By: Joshua Finley

Julien Willard’s career path has been anything but linear. Though he set out to become a doctor, his preference for broader impact and a passion for solving global health issues led him down an unexpected trail – from clinic to nonprofit work to a senior economics role at the World Bank.

Now, Julien leverages his diverse expertise as a consultant helping life sciences companies—biopharma, medical-device, insurance—streamline operations and strategy. His analytical abilities, sharpened by scientist parents, allow him to pinpoint organizational challenges and create personalized solutions for senior executives.

While Julien values his altruistic public sector time, he realized the private sphere held new puzzles and potential for driving change. Moving into the consulting world allowed him to upscale his systems thinking and process optimization talents even more.

An Unconventional Path to Consulting

Julien Willard has never been one to follow a scripted career trajectory. Though initially on a medical track, his innate curiosity and passion for solving global issues led him into diplomacy and health economics instead.

“I always knew I wanted to do something in biology and neuroscience,” he explains, recalling his longtime fascination with those subjects. After earning his medical degree in Moscow and London, Julien volunteered for HIV/AIDS organizations, working in the field, gaining firsthand public health experience. He worked with the governments to help negotiate licensing deals for HIV medications to ensure access to medicines in lower and middle income countries.

Photo Courtesy: Julien Willard

From Physician to Global Health Diplomat

Julien soon realized direct patient interactions were not his calling. “I wanted to help people on a larger, global scale,” he shares. His humanitarian collaborations opened up opportunities to work with major global health foundations, stoking his interest in influencing care delivery systems.

Julien then spent years stationed in various countries leading economics initiatives for international health organizations. These high-level systems change work was rewarding, yet unrelenting. “You’re always on a suitcase going to the next place,” Julien notes. “However, it allowed me an opportunity to meet heads of state and influential global health leaders like Melinda Gates.”

Bringing Efficiency Mindset to Private Sector

Craving more stability, Julien made the leap into strategy consulting. Now he could apply his optimization know-how to solving business challenges. “I realized the corporate world held new puzzles and potential for driving change,” he says.

Through his experience, Julien came up with 3 tips that can help improve efficiency in private sector:

Fragmented Systems Create Process Pitfalls

In Julien’s experience, biopharma firms often accumulate disjointed workflows, software, and data over time without strategic alignment. “Nobody ever looked at what a human-centric process should look like,” he explains. Companies invest heavily in technology yet rarely evaluate actual employee tasks and pain points.

This haphazard integration creates process bottlenecks and productivity drains. As Julien colorfully states, “It’s the same crap across every company.” Identifying the root of the problem through workflow mapping is the first step toward efficiency.

Freeing Up Talent Through Automation

Once workflows are visibly mapped, technology and automation can free up human capital for higher-level work. As an example, Julien points to biopharma medical affairs teams. “A lot of their work is manual data wrangling and writing, tedious copying and pasting text,” he explains. AI tools can automate these tasks so that highly-educated medical affairs professionals apply their advanced degrees more impactfully.

Strategic Tech Investments to Accelerate Growth

Beyond basic workflow improvements, Julien helps clients shape long-term tech strategy to fuel business goals. With clinical trials, for instance, advanced analytics and algorithms can guide patient selection and site choices to reduce costs. The savings can then redirect towards new technologies for drug discovery.

“We have an enormous cost profile. Help us achieve efficiencies with technologies that are available,” Julien notes as a common client refrain. With his very systematic process optimization approach, he’s able to create sizable monetary value helping biopharma companies evolve.

You can learn more about Julien and his mission here.

Published By: Aize Perez