yale. Outside of work, she is active in her community as an Elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Ambler and as a volunteer softball coach.

Carla Pearson is the GM of GSK Switzerland. She has held roles of increasing accountability developing strategy and leading execution in multiple therapy areas, at different stages of the product life cycle. She has supported and led global, regional, and local commercialization efforts, as a financial analyst, market access and new product planning director, Primary Care second line sales leader, US Head of Specialty Marketing, and prior to her current role, the Global Commercial lead for the first HIV injectable. 

Carla received a bachelor’s degree from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, and her MBA with a concentration in strategy and leadership from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. 

Carla believes people are the competitive advantage and that it is essential to create inclusive cultures that enable the best solutions for patients to drive business performance.

Carla and her husband Garry are the proud parents of young-adult three children. 

Tracy currently serves as the Chief Learning Officer and Accessibility Lead for Microsoft’s Global Health & Life Sciences Industry. With extensive industry knowledge, she collaborates with national healthcare organizations to identify their unique needs and advises them on harnessing Microsoft's analytics, collaboration tools, and cognitive services to achieve their objectives. Tracy's impact extends globally as the Health and Life Sciences Accessibility Lead, passionately advocating for accessible technology as a core tenet of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as fundamental business imperatives, earning her the 2022 Luminary Award from the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. As the architect and leader of the acclaimed Masters in Microsoft Health program, Tracy offers advanced industry education, shaping industry strategy, fostering collaboration, and driving innovation and ensures Microsoft remains at the forefront of healthcare innovation. Her tireless commitment to healthcare accessibility, education, equity, and innovation defines her career, making her a luminary in the field.

Asha Hope joined Bayer in May 2023 as the Head and VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Norh America where she is driving sustainable and transformational change by integrating DE&I into business processes and throughout the total employee lifecycle.

With a dynamic, results-driven approach, Asha has a track record of building inclusive workplaces. She transitioned from engineering to HR, leveraging her strategic mindset. Before Bayer, Asha led global DE&I efforts at DoorDash, developing strategies to improve representation and embedding DE&I into core processes. She previously held leadership roles at Amazon, Macy’s, and Coca-Cola, working to make an positive impact on businesses and communities.

Asha holds a MPS in HR from Penn State, a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Alabama A&M. She hails from East St. Louis, IL, and enjoys traveling, live music, and spending time with her family.