Q&A with Ruchita Chawla, Insempra’s Head of Project Management

Hi Ruchita, tell us a little about your background 

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India, where I studied Biotechnology. After finishing my Bachelor of Science degree, I went on to do my master’s in biotechnology at Northeastern University in Boston, USA.  

I am a self-proclaimed “biotech-fangirl” because I am so intrigued by the potential biotechnology has for the planet and products in the future. While I enjoyed engineering organisms at the bench early on in my career, I quickly realized that my place was not in the lab. I truly thrive in managing scientific teams, developing processes to manage projects efficiently and most importantly, empowering scientists by coupling their challenging scientific work to commercial value. 

I wanted to find a role in which I could combine my scientific background with my organizational learnings and strategic strengths to help businesses in biotech scale and grow. Whilst I was in the US, I worked for quite a few biotech start-ups, one of which was Ginkgo Bioworks. I joined Ginkgo when they were just a team of 88 and moved on to my next adventure when they had grown to over 500 people across several locations. 

What is your role at Insempra? 

As Head of Project Management, I provide leadership and direction to project teams. In this role, I define the scope and purpose of each project and assess and evaluate potential new opportunities, which we then translate into managed projects. I support the day-to-day operations of the business and ensure the successful delivery of these projects whilst liaising with the scientific and commercial teams. 

What’s your favorite part of your work? 

I’m a huge people person, so I really enjoy working with diverse teams, and learning with and empowering people, which is why I truly thrive in my cross-functional project management role. I enjoy working for start-ups and being part of their journey and helping them grow. 

What inspired you to join Insempra? 

I had been watching Insempra from afar for a while and was excited by the business’s unique market-driven approach and its rapid growth. I joined the company early this year, when the first product development project started coming to fruition, to support in further developing Insempra’s commercial strategy. 

What’s unique about working for our organization? 

I love the fact that Insempra has such a diverse team, and there’s a great mix of different work cultures here. German working culture is very social and people-driven in my experience – for example, we sit down together as a team to have lunch n the office, which is such a mid-day energizer and really helps us connect as a team. On the other hand, the company is lean and fast in its decision-making, which is one of the more international experiences I have had in the past. So, it’s a unique mix of agile and social, translating into a great work-life balance. 

What are you working on right now? 

I have just finished building a hybrid project management infrastructure, set up our tech stack for project management and implemented lean processes for fast decision-making and reporting. I developed a unique stage gate approach that we call the ‘Innovation Delivery Methodology (IDM)’. This approach focuses on flexibility, and adaptability across functional teams and ensures rapid learning via feedback loops within and across our projects.  

With this established framework, Insempra is well-positioned to execute its projects with the highest possible efficiency, supporting its approach to market orientation and rapid scaling.  

Thank you Ruchita!  

Posted by Nicole Laurence