We Are Norstella

Katie Logan

director of talent acquisition

Katie Logan is the director of talent acquisition at Norstella, playing an integral role in finding the right expertise that is eager to embody our core values and innovate in this evolving industry. She started working at MMIT back in 2021 and has since been promoted to lead the talent acquisition team across all Norstella’s companies. Katie is inspired by the mission-driven work that we do and the culture of the organization and believes the people of Norstella are what sets us apart.

Tell us a little bit more about your role. What does your day-to-day look like?

I lead our commercial and consulting talent acquisition partners and I support them in hiring the best talent for our company. We partner very closely with the leaders in the business to post new positions, recruit candidates that fit the requirements for what we’re looking for, coordinate interviews with the hiring teams, and then ultimately hire the strongest candidates and bring them on board to join Norstella.

How did you join the company? What in your background brought you to pharma?

I joined MMIT in October of 2021, so at that point it was only about 400 employees. I was interested in the company because my mom was a pharmaceutical sales representative, so I was familiar with that side of the pharma industry and was interested in learning other aspects of the industry. To be totally honest, I didn’t know a ton about the company at all when I joined. I really had no idea how amazing what we do is, so I was just excited about the role and the team I was joining. I didn’t really realize how much I’d love the mission until I got here and learned a little bit more about what we do and what our data does.

What are some of the larger projects you’re working on?

Currently our team is working to support the integration of the India talent acquisition team.
It’s really exciting. We made that acquisition recently and being able to integrate them has been a big project. One of our other recent big projects was the change in the applicant tracking system that we use. That’s the tool that we use to post jobs, review applications, and communicate with our applicants to manage the recruitment process. We made the change about nine months ago and our new system is better equipped to handle Norstella’s needs as we continue to grow our business. 

What’s been your career highlight to date?

My career highlight to date is truly this role at Norstella. That sounds cliché, but I really am so appreciative to the leaders who gave me the opportunity to take on more here and be able to lead such an amazing team. This has been my favorite role ever; I feel very grateful that I was selected to build this talent acquisition function and it’s been hands-down the highlight of my career. We all say that the people at Norstella make the business and I seriously believe that. Getting to hire and partner so closely with those people every day has seriously been the best job.

What trends are you seeing across the industry right now that Norstella is in a unique position to help with?

As we’ve been hiring, we’ve noticed a big prioritization in real-world data (RWD), so a lot of what we’re doing right now is building out those teams for Norstella. RWD can be claims data, lab data, medical record data, etc., so we’re prioritizing that so that we can find and help patients who could benefit from the life-saving therapies. Our talent acquisition team has been lucky to be able to help Norstella find and hire all of these RWD experts so that we can support the market’s need for the information.

Historically, the market has been measured by pharma companies through insurance claims, which come as late as four to six weeks after treatments occur. Electronic medical records (EMR) are real-time records – similar to a physician’s notes – give more information much quicker. Things like overall health, tumor size, genetic dimensions, things that aren’t found in claims. With the use of EMR data tied to claims data, we can see the full history of the patient, their journey, and treatments. The tools become more predictive rather than reactive. Now, our clients can identify these hard-to-find patients who will greatly benefit from life-saving therapies, and connect clinical trials to the right doctor with the right patient at the right time.

Which company principle resonates most with you?

My favorite Norstella principle is integrity, truth, and reality. I pride myself in leading honestly and being as transparent and as real as possible. Our talent acquisition team has been so successful because everyone shares the same mentality and belief, and that’s led our team to create and maintain those strong relationships with our partners in the business. They know that they can trust us. We’re really realistic about our goals, we’re honest about what we see in the market, and honest about what we can do to support our hiring teams and how we can make sure that we’re bringing the best talent.

What would you tell someone just starting their career with Norstella? 

My biggest piece of advice to anyone new is to go out of your way and talk to people. We have super intelligent people here at Norstella. I personally found that our employees are happy to share what they do or what they know, and you can learn so much by just reaching out and asking questions. I would tell them to go out of their way to connect with people however they can because you can learn so much. The people that we have here are so passionate about what they do and so they’re always happy to talk about it. 

Where do you see Norstella in the next year or two? 

I see so much growth in our future. It’s really exciting to think about the opportunities that our organization has to continue our mission to help patients in need. I’ve loved being part of so many mergers and acquisitions in my time here and I think that we’ll probably continue that track record. It’s exciting to think about bringing more businesses in to support our mission. 

What do you like most about working at Norstella? 

I love telling people what we do. It’s complex, but I love getting the opportunity to explain it to people. I work for a company with a mission that’s close to my heart and something that I actually believe is doing good things for the world. The things that we’re doing at Norstella are truly helping patients. 

What do you like to do outside of work? 

I’m so busy with my three boys, my husband, and my pets. I go to my kids’ sports and clubs, go on trips with our friends, concerts, and theme parks. We try to find things to avoid all of the “I’m bored” complaints from the kids. One day I’m going to get my own hobbies again, but for now I think I’m in the season of all my enjoyment coming from my kids being entertained and me getting maybe a 10-minute break from being the person entertaining them.

Back to Employee Stories