Korea Biomedical Review is publishing a series of interview articles highlighting the most influential female executives in the Korean biotech and biopharma industry. This is the first installment. -- Ed.

With a career spanning medicine, academia, clinical research, and now executive management, it’s safe to say that Matica Biotechnology CEO Song Yun-jeong has pretty much participated in all sectors of the bio industry.

Women in leadership roles are becoming more common as companies try to achieve gender balance in the work environment globally.

But particularly in Korea, this process still appears to be a slow transition.

“Women don’t ascend to higher positions because they are afraid to take the opportunities,” Song explained. “Although I didn’t know much about executive management at the time, I decided to challenge myself to learn more about cell and gene therapy at Matica Biotechnology which has allowed me to sit in the front seat and grow with the market.”

As March marks “Women’s History” month alongside International Women’s Day, Korea Biomedical Review sat down with CEO Song to kickstart the interview series on female leadership in Korea’s biotech industry and learn more about how their experiences led them to their current position.

Matica Biotechnology is a cell and gene therapy CDMO based in Texas, the U.S. It is a subsidiary of CHA Biotech, a Korean biotech firm focused on cell therapeutics and stem cell solutions. 

Connecting her medical background to serve industry needs

Song started as a physician gaining her medical degree from Seoul National University. Then, she did research fellowships and residencies in the U.S. with the likes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She then made her way back to Korea leading clinical research studies first at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) and then at Sanofi, before assuming executive management roles at ImmuneOncia Therapeutics and Matica Biotechnology.

“I respect the diligent work that physicians do to see patients every day but I wanted to be involved at an earlier stage on the cutting edge of discovery and that’s why I made the transition from academia and being a physician, to a role inside the bioindustry,” Song revealed.

Still, she maintained that both roles are connected as ideas can be developed from treating patients bedside, which can then be made into scientific discovery and commercialized to eventually help the patient.

“My experience as a medical doctor will always remain as part of my identity. The warm experience of being able to help patients as opposed to times when you cannot do anything to help patients become your ‘true north’ when working in the pharmaceutical industry,” Song explained.

Balancing three shifts daily

Song explained that her daily duties are comprised of three main shifts which begin with her role as the CEO of the cell and gene therapy CDMO, followed by her role as a mother of two kids and communicating with her Korean partner offices in the evening for her last shift.

“As a CDMO, we specialize in manufacturing quality drugs for pharmaceutical innovators across the entire value chain and will try to implement new technologies to be a better partner for our clients,” said Song.

According to Song, Matica Biotechnology plans to increase its capacity and diversify its offering, with expansion projects which will be initiated this year by building something that's three times bigger than the existing facility in Texas.

Switching to her role as a mother, she explained, “I think women are still considered the primary caretaker of the family. Even in northern European countries where there is greater equality in these roles, children are still likely to call for their mom when they are sick.”

Women should embrace these experiences and use them to fuel their strengths, she said.

In this regard, she noted that companies should also acknowledge this and try to be flexible by allowing work from home to help women balance family and career.

She mentioned that managers at Matica also try to work with their employees to be flexible around holiday periods when children tend to be home.

“With a female at the helm, I think it was more natural for Matica Biotechnology to embrace more female-friendly policies which is why I think it is important to have women in leadership roles to champion these needs,” Song said.

Female-dominated roles in the industry

For this reason, she noted that remote jobs like clinical development roles tend to be dominated by women. She also attributed this to majors like nursing and pharmacy which tend to be female-oriented and the fact that women generally possess the traits required to succeed in the profession, like teamwork, project management empathy, and social intelligence.

However, she explained that the Korean multinational pharmaceutical setting is a bit different as it tends to be oriented towards sales and marketing where there is typically less female representation, and instead, female leadership in Korea’s bioindustry tends to appear more in research and development (R&D) institutes.

At the same time, she pointed out that this is not the case everywhere as more than half of Sanofi’s leadership comprised women when she was a part of that organization. Likewise, she added that many other multinational pharmaceutical companies also now have heavy representation of women leadership.

‘Being ready when the opportunity arises’

Drawing on her experiences, Song revealed that women should prepare for upward mobility by constantly learning, being curious, and not limiting themselves to what they are presently doing but also observing what others are doing around them.

“Throughout my career, I was lucky to not have just one great mentor but many and they all held the philosophy that you elevate yourself by elevating others around you.”

In her own experience as a leader, she identified humility as an important trait of a leader to adapt to the changing situations around you.

“Different situations call for different approaches,” Song said. “The leadership style for an organization with 10 people differs from that of 100 and so you have to constantly transform and grow with the company.”

She quickly added that it’s important to surround yourself with the right people to supplement the qualities and skills that might be missing.

In this aspect, she drew parallels with parenthood and leadership as parenting styles also evolve as children grow, highlighting these as unique qualities which make women well-equipped to hold leadership positions.

On the other hand, Song highlighted qualities that can also hold female colleagues back. 

Many women are trained to be humble and serve one step behind the scene, she noted. In addition, women tend to have “very high standards and be meticulous about their work” which can sometimes serve as a barrier for women accepting higher positions within the bioindustry that might seem a little bit outside of their expertise, she said.

Offering advice for women in the industry eyeing higher positions, she said. “I think by practicing being a little more vulnerable, this would allow more women to step up in the future.”

“Women are very comfortable in clinical development but I think to enter into corporate management leadership, you need to also understand the financials, the management, and the HR side of things,” she went on to say.

In this regard, Song stressed the importance of training outside of your field of expertise as much as possible to be better prepared to step up when leadership opportunities arise.

She added that after becoming a leader, everyone will not subscribe to your vision “so it’s important to temper expectations and enthusiasm accordingly.”