Emerging Leaders Genentech, Gilead Sciences & Philips

Training’s responsibilities typically include thinking ahead, preparing the business succession pipeline to keep things flowing smoothly. Within the training department, developing the next generation is also crucial. This year’s 5th Annual LTEN Excellence Awards honored four finalists in the Emerging Leaders category.

Aryal Afifi, Manager – Genentech

Afifi was nominated as an Emerging Leader for her work at Genentech, where she started as a training coordinator before growing into her role managing the training support shared service model.

“Aryal is a fearless leader who is open to taking on opportunities in service of our company and the industry,” said Zack Rhoades, associate director, operations, Genentech, nominating her for the LTEN award. “Aryal is a fierce negotiator and influencer both internally within our organization as well as with our partners externally. She has the best interests of her team at heart and has grown a great deal, now managing nine full-time equivalents. She has an exceptional grasp of learning technologies, communication platforms and building in metrics related to training resourcing and effectiveness.

“Aryal’s ability to diagnose challenges within organizations and then influence and drive projects to completion make her an incredibly effective leader,” Rhoades added. “She also coaches her people to be stronger, no matter what level they are at. She has a vision for the future and has no ego or fear to accomplish what she has set out to do.”

James Ashby, Senior Manager MA&TC Training – Philips Healthcare

Before becoming a senior manager at Philips, Ashby was named “Rep of the Year” by the company – eight different times in a highly competitive category. It’s no wonder he was nominated as an Emerging Leader in the LTEN Excellence Awards.

“James developed a sales training program from scratch for the company’s Patient Monitoring business. He established PM 101 and PM 201 and drove many reps to a successful campaign,” said Greg Adamson, Philips’ senior director of sales training for North America, who nominated Ashby for the LTEN honor. “James is new to sales training, having come straight from a field sales role. He is an emerging leader because scores of reps called James daily as he served as a mentor, coach and trainer. This coaching led to several closed deals in red accounts.

“James’ skill set would transfer well to any organization,” Adamson added. “He possesses command of a hospital, hospital finance and how a hospital operates. He has taught numerous Philips employees ‘how to fish.’ “

Kathryn Tawakol, Training Director, CL&D – Gilead Sciences

One of Tawakol’s development goals for 2019 was to be an “Ambassador of Positive Change,” and she’s certainly off to a good start, earning a finalist honor in the Emerging Leaders category.

“Kathryn consistently demonstrates her excellence in leading by example in Gilead’s core values: accountability, excellence, teamwork, inclusion and integrity,” said Marianne Ward, associate director, Commercial Learning & Development (CL&D), who nominated Tawakol for the LTEN honor. “Kathryn stands apart from others in how she delivers excellence in her work supporting brand/sales teams, the CL&D department and the broader Gilead organization. She consistently collaborates with our learning technology team members and is always willing to share her best practices.

“Kathryn’s vision for success and her drive for positive change will enable Kathryn to continue to grow in her career,” Ward said. “Specifically, she will focus on identifying efficiencies for launch planning and execution and identifying ways we can leverage inclusion within the organization to embrace the change needed to grow. She is strategic, laser-focused on what she wants to accomplish and communicates with impact and influence with an infectious amount of energy and positive attitude.”

Patrick Tresner, Senior Training Manager – Genentech

The ability to get others to follow you is a key component of being a leader, and one of the reasons Tresner was named a finalist in the Emerging Leaders category.

“Patrick is a servant leader of others when it comes to his leadership style and presence. He can get others to follow him willingly, which is a great trait to have,” said Zack Rhoades, associate director, operations, Genentech, nominating Tresner for the LTEN award. “Patrick does an excellent job with creating our vision and getting his team to follow it. Within the vision, he can communicate with each of us to the point that we are with the vision as well. It also takes dedication to be a leader and he exemplifies that every day.

“On a daily basis, I observe the interactions of Patrick with his team and see the fine balance that he walks of developing a professional environment, while also getting to know his team personally as well,” Rhoades added. “He loves coaching and demonstrates a strong interest in elevating his team and celebrating their successes.”