Sunil Verma: Reflecting on 50 years of Growth, Gratitude and Leadership

Sunil Verma, Global Head of Oncology, Medical at AstraZeneca’s Oncology Business Unit, shared on LinkedIn:

“As I reach the milestone of turning 50, I find myself incredibly grateful and humbled by the journey so far. It’s been a rewarding and diverse path—from serving patients as a clinician, as a researcher and investigator advancing the field of cancer research to mentoring and teaching the next generation of oncologists to transform cancer care.

Sharing some reflections from the personal and professional journey in this article.

To all my colleagues, mentors, friends, and family—thank you for being part of this journey. The next 50 years? I’m just getting started!

Reflecting on 50 years of Growth, Gratitude and Leadership

As I reach the milestone of turning 50, I find myself incredibly grateful and humbled by the journey so far. It’s been a rewarding and diverse path—from serving patients as a clinician, as a researcher and investigator advancing the field of breast cancer research to mentoring and teaching the next generation of oncologists to transform cancer care.

Though my professional achievements have been an important part of my journey, the pride I have for my family reigns supreme. My family has been the core foundation of my journey.

Moving across multiple continents early in my life, starting a family and watching our kids grow, sharing life lessons with them and learning from their unique perspectives, and approaching life together has been a very rewarding part of my road to 50. 

Reflecting on the lessons learned, I’ve come to live by the “5H’s”: 

– Heart – follow your heart, your purpose and your passion in guiding you to the right decisions and approach

– Humility – Always stay grounded and humble.  

– Hunger – Seek solutions to problems with passion and focus. 

– Hustle – Take action and make things happen. 

– Hope – The world is full of endless possibilities; I learned a lot from patients with cancer on the power of Hope. 

Turning 50 has been a time for introspection, and I’m more focused than ever on shaping the future. As I look to the next few decades, I’d like to focus even more on what led to me to the field of Oncology—the passion of being an educator and mentor and helping to build the leaders of tomorrow.

This next phase of my career is about pursuing the transformation of cancer care with urgency while nurturing, mentoring and empowering the next generation of leaders.

My advice to younger professionals? Don’t limit yourself, take risks, be curious and always maximize your time.

Leadership has evolved for me as well. While my foundation remains as a servant and purpose-driven leader, I’ve learned to adapt my style based on varied situations and have evolved into a situational leader.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have varied experiences throughout my career—from clinical medicine, running cancer programs and centers and now as a global leader in a patient and science-driven pharmaceutical industry.

Whether it’s during a crisis, building new teams, or embracing new challenges, I’ve approached these with a clear leadership mindset by harnessing the power of experience to new challenges and situations.

One important lesson that I have also learned is to bring your authenticity to all that you do. I’ve learned that teams thrive when they have an authentic and open leader. I have embraced this approach in all my recent roles, and this has been rewarding and impactful. 

Career milestones like leading groundbreaking research in breast cancer, helping to build the Calgary Cancer Centre, and contributing to transformative drug approvals remind me how far I’ve come and how much further I can go, surrounded, and supported by those who share a passion for transforming cancer care.

These achievements have been a team effort, and I’m excited to continue the journey with the incredible people around me and across the globe. Though we’ve made significant strides in improving cancer care, there’s more work to do and I can’t think of a more inspiring place than AstraZeneca to transform care. 

On the personal front, I’ve learned to place more value on work-life balance. While the demands of global leadership roles have kept me away from my family at times, COVID helped me reconnect with them in meaningful ways.

Playing tennis, singing, and spending time together are things I never take for granted.

I’m intentional about spending my time wisely and engaging in activities that bring us closer as a family. I’m also reminded that time is fleeting and as my parents age, I treasure visits with them and never pass up an opportunity to express my gratitude for all the ways they have inspired and supported me. 

As I look ahead, I’m excited to pursue personal goals like reconnecting with old friends, spending more time with my parents and family, and making an impact in countries and regions that laid the foundation for my professional and personal aspirations.

Africa, India and Canada are special to me and I’m eager to pay it forward in meaningful ways to those countries and more globally.

I also plan to enjoy some of life’s simpler pleasures, like improving my tennis game (which requires a lot of work!) and traveling with my family.  

To all my colleagues, mentors, friends, and family—thank you for being part of this journey. The next 50 years? I’m just getting started!”

Sunil Verma is the Global Head of Oncology, Medical at AstraZeneca’s Oncology Business Unit. He previously led AstraZeneca’s global research and development in breast cancer, developing a leading clinical development program. With nearly 15 years as a Medical Oncologist, Verma has conducted pivotal trials in breast and lung cancer, with his work published in over 125 peer-reviewed journals.