Pharma Forum 2019 wrapped up at the Marriott Marquis in New York’s Times Square with a ceremony to honor this year’s recipients of the Trailblazer Awards. This is the second year that life sciences meeting professionals have been singled out for their contributions to the industry and the international recipients are based in the New York area and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Experience Innovation Trailblazer Award honoree was nominated by multiple clients and colleagues. Pablo Yudi, sales manager at Hilton Buenos Aires, was recognized for finding creative solutions for each event and training new staff to comply with pharmaceutical meeting guidelines. Yudi’s clients have said he is the reason they choose Hilton Hotels, and one of his colleagues said, “He loves this business and it shows and we are proud to have him as part of the team.”
The Collaboration Trailblazer Award is given to a recipient who makes extraordinary efforts to improve relationships and work effectively with key partners. This year it was given to Patricia Metz, senior manager, aggregate spend & data management with Bayer. After less than two years at Bayer she has created key partnerships between departments, found and implemented efficiencies, and trained team members in Cvent software. Metz was nominated by Isabelle Gordon, head of U.S. meeting and convention management at Bayer who called her, “A ray of sunshine and someone I admire.”
The Passionate Leadership Award was given to Joan Mondi, associate director, global meetings and travel, Celgene. She was nominated by Bina Privitera of American Express Meetings & Events for implementing a strategic meetings management program that has enabled Mondi to increase trackable spend by 700 percent. Since joining Celgene in 2014, Mondi has implemented a centralized sourcing platform and meetings technology tool, and unified travel and meetings policies to address compliance and duty of care. The passionate leadership award is given to recipients who embody, “the meaning of passion in every aspect of work, from leading a successful and engaged team to conducting highly-rated meetings to impressing the importance of the patient in the industry.”
