"Am I optimistic? Certainly, on the basis that we are nearing the end of the pandemic and our economy is in a good place in terms of employment, exports and foreign direct investment", says Sharon Cunningham, CEO of Shorla Oncology.

Cunningham is responding to PwC's 25^th Annual Global CEO Survey, which found that 91% of Irish CEOs were optimistic about the country's economic prospects and 94% were optimistic about their own company's growth prospects, as is Cunningham.

Having completed a Seed A funding round in 2020, the company has big ambitions to grow – despite the increasing economic uncertainty. "We expect our business to grow in the next 12 months as we launch our oncology portfolio. That said, the invasion of Ukraine has moved geopolitical risk to the forefront of market dynamics and the economic consequences aren't yet clear," says Cunningham.

"But businesses are already contending with increasing energy prices, supply chain disruption, and inflation across the board – and that's before you consider talent shortages and cyber-risks."

The start-up mentality

Cunningham relied on the organisation's start-up mindset to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, and the same agility will be applied to the likely tumultuous months and years ahead. "It's important to embrace agility, whether a company is in crisis mode or not. If something isn't working, make a decision and pivot," she says. "Shorla has the luxury of being able to do that as a start-up, and this mindset is shaping our culture. We work on it every day."

Although the company may pivot at a tactical level, Shorla is guided consistently by its mission and vision. And according to Cunningham, this clarity of purpose has been the deciding factor in attracting talent.

"We strive to meet many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including good health and wellbeing and gender equality," she says. "We're committed to developing and commercialising innovative cancer therapies in areas where existing treatments are inadequate or in short supply. And as a company that was co-founded by women, we are passionate about gender balance and ensuring that we inspire, develop and support the next generation of women leaders."

These principles have had significant business benefits for Shorla. "Flexibility is hardwired into our company because we only started to hire and scale during the pandemic. From a productivity perspective, we're reluctant to fix what isn't broken but as from an employer brand perspective, flexibility doesn't differentiate us any more," she adds. "It's what we're doing and how we're going about it that really attracts people."

Inspire your people

The pandemic has also given people an opportunity to reshape their relationship with work, according to Cunningham. And although remote work is meeting the productivity requirement in Shorla today, much more needs to be considered in her view.

"Work can be very inflexible. I'm a big believer in work-life integration," she says. "We now have an opportunity to pause and ask ourselves: what really matters? Change is inevitable and we will work hard to keep the best elements of our ways of working, but there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings in my view. It's very difficult to build a relationship with someone you've never met."

Until the dust settles in that regard, Cunningham will remain focused on employee engagement even though she is now based in the US. "I try to have facetime with individuals to ensure that they get the support and reinforcement they need," she says. "People have different communication needs, and we make a big effort to tell our employees what we're doing – and why we're doing it.

"It helps us keep the entire organisation focused on the end goal, but it also gives us an opportunity to recognise everyone individually," she adds. "We have structured communications and company-wide presentations, and I think it's important to take time out of your day to appreciate the efforts and successes of your people."