Natsuko Takata joined ZS’s Tokyo strategy insights and planning team in 2023. As an associate, she is primarily responsible for executing qualitative strategy development projects. We sat down with Natsuko to learn about her experiences at ZS.
Natsuko mainly works on market research and value and access projects that help our pharmaceutical clients calculate value, predict pricing and inform go-to-market launch strategies. As a strategy insight and planning associate at ZS, she provides a glimpse of her typical day: “Every morning, I meet with the project team to track progress, tasks and team responsibilities … In the afternoon, besides client meetings, I sometimes conduct interviews with doctors. If the interviews are in Japanese, I prepare notes in English for our ZS colleagues and clients outside Japan.”
Where passion changes lives
Natsuko is proud that her work has the potential to positively impact the healthcare community. “When I am working on a project dealing with a disease that someone close to me has experienced or a disease that I did not previously know, I try to learn about the concerns of doctors and patients through research and interviews. When I think about how my work contributes to improving patient lives, I am motivated and inspired by all parts of the work.”
Reflecting on her challenges, Natsuko says: “When first assigned to multiple projects, I struggled with time management. My team advised sharing workload concerns right away to enable collaborative task allocation. Now, I prioritize communicating my situation early on. I feel happy that I’ve grown.”
When asked what she loves most about working at ZS, she says it’s the culture. “ZS has a diverse environment that welcomes people from different nationalities, upbringings and career paths. I think it’s a setup that stimulates career growth.” Natsuko admires how everyone, regardless of their tenure at ZS, continues to learn more. She offers an example of how she has learned to be more efficient at asking for information. “To frame my questions better, I’ve now started to organize the structure in my mind first rather than simply thinking aloud. My team members took notice and have said I’ve gotten better at asking questions.”
Natsuko looks forward to working with her future colleagues and encourages students to plan their next career steps thoughtfully. Follow ZS’s social channels to read more inspiring stories of ZSers around the globe.
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