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Saraiyah Hatter long thought she would become a doctor. As an undergrad at UCLA, she was on the pre-med track, and after graduating she worked at the university’s medical school.
But then a new addition—her daughter—changed both her life and her career path. The thought of being in med school while raising a child felt daunting, and when Hatter learned about the Keck Graduate Institute, she revised her plans.
“I saw all the opportunities there in regard to different degree programs,” she shared in a recent interview. “And the dual master’s program sounded really amazing.”
Hatter “kind of fell into pursuing a master’s of business and science,” she said, a combination that ultimately led her to biopharma.
“I had a concentration in biotech management, and I learned everything about the industry,” she said. “I worked for the duration of grad school as a strategy consultant during the pandemic, and then I went on to work in strategy consulting after graduating with my master’s.”
From there, Hatter joined PharmaForceIQ in 2023. In September, she was promoted to director of optichannel engagement. She’s also the founder and president of Embers Ignite, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering women from underserved communities.
In a Q&A for Fierce Pharma Marketing’s “Rising Stars” series, Hatter shared more about her unusual career path and the need to stay flexible in times marked by rapid change.
Responses have been lightly edited.
Fierce Pharma Marketing: What led you to pharma marketing, and what keeps you motivated in your current role?
Saraiyah Hatter: Once I got to PharmaForceIQ and began to learn about marketing and how it ties into strategy, it began to click for me how critical it is and why pharma companies spend so much money on it. I first worked primarily on oncology, though now I work across various therapeutic areas. I saw that what we do here is so different and that we can target people using our AI algorithm and give everyone a personalized journey, only going to where we know they’re going to engage. I think that what we’re able to do with our marketing is very special.
FPMK: What has been one of the most rewarding or challenging projects that you’ve worked on?
SH: Just one? I have about 40 I’d like to talk about! I think my favorite has been a medical affairs campaign. It’s essentially doing very deep disease state education about a therapeutic area before the drug is approved. My team created a strategy to figure out: Where are these people on this drug list? Where are they most likely to go and engage? We’re pulling data, but we’re also doing research: What conferences are they attending? What are they reading? What are they doing? And we were able to take a target list of 9,000 people and convert 80% of them to become high engagers, clicking on banners three, four, five, even 20 times to go to the medical affairs portal and learn about the disease state.
Using marketing to educate people is unique. Most people use marketing to try to sell something, and they’re trying to make money, but I think using it for education purposes is very moral, very noble.
FPMK: If you could give one piece of advice to people who have worked in the industry for decades, what would it be?
SH: Always think about how you can change with the times and update your strategy and your approach, because people are not static—people change. There are websites I used to love to go to in January, but in December, I wouldn’t even consider using that platform again. We have to be flexible, and this includes leveraging AI in an appropriate way to help you do that.
FPMK: What are the most important things in your life outside of work?
SH: No. 1 is my daughter. She’s 6 years old, but she’s going on 16. There’s a pure joy in raising her.
The other piece is my nonprofit work focused on supporting all women from underserved communities. More recently, the shift is toward supporting maternal health, because a lot of women struggle in this country. The United States has some of the worst maternal mortality rates and infant mortality rates of any developed country, and it’s especially tough among women of color. I’m working to create a space to support women, to support mothers and to create a safe haven for them.