Katherine C. Norris

I think I learned everything from my mother. My mom was a very driven, brilliant, hardworking and successful woman herself, working very hard to break the glass ceiling in the 80s and the 90s. Watching her and my grandmother before her, who was also a bit of a corporate warrior, was inspiring, and I definitely had the benefit of their tutelage. It instilled in me important values and work ethic. Some of what I learned and observed was the way that I felt like there was an imbalance in the workplace, and despite her best efforts, I felt like upward mobility was inherently more limited, despite the fact that she accomplished a lot more than many women of her generation. That goes for both my mom and my grandmother. I think that it sort of instilled in me a sense of drive that I showed up with early in my career, and it continues to motivate me. I really feel very privileged to have learned from them, you know, the good and the bad, their successes and their struggles.

The best advice I got was from a former CEO who had become a CEO of public companies early in his career. He said something that really resonated with me: say the same thing in every room. Being a person of integrity is something that you live, and it means that people know that you mean what you say, you say what you mean, and that there's confidence in your work and value in what you do. That matters a lot.

I think having an open mind to possibilities and following passions or pursuits that really drive you and give you a sense of purpose helps you to build momentum and competencies, because there's passion behind the work that you're doing. At the same time, make sure that you're taking care of yourself and making good choices for yourself, because it's easy to get swept into things that can really drain and exhaust you and detract you from your mission. Be very diligent about committing to the things that matter and being ruthless about saying yes to what drives you. Not every opportunity is a great opportunity, so you really have to be thoughtful about how you evaluate those. Spend time intentionally building a circle of mentors that you can learn from. Aligning yourself with the smartest people in the room always pays off. Finding ways to cultivate relationships with really bright people will help to accelerate your trajectory, because you're learning and getting all the information that you can, and learning how to filter that yourself through the lens of what works for you. Be 100% unapologetically authentic. Learn to be an active listener, but not taking everything at face value. Be a professional cynic to an extent, because you really do have to learn to develop a filter of information.

Companies in the life sciences industry are facing heightened government scrutiny and increasingly complex regulatory risks, creating a strong opportunity for consultants to apply hard-earned industry experience to help organizations anticipate pitfalls and strengthen compliance systems. At the same time, a major ongoing challenge is balancing the intense demands of the profession with family responsibilities, which continues to impact women’s career advancement and long-term parity in leadership roles.

The values most important to me in both my work and personal life are integrity, authenticity, hard work, mentorship, and thoughtful stewardship of my time and choices, as they guide how I show up, lead, and grow.