The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬Career Reinvention After Leadership Shakeups | Amy Hay (Part 3/4)
Jan 12, 2026
36:06
"The moment that you stop being curious in your job is the moment you need to run out the front door."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore Amy Hay's remarkable evolution from a longtime leader at MD Anderson Cancer Center to an entrepreneurial consultant and medtech executive. Amy shares the deeply personal and professional challenges of leaving an institution that defined her for two decades, describing how a "painful" leadership change became the ultimate catalyst for her growth and reinvention.
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore Amy Hay's remarkable evolution from a longtime leader at MD Anderson Cancer Center to an entrepreneurial consultant and medtech executive. Amy shares the deeply personal and professional challenges of leaving an institution that defined her for two decades, describing how a "painful" leadership change became the ultimate catalyst for her growth and reinvention.
Amy details her global journey, from navigating the cultural nuances of opening oncology clinics in Brazil to the eye-opening experience of consulting in Nigeria, where she learned that healthcare innovation must meet people where they are. She discusses the founding of her consulting firm, Evolve, its timely acquisition by Varian just before the global pandemic, and her eventual full-circle return to the Houston biotech ecosystem to lead strategy in the burgeoning field of cell therapy.
Key topics covered:
Key topics covered:
- Global Healthcare Nuances: Lessons from Brazil and Nigeria on why "plug-and-play" medical models fail without cultural adaptation.
- Navigating Career Inflections: How to pivot with passion and curiosity when professional circumstances shift unexpectedly.
- The Entrepreneurial Leap: Founding and selling a boutique consulting firm (Evolv) and the importance of timing in business.
- Medtech Integration Strategies: Insights into the human psychology of acquisitions and the merger between Varian and Siemens Healthineers.
- The Future of Precision Medicine: Bridging the gap between academic research and industrial scale in cell therapy manufacturing.
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Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Amy Hay at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amychay/
Website: https://ctmc.com/
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
Proton Therapy for Cancer Treatment:
Cell Therapy Manufacturing and CDMO Services:
MD Anderson Cancer Network Model: https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/premier-pulse/2024-md-anderson-cancer-network-changes
Administrative Fellowships in Healthcare:
Multi-omics in Precision Medicine: https://www.mdpi.com/topics/Z6ZWJQ7U1I​
Theranostics in Cancer Care: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranostics
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
MD Anderson Cancer Center: https://www.mdanderson.org/
Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital (Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein): https://www.einstein.br/
Varian Medical Systems (Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company): https://www.varian.com/
Siemens Healthineers: https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/
Henrique Neves: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrique-sneves/?locale=en_US
Jason Bock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-b-bock/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:55 The Plug-and-Play Healthcare Lesson: Building Einstein's Oncology Program in Brazil
05:58 Meeting People Where They Are: Consulting Work in Nigeria
09:15 Getting Bored at the Top: Recognizing When It's Time to Leave MD Anderson
13:06 The Luckiest Unluckiest Person: Pivoting After a Career-Defining Loss
18:02 Founding Evolv Consulting and Selling to Varian Before the Pandemic
22:08 Navigating the Siemens Healthineers Acquisition of Varian
27:49 Full Circle: Returning to MD Anderson's Ecosystem Through CTMC
30:26 Key Lessons on Managing Humans Through Acquisition and Change
32:58 When to Integrate vs. Keep Separate: Alignment and Synergy
34:07 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.