Culture, Innovation, and Inspiration: Randy E David on Bridging Anthropology and Commercialization in the Life Sciences
Interview by Xiao He · Mother of Success Series
Location: Blue Willow Teashop, Berkeley, California
Beginnings
Xiao:
Thank you for taking the time to sit with me, Randy! Perhaps you could begin by introducing yourself to our readers.
Randy:
Thank you for taking the trip to meet me, Xiao. It’s my pleasure. I live in the Berkeley Hills here in the Bay Area, though I’m originally from New York. I currently work in the MedTech and Pharma industries, focusing on evidence generation, partnership development, market access, and commercialization strategy.
Much of my professional inspiration, somewhat unexpectedly, comes from anthropology — the study of culture. By that I don’t mean corporate mantras on “having a great culture,” which are typically about ethics or morale, but rather deeper systems of understanding and decision-making that shape how people behave. Humans are the medium through which business happens, and culture plays a significant role in how decisions are made, particularly when data is unclear or inconclusive. In those moments, individuals fall back on familiar frameworks (and biases), often acting to minimize personal risk and maintain plausible deniability in the event that a decision goes awry. I’m drawn to these dynamics not from a psychosocial angle, but from a practical business standpoint.
Arrival in Consulting
Randy:
My work today is as a consultant, fractional executive, and executive advisor in the life sciences. I also collaborate with various government agencies, investment firms, insurance companies, and healthcare systems.
I never planned to be a consultant. In fact, embarrassingly, I hadn’t even heard the term used as a job title until the end of my PhD. Consulting and industries with a heavy reliance on consultants were completely foreign to the world in which I was inculcated.
Over time, I realized that this was a space where I could use my technical training creatively, applying a multifarious perspective to complex commercial decisions. I also noticed two rather conspicuous shortcomings: a lack of creativity in how companies cultivate data, and an underappreciation of how human culture is ingrained in the mental processing and communication of data. Because the US healthcare industry is so complex, people often focus on narrow specializations, losing the ability to discern the forest from the trees, or perhaps more appropriately said, to describe how multiple trees can become a forest.
My background in genomics, population health, and statistics helps bring rigor to my work. I build value arguments that connect everything from technical product specifications to clinical interactions to population-level outcomes. I should note that the logic connecting these value strata are rarely, if ever, straightforward and never scale in a linear fashion. Once an argument is buttressed with the requisite evidence, like a litigator, it then has to be clearly articulated to various stakeholders. That’s often the most challenging part, and where an anthropological lens helps.
(The waiter approaches with a tray of Lapsang Souchong tea)
Medical Anthropology
Xiao:
When reading about you, one term caught my attention — “medical anthropology.” How would you define it?
Randy:
Medical anthropologists study how healthcare is experienced, in other words, how practices or technologies are used and understood. It’s the culture of medicine. They examine what patients and clinicians consider, for example, invasive, ethical, or even effective, and how authority, economics, and relationships shape adoption.
It’s a field that’s surprisingly underutilized in corporate settings, even though its insights can deeply influence how we design and introduce healthcare technologies.
In market access, we often focus on payers and their intermediaries, for example, insurers, benefit managers, integrated delivery networks, etc., since they hold much of the power in the US healthcare system. And while securing beneficial terms here is indeed critical for shaping competitive positioning, in many ways, market access is merely the entry fee to compete for adoption. You can have ideal coverage and reimbursement for a medical product with promising evidence of improved patient outcomes and workflow efficiency yet still fail commercially if you don’t understand how doctors and patients actually engage with a technology. Simply put, culture, not contracts, is the vehicle through which value is fundamentally revealed and validated.
Diversified Geographies
Xiao:
When we talk about access and adoption in the life sciences, geography matters. What differences have you noticed across cultures?
Randy:
You’re absolutely right, Xiao. I’ll start by saying that every country has its own way of evaluating healthcare technologies and defining value. However, given the fact that countries are generally composed of multiple subcultures, you’ve touched on a very important topic. Whether public-serving institutions should mirror popular values is a contentious debate, and one that’s led to major controversies in areas where significant groups have differing views, for instance with mandated vaccination, IVF, access to abortion, etc.
Take genomics. In much of the US, Europe, Canada, and Australia, the individual is generally seen as the autonomous decision-maker, i.e., your DNA belongs to you. This view largely stems from Greek rationalism and Enlightenment ideas on personal ownership.
But in many East Asian, Sub-Saharan African, and Indigenous American contexts, decision-making is markedly collective, at least from the occidental gaze. Genetic information belongs to the group, so clinical testing and even treatment may require both personal and communal consent. In East Asia, this reflects Confucian ideals of family hierarchy and social harmony. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Bantu concept of Ubuntu, “I am because we are”, expresses a similar idea, both contrasting sharply with the Cartesian (French) “I think, therefore I am.” I would caveat this by saying that in recent decades a number of European governments have strictly regulated the use of direct-to-consumer genetic tests used for nonmedical purposes, on the grounds of family harm caused by paternity knowledge, racism and otherization, or the undermining of founding myths. Different cultures define privacy, risk, and value differently based on their histories and their contemporary station. Knowledge of these complexities has helped me to craft go-to-market campaigns with localized tailoring for various global product launches.
A Global Worldview
Xiao:
When we first met, I remember you describing your time abroad, in Peru, Ethiopia, and elsewhere. How did you fare? What did you take away?
Randy:
The greatest gift that I received from those experiences was humility. I didn’t realize how much wisdom I lacked, simply as a virtue of not having been exposed to other ways of viewing the world.
One story from Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia comes to mind. I was walking with a friend, and several people approached asking for alms, more specifically, money, sometimes quite insistently. My friend asked how I felt about it. I said that as a guest in the country, I felt that I should be gracious, and that I’d give if I had the means, though I’d expect it to be used for a necessity. She asked, “Would you be upset if they bought alcohol?” I replied that I would. That I’d feel misled and would probably be less likely to act the same in the future. She looked at me and said, “You’d let a few dollars change something so fundamental about who you are? Are you a fool?”
That conversation changed me. It showed me how two views can be entirely divergent yet both valid. Some would say that the very definition of wisdom is holding two opposing ideas in one’s mind while not feeling the urge to necessarily choose one over another. Working internationally pushed me to adapt, to be creative. Necessity really is the mother of invention.
Understanding Inspiration
Xiao:
You’re rigorously trained in science, with a Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, and Postdoc, but you also have this passion for humanity and history. Where does that come from?
Randy:
I’ve always been fascinated by why people think the way that they do. The world isn’t divided neatly into disciplines — that’s an academic illusion. Or, perhaps one born on Henry Ford’s assembly line, that glorified singular specialization. I don’t think that that approach works well in most areas of the current global economy, and it certainly isn’t our nature as humans. We thrive, and in many ways, find fulfillment, from diverse experiences.
In today’s specialized world, generalists actually have an advantage. Real innovation happens when you can connect dots across fields and adapt them quickly. Leadership comes from a dedication to creative synthesis.
Pastimes and Influences
(Teapot is refilled; the smoky aroma thickens in the air)
Xiao:
Before we wrap up, one last question that I always ask on Mother of Success: could you recommend a book, film, or maybe some music to our readers?
Randy:
Hmm… lately, I’ve been listening to many university lectures on statecraft, and realpolitik. I’ve also enjoyed a number of great musicians, including Gil Scott-Heron, a renowned lyricist and social critic, Tim Maia, a Brazilian funk icon, and the Supreme Jubilees, a gospel group.
Their music captures something deeply human, with lyrics about the shared experience in overcoming commonplace, everyday despair, set to deep, almost instinctive rhythms.
Xiao:
That’s beautiful. Thank you so much, Randy, for your time and for the tea.
Randy:
Thank you, Xiao. I had a wonderful time speaking with you.