When Alicea Wu, MD, MBA 16, came to Berkeley Haas, she wanted to expand what she could do with her medical degree.
Her goal was simple: learn the business side of medicine and move into hospital management. Little did she know the array of options that would open for her through the Evening & Weekend Berkeley MBA program.
“Networking with my Haas classmates showed me careers that I never would have considered,” she says. “If you told me five years ago what I would be doing now, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Today the former urgent care physician serves as director, medical affairs for Gilead Sciences, a global pharmaceuticals company headquartered in Foster City, California. She contributes to Gilead’s medical affairs global messaging and launch strategy for new drugs marketed in North America, Europe, and Asia. Currently, she is working on preparations to launch an investigational rheumatoid arthritis medication to be submitted later this year for FDA approval.
Leap and learn
Alicea transitioned to Gilead her first year in the Berkeley MBA program. Hired as a director in the drug safety and public health group, she drew from her clinical experience as she explored the safety issues surrounding new medications. At the time, she knew little about the pharmaceutical industry, but proved a fast learner—on the job and in the classroom.
Haas taught me to use my expertise to influence people while still accounting for differences of opinion."
Haas courses such as Commercializing Biotech and Pharma, taught by Kim MacPherson, helped her get up to speed on the commercial side of the pharmaceutical industry. Holly Shroth’s Negotiations course provided tools Alicea uses to this day to gain alignment among diverse team members and, occasionally, to resolve conflicts between her children.
“I even recently used Holly’s negotiation techniques to win a bid on a house in the Bay Area,” she says.
She also applies lessons gleaned from Operations, led by Pnina Feldman, when outlining processes or drafting strategic documents.
“Pnina taught me the importance of understanding the details before embarking on a process,” she says. “For example, before I compose a strategic document, I need to understand what the operational process is, who my stakeholders are, and how to communicate the strategic goals to all the different regions in a way that is executable.”
Influence without authority
What she enjoys most about her job is the opportunity to interact with diverse team members and people around the globe. It’s an environment that calls for a different leadership style, one that she learned at Haas.
“Haas taught me how to have influence without authority,” Alicea says. “You don’t necessarily need a certain title or rank to influence others. You can use your expertise to influence people while still accounting for differences of opinion.”
Faith and community
Despite a full work and class schedule, Alicea took time to connect with the Haas Christian Fellowship. Her faith, she says, is “at the core of who I am.”
The group became a supportive haven following her mother’s death from cancer.
“As an urgent care physician, I’m supposed to be able to make people feel better quickly, but I couldn’t make my mom feel better. I was totally unprepared for that,” she says. “People in the fellowship sent me emails, prayed for me, and offered their help.”
Her class cohort also provided a supportive community that encouraged her on her journey.
“The Haas network is so robust and diverse. It has really broadened my perspective on the type of career paths available to me. Now when I talk with alumni in healthcare, I discover that this person is an entrepreneur, while another is working on new medical devices. I have really enjoyed—and continue to benefit from—that part of the Haas experience.”
Ready for a career change? Explore a multitude of possibilities available through the Berkeley Evening & Weekend MBA program.
