Can you introduce yourself and describe your career so far?
My name is Dan Haro and I'm a Senior Manager of Corporate Communications for Corporate Affairs at Biogen, I've been working in this position for three years now and prior to that I worked for a state agency, I was also a long time volunteer for Net Impact Boston serving as Events Manager, Finance Chair and then President.
How would you describe the day to day life of your current position, Global Media Affairs Lead at Biogen?
I think my title is a little bit misleading really. I work in our Corporate Affairs group and with a primary focus is on media, answering reporters, providing statements on behalf of the company, and also looking through the coverage of the company to summarize those into reports for leadership. But typically that's only one part of my day, the other part of my day is putting on my ESG hat and working on our corporate reputation and responsibility team. I probably should get my title changed!
This second part involves really driving the ESG strategy of the company, including all of our environmental programs, with a focus on employee engagement. For example, making sure our employees are aware and connected to our different environmental goals and to answer questions from ratings and rankings agencies about our commitments.
And how long have you been working in the ESG space?
I'd say it's only something that was really present in my career since I started at Biogen, before that I had a long-time interest in ESG or a career in sustainability, but when I was at my previous role (with the state agency Massachusetts Technology Collaborative) that was not our focus.
I had always wanted to get closer to a career like the one I have now and that's why I first got involved with Net Impact Boston. For a long time my focus was working on networking in the social impact space in the Boston area. My first job was with the state agency turned out to be great for expanding my network, I then used volunteering to expand my network further and learn about what sort impact jobs were out there in the wider world. When I was first starting out these careers (in ESG or sustainability) were not so common so it was good to learn about what was available.
Have you noticed that general industry acceptance of ESG roles has changed over the years?
I can’t speak on behalf of the whole company I work for, but my perception of the support for ESG causes is that stakeholders like investors, patients, and customers are demanding this more of all companies, not just Biogen. So they are definitely receiving more support.
As I talk to other colleagues in this or other industries they're all aiming to achieve big things (climate and sustainability commitments). In order to do those things you have to have programs in place, you have to have people that are going to run those programs, and you also need major commitments from companies to drive those programs and goals, and we are seeing those commitments more and more.
For example, a couple of years ago at Biogen there was a leadership directive to make sure that we were focussing not just about what we do for patients, but that we're also thinking about what's our impact on the health of the broader environment. And in the following years we have made even bigger and bolder commitments.
Can you tell us more about the impact that volunteering has had on your career?
I think that my volunteer experience showed to potential employers that I had a longstanding interest in the social impact space, even if it hadn’t been reflected in my previous work history. But it also allowed me to learn a lot so that when the opportunity did come up to have a career change I was closer to the field, I wasn’t starting from square one, and I was pretty familiar with the ins and outs of these types of roles. I also knew other people I could call on to ask for advice and experience. Overall volunteering really broadened my horizons.
It has had a longer-term effect also, I'm still friends with these former volunteer colleagues even years along the line and we can still call each other up and pick each other’s brains.
Can you tell us more about the impact that internships had on the start of your career?
I definitely got a lot from these internships, and even though they were not really in the areas that I ended up wanting to go into long term, I think they were still very beneficial. One was an engineering firm and the other a water resources company, so nothing like what I do now, but I think both of them were really beneficial in terms of learning about the wider impact ecosystem and also learning how to be valuable to an organization.
My main takeaway from that period was actually that I only wish I had done more internships! When I look back there were a couple summers where I worked just regular student summer jobs and I think of those now as slightly missed opportunities.
Where do you see your career moving on to?
I'm not quite sure what the future holds really, however when considering taking on more of a 100% ESG role I have realized that some of the skills that I'm using from the other hats that I have worn in my career or in my job now definitely aid me in my ability to effectively do that ESG work, so I’ll definitely stay in roles that give me plenty of variety.
If you had to offer just one ‘top tip’ to those starting out their career today and hoping to work in the social impact sector, what would that be?
I know this probably sounds trite but my advice would be to network as much as you can. You should go into it knowing that it it's not necessarily going to have a tremendous short-term impact, but it will have a large long-term effect.
When I started out many years ago I thought ‘oh this will be easy’ and I’m going to find my dream job in a few months, and it doesn't necessarily work like that. Even if you’re not getting short term returns you should not give up, you are always going to benefit in the long term by networking and just being out there in the environment.