In this episode of Let Go & Lead, Maril talks with Wendy Short Bartie, Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff to the CEO at Bristol Myers Squibb. The gift for leadership that has made Wendy such a fast riser in the pharmaceutical industry, since leaving her original legal career, shines throughout this vibrant conversation.
They discuss Wendy’s journey as a leader, and how her focus has shifted, over time, from practicing leadership to preparing others to be great leaders; why empathy has a lot to do with understanding gaps between intention and impact; and the crucial role of the leader as “air traffic controller” — the person who actively creates space for a diversity of perspectives and opinions — during meetings.
About Wendy Short Bartie
Wendy Short Bartie is the Senior Vice President and Head of US Oncology. In this capacity, Wendy is responsible for leading the strategy and operations for solid tumor program in the US market.
A compassionate and strategic leader, her career journey has taken many turns, but her path has always been clear – the commitment to help people - first as a lawyer/public defender, and then as a pharmaceutical industry professional, continuing to act as a voice for those with unmet needs and unequal access.
Prior to joining BMS, Wendy was Vice President and Head of Commercial Operations for US Oncology at Merck. In this capacity, Wendy was responsible for leading the Sales, Key Accounts, Market Access, Pricing and Policy organizations within the US Business Unit. Previously, Wendy served as Associate Vice-President of Global Marketing for Genitourinary Cancers (GU), including renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer and bladder cancer and as the Global Disease Lead for Women’s Cancer. Prior to joining Merck, Wendy held a range of commercial roles with increasing responsibility in sales, business analytics and marketing in cardiovascular neuroscience, osteoporosis, lung cancer, supportive care and chronic myeloid leukemia at various companies including Novartis, Heron Therapeutics, Johnson and Johnson, Pharmacia and Abbott Labs.
Prior to her career in pharma, Wendy was a Public Defender in Washington, DC and Bronx, New York.
Wendy received her Bachelor of Arts from Clark Atlanta University and her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago, School of Law.
Wendy is an HBA Rising Star and was recognized by HBA as a Luminary in 2020.
Wendy’s favorite hobbies include painting and reading. When Wendy isn’t working, painting and reading, she is serving as Vice President for the Greater Essex County Chapter of Jack and Jill Incorporated and doing philanthropic work to limit the digital divide for children without access to personal computers or internet.
Wendy, her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her daughter, Madison, and the family dog, Joy reside in West Orange, New Jersey.
About Let Go & Lead
Let Go & Lead is a leadership community created by Maril MacDonald, founder and CEO of Gagen MacDonald. Maril brings together provocateurs, pioneers, thought leaders and those leading the conversation around culture, transformation and change.
Over the course of the past 12 years, Let Go & Lead has existed in many forms, from video interviews to resource guides to its current iteration as a podcast. At its core, it remains a place where people can access a diversity of perspectives on interdisciplinary approaches to leadership. Maril is also working on a book incorporating these insights gathered over the past several years from global leaders and change makers.
Maril has interviewed over 120 leaders — from business to academia and nonprofits to the arts — through the years. In each conversation, from personal anecdotes to ground-breaking scientific analysis, she has probed the lessons learned in leadership. From these conversations, the Let Go & Lead framework has emerged. It is both a personal and organizational resource that aims to serve the individual leader or leadership at scale.
