Michael Zaiac, Medical Affairs Lead for Oncology at Daiichi Sankyo on 30 Years of Hiring Lessons, The ADC Wave, and Building Teams in a Fast-Moving Pipeline

In this episode, I talked with Michael Zaiac, Medical Affairs Lead for Oncology across Europe and Canada at Daiichi Sankyo — a trained surgical oncologist who walked away from the operating table, moved through clinical development, bone health at P&G, GSK, and Celgene, and eventually landed at the centre of one of the biggest oncology stories in recent memory: the HER2 ADC wave. Michael has spent over 30 years hiring people in pharma and brings some of the most grounded, no-nonsense views I've come across on what the job actually demands — and what most people aren't told before they take it.

We covered the rapid build-out of Daiichi Sankyo's medical affairs team off the back of their ADC pipeline, what Michael now wishes he'd prioritized when hiring in the early days, how the function needs to reinvent itself over the next decade, and the honest conversation that rarely gets had — about hours, stability, and what life in this industry really looks like. Michael trained and studied in Berlin, has family roots in London, and brings the kind of directness you'd expect from someone who spent years making high-stakes decisions in an operating room.

Here's What You're In For

• The one global role he calls his "only real disaster" in the industry — and why he takes full ownership of it
• What Michael looks for in a CV: agility, humility, and the ability to lead without authority
• The honest truth about working hours, stability, and what industry life really looks like vs. what candidates are sold

Timestamps

02:24 – Why he left surgery and how he landed his first pharma role

05:43 – Career highlights: reshaping a compound's development, Imatinib UK market access, and building regional teams

07:47 – The global role that didn't work — and why he takes full responsibility for it

09:42 – What Daiichi Sankyo is, where it came from, and how they cracked the ADC problem

17:02 – What Michael looks for in a CV — and what he's really testing for in the interview room

22:17 – The biggest shift in pharma hiring over 30 years: from technical knowledge to agility

26:03 – The hard skill gaps coming: data literacy, AI fluency, and legal frameworks around data

28:41 – How medical affairs will evolve — and what "double personalization" means in practice

34:15 – The honest truth about working hours, stability, and what industry life actually looks like

36:25 – How companies and individuals can do better for female talent trying to climb beyond the MSL level

38:03 – What Michael would tell his younger self about ego, cooperation, and learning faster

About Michael

Michael Zaiac is the Medical Affairs Lead for Oncology across Europe and Canada at Daiichi Sankyo. He trained as a surgical oncologist, specialising in breast cancer, sarcoma, melanoma, and other malignancies. Motivated by a desire to bridge science with patient care and broaden treatment options for cancer patients, he transitioned into industry research and has since led teams of varying sizes across clinical research, development, commercial functions, and medical affairs. His work has supported the development and launch of therapies spanning oncology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, transplantation, and infectious diseases across companies including P&G, GSK, Celgene, and now Daiichi Sankyo.

Connect with Michael:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-zaiac-45ab191/
• Daiichi Sankyo: https://www.daiichisankyo.com

About Charles

My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.

In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with me:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
• Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.