Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA, Founder of ResilExec® Coaching, Says Year-End Promotion Decisions Are Largely Settled Before Q4 Talent Planning Begins
Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA, founder of Resilient Performance Group LLC and ResilExec® Coaching, outlines why September, not December, is the operative window for Associate Directors, Directors, and Executive Directors positioning for advancement in pharmaceutical, healthcare, and enterprise IT organizations.
BRICK, N.J., September 8, 2026
Year-end talent planning is widely treated as the moment advancement outcomes are decided. According to Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA, founder of Resilient Performance Group LLC and ResilExec® Coaching, that assumption misreads the sequence. By the time calibration and succession discussions formally convene in the fourth quarter, the conclusions those meetings ratify have generally been forming for months.
The distinction matters for senior leaders inside large pharmaceutical, healthcare, and enterprise IT organizations, where advancement decisions are made across multiple functions and multiple levels of leadership. In those settings, the individuals with the most influence over an outcome are frequently not the ones a candidate interacts with most often.
“By the time the calibration meeting convenes, the decision has already been shaped,” said Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA, founder of ResilExec® Coaching. “The room is not evaluating a leader’s performance for the first time. It is confirming a conclusion it reached earlier, using language it settled on earlier. Most high performers are working hard to influence a meeting that is functionally a formality.”
Baldari’s Promotion Math™ framework treats advancement as a function of five variables: Performance, Visibility, Sponsorship, Narrative, and Timing. In his assessment, strong performers frequently optimize the first variable and leave the remaining four unattended, then attribute the resulting outcome to organizational politics or poor luck.
The September window is specific. It falls far enough ahead of formal year-end processes that a leader can still influence how they are characterized by others, and close enough that the effort is directed at a live decision rather than an abstract future one. Baldari notes that the work in this window is largely not performance work. It involves confirming which individuals will speak in the room, whether those individuals can describe a leader’s contribution at enterprise scale rather than functional scale, and whether the description they would offer today matches the role the leader intends to hold next.
“September is not early,” said Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA, founder of Resilient Performance Group LLC. “It is the last quarter in which a leader can still change the sentence that gets said about them when they are not in the room. In January, that sentence is already a decision.”
Baldari brings 24 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, including 14 brand launches spanning rare and chronic disease across rare renal, complement biology, cardiometabolics, ophthalmology, women’s health, and neuroscience. He is a recipient of the Novartis President’s Award, given to the top five United States leaders for a combination of sales performance, people development, leadership, and employee retention. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy and an MBA and is Life Coaching Certified. He has mentored and developed more than 50 leaders across four continents.
About ResilExec® Coaching
ResilExec® Coaching is an executive promotion coaching practice serving Associate Directors, Directors, Executive Directors, and senior professionals in pharmaceutical, healthcare, and enterprise IT organizations. The practice operates on the principle that performance gets a leader noticed while positioning gets a leader promoted, and applies the Promotion Math™ framework to advancement as a measurable system rather than a matter of politics or motivation. More information is available at https://resilexec.com.
About Resilient Performance Group LLC
Resilient Performance Group LLC is a rare disease commercial advisory practice founded by Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA. The firm advises biotechnology organizations and investors on United States commercial strategy, launch readiness, and market access for rare disease assets. More information is available at https://brianbaldari.com.
Media Contact
Brian Baldari, Pharm.D., MBA
Founder, Resilient Performance Group LLC and ResilExec® Coaching
766 Princeton Avenue, Brick, New Jersey 08724
https://brianbaldari.com
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and reflects the views and insights attributed to Brian Baldari and ResilExec® Coaching. It should not be considered professional career, employment, or business advice. Promotion decisions vary by organization, role, and individual circumstances.