Rob Perez’s vision for a better world 

Chairman of Life Science Cares on the philanthropic organization’s priorities 

Rob Perez believes that life sciences companies can help alleviate poverty in their communities, and that because they can, they should.

Perez, an operating partner at the private equity firm General Atlantic, spoke with The BioCentury Show about Life Science Cares, a philanthropic organization he founded in 2016.

People join life sciences companies because they are deeply committed to contributing to society. It often takes decades to see the impacts of their work.

Life Science Cares provides opportunities to make tangible improvements today in the lives of people living in communities where life sciences companies are clustered. Started in Boston, it has expanded to the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Philadelphia and San Diego.

Life Science Cares mobilizes the industry’s financial and human resources to partner with non-profit organizations that are working to serve basic survival needs, provide educational opportunities, and create employment opportunities, including through job creation, training, mentoring and economic development. 

The focus on basic survival needs is important, Perez told BioCentury, because although there are people in our communities “who are benefiting from the knowledge society that we're all benefiting from,” there are also people who are being left behind. “The gap between haves and have nots, unfortunately, is growing substantially in our communities. In those places, we have a commitment to the people who are driving our employees to work, people who are cleaning our offices, working in our cafeterias,” and providing other services.

In addition to supporting the work of other non-profits, Life Science Cares runs a program, Onramp, that provides paid summer internships for college students who are under-resourced and underrepresented.

These internships provide a valuable employment ramp for students who might otherwise be stranded by the side of the road. They are also good for companies, according to Perez.

He contends that regardless of social or political benefits, drawing employees from a broader, deeper talent pool benefits companies in the life sciences.

Perez also discussed with BioCentury some of the ideas he has explored in articles posted on social media platforms.

One of his most impactful articles explored the “cost of difference” in the workplace. In the piece, and in his discussion with BioCentury, Perez urged his colleagues to consider the energy it takes for people to function who feel they are different.

To illustrate the idea, he noted that if people don’t feel different from their colleagues, they are likely to be comfortable presenting their views in a business meeting. On the other hand, if you feel different, “you tend to have this whole filtering system that says, ‘OK, if I say it this way, how, how’s that going to be perceived? Is someone going to take it the wrong way?’” The energy it takes, over a career, to activate that kind of filtering “can be exhausting over a career,” Perez said.

Perez postulates that there is an “energy tax” associated with being different that people should be aware of.

BioCentury concluded the interview by asking Perez if the Life Science Cares model could be adopted by other industries.

This, he said, is his vision.  

“The thing that I'd love to see accomplished before my run is up is that this effort inspires other industries. What would I love to see is a competition between industries to see who can impact the world and our communities the most. We have the model, and I think we are proving that it’s working.”

Information about contributing to Life Science Cares is available at https://lifesciencecares.org.