Rami Elghandour, Chairman & CEO of Arcellx, on Building Great Teams & Cultures
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For the fourth episode of the season, we spoke with Rami Elghandour.
Rami Elghandour is the Chairman and CEO of Arcellx, a clinical stage biotech company reimagining cell therapy. The company announced a strategic collaboration with Kite in December 2022. Prior to Arcellx, Rami was the President and CEO of Nevro, helping take the company public and growing Nevro to approximately $400M in revenue. Rami started his career as a Design Engineer and then as an investor with Johnson & Johnson’s Development corporation. He has earned recognition as EY Entrepreneur of the Year, as one of the top CEOs in the U.S., and as one of the top CEOs for women and diversity. He is also a recipient of the Bill Campbell award by Watermark for his advocacy in promoting women and women’s issues.
Rami received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rutgers University School of Engineering.
In our conversation, Rami and I discussed:
- How his curiosity defined his career journey
- Making an impact on patients and your team
- Scaling early-stage companies
- Overcoming challenges as a team
- Advice for being a senior leader
00:56 to 3:37 — How his curiosity defined his career journey from engineering to investing to CEO
- On what inspired his engineering career: Curiosity about how things, such as his favorite toys, worked inspired an early interest in engineering. He joined Advanced Neuromodulation Systems as an engineer and designed and built implantable neurostimulators, enjoying the process of creating something that benefited patients.
- On how curiosity led him to the business world: A close relationship with his company’s CFO, Jim Caruso, exposed Rami to other parts of the business. Rami’s curiosity about the business world and other areas outside of engineering ultimately lead him to attending The Wharton School to pursue an MBA.
3:37 to 17:55 — Making an impact on patients and your team
- On making an impact for cancer patients: Another driving force in his career is finding opportunities to make an impact. Getting to focus on advancing cell therapy at Arcellx and increasing the likelihood of cancer survival is exactly what he finds exciting.
- On building a culture for his teams to operate well in: Investing in people, culture, and leadership is another passion of his. He defines culture in two parts: one, the values needed for your team to operate well and two, how your company lives by those values. Making a culture real, as in reflective of the values a company talks about, is the driver of a company’s success but can be difficult to foster. Maintaining a culture is ultimately about the people decisions a firm make.
“If you create a culture that is centered around purpose, teamwork, and the greater good, people will be willing to give up their little fiefdoms to be part of something greater.”
- On prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion: This is accomplished by eliminating bias in the hiring process, looking at the team holistically to ensure that the whole team’s makeup is diverse, and creating an environment where people can bring their whole self to work. Leaders can model behaviors that encourages people to be authentic at work. Check out Rami’s TEDx talk on this topic for more insights.
17:55 to 22:36 — Scaling early-stage companies
- On building a company’s strong foundation: Getting the team and the culture right early on allows a company to grow quickly. This foundation also requires a Board of Directors that gives the firm leeway to make long term decisions.
- On the qualities Rami associates with great Boards: The best Board members are interested in building great businesses, care about culture, character, and leadership, and have expertise in the subject matter. Most importantly they think long term and don’t get rattled during difficult times. Rami shares how these qualities of Arcellx’s Board gave him the conviction to make difficult decisions such as taking the firm public during a bear market.
22:36 to 32:53 — Overcoming challenges as a team
- On navigating a challenging financing environment: Having a strong experienced management team, supportive Board, and right investors are critical. Companies need to recognize the market they’re in and have the right strategy and story to tell. Difficult markets mean we’ve shifted from telling dream stories to talking about foundational late-stage clinical programs.
- On having conviction and committing despite naysayers: He shares an example of committing to a difficult decision after reexamining Arcellx’s manufacturing strategy.
Bet on yourself because your performance is what people judge you on at the end of the day.
- On setting goals: Set aggressive yet realistic targets as programs usually take as long as the deadline set. Failing quickly is preferred over inaction. Therefore, companies should strive for a culture that rewards people who listen to the data and change strategies if needed.
“Sometimes personal risk and self-doubt can hold people back… but always remind them that losing slowly is not a strategy.”
32:53 to 34:04 — Advice for being a senior leader
- There’s no magic to being an executive or Board member. Have the confidence that you can do it and just go after it!
