Three questions with… James Thatcher
James Thatcher
Chief Commercial Officer
James Thatcher is a results-driven Sales Leader with 15+ years of experience building high-performing teams, deepening customer relationships, and driving growth across life sciences and eClinical technology organizations.
Tell us about your domain expertise and why you choose to work in the clinical trials technology market.
I’ve been in both the life science and healthcare markets in various sectors since I graduated from university. Having seen several family members and friends battle illnesses of all different types, I’m driven by the opportunity to play some part in bringing new medicines and treatments to those who need them as quickly as possible. I firmly believe the technology we are responsible for can support pharma in their efforts to arrive at critical endpoints as quickly as possible. This in turn, helps condense the time needed to bring a new drug from discovery to market.
What are your views on the current eCOA technology landscape? (And how do you see uMotif within this landscape?)
The eCOA market is full of fantastic technologies through a variety of different-sized companies. It’s a busy marketplace with each technology having its own individual merits. What excites me about uMotif, and the product development efforts we’re driving, is that we come to market with a truly consumer experience for all stakeholders — be it a patient, investigator, or sponsor team.
The way pharma is using technology is changing, with AI driving processes and working models forward at an alarming rate; it’s hard for a large, established technology company to make the evolution required to meet pharma where they want to be. uMotif is ready to do that, combining a market-leading UI with the domain experience and scientific expertise to ensure the supporting services, data quality, and processes still meet the demands of running pivotal trials.
What led you to join uMotif, and how is it different from your other experiences?
I’m drawn to good people. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some fantastic leaders throughout my career. Having known Andrea Valente (uMotif CEO) for several years and getting to know Bruce Hellman (Co-Founder & Chief Patient Officer) excited me about what we could achieve together. Working alongside the uMotif team to continue bringing our vision to life was something I couldn’t pass up. I’m pleased to say that since joining, getting to know the wider team, including a fantastic commercial group, it’s everything I hoped it would be.
What guides you in your role as a Chief Commercial Officer? What is your approach to building deep customer relationships?
There is no single thing that guides me, I am born from my experiences, the people I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, and those who’ve mentored me along the way. Taking the best of them and applying them in a way that I believe in is how I approach my role.
With regards to customer relationships… I simply love people. I enjoy getting to know people from all walks of life, understanding what their objectives are both personally and professionally. I’m deeply curious about the lived experiences of others, and I think that comes across during my interactions with them. Like I said, I am drawn to good people, whether they are colleagues, customers, or acquaintances and enjoy building relationships with them all. I hope they feel the same and enjoy getting to know/working with me and my uMotif colleagues.
Connect with James on LinkedIn to arrange a meeting, or to discuss more about how uMotif’s eCOA/ePRO platform can transform patient engagement in your next study.