Judy Heyboer

The PPM Preview Day on June 8th will feature a lunch talk by Judy Heyboer.

Judy Heyboer has spent the last twenty-seven years in Human Resources, retiring from full-time corporate life in 2000 as Senior Vice President at Genentech, Inc. in South San Francisco, CA.  At Genentech, Judy revamped and re-energized the Human Resources function, and managed the introduction of the entire span of new programs following the company’s public offering in 1999.  During her tenure, Genentech achieved its initial recognition by Fortune Magazine as one of America’s, “100 Best Places to Work”.  Prior to Genentech, Judy spent thirteen years at Acuson Corporation, which she joined in the startup phase to create the HR function and develop the culture and “feel” of the company.  She began her human resources career at Spectra-Physics, Inc. where she spent in-depth time in each of the classic HR functions.  In addition to her consulting work in human resources, Judy devotes a substantial portion of her time and energy to writing, mentoring, advisory work, and making a difference in the community.  She continues to be actively engaged in the human resource community, serving as consultant, mentor, speaker, and executive coach.

      

 Judy has an MBS from Santa Clara University, and BA and MA degrees from the University of Michigan.  In 2007, Judy’s accomplishments were recognized by induction into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame.  She currently serves as trustee of the Keck Graduate Institute and also serves on the boards of The Health Trust, Friends for Youth, Resource Area for Teaching, and the Advisory Board of Facing History and Ourselves.  She is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum.  

Her presentation will give guidance for scientists who want move from academia to industry. What skills are needed to enter the corporate workforce?  Why isn’t a PhD sufficient, especially to work for companies where science is the fundamental currency of the business?  The answers to these questions are complex and require a detailed understanding of how the corporate world operates, and how it is fundamentally different from the academy.  Judy will discuss how work is organized within the corporate world and provide guidance that can help scientists successfully make the transition from academic to commercial careers.