Madeline Malia
Chief Client Officer
Real Chemistry
The Open and Honest Leader
Madeline Malia has been an integral part of Chemistry for 11 years and was recently appointed Chief Client Officer to better represent the client voice and needs in commercial, medical and data, analytics and AI, throughout the organization.
Madeline not only has a keen ability to foster relationships with clients, but has also gained a reputation as a steady leader who can find clarity and solutions under the most difficult of circumstances. She has the practicality to realize what she can and cannot accomplish on her own. If the business requires an area of proficiency she doesn’t have, she is the first one to pull in the right expert: “I am unapologetically transparent about what I excel at. I know I can solve problems and run a business successfully, but I don’t think I have all the answers,” she asserts, “especially since there is such deep and broad expertise within Real Chemistry.”
This candidacy and collaborative spirit has ultimately resulted in deep and long-lasting client relationships. For one key pharma client, Madeline’s leadership was instrumental in maintaining and expanding the client-agency partnership for more than 10 years, growing the team from six to 80. She credits her success to a deep understanding of how to successfully manage the complexities of large businesses and her comfort with tough conversations and consensus building.
“You have to always be listening for important themes and can’t be afraid to hear about the good, the bad and the broken,” she maintains. “I live by two principles: 1.) you can only fix a problem if you understand the key issues [on the client and agency side] and 2.) find and lean into the people willing to help and who have complementary expertise.”
“Madeline is an information gatherer by nature,” enthuses, Rebecca Moses, Portfolio Leader at Real Chemistry. “And because she also understands her teams’ superpowers, she has the ideal skills to diagnose and solve problems in ways that address her client’s needs and keep her team motivated by putting people in roles they not only excel at but enjoy. That’s why both her clients and teams trust her and clamor to work with her.”
