Tagged with Leadership

USA During the ongoing BIO International Convention in Boston between June 5th and 8th, the US lobbying group has announced a new board chair in Ted Love as well as a new executive committee.   Love is a longstanding BIO board director and the former President & CEO of Global Blood…

Germany Germany-based pharma and healthcare services group Fresenius has had its share of challenges. After the group’s dialysis division, Fresenius Medical Care (FMC), was hit with a high rate of COVID-19 deaths among patients using its products and other areas of the business were faced with economic headwinds, the group was…

LatAm In a wide-ranging interview, AbbVie’s Flavio Devoto outlines some of the key access challenges and opportunities in the diverse Latin American pharma market, his approach to being a transformational leader while balancing demands from headquarters with realities on the ground, and the enduring importance of LatAm to the global group.…

Japan In the five years since the Japanese drugmaker began a strategic shift and created an ambitious plan to maintain growth, CEO Kenji Yasukawa helped Astellas move away from its previous business model and bounce back from failing revenues. With the appointment of former chief strategy officer Naoki Okamura as its…

Global At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck, Belén Garijo, speaking in a session on workforce transformation in the digital era, shared lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic experience, insights into the importance of building leadership skills, and using technology as an…

Global Thomas Schinecker is set to replace long-standing CEO, Severin Schwan, in the leadership shakeup Roche announced a few months ago. Schinecker is known for leading the company’s COVID-19 test kit efforts as the CEO of its diagnostics division, but he comes to the helm after an almost 20-year career at…

Spain Merck’s general manager for Spain, Miguel Fernández Alcalde, speaks about the company’s shift towards becoming a global specialty innovator, what it means for their portfolio, and explains the group’s broad footprint in Spain, where it maintains three manufacturing sites. In addition, Fernández analyses the Spanish pharma market and what he…

Turkey After an international career spanning 25 years, Demet Russ returned to her native Turkey to lead the Janssen affiliate during a tumultuous time and is aiming to give back to her country by improving patients’ access to life-saving therapies.   For Russ, what began as a consultant role at McKinsey…

Switzerland Merck Switzerland’s Christiane von der Eltz highlights the German firm’s recent big investments in Switzerland and how it forms a key part of Merck’s global research and manufacturing networks. von der Eltz also explains how Merck Switzerland managed to successfully navigate the numerous challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic…

Switzerland AstraZeneca’s recently arrived Switzerland country president, Katrien de Vos, gives her first impressions of the Swiss market and how she hopes to build upon the affiliate’s strong performance. de Vos also touches on access challenges (and how to surmount them) as well as AstraZeneca Switzerland’s role in bringing the company’s…

MEA Mohamed Nasser, Amgen’s general manager for the vast Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, leverages his considerable experience managing teams across the region to highlight four skills (and one secret ingredient) that pharma country and regional managers in MEA need to succeed.   The Middle East-Africa area (MEA) is one…

Europe Janssen’s Cyril Titeux highlights the commonalities and challenges within his 31-country portfolio, his hopes and expectations for the evolution of market access in the region, and some of the key industry trends emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.   I foresee a renewed and increased focus on prevention [post-COVID], especially for…