From accidental quality professional to global quality leader - Valerie Brown's story is one of courage, curiosity, and conviction.

In today's episode I was joined by Valerie Brown, Head of Global Quality Assurance and Compliance at Thermo Fisher Scientific's Clinical Research Group.

I really wanted to speak to Valerie because she brings something different to the quality leadership conversation. Yes, she has held senior quality roles across innovator companies, CDMOs, and now one of the largest CROs in the world. But what makes her story compelling is how she got there - and what she learned along the way.

Valerie didn't plan to work in quality. At 22, she was asked to be a scribe for an FDA inspection. The host fell ill on the day. She stepped in - no preparation, no safety net - and handled it.

Someone told her she had a knack for it. She wasn't sure she agreed. She still wanted to be in the lab, in manufacturing, doing what she knew. But that moment planted a seed.

What followed was a career that took her across CDMOs, innovator companies including Gilead Sciences, and now Thermo Fisher - where she leads global quality assurance and compliance for the clinical research group. She has sat on both sides of the table, as sponsor and as service provider, and that experience shapes everything about how she leads.

We talk about the following:

1. How Valerie accidentally became a quality professional, and why that unplanned start shaped everything that followed
2. What it felt like to host an FDA inspection at 22, with no preparation and no safety net
3. Her philosophy of servant leadership and what it really means to lead with empathy in a regulated environment
4. The challenge of transforming a fragmented quality organisation into a connected, strategic function at Thermo Fisher
5. The difference between working on the innovator side versus the CRO side - and the unique skill set the latter demands
6. Why speed and quality are not in conflict, and how embedding quality by design from the outset actually accelerates delivery
7. Her approach to talent development - why she prefers to grow leaders from within and how she identifies that potential early
8. The growing importance of AI and digital governance in regulated environments, and why quality professionals need to engage with these tools now
9. What keeps her up at night heading into 2026 - from talent gaps to trial complexity to the pace of regulatory change
10. The advice she would give her younger self, and what she believes every aspiring quality leader needs to understand

Valerie Brown is a highly accomplished global quality leader whose career is a masterclass in adaptability, influence, and patient-centric thinking. She leads with purpose, develops people with intention, and approaches every challenge with the mindset of a problem solver - exactly the kind of leader our industry needs more of.

Thank you Valerie for sharing your incredible journey. Hope everyone enjoys the show!

What if the leader you become is shaped less by your title, and more by the life you’ve lived?

In today's episode I was joined by Dana Adcock, Quality Consultant and former Senior Director of Quality Systems.

I really wanted to speak to Dana because she brings something different to the quality leadership conversation. Yes, she has decades of experience leading global audit and quality systems teams. But what makes her story powerful is how openly she connects her personal journey to the leader she has become.

Dana shares how growing up as an adult child of alcoholics shaped her early career. Avoiding conflict. Playing small. Hiring people who thought like her. Shying away from leadership roles despite being promoted into them.

Over time, through personal hardship, therapy, motherhood, and reflection, she stepped into leadership differently. More intentional. More courageous. More authentic.

We talk about the following:

· How early life patterns show up in leadership behaviour

· Why many capable professionals avoid management roles

· Moving from conflict avoidance to confident, purpose-led leadership

· Building diverse teams instead of hiring people “just like you”

· The mindset shift that happened during her “midlife awakening”

· How adopting her daughter Abby changed how she leads and advocates

· The link between personal resilience and professional courage

· Showing up authentically on LinkedIn and why it felt terrifying

· What “living the fourth quarter intentionally” really means

· Advice for quality professionals who feel pressure to hide parts of themselves

Dana is a thoughtful, courageous and deeply reflective leader who demonstrates that strength in quality leadership isn’t about technical authority alone – it’s about self-awareness, integrity and the willingness to grow.

Thank you Dana for sharing your incredible journey.

Hope everyone enjoys the show!

In today’s episode, Hemish was joined by Anthony Mire-Sluis, Head of Global Quality at Gilead.

Tony because has lived quality from every angle - UK government and regulatory work, a stint at the FDA, and then senior global leadership roles in major pharma. That perspective is rare, and it shows in how he builds teams and drives change.

Tony’s journey is a brilliant example of how strong quality leadership is less about having all the answers, and more about building trust, listening properly, and creating systems that let people do their best work.

He talks about the following:

• How Tony’s science background (immunology, genetics, and a PhD) shaped the way he leads quality

• What 10 years in government taught him about great vs poor regulatory filings - and why he moved into industry

• The difference between leading a US-centric quality organisation vs a truly global one

• Why building a trusted leadership team is the non-negotiable for running global quality at scale

• How Tony uses his first 90 days: listening, due diligence, and getting under the skin of the culture

• Why he starts transformation from the shop floor - not from the senior leadership layer

• Digital and AI in quality: fix the process first, then digitise (otherwise you just create a clunky digital version)

• How to reduce firefighting and move quality from reactive to proactive - with better workflows and connected systems

• Managing resistance to change and bringing people along early so adoption sticks

• Advice for aspiring quality leaders: networking, knowing yourself, and broadening your experience across quality

Anthony Mire-Sluis is an authentic, people-first quality leader with a rare blend of regulatory depth and big pharma operational experience - and he’s exactly the kind of leader who makes quality a true enabler of the business.

Thank you Tony for sharing your incredible journey.

Hope everyone enjoys the show!