A Day In The Life Of...
We interview a member of the team about what they do at Mendelian. This month, we’d like to introduce you to our Head of Operations, Holly Ward!
Q: When did you start working at Mendelian?
H: August 2020
Q: What does your role at Mendelian involve?
H: I look after the day to day running of the business. This means being involved in things such as finance, marketing, recruitment or looking at how to make us more efficient and ensure all of our staff are happy.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
H: I love how varied my role is, you get to learn a bit everything and very quickly!
Q: What is the most challenging part of your job?
H: Working in Operations means that you have to be involved in pretty much every aspect of the business so you have to know everything that is going on. One moment I could be working on the finances and then at the drop of a hat, I have to put on my legal hat to sort contracts or my HR hat to work on the recruitment pipeline, then it can jump and I can be involved in the clinical meetings and working with the doctors. It is sometimes challenging to decide what takes my priority each day as there is so much going on.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you?
H: I usually start my day super early, I like to be as productive as possible. When I wake up, I like to have a cold shower, get ready for the day then catch up on the news and see how the stock markets have been overnight, this has been a passion and a hobby of mine since I was 16. I then check work emails and usually open my work laptop around 8am - catch up on Slack messages, emails and write my to-do list for the day and what I want to achieve. If I am not in meetings then I am working very closely with the team in different aspects and getting through my never-ending to-do list. Towards the end of the day, I review my list and see what I can cross off. I usually end my day around 6ish. I spend my evenings relaxing, reading and either hopelessly trying to learn the piano or building my own app!
Q: What is your background before joining Mendelian? What made you pursue a career in this field?
H: I completed my Degree then a Masters in Finance at Newcastle Business School and although my educational background was around business and finance, I always wanted to work in medicine, however, on the business side of medicine. Soon after finishing my Masters, I worked in private healthcare, specifically within Ophthalmology and Podiatry. A few years later, I then decided to make the move and relocate to London, where I worked on Harley Street within IVF and eventually moving into technology and digital health. I made the leap to study for my MBA while working, which I completed in 2020 and I loved every moment of it. I love working in a start-up environment and not knowing what each day will hold - I have been fortunate enough to pursue my passion of healthcare, my love of technology and my background in finance all combined into one career.
Q: What advice would you give to others that are looking to move into this field?
H: Look for the 'think-out-side-the-box' companies in digital health, this is where you will get the most fulfilment and joy in your role, you will also learn the most, especially in a start-up environment. Don't be afraid to take a risk, connect and meet as many new people as you can in the industry - LinkedIn is an amazing tool and you will quickly find that in this industry, everybody knows everybody!
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add about your job that makes it more interesting/special than others?
I love that at Mendelian, we all work together on big projects, we come together as a team and everyone is involved, which is quite rare I think. It is amazing that we are all from very different walks of life and backgrounds, however, we all have the same goal and want to use our skills and knowledge, to build software to enable doctors to help patients earlier, by finding the undiagnosed.
If you want to learn more about Holly, then connect via LinkedIn here
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