Her Story
About Liza
Liza Michelle Rivera is a global marketing and communications leader currently serving as Vice President of Marketing & Communications at SK pharmteco. Based in the Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill area, she leads worldwide marketing strategy for the company’s small molecule and advanced therapy CDMO services. Her work focuses on elevating brand positioning, driving data-driven and AI-enhanced marketing strategies, and strengthening lead generation through integrated communications, digital marketing, public relations, and thought leadership initiatives. She is also known for building high-performing, globally distributed teams and fostering talent development through mentorship and collaborative leadership.
Prior to her current role, Liza spent nearly two decades at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, where she progressed into senior global leadership positions including Vice President of Global Marketing. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s global brand presence in the biopharmaceutical CDMO sector and building its marketing organization from the ground up. She is widely recognized for driving significant digital transformation, including expanding the company’s LinkedIn presence from under 10,000 followers to over 124,000, while implementing innovative, insight-led marketing strategies that supported global business growth and market expansion.
Earlier in her career, Liza built a strong foundation in life sciences after earning her Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences from Penn State University. She began her professional journey in academic research labs, including roles at Emory University and UMass Worcester, before transitioning into the biopharmaceutical industry through marketing and commercial roles at organizations such as Formatec, Integrated Biosystems, and Asahi Kasei Medical America. This combination of scientific training and commercial expertise enabled her to specialize in translating complex scientific concepts into impactful marketing narratives across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Liza
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from my first boss when I was very early in my career, around 26 or 27. At the time, I had a habit of writing extremely long emails and sending them to far too many people. Looking back, I think part of it was wanting to prove myself and show how much I knew.
One day, he said to me, “Liza, you need to learn to be concise.”
It sounds simple, but it completely changed how I communicated. He taught me that business writing is not about showing everything you know. It is about making it easy for people to understand what matters, what decision needs to be made, and what action is required.
That advice has stayed with me throughout my career. Today, I am very much a bullet-point person. Clear. Direct. Focused. Because how you communicate shapes how people experience your leadership.
It may not sound like the most inspirational advice, but it was one of the most practical and valuable lessons I ever learned. I still tell people: if your email reads like a dissertation, most people are not going to read it. Concision is not just a writing skill. It is a leadership skill.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in marketing is that the function is still often misunderstood. Marketing can be viewed as a cost center, when at its best, it is a driver of long-term growth, brand credibility, customer trust, and commercial momentum.
That also means marketers have to do a better job connecting activity to business value. I always tell my team that reporting impressions or clicks is not enough. Executives need to understand what those numbers mean, why they matter, and how they connect to pipeline, customer engagement, brand preference, or commercial conversations.
A second challenge is representation. Women are still underrepresented in many C-suites, and ageism is also a real concern, particularly for women. Experience should be viewed as an advantage. The judgment, perspective, and pattern recognition that come with time are incredibly valuable in leadership.
The opportunity, however, is just as significant. AI is one of the biggest tools in front of us, especially for marketing and communications. I do not see it as a replacement for human judgment. I see it as a way to improve efficiency, sharpen thinking, accelerate content development, and generate better insights, if it is used responsibly.
For me personally, one of the most exciting opportunities is building a brand at a meaningful stage of growth. That kind of work is rare. It is not just about a campaign or a quarter. It is about creating a foundation that is credible, differentiated, and durable. If you do it well, the impact lasts beyond any one person.
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