Daniel Bagi joined Thought Leader Select to steer the company’s business development efforts in Latin America in the spring of 2010. With over two decades working for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Dr. Bagi brings a high level of industry expertise to his consulting work with Thought Leader Select’s clients and prospects.
Daniel earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Monterrey (Mexico), and he has served the industry in a variety of capacities, including product development, regulatory affairs, licensing, and business development. He directed global clinical development for a suite of anti-cancer drug therapies at Lorus Therapeutics of Markham, Ontario and IGT Pharma of Vancouver, British Columbia.
More recently, Dr. Bagi has served as a senior consultant to EM Diagnostics, a US-based breast cancer diagnostic company, and, since 2005, he has served as a medical consultant to Riso Pharma Tech, a Toronto company dedicated to developing pharmaceuticals for Latin America and the Middle East.
TLS Blog: Good morning, Daniel. Please tell us why you decided to join us at Thought Leader Select.
Daniel Bagi: For me, one of the most important aspects of any professional endeavor is the work environment, which is defined by the attitudes and expertise of your colleagues. Negativity can cause failure. I was first approached by Neil Mellor (principal business development agent for North America), and Neil is just so upbeat—he exudes confidence and positivity in everything he does. Then, I met the president of the company, Paul Meade, and he had that same great level of positivity and vision—and it seems everyone in the company tries to emulate this particular value.
Just as important was the fact that Thought Leader Select’s work really fell into my universe of expertise as a corollary, a provider to the pharmaceutical industry. This combination of positive people with good energy doing work in my area of expertise was irresistible.
TLS Blog: How do your academic and/or professional backgrounds inform your work at Thought Leader Select?
Daniel Bagi: After studying liberal arts, mainly history and literature, at the University of Toronto, I decided to go to medical school in Mexico. What drew me to the medical field was the idea that I could really help people no matter how I applied the knowledge, the learning that I was embarking upon in my studies. I went to medical school with a great friend of mine who went on to become a cardiologist in the Dallas, Texas area. I, on the other hand, knew I didn’t want to go into practice—I love the knowledge of medicine, but I would rather leave the practice to others —so I went to work doing clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies. Now, here I am, 20 years later, working as a service provider to that same industry, having now served it in a variety of capacities—I ran a biotechnology company for several years, and I even provided investment banking analysis of the pharmaceutical industry, providing insights on management and burgeoning pipelines at the various companies I tracked.
After spending many years on the clinical research side of the business, I had the opportunity to get into business development and present and speak with clients and prospects. I was able to work in Canada, the USA, Mexico and the rest of Latin America—you could say I took a “hemispheric” approach to business development!
TLS Blog: What do you enjoy most about your work at Thought Leader Select?
Daniel Bagi: I get a real adrenaline rush when I introduce and present something I believe in, like Thought Leader Select, to an audience—there’s nothing like it. I believe that a product or service, if it’s good enough, sells itself once people understand its purpose.
TLS Blog: Tell us what your life is like after you hang up your coat every day.
Daniel Bagi: Well, I’ve always loved tennis and played as much as I can. Up until a few years ago, the medical community’s consensus opinion was that endurance training such as long distance running was the best kind of cardiovascular exercise. Being a physician, I believe in the adage: physician heal thyself, ie: by staying fit, and I always believed that tennis was one of the best types of cardiovascular activity. I’m happy to say that some of the more recent medical findings support this view, – that we are better suited for frequent short bursts of energy as a way of keeping our selves fit. I’m also happy to say that I’ve passed along my love of the game to my oldest son, who is a top high school tennis player in Texas.
Family is very important to me. I have five children, and I spend much of my time, when I’m not traveling for work, trying to have quality interactions with all of them. With my career demands, I don’t know if I’ve always been considered to be the best husband, but I relish my role as a father. Whatever it takes, I’m there for my kids—I don’t believe in forcing them to be anything other than themselves, and it’s important to me that they always know I will be there for them.
