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Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Women Carolyn Starrett, CEO of Flatiron Health.
Carolyn Starrett grew up wanting to be a judge. Over time and through early jobs, she found a love of technology and a strong desire to work on important problems with a great team. Today, she has found that at Flatiron. She loves the cancer care focused mission but it’s the innovation that is coming that excites her.
Day to day, Carolyn focuses on four key pillars that you might expect from a CEO. Vision and strategy, people, systems and processes, and then the intangibles of culture. Her biggest learning thus far as CEO is no surprise…. it’s lonely at the top. Having mentors helps.
Carolyn also dives into the complexity of cancer care. She doesn’t see any single silver bullet, rather, involving a broad array of stakeholders is required to move faster and do more. The rally cry of the Cancer Moonshot is very exciting to her. Carolyn also discusses areas of innovation such as moving from retrospective real-world data to being able to generate evidence with improved clinical trials. Her strategic approach includes international expansion and making clinical trials more accessible and representative – moving them from academic medical centers to out in communities.
As she reflects on her leadership trajectory, Carolyn emphasizes that being focused on and known for results was absolutely critical. However, it was when she allowed herself to be more vulnerable that she was able to establish and build those critical trusted relationships that led her to CEO.
About Carolyn Starrett
CEO of Flatiron Health
Carolyn oversees Flatiron Health’s community oncology and research businesses and all corporate functions. She previously led Flatiron’s community oncology business, and succeeded Co-Founder Nat Turner as CEO on April 16, 2021.
Prior to joining Flatiron in 2016, Carolyn spent 10 years in senior strategy, product and operations roles at data and technology companies, and five years consulting with healthcare and technology companies at Boston Consulting Group.
Carolyn holds a BA in economics and literature from Brown University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.