A Conversation with Medical Affairs Leader Dr. Davida White
Dr. Davida White went from OB/GYN practice to leading field medical teams. In the first Mentor Sessions episode, she shares why one rejection became the best setup of her career.
In our inaugural episode of OnPoint: The Mentor Sessions
OnPoint: The Mentor Sessions, hosted by Linda Traylor, VP of Medical Excellence at Acceleration Point, is inspired by Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss. Each episode follows a consistent set of reflective questions designed to uncover the mindsets, habits, and leadership lessons of exceptional Medical Affairs leaders.
In this inaugural episode, Linda welcomes Dr. Davida J. White (Head of Field Medical, Kailera Therapeutics). Dr. White is a physician trained in obstetrics and gynecology. She has spent 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry, most of it as a US and Global Medical Affairs leader. She talks about the mindset shift that took her from helping one patient at a time to a role where she could reach many more. She also talks about the rejection that redirected her career toward medical excellence and the leaders who poured into her along the way. She shares Seek the Wisdom, a practice she started at Johnson & Johnson. Seek the Wisdom is a quarterly, agenda-free small-group meeting where leaders and MSLs gather with no objectives and an open floor. She credits the format with surfacing gaps and sparking many of her team's capability improvements. Her billboard message for everyone in Medical Affairs is three words: "What we do matters." If you're building a career in Medical Affairs, or leading people who are, this conversation is one to return to.
Key Takeaways
- Measure outcomes, not just activity. Dr. White notes that MSL interaction counts, congress coverage, and publication counts "are activity metrics and they're not outcome metrics." They show whether a team is busy, not whether it is making a difference.
- Share the why, then make room for the how. Exceptional leaders, in her view, "help our teams understand the why behind the strategy, but yet give them space on how they address the how." She sees that space as where best practices are born.
- A no can set you up: after she was passed over for a national lead role early in her career, Dr. White leaned into MSL training and field medical capabilities by "raising your hand and saying yes." Looking back, she says, "That one no set me up for some amazing experiences traveling around the world."
- Create space with no agenda. Her Seek the Wisdom meetings gave small groups psychological safety because "There was no wrong answer. Failure didn't have a definition in that space."
- Leaders are measured by the leaders they build. "I am here present today because I've had exceptional leaders really pour into me," she says. She names her mother, a nursing leader for nearly 50 years, as her greatest influence, alongside mentors who practiced servant leadership.
- Gratitude sets the tone, whether that's for the present or for "the things that I don't have yet." Morning journaling with a gratitude practice began when meditation wasn't working for her, and it now centers her day.
Books and Resources Mentioned
Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, recommended by Dr. Davida White: the cornerstone of how she looks at failure and success, built on the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
Journals, recommended by Dr. Davida White: her answer to the show's "purchase under $100" question, and the tool behind her daily gratitude practice.
Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss, referenced by Linda Traylor: the book that inspired the format and reflective questions of this show.
About Our Guest
Dr. Davida J. White is Head of Field Medical at Kailera Therapeutics. A physician by education with a specialty in obstetrics and gynecology, she served as head of the Office of Community Health and Outreach Services for the State of New Jersey before joining the pharmaceutical industry 18 years ago. Before joining Kailera, she served as head of the field medical group for cardiovascular and metabolism at Johnson & Johnson, where her team built out a field medical excellence organization. She counts being mom to two young adults, and to Brewster, a boxer pit bull mix, as her biggest accomplishment.
Connect with Davida on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davida-j-white-m-d/
FAQ
What is Seek the Wisdom?
Seek the Wisdom is the name Dr. Davida White gives to small, quarterly meetings she started after joining Johnson & Johnson, where her team numbered about 80 people. She, sometimes another leader, and a small group of MSLs or other team members met with no agenda, no objectives, and an open floor. Dr. White says the format created psychological safety, surfaced ways to better support the team, and became a source of creativity and innovation. Many of the team's capability improvements came out of those conversations.
How does Dr. Davida White define success in Medical Affairs?
Dr. White separates activity from outcomes. Counts of MSL interactions, congresses covered, and publications show whether a team is busy, but she describes them as "activity metrics and they're not outcome metrics." She looks instead at how Medical Affairs input shapes evidence strategy, the quality of external scientific partnerships, how often other functions proactively seek Medical's insights, how quickly field intelligence becomes actionable insight, patient outcomes, and whether the team is developing future leaders.
What career advice would Dr. Davida White give her younger self?
She offers two pieces of advice. First, enjoy and trust the journey, because setbacks can turn out to be setups for what comes next. Second, network more. Dr. White describes herself as an introvert disguised as an extrovert, and she says building relationships inside and outside the organization is essential for Medical Affairs leaders. In her words, "networking may be the key to your next gig."
What book does Dr. Davida White recommend?
Dr. White recommends Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, which contrasts a fixed mindset with a growth mindset. She calls it the cornerstone of how she has looked at failure and success, and she connects it directly to leadership and to developing teams: "you're not stuck with the abilities you have today."
How does Dr. Davida White see AI fitting into Medical Affairs?
Dr. White has moved from minimal use of AI to incorporating it in both her professional and personal life. At Johnson & Johnson, her field medical excellence team used AI to aggregate the large volume of MSL insights coming into the organization and to identify trends and unmet medical needs. She is clear about the boundary: AI should be integrated "not as a replacement of what we do or a replacement of scientific rigor, but just a way to accelerate it."
Have questions? Reach out to our team.
About OnPoint: The Mentor Sessions Podcast
OnPoint: The Mentor Sessions Podcast delivers engaging conversations with Medical Affairs and Field Medical leaders on the power of mentorship and coaching. Hosted by Linda Traylor, each podcast uncovers practical strategies, personal stories, and lessons to inspire and prepare the next generation of medical leaders.
OnPoint is available on several podcast platforms, including the Acceleration Point YouTube channel. Listen on:
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