Erin Gainer
Chair of the Board at HRA Pharma
PhD in Epidemiology
INSEAD Executive MBA
"I have been asked by my company's founder to step up as CEO in the context of a succession plan, and of course it’s the kind of opportunity you can’t refuse.
I think that women, unfortunately, still suffer from what we call the imposter syndrome. Even though they may be very successful and be promoted, there's always, or often, a sense of self-doubt, "Do I really deserve to be here? Can I manage teams of people, can I motivate them?" I do think that remains a challenge and a handicap for women today.
INSEAD was really very critical in my ability to build confidence and the confidence required to take on the senior leadership role.
Getting ready to take on this job, that's where INSEAD came in and really helped me build a sense of confidence, learn strategies for dealing with business challenges, human challenges and talent management."