As featured in the April issue of Life Science Leader Magazine, CEO Corner:
Sometimes our career paths and the cultural climate we move into can place us at ideal intersections that we may not have anticipated. Yet, from a reverse-engineered perspective, these paths were exactly on track to effect change in often the most striking of ways: unconventionally.
This has proven to be the case for my career, and I am glad to share my history here, in hopes to spark a dialogue on how life science leaders are shaped, how contributions from “all paths” provide new perspectives, and how the benefits of nonconformity can improve future views — and functions therein — of leadership.
While many life science CEOs are created through exceptional technical knowledge along with strong academic qualifications, my journey started with 23 years of service in the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). The Air Force taught me how to be a leader at a young age, while the USPHS gave me the chance to direct large divisions that included highly educated people with M.D.s and Ph.D.s. This background meant that I could craft on-the-job educational experiences, develop highly attuned and niche skillsets, and broaden my perspective, all of which would prove fundamental to building Polaris Genomics from the ground up.
My journey as a biotech cofounder began in 2017, and I stepped into the role of CEO in 2019. Over the years, I learned that being CEO demands rigor in continual education to stay on top of the job and the industry, as well as the unforeseen shifts coming tomorrow.
THE SEARCH FOR A DIFFERENT SKILLSET
I began my career in the military as an engineer, earning a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Following graduation, my Air Force assignments consisted of deployments to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Albania, and Mozambique for combat and humanitarian missions. Following the September 11th attacks, I was put in charge of the environmental and occupational health protection for deployed public health officers at Ground Zero, an experience that led my career toward behavioral health, diagnostics, and drug development. I knew in the days I spent watching grieving first responders walking around without respirators that we would one day see rampant chronic illness and death among those men and women. What struck me more than that knowledge, though, were the looks on their faces and knowing that a significant portion of them would not survive the trauma they witnessed, experienced, and carried with them.
I came away from the site of the deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil compelled to be of service to survivors of trauma — and to learn whether technologies exist that can protect or heal the human psyche.
I began seeking an entirely different skillset than the one that took me to Ground Zero. I went on to serve nearly nine years with positions including Chief of the Neurology Devices at the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, plus four years serving as Chief of Staff of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center when I retired. During that time, I earned a Master of Public Health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. With my mission in mind, these professional pursuits helped me develop a knowledge base in brain science, a foundation in mental health research, and extensive experience managing those engaged in scientific research.
My worldview and leadership skills as CEO of a biotech company addressing mental health issues like the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD by harnessing the power of genomics have benefited from more than my on-the-job skills. That appetite for life-long education led me to study entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business, attend a biotechnology commercialization program at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and participate in startup accelerators at Illumina and the Founder Institute.
ALIGNING CORNERSTONES & CREATING CULTURE
I believe what makes the difference between good leaders and great leaders is what motivates them. I’m still an engineer at heart. I’m captivated by the unique combination of visualizing, creating, and problem solving that is inherent in the construction process — whether it’s building a structure or a sustainable company. It’s no surprise that one of the books that speaks to me as a leader is Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, the second of six titles in the Good to Great series by Bill Collins and Jerry Porras.
Collins and Porras use years’ worth of data to distill the characteristics that distinguish world-class companies — like Merck , GE, and Walt Disney. One lesson I took to heart from that book is that a company must be guided and inspired by a set of ideals, or core values. Our leadership team is made of veterans and those who have served veterans, including my cofounders Tshaka Cunningham, Ph.D., and Anne Neclario, MD, our chief scientific officer and chief medical officer. Our shared values set the foundation for our company’s culture. This became clear when we worked with a consultant to expand our team. She had us brainstorm the traits of our ideal hire, and those traits were a no-brainer — first and foremost, we all want to work with people who are trustworthy and service-minded.
It was really another book, however, that helped me articulate the kind of people we want for Polaris. Seth Godin calls these people linchpins. In his book, Linchpin: Are you Indispensable, Godin differentiates between the kind of person who approaches their job like a factory assembly-line worker, which he calls cogs, and linchpins, who are so reliable, independent, and flexible they often get overlooked. We need people who bring their emotional intelligence to work, not just their skills. We want people who are always looking to make what we’re doing better and who take the initiative to solve problems on their own when they can. In the culture we’re creating, people are expected to roll up their sleeves, be action oriented, collegial, and accountable, regardless of their title or expertise.
At one point our company was weeks away from dissolution. The crisis led to some tough decisions that started with getting the right team in place and with me stepping into the CEO role. Those corrections resulted in closing $2.6 million in seed funding, generating $2.5 million in revenue, and working with industry partners like Sanford Health and the Canadian military on research, product validation, and AI-driven biomarker refinement. Sustaining an exceptional culture is essential to our strategy as we prepare for future growth and our next funding round.
ARTICULATING VISION
Stepping into public speaking meant stepping out of my comfort zone — way out. The adage “actions speak louder than words” once served me as a guiding principle, but as a CEO, I had to evolve. Pitching to investors is more than sharing a list of team accomplishments. It also means selling a vision, a collection of hypotheses, and evidence-based predictions of future events. That’s why I study TED Talks and turned to courses like Magnetic Speaking and Heroic Public Speaking (HPS). Standing center stage can feel unnatural, so I learned to become comfortable with the discomfort.
As I continue to walk my unconventional journey and grow as a CEO, I hold onto the words of playwright, filmmaker, and author David Mamet, ones of which I think Godin would approve: “Do not internalize the industrial model. You are not one of the myriad interchangeable pieces, but a unique human being, and if you’ve got something to say, say it, and think well of yourself while you’re learning to say it better.”
Charles Cathlin is CEO of Polaris Genomics, which is developing a molecular diagnostic for PTSD, and looking to expand into drug development for mental health disorders.