1,041: Rethinking Metrics to Align with Business Evolution | Josh Schwartz, CFO, Medidata

CFO THOUGHT LEADER

When Josh Schwartz arrived at Medidata, the life sciences innovation company was entering unfamiliar waters. Having just gone public, Medidata was shifting from a fast-growing startup to a more structured, scalable organization. For Schwartz, who initially led revenue recognition, this was the beginning of both a personal and professional evolution that would mirror the company’s own transformation. “It was a point in time where we were starting to bring in specialization, starting to think about really scaling up our business and thinking about the future,” he recalls.

As Medidata scaled, so did Schwartz's responsibilities. His stubborn curiosity led him to explore beyond his initial role, uncovering inefficiencies and taking on more of the finance function. “I just started asking questions and driving people crazy,” he says, noting that his eagerness to improve processes soon expanded his role across finance. This growth trajectory from accounting to eventually becoming CFO in 2022 parallels the evolution of Medidata’s financial operations.

Similarly, the metrics that once guided Medidata’s growth had to evolve as well. Early on, Josh explains, “We were focused on how many products our customers were using.” But as Medidata transformed into a platform-based organization, the metrics shifted. “It’s no longer about products; it’s about how much data we are driving through the platform.”

This alignment between Josh’s career journey and the company’s evolving metrics highlights the adaptive approach both have taken to fuel Medidata’s latest growth chapter. Today, Josh leads a finance team that embodies the same forward-thinking approach he embraced early in his career, constantly rethinking metrics to drive growth.