{"id":52995,"date":"2021-12-09T04:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=52995"},"modified":"2022-02-09T14:08:28","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T22:08:28","slug":"dr-geeta-nayyar-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/dr-geeta-nayyar-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Salesforce’s Chief Medical Officer on COVID-19 Prevention, Safer Gatherings, and the New Variant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note: <\/strong>This article references Dreampass and Salesforce’s Health & Safety Playbook, which have been expanded upon with the launch of Safety Cloud. For the latest on Salesforce\u2019s health & safety-related innovations, check out this <\/em>press release<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>FAQ<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you try to imagine a challenging new job, it\u2019s pretty tough to top Chief Medical Officer of a nearly 70,000 person tech company. Especially when that position begins midway through a global pandemic and with a globally-recognized in-person event imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the difficulties inherent to the role, Dr. Geeta Nayyar accepted the position at Salesforce in September 2021, and has been a driving force for trusted business health and safety practices ever since. \u201cIt’s been both humbling and a privilege,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I\u2019m tremendously honored to be in this role at this time for a company like Salesforce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nayyar spoke to the Salesforce Newsroom on what the company has learned about running live events with in-person attendees during a pandemic, why Salesforce is launching Dreampass and other new health and safety tools<\/a>, and how she sees COVID-19 developing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: As Chief Medical Officer, you were one of the people behind Salesforce\u2019s new Event Health and Safety Playbook. What\u2019s a CRM company doing launching a COVID-19 health and safety handbook?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We recognize \u2014 just like everybody \u2014 this is the first pandemic in our lifetimes! But we\u2019ve developed a certain amount of experience now, both working to help customers operating in healthcare, and in running events like Dreamforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve been working with the healthcare industry for over 20 years. Long before the pandemic, we\u2019ve developed technology for healthcare organizations and worked with providers, payers, and life sciences companies. But frankly, every company is in the business of health now \u2014 there is not one business that is not asking questions about health and safety. We asked those questions ourselves as we prepared for Dreamforce this year, and we learned some things that we wanted to share beyond the walls of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But frankly, every company is in the business of health now – there is not one business that is not asking questions about health and safety.”<\/span><\/p>Dr Geeta Nayyar, Chief Medical Officer, Salesforce<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When the pandemic changed everything overnight, many of our customers came to us and said, \u201cWe need digital transformation. We have to start seeing patients from the living room! How can you help us?\u201d That\u2019s part of the inspiration behind publishing the playbook<\/a> and making it a free resource for other organizations. We want to share what we learned so more and more people can start getting together again more safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: In helping plan Dreamforce, what did you learn about bringing people back together more safely at live events?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We learned a lot from Dreamforce and wrote about some key takeaways in the playbook<\/a>, but number one is the importance of teamwork. We brought together a team of experts from across and beyond the company. From \u2018CMO squared\u2019 \u2014 the partnership of the Chief Marketing Officer and the Chief Medical Officer, to a team of epidemiologists and statisticians \u2014 each of us had expertise, a \u2018lane,\u2019 that was very important to creating a successful Dreamforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were also guided by a doctor\u2019s approach to patient care, where an ounce of prevention \u2014 quitting smoking, eating less red meat \u2014 is worth a pound of cure. For Dreamforce, just like with seeing a patient, the most important period is actually before they come to see me \u2014 that means prevention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n