The Human Variable – Catharine Smith

In this episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Naji Gehchan had the pleasure of hosting Catharine Smith, the inaugural Executive Director of the Termeer Institute. The Institute honors the legacy of former Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer by supporting biotech leaders who are driven by patient impact. Catherine shared her powerful journey, from growing up with limited access to healthcare, to leading initiatives at the Clinton Foundation and Harvard, and now shaping a movement that empowers early-stage biotech CEOs to tackle some of healthcare’s biggest challenges. Her personal story, rooted in seeing healthcare as a human right, set the stage for our inspiring conversation.

Throughout our discussion, Catherine highlighted the importance of leadership as a catalyst for systemic change. Drawing from her experience in hospital medicine, primary care, and crisis response, she emphasized that effective leadership goes beyond technical expertise —it’s about training, mentoring, and empowering people to drive meaningful improvements in patient care. At the Tamir Foundation, this philosophy translates into supporting biotech founders not only with resources and technical skills, but also with values-aligned networks, mentorship, and leadership development tailored to their journeys.

Catherine also shared her perspective on the future of biotech as a powerful lever for change in healthcare. From the promise of rare disease therapies to the growing energy in women’s health, she stressed how science and innovation must be matched with responsibility, equity, and human-centered leadership. For her, the “human variable” is the most crucial factor in whether breakthroughs succeed in transforming lives. As we closed, Catherine reminded healthcare leaders to hold onto their “why,” seek partnerships, and focus on solving big problems together. It was a conversation full of hope, responsibility, and a call to action for leaders across healthcare and biotech.

"Biotech can be a lever to change healthcare."

MEET OUR GUEST Catharine Smith, Executive Director of the Termeer Institute.

Catharine Smith serves as inaugural Executive Director of the Termeer Institute (Former Termeer Foundation), which carries on the bold legacy of former Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer, who was committed to mentoring emerging leaders and whose dedication to patients resulted in groundbreaking treatments for rare diseases. The Termeer Foundation understands that bringing new treatments to patients is grueling work with a low probability of success and believes we can improve these odds by positively impacting the human variables in healthcare. By supporting biotech leaders, the Foundation seeks to increase the probability of creating cures and solving healthcare’s greatest challenges.

Prior to the Termeer Foundation, Catharine served as the CEO of the Clinton Health Matters Initiative at the Clinton Foundation where she led a team focused on stigma reduction and overdose prevention related to the opioid epidemic. Before that role, Catharine was the Executive Director of the Harvard Center for Primary Care where she led business development, strategy, and operations for a think-tank focused on improving value-based, patient-centered care.

Catharine holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a graduate degree in social science research from the University of Chicago.