Andrew Embry, Senior Director of Insights Innovation and Capabilities at Eli Lilly, brings a storyteller’s perspective to the complex world of pharmaceutical research. He describes himself as a poetry spitting nerd who uses his creative background to find new ways of working within strict regulatory bounds. This conversation covers how Eli Lilly implements enterprise level AI initiatives by treating change management like an internal brand campaign. 

He details the use of synthetic respondents to answer qualitative questions in thirty minutes and help teams do smarter primary research. He argues that the future of the industry depends on researchers evolving from reactive order takers into proactive business partners. By automating repetitive tasks like screener creation and secondary research, teams can focus on higher level strategy.  Even so, Andrew emphasizes that judgment and discernment are the skills that matter most when reviewing AI outputs. 

Andrew Embry is the Senior Director of Insights Innovation and Capabilities for Global Core Market Research at Eli Lilly and Company. He leads enterprise initiatives that help teams rethink workflows and adopt new technologies in a responsible way. Andrew blends creative storytelling with strategic thinking to solve problems in the heavily regulated pharmaceutical industry. His career at Eli Lilly spans roles in marketing, communications, and sales. He is also a spoken word poet and an obstacle course racer who believes in embracing challenges with confidence.