We Are Norstella

Michelle Marwah

VP of operations

Michelle Marwah is VP of Operations at Norstella’s site in Gurgaon, near New Delhi in India, heading both operations and human resources. Her role involves multiple aspects that are instrumental in shaping the operational efficiency and the workforce for the company’s Indian arm.

Tell us a little bit more about your role.

At Norstella my role entails driving the success of the operational functions and the India HR team. It includes strategic planning, execution, and management to ensure efficient operations and a thriving workplace environment. My role is crucial in shaping the workforce and operational efficiency at Norstella in India. By fostering a positive work environment, implementing effective HR strategies, and optimizing operations, I contribute significantly to the organization’s overall success and growth.

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

I was part of Agilitè before it was acquired by Norstella and had been part of it since its inception in 2020, so it’s been more than four years. Overall, I have about 22 years of experience, out of which 15 are in HR and seven in operations. I started working with the US healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry about seven years ago, which is what led me to Agilitè.

What does your day-to-day role usually look like?

On the Ops side my day-to-day role involves a blend of strategic planning, team management, and operational oversight. Ensuring the team is meeting their SLA’s, working on continuous improvement and business efficiencies. As an HR professional, I believe people are our asset, therefore we spend a lot of time on ensuring that they get enough learning and development, they have all the support and the resources they need to be successful in their role

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

Right now I’m working with the global HR team to implement the HRIS for India. Now that the acquisition is complete, we’re looking at implementing Dayforce in India. So, this is going to be a big project. In the operations world since there are a lot of transfers taking place one of the projects, I will be working on will be building a competency framework which will help us assess and drive performance across the board. It will also enable us to cull out learning opportunities and creating learning roadmaps for employees

What are some of the common challenges of your role?

Today my largest challenge would be scalability. Agilitè was a 300-member organisation. We had a very strong team, and we were very hands-on. Now that this organisation is growing so fast, making all of our processes scalable is a challenging task. You have to continuously review and optimise your processes, invest in scalable solutions, and anticipate what the future needs would be.

What’s been your career highlight to date?

The fact that I have worked alongside a team that has developed processes which increase efficiency, revenue growth and employee engagement which and resulted in the fact that today the India team stands below 10% attrition per year, is a huge achievement. The industry standard is about 30%. Very few companies are able to achieve such a low attrition rate in India.

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

What I’ve seen is that there’s a shift towards value-based healthcare where the focus is more on patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness and not so much the volume of the services that are provided. I feel that Norstella can leverage the data analytics to provide insights into treatment efficacy, patient outcome and cost savings. Norstella’s capability to provide comprehensive real-world evidence insights can help pharmaceutical companies understand drug performance in real-life settings and optimize clinical trials.

Which company principle resonates most with you?

‘Bold, Passionate, Mission-First’ stands out for me because unless you’re passionate about what you do, you’re not really going to be able to enjoy your job. Passion for your work fuels your commitment and enthusiasm. And if you don’t enjoy your job, you’re never going to be able to achieve much. Being passionate about our mission and prioritizing the mission ensures that all actions and decisions are aligned with the core goals of Norstella.

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

I think Norstella can serve as a wealth of knowledge and there will be numerous opportunities for learning that can come your way. Under the right mentorship one can scale up and align their goals to the organization growth. The other piece of advice that I would give people is to be open to change, because the one constant I’ve seen in Norstella has been change.

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

I see Norstella in India growing to at least 1,000 employees by the end of 2026.

What do you like most about working at Norstella?

I think what I’ve enjoyed is the fact that there’s a lot of autonomy. The fact that one has the opportunity to engage in impactful, innovative work within a supportive and dynamic environment is very motivating. Norstella’s clear mission, strong leadership, and collaborative culture create an environment where you can excel professionally and have a meaningful impact on the healthcare industry.

And finally, what do you like to do outside of work?

I like reading and watching movies and what I love the most is travelling. Every year I try make it a point take one holiday that allows me to travel and explore the world.

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