The leaders who get AI right won’t necessarily be the ones who understand the technology best. They’ll be the ones who understand people best.
That’s one of the big ideas in our latest Ambition. Unleashed. podcast with Brigid Siegel.
Brigid has witnessed major shifts in global biopharma, from analogue systems to digital transformation and now AI. Her response to this latest wave isn’t to wait until she has all the answers. It’s to experiment, stay curious and model the behaviours she wants to see in others.
She describes this through the idea of the “say-to-do ratio”: if you’re talking about change, are people actually seeing you change too?
The conversation goes well beyond AI, exploring what leadership looks like when certainty disappears. From making decisions with incomplete information and listening to diverse voices, to having difficult conversations, building trusted partnerships and knowing when people need support rather than pressure.
Brigid brings it back to three things: clarity, trust and impact – and one deceptively simple idea: stay human.
Brigid Siegel is a patient-first global executive and a trusted procurement partner to rewire global research and drug development. As Vice President and Global Head of R&D Procurement and Third-Party Risk Management at Bristol Myers Squibb, Brigid leads a $3B third-party spend portfolio and a 50-person global team.
Brigid’s career began as a Clinical Research Associate, grounding her in patient advocacy and sponsor excellence. Her track record spans BMS, Takeda, Montefiore Health System, Merck, Novartis, Roche, and Pfizer.
Brigid is a recognized change agent and technology early adopter, with credentials in Oxford Blockchain Strategy and AI/ML applications in sourcing and clinical operations. She leads with empathy, evidence, and execution.
A lifelong learner, she has completed executive leadership programs at Harvard Business School and Caltech and continues to explore emerging technologies and strategic frameworks.