originally posted on the Digital Transformation Age Podcast
Calling Céline Schillinger a (Digital) Heroine is no exaggeration. She is transforming one of the heaviest regulated industries on the planet, pharmaceuticals. How? By noticing a problem and dealing with it.
And in doing so she has managed to touch an astounding number of lives.
I’m lucky to know Céline for some years now, and her first story, that of WiSP (Women in Sanofi Pasteur), was an intriguing one, not very well covered in this chapter, however. Reason for that? Céline is a busy woman, she’s done a lot more since then.
Céline Schillinger
Since I’ve met her she’s moved from France to the US, Boston. There she’s heads up Quality Innovation & Engagement. An interesting position, and an even more interesting combination.
When we know pharma is (one of) the most regulated industries, and Quality one of the most buttoned down departments in any industry. Then it’s safe to assume that Quality within Pharma is a very, very serious and strict business.
And then the idea of placing such a disrupter as Céline (a registered Change Agent) in there.., well, I’d say somebody made a brave decision.
As it turns out, Social Business and the Digital Transformation can (and should) happen everywhere. In fact, if you want to make a point, if you want to learn it the hard way and prove it can be done, then that’s probably the best place to start.
It’s like New York, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
The Heroine
a woman admired for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities
So why this title then? Anybody can come in and have an effect on a department. Well, yes. But not everybody does, in fact, almost nobody does, and certainly not on a level as my guest. Did I mention that she was chosen as Woman of the Year in 2013 by La Tribune? Well, she was…
And I think her Break Dengue campaign (also) proves my point. Having now reached close to a quarter million likes on Facebook, it is one of the most successful campaigns out there. It even won an award, and Céline had been invited to explain herself during a TEDx Talk.
Not bad for a corporate rebel.
You can connect with Céline on LinkedIn, Twitter, and her blog; We Need Social.
Enjoy the interview.
