When Brazilian-born Thais Viviani began her career in healthcare 20 years ago, clinical trials looked very different. Long, paper-based processes and manual data collection have given way to decentralized studies, digital patient monitoring, and predictive analytics powered by artificial intelligence.
These advances shape Viviani’s role in Switzerland today. As Therapeutic Strategy Lead at IQVIA, a global provider of clinical research services and healthcare intelligence, she works with biotech and pharmaceutical clients to design data-driven strategies to bring new treatments to market faster.
“Scientific expertise is obviously very important in my role,” said Viviani, who holds a PharmD and an MBA. “But I also have to evaluate a lot of data and technologies that will be part of the strategies. We now apply AI and ML technologies in our planning process, and agentic AI will influence key activities to accelerate tasks during the execution of clinical trials.”
A practical, flexible approach to learning
To keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI and data, Viviani wanted to expand her knowledge of digital strategy and transformation and learn from industries outside healthcare to gain a broader perspective.
Her research led her to IMD’s Executive Certificate in AI and Digital Business Excellence, a globally recognized Certificate of Advanced Studies, designed to build strategic and practical digital leadership skills.
“IMD programs are very practical and international, and that was important to me,” she said. “At the same time, they’re connected to business and different industries.”
She was also drawn to the flexibility of the certificate journey. Participants can choose to attend three programs on IMD’s Lausanne campus or combine two on-campus and two online options, concluding with a final assessment to earn the certificate.
With more than 20 digital and AI programs to choose from, she reached out to an IMD Program Advisor.
“She helped me build a journey that was structured in a way that I could look into strategy, the big picture, but also think about execution and practical examples of AI,” said Viviani.
Viviani opted for three on-campus programs – “a very good decision” – and was able to distribute them over a year.
The certificate journey
Leading Digital and AI Transformation, her first five-day program, focused on helping participants define clear objectives linked to business goals. Built around a set of frameworks and tools, and spanning aspects ranging from technical competence to talent management and organizational change, it guides participants in designing a roadmap to drive their digital and AI transformation initiatives.
“This first program set the scene,” said Viviani. “Understanding the possible frameworks, how they can be applied, and what companies can do in terms of strategies was valuable for me, and even more so for participants who were developing a whole digital transformation.”
Next came AI Strategy and Implementation, which provided a framework for integrating AI, GenAI, and Agentic AI into organizational strategy. Advanced analytic models, the use of AI and autonomous AI agents, and how to develop AI-powered products were among the many topics covered.
“This program was very practical and showed all the possible applications of AI tools,” said Viviani. “I’m using my new knowledge in my current role and I’m now co-leading our AI workstream. It helped me gain momentum in the organization, participate in different projects, and help people use the tools.”
Her final program, Leading Digital Execution, centered on the leadership capabilities needed to drive transformation.
“It was interesting to see how the leadership perspective is different in the digital world,” she said. “The capabilities and skills required are evolving, so understanding where I am and where I should go was helpful.”
The program included coaching sessions, which zoomed in on participants’ digital-related challenges.
“It was really peer coaching, guided by a coach, and I learned a lot,” said Viviani. “We shared our challenges very openly and helped each other.” One of her biggest takeaways from the program was to try to focus on speed rather than perfection.
The human dimension of digital transformation
Across all three programs, Viviani found the real-world case studies particularly enriching. The discussions around them allowed her to reflect on what she could integrate into her role and business.
“For example, if an industry took eight years to develop something, you could draw on the lessons learned from that to do it within a shorter timeframe,” she explained.
Learning alongside participants in different roles and industries around the world not only enabled Viviani to broaden her perspective, it also made her realize that the challenges they all faced were very similar.
“I think moving to agentic AI will be a big shift and the fact that our challenges are so similar shows that, in the end, a human transformation is associated with the digital transformation,” she said.
She believes that the human dimension is essential for success.
“You must have people’s buy-in, so they are part of the transformation,” she said. “Some people are afraid of technology or of what AI can do. But if you frame it as an opportunity for them to focus on more value-added activities, it helps them see the benefits. I think that’s also important in this journey.”
Building trust in digital-enabled healthcare
One of the biggest challenges, she observed, is the trial and error involved in innovation and the time it takes to achieve results. She pointed to the example of predictive analytics, an area in which IQVIA is now very advanced within the healthcare industry because the organization began developing capabilities back in 2016.
Viviani believes that the most important capability companies need to build for digitally enabled healthcare is trust among all stakeholders, from governments to physicians, industry, and patients.
“Healthcare is a very regulated environment – we’re dealing with people’s lives,” she said. “You can have all the digital tools but if there is no trust in the analytics you are generating or the tools you are providing, adoption will not happen. It’s a journey that has to be planned with the involvement of all stakeholders. It’s about developing digital through people and expertise to create trust.”
Viviani reflected that the way the frameworks on IMD’s programs are developed to involve people could contribute to helping organizations create that trust.
Learning at the speed of change
Since earning her Executive Certificate in AI and Digital Business Excellence, Viviani stays up to date through IMD’s articles, podcasts, and faculty-authored books.
“This digital topic is moving so fast,” she said. “The professors are very knowledgeable and have great energy – I feel I can connect with them if I ever need anything. It was a very fruitful experience for me, a great investment, and it even changed my view of the world in terms of AI. The progress in recent years means there are far less hallucinations and I’m more of a believer now.”
Looking back over her AI learnings, she reflected: “I knew companies were moving into this area, but getting real cases from different industries helped me think outside the box. I now understand that, as with any development or innovation, it can fail. But how fast you learn and adapt will change the final outcome.”
