Theme: TOGETHER

TEDxTakedaKendall event is a unique gathering of Takeda leaders who will unleash new ideas to inspire our community. This year’s theme centers around bringing people “TOGETHER” and sharing ideas and stories to elevate and celebrate our unique voices. These will address the elements of Curiosity, Well-Being, Innovation, Future Work, Courage, and DEI. Imagine a day filled with brilliant speakers, thought-provoking videos, and mind-blowing conversation at Takeda.

TED is all about ideas worth spreading! It's our conviction that even one great idea can alter perspectives, lives, and, ultimately, the planet. TEDx is an ideal platform to incubate ideas from within Takeda that have the power to hear new concepts and inspire our colleagues, knowing that Takeda supports such open minds.

TEDxTakedaKendall 2022 is our inaugural TEDx event and driven by a dedicated group of volunteers from various locations in the US and Japan. A big thank you to Norma Piggott, VP Commercial Learning & Development USBU and Emerson Foster, Head of Human Resources USBU who have championed this project.

Takeda
500 Kendall
12 floor
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142
United States

Giuseppe Cognetti

Immersive experiences – Together, from emerging problems to transformative solutions

Giuseppe Cognetti is a super-empowered hopeful individual who leads a team of technology explorers and certified futurists at Takeda, the FOX Team. FOX stands for Future of Healthcare and Excellence, and the team works to position people and groups at Takeda to catch the next wave by looking at the interconnection between technologies and society and economics and organizations. As the person who currently facilitates the collaboration of different areas of the organization to imagine the future (of data, productivity, and user experience), Giuseppe realizes that creating distinct experiences by merging data storytelling in the physical world with a digital or simulated reality can remove barriers between people, their data and tools they use for analysis. His talk is about the experience of immersing ourselves in our data and the methods and the space created to build an innovation journey that brings us from these emerging problems to potentially transformative opportunities.

Julian Lange PhD.

Revealing data’s secrets with color and form

Julian Lange is a data analytics and visualization practitioner who mines and visualizes complex data for actionable insights. Currently a member of Takeda’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team, Julian’s interest in information design stems from his career in biomedical research studying a molecular process – common to many species including humans, mice, and baker’s yeast – by which cells destined to become sperm or eggs intentionally and dangerously shatter their genome then stitch it back together. Applying data visualization to gigabytes of empirical data revealed previously unknown patterns and a new understanding of the molecular process. In his current role, Julian leads analytics and visualization in support of Takeda’s DE&I commitment – an integral part of its mission to bring better health and a brighter future to people worldwide. His talk imagines data visualization as a shared language and seeks to inspire others to explore and embrace their information design capabilities.

Kelley Gurley PhD.

Remembering the Human in Disruptive Change

Kelley is a human-first leader who leads with empathy, heart, and vulnerability. As a strategic leader in PDT Data Digital & Technology, Kelley is responsible for managing the financial aspects of the function, driving the portfolio strategy, governance, value orchestration, and continuous improvement. Recognized as a collaborator who focuses on building trust and psychological safety among teams, Kelley has successfully led transformations throughout her career and has found that increased levels of trust and success are created when teams impacted by the change are involved early and continuously. Her talk is based on her experience in this area. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Kelley moved to the United States over 25 years ago and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in IT with a specialization in Human-Centered Computing while working in Information Technology supporting a broad range of health care organizations.

Manu Juneja

Living Together: Work from the “inside-out” to become more mindful and inclusive in the post-pandemic world

Manu is a purpose-driven individual, passionate about creating transformational people experiences while driving sustainable impact. Formerly a lawyer turned marketeer turned talent leader, she thrives at the intersection of her cross-functional experiences. She has designed and delivered award-winning volunteer programs and worked with non-profit organizations worldwide. She is currently Talent Pipeline Lead at Takeda, responsible for all global talent programs. Originally from India, she moved to the United States in 2010 and lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children. Her TEDx talk is inspired by her work in volunteering, inclusion & diversity and fueled by her mindfulness practice, which she started in her 20s and restarted in 2020. She hopes her idea to work from the inside out contributes to bringing people together at Takeda and beyond.

Matt Page PhD. MPP

Team Bandwidth

Matt is an epidemiologist interested in history, sociology, and interpersonal relationships. His TEDx talk stems from his personal experience before and during the COVID-19 lockdown, how his anticipated reaction to the pandemic ended up being something altogether different, and how that has led to unexpected growth. At Takeda, Matt is a Team Lead in the Center for Post Approval Safety Studies (CPASS). His team oversees studies across multiple therapeutic areas, focusing on drug utilization studies and studies evaluating the effectiveness of additional risk minimization measures, and leads CPASS operations. Before joining Takeda, Matt led post-marketing studies in epidemiology and health economics at Medpace; taught epidemiology, biostatistics, and introductory public health at The College of Charleston (SC); and conducted health economics and other health services research at United BioSource Corporation.

Niedre Heckman

Rethinking ‘showing up’ and ‘reading the room’

Niedre is a Regulatory and Quality professional with a history of inspiring teams by bringing life-sustaining treatments to people. At Takeda, Niedre specializes in medical product development that includes medical devices in combination with enzymes, antibodies, blood factors, and gene therapy to fulfill unmet medical needs. She uses manufacturing science and engineering concepts in combination with public health principles to help create therapies that address individuals’ disease states physiologically while also attending to the psychosocial need for optimal wellbeing and quality of life. In 2012 and 2015, the Food and Drug Administration recognized Niedre with a written commendation for an exemplary Regulatory filing and the Leveraging Collaboration Award for demonstrating leadership in improving regulated products. Niedre holds a BS and MS in Chemistry, an MPH, a Ph.D. in Public Health, and several certifications in Regulatory Affairs and Quality.

Robert de Tuya

A Peek Behind the Curtain – Secrets to Collaborating Like a Musician

Robert de Tuya serves as Chief of Staff and Head of Business Strategy and Operations for Global Medical. In this role, he can channel his lifelong enthusiasm for integrating multiple disciplines to overcome challenges. After training as a classical musician, Robert transitioned to the pharmaceutical industry, where he found a passion for solving impactful, complex problems affecting healthcare quality for people worldwide. Robert’s presentation seeks to weave together the threads of his career in pharma and musical background to celebrate how divergent perspectives can offer new insights. Members of the Boston Public Quartet, namely Betsy Hinkle, violin; Jason Amos, viola and Lev Mamuya, cello, will join Robert on the stage performing a classical piece. He invites you to step into the shoes of a musician to consider new ways of thinking about how you show up in the workplace. You can find information on Boston Public Quartet at https://www.bostonpublicquartet.com/

Timothy Burns and Desiree Orien Tay

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Opening our TEDxTakedaKendall are two performers who will bring us all together. Timothy Burns is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from rural England. His vision is to use music as a vehicle for hope in the world. He has performed in concert halls across the UK and Northern Europe. Desiree Orien Tay is a drummer and percussionist from Singapore. Her goal is to serve the music- whatever genre or style it may be! She had performed in TEDx LASALLE (Singapore) and currently plays in a Singaporean band, Shirlyn + The UnXpected. Tim and Desiree are Berklee College of Music students who actively perform in Boston.

Valerie Quezada

Learning Together in the Metaverse to encourage curiosity and innovation in the Future of Work

Valerie (Val) is an Instructional System Designer from the Los Angeles facility creating learning experiences for the Plasma OpU. She is a learning enthusiast passionate about developing others and prides herself on listening to her audience to provide the best possible learning outcomes. Val graduated with a Masters's in Instructional Design and Technology from California State University, Fullerton. She realized early in the program that she was intrigued by and had an aptitude for emerging technology. Val focuses on using virtual and mixed reality solutions to increase her learners' retention and reduce the time it takes to learn a new skill.