Our collection of brilliant minds are working on a world-first technology that will support pathologists to diagnose patients quickly and accurately. Using AI, we’re able to minimise admin time for pathologists, so that they can focus on what really matters – patient care.
One of the pioneers at the helm of this development is our Program Manager, Nameeta Bhole. Let’s get to know her a little better.
Thanks for joining us, Nameeta. Could you tell us a bit about your role?
Sure! As a Program Manager I lead the Franklin.ai Program Management Office. Our PMO is responsible for leading the cross-functional product development teams across product management, engineering, clinical research, quality and regulatory affairs and more. We will deliver Franklin.ai’s products to market.
I like to think of a Program Manager as the conductor of an orchestra. Everyone in the team is an expert at playing different instruments, but there has to be a conductor to synchronise everyone and ensure they’re harmonious. That’s me and my team.
Amazing. And what led you into this role?
I began my Program Management career over a decade ago. I love bringing cutting-edge technology to the market and working with cross-functional teams so program management in product development was a natural fit.
The role at Franklin.ai was an opportunity to work in a space that’s purpose-led, while also challenging myself to learn everything about AI. It seemed like a perfect convergence of my skills.
Sounds ideal. How long have you been with Franklin?
I’ve been with the business since Feb ‘22, and I was employee number 1. Now that we’re a company of 30 (and growing) it feels very cool to have been the first one here!
We’re growing quickly to support our speed of development and meet the scale required to build tools that can change the face of pathology. We were funded at the end of 2021 and have been building at a rapid pace since then.
It seems so! What does it mean to you to be building tools that have the potential to change so many lives?
My motivation, the reason I get out of bed every morning, is to build impactful technology that benefits the world. Franklin.ai will help pathologists to be more efficient with their time and effective with their diagnoses and this will ultimately, improve the patient experience worldwide. Building pathology tools that will scale diagnostic capacity and make healthcare more accessible worldwide – could you ask for a more compelling mission?
What’s the best thing about working for Franklin.ai?
The People: The people working at Franklin.ai are some of the smartest minds in the industry, we have a brilliant team that loves to have fun while being laser-focused on our mission. Having a sense of belonging when we are so fast-moving is crucial, because the environment feels supportive and we are still able to challenge one another to deliver our best.
The Parent-friendly Culture: Being completely outcomes-focused means we trust our people to deliver and put most importance on achievement rather than “where” or “at what-time of the day” work is done. As a first-time mum returning to work just before joining Franklin.ai , I was naturally concerned about juggling a new fast-paced job and being a present and available parent. But I’ve had the freedom to carve-out the time I need with my daughter daily, be it childcare drop-offs or our dinnertime routine and complete my work in my own time. The assessment of my capabilities is always based on my output, not my hours.
And of course, The Product: I’m able to work on cutting edge tech while benefiting people. The product is my “why”.
Next up: Could you share the most challenging aspects of your job
Being across the breadth of product development means juggling a lot of balls. The depth of knowledge required to make good decisions across all the work streams can be a challenge and it involves always staying on top of updates with every team and distilling what will impact delivery from what won’t.
Staying curious and asking a lot of questions is the only way to ensure I have all of the information. Back to the conductor analogy, my aim can’t be to play first on all the instruments, you need a whole orchestra to do that! As I’m not in the particulars, I rely on clear and open communication with my team, even on more challenging topics like key risks.
And the most exciting?
As a part of our design process, we’ve been working collaboratively with our end-users to define our product and make it fit-for-purpose. We’ve conducted over 100 hours of pathologist interviews and the response to our product design is overwhelmingly positive. In R&D, knowing that you’re working on delivering something the market really wants is super motivating and exciting.
The pace and rapid scale at which we are growing is also really exciting. Every day brings a new opportunity to learn, stretch myself and solve problems.
Finally, what are your career goals with Franklin.ai?
The whole team and I are laser-focused on delivering Franklin.ai’s first product to the market. Time to market is key because the global healthcare system is under increasing pressure and the world needs Franklin.ai!
To enable this, my short term goal is to build seamless project management processes that will improve communication, ensure alignment, manage risk and allow the team to keep thinking imaginatively. Alongside, I want the team to have fun – our environment can turn into a pressure-cooker without amazing leadership, I want the Franklin.ai PMO team to live and breathe our culture!.
In the medium to long term, I want to use my learnings from our first product to enable improvement in product delivery for future products. Every time we do this we should be quicker and carry less risk. I love my job so continuing to do what I do, knowing that it enables the delivery of cutting-edge technology to benefit millions is pretty special!
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Franklin.ai aims to put ground-breaking AI tools in the hands of pathologists and benefit millions of patients every day.
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