Daniel J. Gandor
Head of Takeda Digital Accelerator – USA
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Embedding Digital into a Company’s DNA
Dan Gandor was always known as “the digital guy.” He was always the one pushing Takeda to find new ways in which digital marketing could impact business as well as patients’ lives. He championed and founded Takeda’s successful Cross-Brand Marketing Team, which orchestrated and rolled out digital platforms across multiple brands. And just one year ago, he became head of Takeda’s Digital Accelerator in the U.S., a disruptive new initiative helping to transform the organization. Dan was the natural choice to work alongside four of his global colleagues as they attempt to embed digital into Takeda’s DNA.
One of Dan’s favorite aspects of this role lies in the experimentation and funding that encourage intrapraneurship and innovation. Anyone from across the organization can come up with ideas about how using digital could improve Takeda. Under Dan’s leadership, 10 experiments were conducted in the U.S. last year, ranging from initiatives to improve HR practices to exploring artificial intelligence for uncovering new commercial insights.
One experiment that Dan is particularly proud of is the application of virtual reality in Oculus Rift headsets and Google Cardboard to bring the scientific uniqueness of a treatment for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease to life for sales reps, physicians, and patients. And through effective sharing across geographical and organizational boundaries, he has helped scale this experiment from the U.S. to Europe and beyond.
Dan’s work also includes education and ensuring the fundamental frameworks are in place to support digital-first strategies. He helped launched the Takeda Digital Academy last year, and has already enrolled more than 500 users to date. Additionally, Dan seeks out individuals who are excited about innovation and can serve as champions as they help lead the organization on this transformative journey. All of this has made Dan more than just “the digital guy.” Now he is known as a leader who can really make things happen.
