Steve Clark
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Usually my dog, Pippa! As I love meeting and interacting with people, I’d have to say my daily motivator is working with great people.
What’s the best thing about working in healthcare comms?
Knowing that I can make a real difference to people’s lives. I’ve been lucky to have worked on products and projects that have really helped to improve people’s lives, and that’s something that doesn’t come from most other industries.
What’s the worst thing about working in healthcare comms?
The fact that the pharma industry is so misunderstood and undervalued by the general public. I know there have been some companies that have damaged the image of the industry, but most companies are genuinely good, and pharma has been at the centre of so many advances in medicine.
What’s your favourite bar or eatery?
Choosing just one is difficult! I love little independent cafes – they have to be dog friendly, of course. I’d say Geo Café in Caversham is my favourite; it’s a great little place and everything is cooked and baked fresh on the premises. The staff are lovely, genuine people too.
Which book/film would you recommend above all others and why?
I’d recommend the Century Trilogy by Ken Follet. The series takes you through the First and Second World Wars and The Cold War. It was an education, as well as a cracking read.
Which buzzwords/office-jargon get on your nerves?
I always have to suppress a cringe at ‘reach out’, why can’t we just ‘speak with’? As I was told a while back, ‘the only time it’s acceptable to “reach out” is if you’re a member of The Four Tops!’.
Which person, living or dead, do you admire the most and why?
It’s not just one person – I’m always impressed and inspired by the people I meet in the cancer community who give so much of themselves to help others, despite all the challenges they face.
Who is your healthcare comms hero/heroine?
There are two former bosses who really made such a difference to me, Caroline Horwood and Giles Moss. They both guided me through challenging times in my career and taught me so much about what marketing and business management is all about. They’re both lovely people too.
What has been your career highlight to date?
I think it has to be launching ‘Epilepsy Care: Making it Happen’ when I was at Sanofi UK. It was an innovative partnership between pharma, HCPs and the Department of Health, and was shown to directly improve the care of people with epilepsy. This also taught me how working between pharma companies and agencies can, and should, be a partnership; in this case it was with Scot Buchan at Strategen.
What is your golden rule/piece of advice for someone starting a career in healthcare comms?
Remember who we’re here for – it’s all about patients and quality of life. That may sound glib but so often people get caught up in careers and career paths and forget what makes our industry so different.
Steve Clark is a Director at Redwood Brand Curators and volunteers as a Patient Voice with Bowel Cancer UK and an Expert Patient with the Association of Coloproctologists of Great Britain and Ireland.
Steve also created the Strive for Five to Beat Bowel Cancer campaign, www.striveforfive.org. Steve was honoured to be awarded the 2019 Healthcare Communications Advocate Award at Communiqué.