Professional Experience

Susan Michl

Changemaker | Strategic Partner | Transformational Leader

Collaborative advisor, connector, and leader with a proven track record of satisfied clients and successful engagements. I provide strategic support, interim leadership, program management, and client relationship management to clients across the globe. Passionate about delivering pragmatic solutions for integrated technology and business strategies. I help companies tackle big business challenges, launch complex enterprise systems, and optimize global processes to enhance operational efficiencies in the life sciences, healthcare, and technology sectors.

With 20+ years of industry and consulting experience, I am known for bringing calm and clarity in ambiguous situations, fostering creativity, diversity and empathy in collaborative teams, and embracing big ideas united by a shared vision and path to success. 

Global Program & Project Management • Executive & Stakeholder Engagement • Technology Leadership
Cross-functional Collaboration • Strategy Development • Change Management • Annual Planning
Team Leadership & Coaching • Risk Management • Governance • Operational Excellence

 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Collaborative Advisor: Guiding executives and leadership teams through transformative initiatives with transparency and finesse. Creating connections between people and ideas to create optimal solutions.

Strategic Partner:  Building trusted partnerships and accelerating client success through collaboration, accountability and communication.  I excel at building and maintaining strong relationships with executives, understanding their unique challenges, and delivering customized solutions to meet their challenges.

Global Technology Leader: Leading matrixed teams across global time zones to deliver complex technology strategies and implementations on time and on budget. Designing and leading global initiatives involving critical deadlines, matrixed teams, integrated technology, and complex change management.

Expert Problem Solver: Synthesizing challenges quickly, using data to inform decisions, co-creating innovative solutions centered on customer needs. Finding a way forward in ambiguous situations, fostering creativity and empathy through a growth lens., helping teams embrace big ideas united by a shared vision and path to success. 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Founder, Principal

Susan Michl Consulting LLC, Seattle, WA (August 2023 – present)

With a proven track record of successful transformational initiatives and a dedication to helping clients succeed, I bring my industry and consulting experience to empower life science and healthcare clients to achieve their full potential.

  Key Accomplishments

• Business development and strategy coaching helped client overcome reservations and implement new skills and strategies to grow business pipeline and exceed revenue goals

• Strategic advisory services with health and life science clients 

• Authored innovative statewide report on child development services cited in federal funding request

• Managed statewide initiative developing and implementing new laws for children and youth

Principal Consultant

Point B Inc, Seattle, WA (September 2021 – March 2023)

Built industry practice focused on Cell & Gene Therapies, managed client portfolio and delivery teams. Developed go-to-market strategy and solution sets for life science clients. Involved in commercial FDA approval of two autologous cell therapy drugs.

  Key Accomplishments

• Cultivated executive client relationships, utilizing design thinking strategies to tackle challenges and build cooperative solutions. Advised and delivered critical client engagements in the IT, operations and PMO spaces. Architected and led pursuits across the life science industry portfolio.

• Led solution development of an enterprise IT/OT systems roadmap for new cell therapy manufacturing facilities. Deliverables included definition of organizational priorities, key success metrics, sequencing of technology to optimize investment strategy, ROM budget for implementation and systems maintenance and presentations for executive stakeholders and investors.

• Led go-to-market (GTM) strategy of new emerging industry team. Presented at industry conferences, authored white papers, created marketing and digital content 

• Developed multiple client solution offerings including process and tools to assess an organization's readiness for critical FDA regulatory approval milestones, benchmarking framework for IT and business systems, operational governance strategy, and commercial drug approval PMO.

• Championed internal company passion for emerging cell therapy industry involving education materials, mentorship, internal knowledge resources and community.

Senior Managing Consultant, Senior Account Leader

Point B Inc, Seattle, WA (April 2020 – September 2021)

Managed client relationships and growth portfolio in life science. Managed large account teams delivering multiple global initiatives.  Led large complex global programs involving complex program management, system implementations, cross-functional business process optimization, and change management.

  Key Accomplishments

• Managed development and multiple releases of custom global enterprise solution and integrated GxP platform (COP, ERP, MES, LIMS, Boomi) to support end-to-end clinical and commercial cell therapy drug development process. Program included multiple cross-functional workstreams, program governance and change management processes.  Established integrated release planning process within validated environments which included on and offshore development teams and multiple integrating systems. Managed executive, technical, quality and business stakeholders throughout program lifecycle.

• Led cross-functional end-to-end Chain of Identity (COI)/ Chain of Custody (COC) verification for US and Global autologous cell therapy manufacturing and supply chain ecosystem. Engagement included developing framework and verification strategy, internal/external stakeholder identification, definition of quality and global regulatory standards and GXP documentation framework.

• Led cross functional teams (including intl. subsidiaries and vendors) to define global standards, business processes, perform risk assessments, SOP's and Work Instructions, to meet regulatory/compliance standards. Created change management playbook for commercial launch cut over.

• Identified process inefficiencies or gaps in COI/COC controls and recommended process improvements that maintained regulatory, compliance and quality standards. Created scalable framework and process that was executed for multiple drugs in US, EU and Japan.

• Managed contract manufacturing and vendor partner readiness, proposed operational improvements to communication and reporting issues impacting quality and compliance risks.  

• Managed account team delivery of multiple complex engagements across critical client workstreams. High retention and satisfaction of consultant team and clients requested multiple extensions and expressed high levels of trust in teams’ ability to deliver.

Senior Managing Consultant, Account Leader

Point B Inc, Seattle, WA (May 2015 – April 2020)

Managed rapidly growing healthcare client portfolio. Led client engagements involving complex program management, system implementations, cross-functional business process optimization, and change management.

  Key Accomplishments

• Managed new mail-order pharmacy facility commissioning program which included implementing and integrating software and hardware, change management and training of staff. Scope included UAT testing with fulfillment teams, warehouse, and vendors across 9 regional pharmacy locations.

• Managed strategy and execution of all phases of testing for pharmacy software implementation at regional healthcare provider across 15 integrated systems including clinical applications, finance, payor benefits management, pharmacy operations, fulfillment, inventory and supply chain operations. Managed risk and defect tracking, executive escalations and reporting.

• Managed technical implementation of a regional population health tool. Assessed existing practices, proposed improvements to the technical program management process to recover timelines, improve alignment, communication and team morale. Led team through parallel development of 8 interfaces originating from multiple data sources from regional providers in multiple formats (837, HL7, CCDA).

Senior Business Consultant

Point B Inc, Seattle, WA (April 2012 – April 2015)

Led complex system implementations, managed organizational adoption and change, optimized operational strategies and established new business processes for technology, healthcare, retail and entertainment clients.

  Key Accomplishments

• Developed and managed comprehensive testing strategy for highly customized Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), electronic medical record (EMR) implementation (Cerner, Epic) for large regional Cancer Center. Led team that executed testing for 1,000+ PowerPlans and 40+ testing events across multiple domains and integrated systems.

• Led planning and management of six-week clinic implementation cut-over with 60+ support team members and clinic staff. Included daily stand-ups, logistics, staffing plans, communications, escalations and issue resolution.

• Managed initiative to establish new global non-profit health organization. Counseled executives on separation from legacy organization, creation of Pro Forma and business plan for new organization. Managed transition of staff and assets and operational start-up functions including legal, insurance, data migration, IP, and outsourced HR and IT functions.

• Established release management function for a large entertainment company launching a new consumer product and single sign-on (SSO) service. Assessed existing release practices, implemented continuous process improvement and agile methodologies. Created playbook of processes and tools that were replicated in other teams across the organization.

Senior Program Manager

Microsoft, Redmond, WA (2007 - 2012)

Led global content strategy and implementation of new content management system, publishing tools and processes across 35 global markets in conjunction with major product releases for www.microsoft.com, Windows and Windows Live consumer spaces.

  Key Accomplishments

• Led cross functional teams in migration releases, systems implementations, and international site strategies for Windows and Windows Live consumer spaces.

• Managed a multi-year, highly technical implementation and adoption of enterprise SaaS publishing system, where disparate systems, processes and teams were being blended. Led a cross functional team integrating the marketing teams and sites into the content management and localization processes in preparation for the Windows 7 launch.

• Managed the successful release of Windows 7 website in 56 global markets, and multiple Windows Live worldwide consumer website releases in 76 markets.

• Created program to migrate 76 International subsidiary marketing websites from locally hosted and funded websites to the centrally managed corporate domain. Defined Key Performance Indicators and created strategy to monitor and report on progress towards meeting KPI’s.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (jump)

EDUCATION

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

• Mentor, University of Washington iSchool, Information Management, 2022 - present

•  bProud (LGBTQIA+ BRG), Advocate - Executive Committee, Point B, 2020 - 2023

• Advisory Committee, WestSide Baby, Advocate - Executive Committee, 2018 - 2020

•  Parent Association Officer, University Child Development School, 2018 – 2020

• Board of Directors, Women’s Funding Alliance, Executive Committee, 2015 - 2018