Meet The Disruptors: Amy Ronneberg Of Be The Match BioTherapies On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Learn to dance in the rain. That has certainly been a great reminder these past two years. There are times that are extraordinarily hard, but as leaders we need to press forward. We can’t wait until everything is sunshine and rainbows. Our most important time to lead is when there are clouds and rain. That is when leadership is most needed.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Ronneberg.
Amy Ronneberg, CEO of Be The Match BioTherapies, leads an organization of more than 1,300 professionals and 3,000 volunteers, fighting so all people, irrespective of background, receive the life-saving cell therapy they need. With nearly 30 years experience, she joined the organization in July 2013 as the CFO. Amy earned a Master of Business Administration from Capella University, Minneapolis, Minn., and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I knew I wanted to do “something” in business but wasn’t clear on what that something was. A neighbor said, “Whatever you do, don’t do accounting, it is impossible”. That was the challenge I needed. I took an accounting class and realized this was a solid path in business. After spending five years at Ernst & Young I joined Capella Education Company a small start-up looking to offer accredited degrees in an online platform. Today this is part of all student’s experience, but in 1999 it was cutting edge. It was an incredible journey as I was part of taking a company public, growing a company from $10 million to $500 million, starting new programs, implementing SOX 404, and heading up operations. I loved making a difference in people’s lives while still doing what I enjoyed. This led me to healthcare.
As I was interviewing with NMDP/Be The Match I was received the call on May 7 that no one wants to receive, “You have cancer.” NMDP/Be The Match hired me knowing I had a long road of chemotherapy and surgeries ahead of me. They gave me hope. I realized that I was part of something truly special in that at we give thousands of patients hope — hope for another tomorrow. I know I am exactly where I was meant to be. My patient perspective is always top of mind and every decision we make is rooted in what is best for the patient.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Bone marrow transplant has been around for decades and although significant progress in outcomes has occurred over the years, the way of procuring stem cells has been relatively unchanged. In 2020, when the pandemic hit our whole world was rocked. Historically we put a volunteer courier on a plane with the cells which were collected in concert with the patient’s transplant preparation putting significant urgency on the donor collection. The donor was expected to have up to seven visits for their preparation.
When the travel ban from Europe was issued in mid-March 2020, we saw a greater than 80% reduction in flights in and out of the US, a 47% drop in couriers, and a 39% probability of donor unavailability. Overnight, thousands of patients in the world lost hope. They would not be able to get their life saving cells. In the face of border closures, travel bans, and flight cancellations. Be The Match secured the only known blanket program European travel waiver from the CDC. It required close collaboration and negotiation with State Department, Department of Health & Human Services, US Customs and Border Protection, former Vice President Mike Pence, the Center for Disease Control, and the Department of Homeland Security, to secure the exception so that patients in the US could receive the bone marrow transplants they need.
But we still had to facilitate the actual travel and transport of cells. The week of March 16, 2020 alone we had a 159 total collections scheduled from an international donor center. We recruited and trained 300+ couriers and partner courier companies to move products, arranged and rearranged private flights, and negotiated travel approvals from local and national governments around the world. The logistics required to pull this off were truly bold — from staff literally driving across entire countries to hand cells across borders, to securing a seat on a humanitarian flight as the only path out of a fully locked down country. Through these efforts, Be The Match did not miss a single transplant and went on to have a record-breaking year.
In 2020, Be The Match impacted more lives than ever before in our 30 year history, — at 6,660 lives including a record-breaking single month in June. By securing 325+ CDC waivers allowing foreign nationals entry into the US and the associated reorganization of our courier logistics, we served more than 2,000 international patients during the pandemic months of 2020. We facilitated nearly 3,000 imports or exports of collected product during that time as well.
For the first time ever, some of our cell product was not hand transported by courier, owing to our innovation of a hub-and-spoke delivery model. We executed 1,475 deliveries this way in our first year and reduced courier travel distances by 30%.
Life-saving services to blood cancer and disease patients surpassed goals in 2020. We met 58% of first requested collections vs. 45% for fiscal 2019. All products were delivered to patients who started their conditioning regime. Be The Match improved donor experience while also reducing time to transplant for patients, acknowledged as a key contributor to a patient’s successful outcome.
Be The Match was also able to further establish its leadership in several spaces in the industry. We organized and participated in multiple webinars regarding COVID-19 through partnerships with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network, the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, the International Society for Cellular Therapy, and the World Marrow Donor Association. We provided worldwide leadership and guidance on donor work-up criteria throughout the pandemic and guidance to the CDC on vaccinations, boosters and transplant recipients.
One specific innovation that supported our changed travel and logistics approach was the mobilization of our Be The Match BioBank capabilities for the cryopreservation of collected product. Cryopreservation had not been used widely prior to this time. Thanks to a Be The Match and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) study during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to show that cryopreservation of allogeneic hematopoietic cell grafts did not adversely affect early post-transplant survival. This lead to a lasting change in practice with the use of cryopreserved products growing from 8% in fiscal 2019 to 95%+ in 2020.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I don’t know about the funniest but certainly have made several mistakes which quite frankly are offer the biggest opportunities for learning. When I was a second year auditor at Ernst & Young we were having a social event with the team at ADM. The CFO said who wants a ride back to the office. I jumped in his car. Now this is an $85 billion organization and that offer was clearly for the audit partner on the job. After being “educated” on my naivety I could have been embarrassed or mortified. Instead, I reflected that in life you need to go-for it. At times it may not work but most of the time when you go for it, it has a big pay-off.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I’ve been very blessed with mentors and sponsors along my journey and I firmly believe you need both in your career. One of my greatest mentors passed away unexpectedly this year, but his words and advice are in my thoughts every day. When I was uncertain of myself or not confident in my ideas, he always set me straight. He would ask, how many times have you gone from a role and failed? How many times have you put your heart and soul in an idea and it didn’t move forward? The answers were of course very few times. And if there was a failure, what was the worst that happened? My ego was a little bruised. That is nothing compared to the impact an idea can have. And, to be able to say that you have no regrets because you tried or you went for a role you wanted is a great way to live.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I think it comes down to the “why.” Why is disruption being planned? If its for the sake of disruption or to elevate your resume or status, then it’s a problem. If a system or structure has withstood the test of time, it doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better. At the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves in this industry if the outcome and quality of life for patients is the absolute best (similar to life before their diagnosis or better). If not, we are obligated to disrupt. If the patient is the driver for disruption than it will be positive. If it is about bottom line, ones own career, and so on, then it is not so positive.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
1. Surround yourself with the strongest people possible. Early in my career I thought I needed to be the smartest person in the room to be a good leader. I have since learned that the best leaders bring together the best teams with different experiences, opinions and backgrounds.
2. Always keep the end customer in mind. This guides my team’s decision making today. What is best for the patient? Ultimately this space is about creating more cures, improving quality of lives, and giving patients hope. We can never lose site of that.
3. Stay Humble and Be Kind. That might even be from Cinderella but so incredibly relevant. This gets back to being one’s authentic self and knowing that no matter what your title or your role, everyone around you wants to be treated with respect. If you want people to follow you, especially when times get incredibly tough, you have to be respectful, kind, and humble.
4. Learn to dance in the rain. That has certainly been a great reminder these past two years. There are times that are extraordinarily hard, but as leaders we need to press forward. We can’t wait until everything is sunshine and rainbows. Our most important time to lead is when there are clouds and rain. That is when leadership is most needed.
5. Your are only a leader if you turn around and people are following you. So true! A leader needs to have a vision that everyone in the organization can understand and connect to personally. Then leaders must communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more. If you are pushing a vision, initiative or disruption forward without the organization following you, you will fail. If the entire organization is behind you and understands the end game and how they fit it, you will move mountains.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We are far from done. We have made incredible advancements but until every patient that hears those three words You have cancer knows that there is hope through technology, we must push on. I want my kids to know that cancer is not a debilitating disease. Today, we are able to serve about a one-third of all patients with blood cancers/diseases that need a life saving therapy. And, there is a significant gap between a white and black/African American patient. If you are a white patient you have a 79% chance of finding a suitable match and receiving a life saving transplant. If you are a black/African American patient you only have a 29% chance of finding a suitable match. This has to change. I know our organization will continue to disrupt and solve this problem so all patients, irrespective of background, will find their life saving cell therapy.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
Hamilton the Musical. I saw this when it first came to Broadway in 2015 before it was so popular, so I went into it having no idea what I was going to see. It has had a deep impact on me. This idea that it doesn’t matter where you came from or your pedigree, but that hard, honest work and being your authentic self is what matters is profound. Early in my career I would be intimidated by the Harvard degrees in the room or the family histories in business. Here I was from a small town in Wisconsin, the first to go to college in my family, and a graduate of a state school in Wisconsin. I thought I didn’t belong at the table at times. Hamilton reminds me that its not the past or your pedigree that matters, but what you do today and the importance of just putting yourself in the room. It’s about hard work. Building something today that will impact the future is what is important. If its important, don’t take no for an answer. Find a way to make it happen. Do not give up. Fight for what you believe in. This became so important for our organization during COVID-19 when at every corner we turned there was a NO. We didn’t stop. We pushed and pushed for the patients that needed a life saving cell therapy and because of this we were able to help more patients than ever in our history during the pandemic.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote?” Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I am a quote geek and absolutely use life quotes all the time, so it is hard one to name just one. I would say one of my favorites is, “Be yourself because everyone else is taken.” I think it has taken me 40 years to truly realize this. If I could do one thing for my kids it would be to have them truly believe this and live. I found myself early in my career trying to act or be like leaders that I admired. I would change who I truly was because I wasn’t confident enough in myself. I thought, “Well they have advanced in life so I should be like them.” I now know that being truly myself and bringing my authentic self to work is my superpower. People see right through the act, but they respect and appreciate someone who is authentic, mistakes and all. When we are truly comfortable in our own skin we can let go of the time and energy we spend trying to be someone else. That is when we can do great things!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
If every healthy 18–25 year old signed up for the NMDP/Be The Match registry we would have a suitable match/donor for every patient in the world that needs a life saving transplant each year. We could ensure every child, mother, father, sister, grandparent, and friend has a suitable donor to provide optimal outcomes. If each person was willing to swab their cheek (5 minutes) and donate their cells (a day or two of their life in total), they would give a patient another tomorrow. We could cure all patients with a blood cancer or blood disorder in the world.
How can our readers follow you online?
Linkedin:
Amy Ronneberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-ronneberg-70297610/
Be The Match BioTherapies: https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-the-match-biotherapies/
Twitter:
@btmbiotherapies
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClUnHQBsHp0BQhcgCsLgEGw
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Meet The Disruptors: Amy Ronneberg Of Be The Match BioTherapies On The Five Things You Need To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
