BIO 2018: Kraft president talks biotech and sport
Private capital must finance the life sciences industry in the US otherwise the country will lose its advantage in the life sciences field, claimed Jonathan Kraft, president of The Kraft Group.
He was speaking during “Super Session: The Business of Biotech and Sports”, which took place on Tuesday, June 5 at the 2018 BIO International Convention.
“Healthcare is something that, if you’re blessed to live in America, should be readily accessible to everybody and, [as for] the pace of innovation, we have to do more,” said Kraft.
He added: “For most other countries that we compete with, the governments are doing more and more. But in the US, we’re doing less and less … A lot of states are trying to do it, but the states are so strapped financially.
“The great thing about the life sciences industry is that you do great economically for the region or the country you live in but you can help lower costs, the costs of human suffering and the financial cost of care all over the world.”
In 2016, The Kraft Group founded the Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator with a $20 million endowment from the Robert and Myra Kraft Family Foundation. The team works within Harvard Business School and aims to develop a business framework that encourages all cancer organisations to share goals and collaborate.
Jonathan Kraft is also the president of five-time Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots, after the company bought the team in 1994 for $175 million, which was a “real stretch” for The Kraft Group financially, he said. The team is now worth $3.7 billion, according to Forbes.
At the time, “not a lot of attention was paid” to the team, so the Kraft family knew they would have to start to build “trust and longstanding relationships” with sponsors, he added. All ten of its early partners are still partners today, and spend seven figures a year.
“I don’t care whatever business you’re in, making the person you’re doing business with feel great is ultimately the cornerstone that cuts across everything,” he said.
Now, there are 73,000 season tickets on a paid waiting list—and the team still spends a significant amount of money each year in sending gifts and creating unique content for season ticket members.
“We’re insecure, we don’t want to lose them,” said Kraft.
Moving to retaining talent, Kraft noted that the people who run each of the Kraft companies have all been with the family for many years. “They understand how we like to operate and what’s important to our culture,” said Kraft.
Bill Belichick has served as the head coach of the New England Patriots since 2000. According to Kraft, Belichick understands that it’s not necessarily about the best talent, but about the “best value, wrapped in the best character”.
Bill Sibold, head of Sanofi Genzyme, asked Kraft about how, with around a third of the team leaving each year, the team preserves its culture.
Kraft responded that despite this, “there’s a core group of guys you know you’re building around long term. Not only are they exceptional players, they’re people with very strong character who work hard and know how to put the team first”.
He added: “We aren’t collecting talent, we’re building a team.”
The 2018 BIO International Convention finishes today, June 7.
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