Richard Cale ’21 works at the intersection of clinical practice, marketing, regulation, and medical device engineering.
As global product marketing manager at BD, Cale helps shape strategy and lifecycle management for automated dispensing products used across a growing range of care settings. His role requires him to consider not only how a product functions but where it fits, who will use it, and how it may affect patient care beyond the hospital floor.
That ability to move between worlds has become the through line of his career.
A recipient of KGI’s 2026 Early Career Impact Award, Cale graduated from Keck Graduate Institute’s Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program in 2021. Since then, he has built a career in medical technology by bringing clinical expertise into commercial strategy and product development.
“His career demonstrates the unique ability to integrate pharmacy training with business, technology, and healthcare operations to address complex challenges facing modern healthcare,” said Kanika Bhandari, director of outreach and postgraduate training and assistant professor of clinical sciences for KGI’s PharmD program.
Where the Spark Began
Cale came to KGI already looking beyond a traditional pharmacy career.
An adjunct professor introduced him to KGI when the program was still in its early years. What caught his attention was KGI’s connections to the Southern California biotech sector and its industry focus, which offered a wider range of professional possibilities.
He chose the Medical and Clinical Affairs track, but a KGI project soon pushed him in a different direction. Working with a team evaluating a tool designed to assess the purity of an active pharmaceutical ingredient, he found himself most interested in what came next: Who would buy it? How should it be positioned? How would a business bring it to market?
“That was my first real lightbulb moment,” he said.
The Clinical Lens
Internships offered more clarity. Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) gave him exposure to cross-functional teams, but he discovered he was less drawn to deep literature review than to strategy, positioning, and development.
A commercial fellowship at BD opened the door.
Today, Cale oversees BD’s non-acute portfolio of automated dispensing products, where he develops product roadmaps and business cases, works with engineering and software teams, and helps ensure products meet patient needs.
His clinical training gives him a unique vantage point.
“It was key for my colleagues to start understanding the areas in which vulnerable populations and critical care patients utilize medical devices in a broader sense,” he said. “I could also see connections between things that seem unrelated, like a patient’s skin health or the way in which medical devices are used due to understaffing.”
That perspective matters as care expands beyond hospitals and into long-term care facilities, ambulatory centers, EMS agencies, and closed-door pharmacies that manage medications for multiple facilities.
“Being a pharmacist, I can relate to both sides,” he said. “From a dispensing standpoint, if I were signing my name to something, how would I want that workflow to look? And at the end of the day, how would I want my patients to be cared for in a way that’s the most impactful?”
Bridging the Gaps
Cale’s role is, in many ways, about translation.
He connects clinical priorities with business strategy, product requirements with regulatory constraints, and technical decisions with the realities of patient care. In product development, he describes himself as the bridge between engineering and the business side, helping shape the strategy while keeping an eye on how the finished product will actually be used.
KGI’s interdisciplinary model prepared him for that work by showing him that clinical expertise has value well beyond the traditional healthcare setting.
“While a PharmD may not possess the same level of business acumen as others in the commercial sector, as a medical professional, you’ll always have people interested in your input,” he said.
That clinical perspective also follows Cale into regulatory discussions. He works closely with Medical and Regulatory Affairs to ensure products meet FDA requirements while considering how they will function in nontraditional care settings.
“His ability to translate clinical expertise into practical, technology-driven solutions has positioned him as a trusted leader within the industry,” Bhandari said.
A Foundation for Adaptability
Cale’s ability to navigate unfamiliar territory began well before pharmacy school.
He spent nearly a decade in the Marine Corps, an experience he credits with changing the direction of his life. The military gave him an early familiarity with leadership under pressure.
More than anything, he said, it taught him how to accept criticism and keep moving.
“You grow some thick skin when you’re in the military,” he said.
That resilience has served him in a career that has required repeated shifts in direction.
Mentorship at KGI reinforced that willingness to keep reassessing the path ahead. Cale points to faculty members, including Christine Cadiz, who helped students reframe difficult academic concepts, and Dan Kudo, who encouraged students to constantly examine their career goals rather than assume they had to follow a fixed route.
Paying It Forward
Cale now brings that same perspective back to KGI.
Serving as a judge for the School of Pharmacy’s Shark Tank-style competition, he tried to balance candid feedback with encouragement. He has also stayed involved through mentorship, including connecting with KGI students from military and Native American backgrounds who are exploring their own career paths.
For Cale, the most useful advice is simple: get exposure before deciding.
“That first exposure to a role tells you a lot,” he said. “You start to find out whether this is actually going to be the right fit.”
His own career is evidence of where that first exposure can lead. What began as an interest in pharmacy expanded into something broader: a way of thinking across disciplines and building products with the realities of care in mind.