She Runs Our Clinics; He Hits the Ground Running

The expression “Power couple” may be overused, but it fits in the case of Shani and Wakim Andre. She is chief medical officer and executive vice president of clinical administration for The Floating Hospital. He is the head of marketing, North America for Biocon Biologics. Between them, they have received numerous awards and distinctions for their work and they are both fierce advocates for health equity.

While she runs our clinics, he is running to train for the TCS New York City Marathon as part of The Floating Hospital’s Waverunners fundraising team. 

It takes grit and determination to arrive from Haiti at age 14 with no English language fluency and rise to management in the pharmaceutical marketing field within a decade, taking on director positions and then climbing even higher. It is with such drive that Andre approaches everything he does, including running and raising money for the Hospital as a Marathon charity partner.

When he enrolled in 10th grade in New Jersey, he took a class in English as a second language. The next year he was in a regular English class, and by senior year, he took AP English. “I picked it up fairly quickly, mostly because I was the only Haitian at my school,” he said. “I had to learn fast, because there was no one else to talk to in a different language.”

His mother worked as a housekeeper for Marriott to help put him through Rutgers University. “It’s one of those classic immigrant stories, where my mom comes here, not speaking English, works hard, sends me to college,” he said. “I’m a platinum member at Marriott now, because I travel so much for work. I owe her a lot of my success and where I am in life today.” She is even supporting his race with a generous contribution.

Although he dreamed of becoming a doctor, he discovered it wasn’t for him. He kept the focus on healthcare, but on the pharmaceutical and biotech side. “Helping people live healthier lives is something very close to my heart and what I do every day.” He sees synergy in the work he has done in his career and running and fundraising for The Floating Hospital, because it has “the mission of helping people who don’t have the resources to be healthy and happy.”

He attributes his enviable rise in marketing to his “ability to figure out how to do things well and build networks of people who can guide me, along with taking criticism and feedback in a way that’s always positive.” He hasn’t allowed himself to become too comfortable in one position. “I've always had the foresight to say, what is my next move? What is the next thing that is either going to help my career or is going to help me do interesting work without settling and thinking ‘Okay, this is good enough.’” Such moves involve risk and don’t always work out as planned.

“I can remember this as if it happened yesterday. I was a director, head of marketing, at a pharmaceutical company and my position was eliminated.” He was financially secure and knew he would find a new situation, “but I recall spending that entire weekend really distraught about losing my job and not knowing what was next. But that was probably the best thing that has happened to me, career wise, because I don't think that job was the right place. So I moved from a director position to another company where I became a senior director to where I am today.” It showed him that “setbacks are actually lessons and if you take them as that, you’ll move forward and progress.”

Speaking of setbacks, last year he injured his foot while training, but pushed through the pain to finish. He has adopted a new training regimen and schedule this year, working closely with his doctors to ensure he doesn’t cause any lasting damage. But so far, he said, “my foot is perfect.”

He may not have become a doctor, but he did marry one. While he and Dr. Andre work in connected fields, they met through friends at a party. “She was there and I was there, and obviously she’s wonderful.”

Their backgrounds are quite different, but they share similar values. Although she came from an upper-middle class family, he’s “always been in awe of her ability to be humble and really understand the needs of others. You don't always see that in people that grew up attending private schools, traveling with their family and having those advantages,” he noted.

They both live by the credo: “to whom much is given, much is expected… There is a responsibility to give back.” He said it is the basis for Dr. Andre’s work at The Floating Hospital. It’s also an ethos they have instilled in their daughter, Sydney, who is 10: “I’ve been telling her that since she was three.” His own motivation “is that I could have been that person who needs help, and if I’m in a position to help, I should.” 

He said it is also a factor in running the marathon, “because I do get to help.” But his competitive nature is also in play. “I don't do things just halfway. If I'm going to do it, I become obsessive-compulsive.” His goal has always been to finish the race in under four hours. Last year, his foot injury slowed him down and he exceeded four hours, but he didn’t quit. “Once I decided I was going to run a marathon, nothing was going to stop me.” The same goes for his fundraising, where he’s already exceeded the minimum amount required of each team member and is on track to raise even more.

He credits his fundraising success to “really talking to people about the mission of The Floating Hospital.” He has also sent this year’s video to many of his friends and colleagues. “There is a part of the video that sticks with everyone who’s seen it. A woman says she got a backpack from The Floating Hospital and she said, ‘to everyone else it was just a backpack, but to me it was much more than that because I didn’t have anything.’ I think anybody who watches that video truly understands what The Floating Hospital does beyond providing health services. I've used that video and had that conversation with many people, and it has inspired them to give.” He added that “raising money for The Floating Hospital is not the hardest thing to do, because it’s pretty clear everyone is doing great work.”

This year he’s enjoying the training more, “mostly because I better understand my body.” There is no pain and he’s having fun “training a lot smarter and longer” to ensure he achieves his goal in November. But even if he doesn’t, “knowing that I'm doing some good, or I'm raising money to help those that are less fortunate is always a win. So, there are no losses here, right? It's all upside.”