Dr Paul Denny-Gouldson, VP Strategic Solutions & Dr Scott Weiss, Senior Director of Product Management, IDBS

As VP of Strategic Solutions, Paul heads the overall strategic planning for the various market verticals and scientific domains that IDBS works in. By working both internally, across IDBS, and externally, with customers and partners, Paul is charged with the exploration and creation of new products, solutions and service offerings. He joined IDBS in 2005 as part of the acquisition of his ELN company and has spearheaded the drive to make E-WorkBook Suite the market leader.

Prior to this, Paul founded a number of companies focused on combining science, technology and business. He started his career as a Post Doc and subsequently Senior Scientist at Sanofi-Synthelabo Toulouse (now Sanofi) for just under five years, where he managed a multi-disciplinary molecular and cell biology department.

Paul obtained his PhD in Computational Biology from Essex University in 1996, and has authored over 25 scientific papers and book chapters.

Scott joined IDBS in 2004, and leverages over 25 years’ experience in pharmaceutical drug development, informatics and software development. He is currently responsible for product strategy at IDBS, and enjoys leading a talented team focused on designing intuitive software that enables organizations to accelerate their R&D – by fostering efficiency, collaboration and data insight. Prior to IDBS, he served as Director of In-Vivo Pharmacology at Vernalis Research. Scott obtained his Ph.D. in Psychology specializing in neuroscience at the University of Leeds and has authored over 45 scientific papers, journal articles and patents.

1. What did the audience learn from attending the webinar?

Paul Denny-Gouldson: We hope that we made a clear case for the business benefits of focusing on user experience (UX) when it comes to developing, and using and implementing research and development (R&D) software.

After exploring the drivers behind the trend towards prioritizing UX in software design, we set out to show that UX and critical functionality are not mutually exclusive and that in fact you can have the best of both worlds.

We believe that we’ve shown that UX-friendly design can facilitate working and collaboration in the externalized, multi-stakeholder lab of the future. By reducing the amount of training needed for in-house and partner R&D specialists, organizations will be able to control costs and support the uptake of new technology.

2. What did you most enjoy about presenting to a live audience?

Scott Weiss: The buzz from presenting live comes from the fact that you really have to articulate your passion in order to stoke the same passion in your audience. I think we both enjoy the immediacy of live presenting and it’s a great opportunity to look at a subject from a new angle thanks to the input from your audience.

3. How did you get into the industry and what do you most enjoy about your role?

Paul Denny-Gouldson: I worked for Sanofi for around five years in France – that was the incentive to start a company to solve some of the problems that I was seeing while running a team of brilliant scientists – we needed to capture what everyone was doing in a way that made it re-usable and reportable. I get a real buzz from solving problems and helping people do more and hopefully one of those people will go on to do something to really impacts people’s lives in a positive way.

Scott Weiss: Both at university and as a post-graduate in pharma, computers and software were an essential part of my daily routine; whether I was writing snippets of code or using commercial software. When I eventually ran a department, I brought in ActivityBase to manage our data and reporting needs. At that point I was hooked, and the rest is history. The best part of being in the product management team is that I get to work with customers and the talented people at IDBS to help deliver clever solutions to common business challenges.

4. What motivates you?

Paul Denny-Gouldson: Making a difference and my family.

Scott Weiss: I left pharmaceuticals because I felt what I could accomplish at IDBS would have a far bigger impact on the industry than I ever could working within it. Satisfaction comes from delivering successful products that people enjoy using and ‘can’t live without’ in their day-to-day working lives.

5. What’s the best thing someone has ever taught you?

Paul Denny-Gouldson: Always talk to people to make sure the dialogue keeps flowing.

Scott Weiss: Listen to people. My first impulse is usually to start talking. I had an inspirational boss early in my career who taught me to listen first. Talk second. I usually remember his advice.