SPONSORED BY

Pharma
MANAGING IN THE ERA OF LEAN

Emerging
Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

eet 2011s Emerging Pharma LeadersCan these 30 trendsetters build competitive scale from scarcity? Pharm Execs 2011 roster of Emerging Leadersour fourth to dateis not only a way to recognize a few individuals whove made a difference in their organizations. It also serves as a barometer to track larger changes in the workplace: how work is done; who does it; where, and with what range of skills; and for what outcome or objective. In acknowledgment of our own 30th anniversary as a publication, and with the support of Pharm Execs Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) and an aggressive Web-based recommendation process, weve selected 30 executives drawn from a range of mission-critical functions, varied geographies, and diverse gender and cultural characteristics. Such backgrounds were unimaginable in the executive ranks of the industry just a few years ago, a fact that suggests Big Pharma today is at least more re ective of the broader sociopolitical environment that has always been crucial to its success. The 30 pro les written and compiled by our editorial team is reference in itself to the trends and values that will shape strategy in biopharmaceuticals for the remainder of the decade. That, in turn, will help determine the ground rules for individual career progress. Weve distilled some of the more interesting insights as follows:

really convincing to employees is another necessary leadership attribute of a lean organization, where the impact of a loss of any productive worker is magni ed. This is where overall corporate reputation can make a bottom-line difference. Information is now borderless, posing a signi cant management challenge to stronger employee engagement. Rapid improvements in IT are forcing leaders to be more transparent, but this requires in turn a commitment to make information veri able to employees and team members. Tomorrows business leaders must be able to certify and validate reams of unsubstantiated information, and for this role the prerequisite is to be seen as someone who is trusted. The key emotional chord in todays pharma workplace is to convey a sense of urgency. Time and space for action are compressing due to the impact of improvements in technology, accessibility of information, the globalization of competition, and a changing demographic of the market base. Complacency is a trait associated with older forms of organization linked to hierarchical decision-making and a command-and-control leadership style, when the prudent response for anyone with leadership aspirations was to defer and deliberate. That old strategy remains an optionold habits die hard, particularly the bigger the organization isbut fewer of those raised in the Internet age of instant access to information laced with opinion are likely to embrace it. The talent pipeline is spouting in a different direction. Under previous generations, drug research and other good ideas germinated in mature markets, preferably the home of ce, with production and secondary services devolved to low-income countries. Looking forward, that pattern may well be reversed, which requires the ability to initiate, analyze, and execute around a global approach that can accommodate diverse cultures and perspectives on doing business. Do

any of us realize that some Asian languages are lacking a de nitive equivalent to the simple word no? The real driver of human resources is the power of the personal connection. The tendency in Big Pharma has been to do precisely the opposite, turning the HR function into an information processing service that takes place mainly online. Many of our 30 leaders urged that management restore what is human about human resources, through a renewed emphasis on counseling and support for soft skills such as leadership training, talent development, and mentoring. One executive even noted that his best source of ideas and talent now comes from his own family, rather than the work peer group. Companies will have to foster new approaches to ensure these connections are incentivized to foster creativity within the ranks. Its preferable to all this collectiveand capturableenergy being diverted to networked outside communities, whose numbers are multiplying and threaten to make Big Pharma appear isolated, lumbering, and irrelevantand certainly not the place to take your new ideas. The best innovations are often a consequence of a workplace failure. A repeated theme in the interviews is that good organizations impose no sanctions on failure. Making mistakes is part of the job, and what counts is a willingness to reach beyond a presumed outcome to try something new. Management will need that approach to navigate through changes that are becoming harder to account for in advance. One thing has not changed: There are few future leaders who cant cite passion as a factor that got them to where they are today. The lucrative pay in pharma is one thing, but if you are not red up by the potential that working in this space has in improving the state of health for millions of patients, then perhaps a career in accounting is more appropriate. William Looney, Editor-in-Chief

The real meaning of lean. As companies scale backthis years leaders are aware that the pace of layoffs in Big Pharma is exceeded only by the government sectorthe response is not just to do more with less. All agree that the change is strategic, not temporary, and relates squarely to the higher long-term risk pro le of the business. The optimal response to the lean agenda is to contribute to strengthening the ef ciency of business practice and processes; sometimes this requires more resources, not less. Making trust, engagement, and loyalty programs

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Doug Drysdale

CEO, Alvogen

oug Drysdale knew from a young age that hed end up in pharma. When I rst left high school I worked in a hospital lab. Then I went to university, he says. Coming out of there, it was hard to see sometimes how you would commercialize a life sciences degree and how you could actually make a career out of itwhats interesting academically is sometimes dif cult to turn into a career. But the pharma industry immediately struck me as a way to do that. Drysdale moved up the ranks at small startups but also places such as Forest Laboratories and DuPont Merck before eventually becoming CEO at Alvogen. Drysdale recognizes that industry has changed and downsized since he began his career, with companies commonly doing more with less. Thats interesting because in some ways I think my career has followed that kind of path, he says. I started out in Big Pharma and ended up moving into more entrepreneurial roles and into generics. Part of that has followed the lifecycle of the pharmaceutical industry. When I rst started out, pharma had so much money to spend on R&D. Now times are de nitely leaner and every company is searching for ways to get more out of the R&D pipeline while spending less. The best way to handle this new environment, says Drysdale, is to focus speci cally on areas with the most potential value, then make swift decisions. In the US generics space, Drysdale says, Only generics that are more complex, more high-tech, and

have fewer competitors have the real value. Outside the US, he says, the value lies in targeting emerging markets. Once Drysdale and his team know what to focus on, the next step is to approach innovation from what he calls a 10-80-10 philosophy. We spend 10 percent of our time planning, 80 percent of our time executing, and 10 percent of our time re ecting on what we could have done differently, he says, whereas a lot of companies spend 80 percent of their time planning and 20 percent executing. They are thinking too much and too hard about what needs to be done; they get paralyzed by dif cult situations. The key to the 10-80-10 method is to foster the kind of environment where employees feel con dent making swift decisions and taking risks. By taking a different approach and making sure that employees feel there are no repercussions for making mistakes, I think people are far more motivated and far more likely to bring their ideas forward, says Drysdale. But the creativity to come up with a great idea and having employees with the power to execute it are not the only key factors, says Drysdale. Lets be up front: If Ive thought of something or my colleagues have thought of something, the chances are that two or three of my competitors have thought of it also, he says. I dont think we can claim to have a monopoly on good ideas. But we can execute those ideas much faster than our competitors. Having a good idea is not good enough. Its taking a good idea and turning it into an action that moves you forwardand that comes from speed and decisiveness.

Kimberly Sablich

Vice President, Vaccines, Commercial Strategy, GlaxoSmithKline

imberly Sablich, vice president for vaccines commercial strategy at GlaxoSmithKline, ascended quickly in her pharma career, and she credits it to growing up in a household with a single working mother. With my mother as a role model, I never questioned whether I was going to have a career and I was always sure I wanted to be in the business world, like Mom, says Sablich. As a witness to the great healthcare debate of the Clinton era, Sablich was drawn into healthcare and ultimately pharmaceutical marketing. Today, she

continues to de ne herself as a marketing strategist who is now able to apply her passion for marketing strategy to a broader set of products and coach a larger team in this area. Since she began her career in 1995, Sablich admits that more has changed in pharma than has remained constant. However, she would advocate that the basics of solid marketing strategy still hold. Now more than ever, it is critical to develop solid insights about our market dy-

namics, customer needs, and competitors, and to prioritize customer segments, and develop an offering that meets or exceeds customer expectations, says Sablich, who believes that to prevail and succeed in a new era of competitive scarcity, one must remember that strategy development also requires an equal complement of strong execution, exempli ed by the removal of barriers to ef cient decision-makingone of which is having fewer layers of management.

SPONSORED BY

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

Denny Kraichely
Associate Director, CMC Team Leader, Portfolio Management & Technical Integration, Johnson & Johnson

hat appeals to me most about the pharmaceutical industry is our focus on the development of new medicines to improve patients lives, says Denny Kraichely, Johnson & Johnsons associate director and CMC team

leader in portfolio management and technical integration. It inspires me that I am a part of a pharmaceutical industry with so many examples of changing life-threatening diseases to manageable chronic conditions. At J&J, Kraichely is tasked with leading multiple CMC teams spanning from pre-new molecular entity (NME) declaration through post-approval. He serves as single point-of-contact for all aspects of chemistry, manufacturing, and controls for several compound development teams and supports the objectives of his companys strategy to engage in multiple therapeutic areas. When he isnt reviewing manuscripts for scienti c journals and trade publications, Kraichely is helping to develop programs from scienti c conferences. I strongly feel that sharing knowledge is a key enabler

that will allow our industry to continue to bring life-changing medicines to the patients we serve. Another guiding principle for Kraichely is that a lean organization depends heavily on communication, pushing boundaries, and challenging the status quo while maintaining a strong sense of con dence and self-awareness. The pharmaceutical industry is perfectly positioned and equipped with unprecedented technical knowledge to meet the needs of patients around the world, adds Kraichely. As an industry, we need to continue to play an active role to ensure that payer reimbursement challenges do not prevent patient access to our life-changing medicines. Fighting that battle internally to ensure good science prevails is just as important as dealing with outside vendors.

Leigh-Ann Durant

Associate General Counsel, Clinical Trials and Medical Affairs, EMD Serono

any of this years Emerging Pharma Leaders started out as physicians, sales reps, or pharmacists. Leigh-Ann Durant took a different pathshe became a lawyer. Durant debated between medical school and law school for a while, and law school won. After becoming involved in international law and relations during a year abroad in Finland, and after clerking for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, Durant says pharma crept into her career. I was hired by a major law rm that had a number of pharmaceutical clients, she recalls. It was really the perfect opportunity for me to marry my interest in law with my interest in medicine and science. And so I was a trial attorney doing pharmaceutical work, with a particular focus on FDA and regulatory issues. Now, Durant is at EMD Serono, where she serves as lead attorney for medical and clinical activities and is involved in legal aspects of all the clinical trials the organization runs in the US. And its excellent mentoring experiences, especially through the Womens Bar Association (WBA), that have brought her here, she says. For me, mentoring has been incredibly helpful, in terms of not only providing me professional advice but also business and personal growth advice. I really had the bene t of having a generation of women lawyers above me who were

willing to reach down, pull up rising young leaders, and help them. Those mentoring relationships were some of the key formative relationships in my personal and professional development. Now, with a team of lawyers, paralegals, and support staff who look to Durant every day at EMD Serono, shes focused on paying it forward. I promised myself that when I made it, when I became this successful woman lawyer, I would turn around, reach down, and pull up the next generation of women lawyers behind me, and help them in the same way that the generation before me helped me, she says. I make a conscious effort to create an inclusive work environment, to tap into the strengths of my team members, and to focus on the precise types of skills each of them needs in order to move forward. The strengths might be different between and amongst the team members, but were stronger collectively than we are in our individual parts.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Heather Bresch

Jennifer Leeds
Executive Director, Head of Antibacterial Discovery, Novartis

President, Mylan

wenty years ago Heather Bresch accepted a data entry position at Mylan, a small generics and specialty pharmaceutical producer headquartered in Canonsburg, Pa. Today, she is president of the company. As an advocate for access to affordable healthcare and generics utilization, Bresch admits that her professional life has in uenced the causes that she cares about. Mylans mission is to provide the globes 7 billion people access to high-quality, affordable medicine. However, there are many parts of the world where universal access is far from a reality, for instance in sub-Saharan Africa, she says. This is in large part what is behind Mylans drive to develop generic antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV/AIDS. Bresch remembers a time when generic utilization in the US was at only around 35 percent; today it has more than doubled to over 75 percentand is still growing. She emphasizes the importance of generics and their vital role in keeping costs down and ensuring access to life-saving medicines. While many of the changes to our industry have been positive, as a company and as an industry we still have to ght every day to retain our position and ensure that consumers have access to low-cost, high-quality generic pharmaceuticals, says Bresch. This ght extends across regulatory, legislative, and operational fronts. A key focus of these efforts is achieving a healthy balance between competition and innovation. In a nutshell, Bresch believes that common sense, good judgment, and a strong work ethic are required of the next generation of leaders. However, she notes that communication and mentoring talent are also key qualities: I have placed an increasingly higher value on communication as our company has globalized, she says. Identifying and mentoring talent is also very important to me. At Mylan, we have a unique and unconventional culture that requires people to think differently and challenge the status quo.

always really loved biology. But what probably got me most interested in microbiology was my mom working in a doctors of ce. I would just come in and watch the urologists do all this testing, looking at pathogens. That was my rst exposure to bacteria. I just really enjoy it. Half a lifetime later, Jennifer Leeds, executive director and head of antibacterial discovery, has put that passion to great use over eight-and-a-half years at Novartis. Her current responsibilities place her in the lead of the entire antibacterial discovery groupthe team responsible for everything from target identi cation, to validations, screenings, lead discoveries, all the way up through writing INDs. I think of myself as a gatherer, so I dont claim to be the smartest person in every eld. I just like to bring people together. Working for Big Pharma, she says, has its advantages, because you have many resources available. Whats been successful for me at Novartis, Leeds says about her leadership style, is maintaining good relationships, treating people professionally, never taking all the credit yourself, and being very transparent. What is it about transparency that is so important when being tasked with leading a diverse team of individuals? Id rather have someone be very clear about what they know, what they dont know, and how much they know about how to go about getting the information they dont have. I like to see how people think critically about a project. And lastly, I want to know of someones ability to work with others. They need to be very team-oriented. But leadership traits must be honed through years of experience; one doesnt simply acquire them, and one certainly never stops trying to develop those skills. According to Leeds: Im looking for mentors to make sure Im able to do my job successfully. Being a mentor as well as having mentors is equally important. I dont think people necessarily see how valuable that is unless theyre in itbeing on both sides. But everybody can learn, everyones got different experiences, and everyones got something that they can contribute to someone else. Part of the path [of leadership] is being willing to be the mentor and nding the mentors you need yourself.

SPONSORED BY

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

Craig Lipset

Head of Clinical Innovation, Pzer

s head of clinical innovation for P zer Worldwide Research & Development, Craig Lipset runs a tight ship. He works with senior scientists to de ne the future for clinical trials and ensure that the companys R&D initiatives are connected and can leverage one another. As a large and decentralized organization, P zer runs the risk of having too many projects linked to process and tactics, while ignoring a longterm vision that can in uence the commercial rate of return. According to Lipset, We are seeking to share and institutionalize our work and the learnings. At the same time, we are working at a local and a corporate level to ensure we have a culture that supports and encourages innovation rather than more bureaucracy. Lipset admits he has seen no shortage of organizational changes in the pharmaceutical industry; today, the R&D function at P zer is based on the premise that there are no sacred cows. He disagrees with those who believe the in-

dustry is complacent, noting to Pharm Exec that there is a sense of urgency as never before and a basic consensus in the C-suite that the old ways of doing business must change. Those that are unwilling or unable to adapt to this need for change may want to explore opportunities elsewhere, he says. Now is the time for innovation. Moreover, in his newly created position, he has observed a renewed appreciation for the role of the patient as a participant in clinical research. I believe this is an extension of the new role of the patient as an engaged participant in managing their overall health and wellness, says Lipset. This is a time to stay focused on our companys vision to improve health and well-being around the world.

Jane Brandman

International Marketing Leader, Merck

ercks Jane Brandman was working on the issue of managed markets and reimbursement before it was industrys cause clbre. Not so long ago, reimbursement in oncology, for example, wasnt even an issueif it was approved, it was reimbursed, says Brandman. While pursuing a pharmacy degree in Canada, Brandman says she became interested in drug development, and was

selected for an internship at Ciba-Geigy see the science through, you had a phe(now Novartis). After graduating, she nomenal impact on patients lives, says went back to Ciba to work as a pharma- Brandman. Novartis oncology made an cist in the companys medical informa- offer, and Brandman came in to give tion department, and thats when she them some guidance on how to think started to recognize that pharmacoeco- about market access and reimbursenomics and market access were going to ment and pricing. With Gleevec nearbe key determinants in where the indus- ing FDA approval, Brandman was able to contribute to the franchise by making try headed. A Rhone-Poulenc Rorer-sponsored sure the right information was being colfellowship landed Brandman south of the lected to address the issue of reimburseCanadian border at the University of Ari- ment. Finding herself in a marketing role zona, picking up a Masters degree, and at Novartis was unexpected, but Brandthen went to P zer, working in a group mans background in science was crucial tasked with building outcomes research to marketing efforts, where the science tools for managed care organizations, level is so high, you really have to be on for use in evaluating drug portfolios and your game, she says. After rising to associate director at assessing patient management. That job led to a position working on P zers in- Novartis, Brandman left for Merck to line products within its womens health drive lifecycle management for Zolinza, division, and later on P zers arthritis di- an oncology drug (shes currently international marketing leader). She describes vision, both in the US and globally. Things were sailing along, and then her management style as collaborative: several of Brandmans family members I dont like micromanaging, she says. got cancer. That instigated a change in I dont want to be in there telling people direction, and a new focus on oncol- how do things, or to do things my way. ogy. For me, this particular space was It doesnt matter how things get done, so so unique because if you were able to re- long as they get done, and get rewarded ally work with key opinion leaders and when its deserved, she says.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Vatche Bartekian
President and Founder, Vantage BioTrials or Vatche Bartekian, pharmaceutical work is all in the family, and has been for years. I had many uncles, aunts, and cousins who were doctors, pharmacists, and pharma professionals, including my own brothers, he says. The pharmaceutical and health industry has always appealed to me. Which is why, in 2007, when Bartekian became president and founder of his own Canadian CROVantage BioTrialsthose trusted family connections were one of the main ingredients in the recipe for success. His brother Viken is the companys VP of business development, and his brother Vahe is VP of clinical and compliance. More than 13 years of industry experience, from an analyst position in a clinical research lab to a role in Big Pharma with P zer Canada, helped prepare Bartekian for leading his own organization. He has also worked in more than 15 therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, ophthalmology, infectious disease, and CNS. Bartekian says that this diverse background has led to relationships and networking opportunities that are the backbone of Vantage BioTrials success. I have been very fortunate to work with highly skilled and talented individuals who have become good friends and colleagues, he says. Most of the business that Vantage BioTrials currently acquires is through wordof-mouth referrals. It is this kind of relationship-building and engendering the trust of our clients that has seen us through the toughest economic downturns in our industry. Bartekian re ects on the changes he has seen in the industry: I started my career in 1998, when pharma and the North American economy

was in the middle of signi cant growth. There were new regulations, mergers and acquisitions, and a dramatic increase in the use of CROs for clinical development and basic R&D activities. From 1997 to 2007, our industry experienced the biggest growth in the number of blockbuster drugs hitting the market, he recalls. Fast-forward to now and we have much more stringent regulations, more scrutiny by regulators, and a drastic change in industrys outlook as generic competition has forced Big Pharma to refocus on product and process innovation, as patents on the aforementioned blockbuster drugs will soon be ending. What do these changes mean for Bartekians leadership skills and business strategies? As the president of a small, privately-owned CRO which

came into existence in 2007right before the 2008 global economic crisis hitmy team and I have been forced to re-evaluate our game plan in order to remain competitive, and refocus our business to not only serve the traditional Big Pharma and biotech sector, but also diversify our client portfolio, he says. Vantage BioTrials has done this, according to Bartekian, by investing heavily in obtaining and retaining highly qualied and experienced team members. Plus, he says, Our main competitive edge has been our ability to offer all this quality and experience at a signi cantly lower cost. In other words, smallness counts as a differentiating factor in the overall service proposition. As a leader, Bartekian recognizes that keeping a team engaged and motivated during challenging times requires a proactive approach. I achieve this by encouraging innovation from the team, he explains. I believe that there is an entrepreneur in everyone and I always encourage identi cation and improvement of processes in order to re-energize an individuals sense of contribution to the team. Finally, Bartekian uses the high standards the company sets in its relationships with clients as a model for relationships with his own employees. I strive to always exceed my clients expectations and I expect no less from our employees by asking them how they can improve study timelines, increase all stakeholders cooperation, and achieve better cost savings by increasing project ef ciencies. It also helps that our business is based on strong family-oriented values, he adds. Working with your own brothers helps you learn how to treat each other with respect and clearly communicate ideas to move forward and progress together through challenges.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

David Redfern
Chief Strategy Ofcer, GlaxoSmithKline

t 44, David Redfern is already something of a pharma industry veteran. With 17 years experience behind him, he now leads GlaxoSmithKlines M&A and corporate development activities, has responsibility for its global dermatology business, and is chairman of ViiV Healthcarean HIV/AIDS joint venture with P zer that he was instrumental in establishing. Redferns upward trajectory since joining the industry has been impressive from the outset. Qualifying initially as a chartered accountant, he began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand, as it was known then), working in Europe and Africa. Back in London, while on secondment at Glaxo (a Coopers client), he was bitten by the pharma bug; he took a permanent post with the drugmaker in 1994 and hasnt looked back. Redferns progress at GSK leapt forward signi cantly, however, with the appointment of Andrew Witty as CEO

in November 2007. Quickly identifying Redfern as a strong allyRedferns lean Six Sigma thinking was in line with his own ideas for reshaping the way GSK operatedWitty appointed him chief strategy of cer when he reformulated the management team in the months leading up to his arrival in early 2008. He is proud of the enormous progress the company has made since it started to run its business a lot more tightly following Wittys arrival. I think today people would agree that that vision was rightGSK is further down the track than most in transforming itself, he says. A lot of companies are just going into their major patent expiries. We are largely through the major headwinds on that; were in a slightly different place. But he is quick to highlight that his involvement in turning GSK around if thats not too strong a phrasehas been very much as part of a team, and, not least, down to the good fortune of having a boss he believes in. Pushed for pearls of wisdom on what it takes to be a successful leader, Redfern af rms: I put a lot of emphasis on the ability to

articulate a clear vision, to take people on the journey with you, to map out where youre going and make sure everyone knows why. The ability to communicate widely is really important. For all his modesty, Redferns career in pharma clearly remains a glittering one. Going forward, according to his GSK colleague, Claire Thomas (herself a Pharm Exec Emerging Pharma Leader of 2010), the role of chief nancial of cer is very much in his grasp, and beyond that, she suggests, a future CEO position is a distinct possibility.

Amar Sethi

Vice President, Science & Technology, Pacic Biomarkers

n academic background in clinical chemistry combined with a solid understanding of a key therapeutic segmentlipid control medicationsset the foundation for Paci c Biomarkers vice president for science and technology Dr. Amar Sethis career as a path nder in drug development. He cites his exposure to patients as a hospital physician in the cardiology eld, which adds considerably to his ability to understand how progress from simple proof of concept to nal market authorization will shape the experience of patients in responding to a new treatmentnot to mention the willingness of payers to consider it as a real therapeutic advance. Sethi speaks highly of personal connections and credits his career progression for it: A good connection can mean that the right job nds you

instead of you having to seek the right job, he says. Many of the best jobs are not even advertised. Knowing people professionally, especially connections of my more experienced counterparts, helped move my career forward. Sethi says his transition into pharma has occurred in an era of limits and shortages accentuated by recession and deep cuts in public spending on drugs and healthcare in general. Ive observed increasing M&A activity (large and small) with the supposed aim of creating stronger nancial institutions and to reduce the risk of nancial default. Portfolios have been increased to hopefully average any risk associated with drug failure. Young leaders today will need to work with more outside partners on functions that used to be conducted entirely in-house. Awareness of the external environment and the ability to sensitively assess the qualities of a potential partner are going to be key skills for the industry in the future.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Philippe Szapary
Senior Director, Immunology, Centocor

never thought Id end up in the pharmaceutical industry, says Philippe Szapary. Like many of my peers in R&D, I was in academic medicine. I was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in internal medicine. I was taking care of patients, teaching medical students and residents, and engaging in clinical research and epidemiology. Then, says Szapary, One thing led to another and I ended up in R&D using many of the skills I had developed in academia, now on a much broader scale, and thus impacting a lot more lives and people. Now that hes on the industry side of things, Szapary recognizes how much has changed over the years, and how his leadership philosophy has had to change accordingly. Ive had to focus much more on the differences between must-haves and nice-to-haves, he says. We have a lot of work on our plates, and were really

faced with the issue of prioritization. I nd prioritizing one of the biggest challenges in industry, continues Szapary. In medicine, they dont teach you that. In the US healthcare system, every patient gets the maximum amount of care every time. So now, coming into this resource-strained environment, you have real tradeoffs to consider. We have fewer and fewer dollars in the R&D budgets, and we want to develop a certain amount

of potential products. I think those who will be successful in the future are those who will be able to prioritize and manage these types of issues. Also important, says Szapary, is a cohesive team. Building and maintaining high-functioning teams and recognizing them for their effort is key to meeting our goals. You need to listen to team members and value their input and perspective while also focusing on their career development. By not doing these things, you run the risk of losing cohesion and focus, and of diffusing the mission. Optimism in the face of adversity can be the secret to success in pharma, says Szapary. When I was rst contemplating going into medicine, physicians tried to discourage me from entering the eld because it had changed so much. And if I had listened to the naysayers then, I would not be where I am today. I think there are still lots of opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. Its a very rewarding industry on a lot of levels. Youve just got to be willing to adapt.

David Stern
EVP, Endocrinology, EMD Serono

eing responsible for all commercial operations in the US for EMD Seronos endocrinology therapeutic areas HIV, growth de ciency, and infertilityhas taught David Stern two things: 1) That failure is the rst step towards success; and 2) When the success comes, its truly worth the effort. Despite the leaner mantra of the industry, Stern says, This is a great time to be in pharma, because these changes present opportunities. We cant sit back and do things the way we used to. We as leaders have to be willing to let people try new things, make

mistakes, and failbecause failure breeds innovation. This may sound like a risky leadership strategy, especially when money is tight. But Stern has seen it work, from the perspective of a leader and of a rookie just getting his feet wet. When I was a fairly junior marketer, I made a mistake. I ended up spending a signi cant amount of moneyabout a $1 millionon something that didnt work, he recalls. And rather than yell at me, my boss at the time said, We just made an investment in you. A million-dollar investment. What did you do wrong, why did you make the decision you did, and what did you learn from it? Once the success comes, says Stern, the rewards more than pay for the trial-and-error method that got you there. One of our products is an infertility drug. We help people become parents. And when you get the letters from them, when you see the pictures of their successes, that just serves to energize me and my team. The responsibility of emerging pharma leaders, says Stern, is to change the publics perception of pharma and biotech companies. And if we make decisions based on the needs of the patient and not the needs of Wall Street, I think our industry will do a lot better.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Alana Clemens
Product Training Manager, Diabetes, Boehringer Ingelheim

or Alana Clemens, diabetes is more than just something she focuses

Clemens aims to bring on from nine to ve. As the woman who trains the sales this passion to her role as team that focuses on Boeh- a leader within her organiringer Ingelheims diabetes ini- zation, and to pass it on to tiatives, she admittedly knows her team. A change agent a great deal about the disease. is someone who goes beBut shes also a patient. And yond embracing changeto an advocate. I have a person- someone who is creating and al connection and passion for driving change, she says. the area of diabetes. I am ac- Our industry is appropritive in the diabetes community, ately risk-averse. Change and that certainly contributes agents are not always welto how I perform my job func- comeoften, change increases con ict. But when I tions, she says. This year I participated am successful, I feel rewardin the American Diabetes ed by the outcome. To foster positive change Associations Step out to Fight Diabetes walk with in a challenging industry climy family. This is a cause mate, Clemens is embracing I am very passionate about new technology. The way and would pursue even if I people exchange informadidnt work in the diabetes tion is rapidly changing. I space, she continues. I knew that in order to train believe I am an example of people in a way that was efwhat can be accomplished fective, we would need to when work ethic is coupled raise the bar and explore new methods of interacting with personal passion.

with technology, she says. Which is why, as Boehringer Ingelheim was preparing to launch the rst in a franchise of diabetes molecules, Clemens created an online repository of information that can be exchanged and shared among colleagues. Im very proud of how our Diabetes Portal has become a crossfunctional resource for our sales organization, she says. There are some crucial tactics for succeeding in the industry going forward, says Clemens, both for her team and for herself and other industry leaders. The most important factors, she says, are clear, concise direction; demonstrating condence in your decisions; being an excellent listener; and fostering an environment which encourages creativity and collaboration.

Andreas Jekle

adapt quickly to other elds will go a long way toward meeting your goals. A good project leader listens to the advice of his team and knows to build fter pursuing a post-doctorate degree in San Francisco, Dr. An- consensus, says Jekle. And heres where exibility comes in: Make clear early dreas Jekle found the road challenging for a foreign-born scientist try- on what your success criteria are and reing to enter the pharmaceutical world. visit them regularly. Project teams have Luckily, a fellow German helped him a tendency to drift off target. Dont stick land his rst job at Roche in 2003. Now, to your initial criteria if the environas senior research scientist at NovaBay ment changes, he adds. Three critical assets to getting the Pharmaceuticals, Jekle is getting the chance to combine drug development most out of a teamespecially in this work with my passion for basic science. era of lean pharmaare being able to For a long time, I thought I would listen, empowering your subordinates, pursue a career in academia. I didnt and being realistic. A lean organizahave any exposure to pharma before I tion for me speci cally means havjoined Roche. However, I never regret- ing to work with CROs. That requires ted the switch to industry. Research and working with new people with different science are as good in industry as they backgrounds on a daily basis. If you are in academiajust with different have to rely more and more on other goals. Flexibility is key; being able to service providers, you have to make Senior Research Scientist, NovaBay Pharmaceuticals

sure that they live up to your expectations, says Jekle. This speaks to the era of globalization all industries, not just pharma, are in. But whether working with your inhouse team or with outside partners, it all comes down to setting goals. According to Jekle: When you set your goals, have a good mixture of those within reach and others that will be a challenge. Same thing with your expectations from your group; if youre not realistic and expect unreasonable results, you lose trust and your group will no longer work for you. So how does Dr. Jekle handle the challenges that come with the changing times? Embrace it, he says. You cant stop it. But you can learn from it. Experience is invaluable, especially if it is combined with an open mind to new approaches.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Lynn Shatkus
International Marketing Training Director, Abbott Laboratories

ynn Shatkus is fortunate. Her current role as international marketing training director at Abbott Laboratories seemed predetermined. I come from a long line of training; my parents were both teachers, Shatkus says. And

so I think it was sort of fate that Id end would lean on you, is integral. I have high expectations of my team, she says. up working in a training role. Shatkus began her career in mar- Its my leadership style. I wouldnt ask keting communications in the energy them to do anything I wouldnt do myindustry and eventually migrated into self. And coming through the ranks of training roles with Blue Cross/Blue training, most of these positions I have Shield. After seven years there, the ex- done myself, so I do have the perspecperience carried her to Abbott, where tive of having been in their shoes. So I she says the challenges now lie in the do feel that is helpful for any leader to globalized economy as well as the new have that understanding of what [the stakeholders continually coming to the team members] are going through. Shatkus has spent over seven years table. She perseveres by remaining resilat Abbott, including a stretch in Madrid, ient through whatever comes her way. The global economy is de nitely Spain, which, she says, presented anothchallenging everyone to innovate and er opportunity to develop her leaderreinvent executions to meet new needs ship style. Culturally, being able to see for the healthcare industry. But training different perspectives, and being able to is also going through a metamorphosis immerse myself in that was a fantastic as a result of globalization, so as a train- personal experience. For me, with ing professional that means executing this organization being exible and faster, in new ways, while still trying to open and guring out exactly what each person needs in order to be successful maintain the integrity of learning. Coming on board at Abbott, Shatkus in their rolethats where I tie that in knew from her previous experience that with leadership. You cant do a oneleaning on your team members, as they size- ts-all.

John Stuart

National Sales Director, Genentech

eck no, says John Stuart, when asked if he always knew he would work in healthcare or pharma. I went to school knowing I would be a salesperson, but never really articulated in my own mind what kind of sales I wanted to be involved in. In fact, when I interviewed with Genentech, I had no clue who they were at the time. Not exactly the path to destiny, true. But once Stuart got his start as a sales rep for Abbot and was promoted to senior sales rep within 18 months, the foundation was in place. Of his time at Abbot, Stuart says, It gave me the introduction to pharma and the industry, and it gave me a clear perspective of what I did and didnt like. Stuart was then able to take his newfound pharma knowledge into a sales position at Genentech, and has now been with the company 18 years in various positions. Watching the industry change over that timebecoming more regulated and more cost-conscious day by daycauses Stuart to pause and re ect. For many years Genentech was immune to some of these things for awhile we were insulated, because we were delivering on the innovation, on breakthrough

drugs and technology, he recalls. Many salespeople, myself included, took things for grantedthat this was a job that was stable, where I would earn a great living and be able to provide for my family. And then all of a sudden that gets shattered. But Stuart isnt disheartened by the new, learner industry. On one hand I think its a really good thing. I dont think any of us are entitled to anything. Every day weve got to go to work, and weve got to have an impact, and weve got to have value for the customer or patient, he says. What weve seen by downsizing is that weve actually created more engagement. It really forced us as a management team to ask the critical question: What do we want to look like when we grow up? Spurred by downsizing, Stuart and his team at Genentech have had to consciously foster an environment in which his employees canand want tosucceed. Its not just empowering employees to own their territory and the decisions they makethey also need to have responsibility, he says. In 2008 I read an article about jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie. He said that what makes a good jazz musician is that they have one foot in the past and one in the future. I believe the same is true for pharma.

SPONSORED BY

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

Evan Lippman
Executive Director, Crestor, AstraZeneca

or Evan Lippman, previously the commercial leader for Nexium and now leader of the Crestor brand at AstraZeneca, the shifting tides of pharma dont change the goals of his team. Leadership is about solving complex problems and delivering on business objectives, he says. I cant think of any other industry that enables you to do that in a way that bene ts people like pharma does. I dont know why you wouldnt want to be a part of that. The bene ts of being part of the industry werent innately apparent to Lippman, however. He started his career as an investment banker, serving biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies. Challenges such as those facing pharma today havent dissuaded Lippman from jumping inin fact, its just these sort of high-pressure situations

that drew him to the industry. Pharma is very fast-changing, its dynamic, and it presents a lot of complex problems that dont always have one clear answer, he explains. So youve got to be comfortable taking risks Pharma is about taking inordinate risk in order to bene t a large group of people. And the impact you can have is tremendous. Despite new challenges to pharma, Lippman believes there are certain leadership skills and obligations that remain constant. Its about making relevant and timely decisions, creating common purpose and intent, focusing on clarity, and creating space for your team to excel, he says. The basic foundation of our industry has not changed. Innovative, novel medications that continue to impact patient health are necessary. Its the tools that we have at our disposal that are changing, as is the pace of information. Going forward, says Lippman, its less important for pharma to change,

and more important to be receptive toand to embracechange. I lead by trying to create a sense of ownership, an entrepreneurial spirit that helps people own their segment, and that can lead to accountability in decision making, says Lippman. And when you have that, you can continue to deploy very ef cientlyI wont say regardless of budgetbut even within certain constraints. Because you can still be innovative.

Rob Etherington

Senior VP, Commercial, Actelion Pharmaceuticals

ob Etherington has been with Actelion for 11 years, and has seen the company grow from ve employees to more than 300 in the US alone, and around 2,500 worldwide, in that time. In the past decade, revenues at Actelion have grown from zero to nearly $1 billion in annual sales. And Etherington has been there through it all. But as a company grows, so does the responsibility of its leaders. When Etherington joined Actelion in 2000, he was its fth employee. The leadership has had to evolve immensely, he says. This has been a test in resiliency. We didnt even know at the beginning where our next dollar was coming from. As Etherington marvels at how far his career and his company have come, he acknowledges the value of the path that led him here. Though he had an MBA, his rst taste of industry was as a sales rep at Parke-Davis. Many of my fellow alumni were saying You went to business school to be a rep? he recalls.

But Etherington maintains that the insight he gained as a rep is the foundation for his success. Regardless of how you come into this business, if you dont have a eld-based opportunity, youll have great dif culty really understanding how to drive success in pharma. Having been part of Actelion from the ground up, Etherington knows a thing or two about successand dif culty. In the past six months alone, FDA has changed all of our labels, weve been embroiled in a court case with another pharma company, and weve been dealing with an activist shareholder who wants to shake up Actelion in unfortunate ways. Despite such challenges, Etherington believes that good leadership means a contagiously optimistic viewpoint and innovative problem-solving skills. The people you lead need to understand the vision of whats possible. They need to believe that by working together as a team, well be able to conquer whatever challenges are in front of us. And they need to know that leadership has their back, will support them, and will be there alongside them, helping them solve the problem.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Salvador Grausso
Executive Director, Global Pricing, Merck

f you work on a team with Sal Grausso, youve probably heard the following phrase: Strategy without execution is not strategic. As executive director, global pricing, at Merck, Grausso likes to keep himself at the tip of the spear with respect to market access and reimbursement; the dif cult and politically ticklish issue of drug pricing requires not only good ideas, but also implementation. Global pricing demands transparency, being objective, making rapid decisionsand putting out lots of res, and that takes an executive with the ability to pitch consistently in the strike zone, he says. Grausso started out as a pitcher, and went to the University of Maryland to play baseball. In high school, Grausso was a star; after the rst practice at the University of Maryland, however, Grausso came home and cried in my room, because I realized that I was not good at this game. It was a hum-

bling experience. Grausso recovered of course, and as it happened, Johnson & Johnson was offering an internship, and even though it was advertised as a full-time commitment, J&J worked around Graussos baseball schedule, letting him work 20 hours a week. During the internship, which turned into a fulltime job with J&J Health Care Systems, Grausso fell in love with the industry, and he hasnt looked back. He worked for Janssen as a sales rep for a year, and then, while working on a Masters de-

gree in accounting, worked for two years at Ernst & Young. Grausso says his accounting background helps him to spot the lines connecting different elements of the business together. After Ernst & Young, Grausso went to Pharmacia, and left that company after it merged with P zer. He joined Schering-Plough after Pharmacia, and stayed on with the company after its merger with Merck. Grausso says the Merck/Schering-Plough integration is moving a little slower than hed like, but theres a lot at stake. You have two different processes, and a large group of products, and in the world of pricing, its very important to stabilize the situation in terms of governance around pricing, and the processes to approve pricing. Aside from working on a doctorate in health technology assessments, Grausso is excited to be at the forefront of a changing industry, where governments and payers and patients are at the center of the discussion. As the industry evolves, says Grausso, market access has to become a more mainstream part of commercial operations.

Nicole Mowad-Nassar
VP, Cardiorenal & Metabolic Marketing, Takeda Pharmaceuticals

s vice president of cardiorenal and metabolic marketing at Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Nicole MowadNassar is responsible for the companys key brandsActos, Uloric, and Edarbias well as its diabetes pipeline and partnerships with Orexigen and Affymax in the areas of obesity and renal care, respectively. Diabetes, hypertension, and obesity are conditions almost every person can relate to in some way. Either they are a patient themselves or have a loved one or friend who is impacted, says MowadNassar, who is attracted to her sector of work for these reasons. Marketing in this space presents daily opportunities to educate and improve healthcare in meaningful ways, not only patient by patient, but with the potential to change society overall. For Mowad-Nassar, a lean organiza-

tion isnt a new concept, but its never been more important to pharma. As an example, she notes how Takedas entire organization shared stories about their experiences as employees and the company created a unied statement of culture that everyone could embrace. We all share a common vision to transform into a new Takeda, through purposeful innovation powered by a forward-looking culture to achieve sustainable growth, she says. To do this will require new thinking, an ability to anticipate, and perhaps most critically, a contingency plan. Meanwhile, what does this Emerging Pharma Leader attribute to personal motivation? Her family. It is in my two sons that I derive my source of pride and accomplishment, Mowad-Nassar admits. The greatest job title I ever got was Mom. I work hard to make sure they know they are my rst priority. I learned that from my parents.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Byran Litton
Senior Director of Sales, Oncology Business Unit, Eli Lilly

odern leadership is about a couple of things: Its as simple as trust and lending a vision to people; to have that singular vision that can really give people the lens by which they look at everything that comes to them. To me thats a calming force thats absolutely necessary. In over 11 years, Byran Litton, senior director of sales, oncology business unit at Eli Lilly, has relied on diverse experiences to shape his leadership style. You can only learn so much from books, as he puts it. He calls his current role a people role. Its an awful lot of fun to make an impact on an individual level, he says. The backbone of good leadership is

that trust. Previously, we may have been more focused on motivating and inspiring, which is almost episodic. Its delivered as a quick-burning fuel, but then it burns out. But if theres real trust in the organization then to me, thats a more long-burning thing. With all the regulatory and environmental changes affecting the industry, how does Litton manage through the chaos? Anyone that sits in a position where theyre inuencing signi cant parts of an organization has to be a change agent. I think thats a prerequisite. But one cannot do it all by himself; he must rely on the skill sets and experiences of others. I think I learned early on that something can be done, and done well, and be nothing like I would have done it. And that, for a lot of folks in leader-

ship positions, can be dif cult, but for me it works. I enjoy that work, when you build the right group, he says. To Litton, hiring individuals with varying experiences and skill sets that balance one another is integral. And so after over a decade at Lilly, predominantly in the oncology space, even if its been something closer to a calling, as he puts it, how does Litton keep his own motivation going, let alone his teams? I have been like a kid in a candy shop with all the things that have been given to me by the oncology business unit at Lilly. Its been incredibly fun. But the piece that I want to have touched in some way is advancing the care of patients, the elimination of disease. Thats my anchor. As we say: If youre not in oncology youre trying to get in; and if youre already in oncology, youre trying to get bigger. For me, its something thats really under my skin and I wouldnt have it any other way.

on the same way he does: To be truthful, Director, CNS Marketing, Johnson & Johnson I have never asked anyone how they put their ccording to Lars Merk, director of CNS marketing for Johnson & Johnson, there are two separate effects of socks on, but these the convergence of digital technologies and healthcare. people who I connect The rst is an explosion of newly available interactions that with are, above all leverage digital technologies. The second is the realization else, peoplepeople that healthcare delivery is changing and technology is a cata- with ideas, with hopes lyst for greater ef ciency. What I enjoy most about my cur- and dreams, who have rent role is that my contributions can make an impact across interests that are as the organization and in some ways help shape the way our varied as the inhabentire industry effectuates meaningful change in healthcare, itants in this world. says Merk. Our reality in this country, and in fact across the Connecting these asglobe, is that there are just not enough resources to deliver the pirations and focusing amount of healthcare that the citizens of the world demand. all that energy around Choices have to be made and that in turn gives the industry a clear business objective is a key characteristic of good leadan opportunity to move the needle forward in terms of im- ership. Passion is indeed a vocational asset. Merk believes that leaders must embrace accountability proving health outcomes from pharmaceuticals. Personal connections are highly valued by Merk, who be- at every level of their organization. This accountability lieves that they are really about shared workplace experienc- is not implemented for liability, but rather to induce pride es. In fact, he nds that of the people he connects most often among teams, he says. It creates action when things are with, one attribute is most evidentthey all put their socks not right and creates celebration when they are.

Lars Merk

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Steven Blum
Director, Health Economics, Forest Laboratories

or Steven Blum, director of health economics for Forest Laboratories, being aware of budget impacts is fundamental to the job. Our role is to help support and communicate the products value proposition, he explains. Blum and his team do this by keeping track of data and performing various studies throughout a products lifecycle, including retrospective studies, electronic medical records analyses, surveys, and prospective studies looking at data alongside clinical trials. Though Blum now spends his time charting the prospective value of new drugs, three years ago he wore a different hatsales and marketing. Transitioning over to the scienti c side and not having a scienti c background, there was a learning curve, Blum says. Throughout his career, Blum says wearing many different hats gave him the skills and perspective he needed to become a successful leader. One of the things Ive always appreciated

was the fact that Ive had a variety of different roles and have been exposed to different parts of the business, all within one company. And he believes that such opportunities are invaluable to emerging leaders who are just now putting down roots in the industry. Ive seen others who have been reluctant to allow staff to change roles, but thats counterintuitive, he says. As a manager, Ive always felt that my success is dependent upon the success of other people. If they have certain career aspirations, why would I want to impede them? Why not nd a way thats a win-win for the organization and the individual? In the end, that bene ts the corporation, because [a professionally ful lled] person can bring more to the table. Blum also advocates mentoring as a key mark of good leadership. In that spirit, what would Blum say to the new leaders in the industry, who are inheriting such a politically and nancially different world? Somehow pharma always winds up being the bad guy. Health reform [and cost control] is like squeezing a balloonyou squeeze in one area and it expands in another. What you need to do is nd a way to let some air out of the balloon, he explains.

Jessica Monroe

as an of ce-based representative in its operating unit, Janssen Pharmaceuticals. In Director, State Government Affairs & 2002, she arrived at her Policy, Johnson & Johnson current position. In the years I have worked in essica Monroe recalls a former boss who would always ask, What is a government affairs, I leader? He would then answer that have learned that many a leader says, I have a plan. Follow me. voices are stronger than Director of state government affairs and one, and my interacpolicy for Johnson & Johnson, Monroe tions with advocacy tries to integrate this approach into her groups and government own goals and objectives as she works of cials have shown me with governments, operating companies, that disparate groups and other healthcare and pharmaceuti- can share similar aspirations of helping pacal interests on a daily basis. Monroe followed the road less trav- tients and their families, eled by most of her pharma peers, when says Monroe, who was she started a career in government and involved in the healththen transitioned to pharmaceutical sales. care rebuild after hurricane Katrina. In an environment of change, Monroe Her atypical journey led her from work as a legislative aide for the Louisiana Sen- believes it is important to maintain a posiate all the way to Washington as a Con- tive outlook, think about how to have an gressional staff assistant and then back to in uence, see what the obstacles at hand Louisiana to work in the of ce of Gover- may be, and work around them. Those nor. Her start at Johnson & Johnson came of us in the industry must be prepared

to face the implications of policies that impact our businesses. Everything from marketing reform in some states, to overall healthcare reform has led toand will continue tocreate changes in how we all do business, she says. I have learned that even within a lean organization, there are still signi cant opportunities to grow our businesses. Being able to show an ROI from traditionally soft functions such as public and government affairs is also important. With the impact of government on the industry destined to grow in the future, demonstrating this is likely to be less dif cultand emerging leaders of tomorrow will need to embrace awareness of the external environment as a key skill.

SPONSORED BY

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

Charlotte Chui
Head of Strategic Planning, Business Development and Licensing, Greater China, Novartis

was rather nave and thought that science could solve anything, says Charlotte Chui of her early years studying the discipline (her undergraduate major at Harvard was biochemical sciences). When I realized that wasnt the case, I took a bit of a detour.

Fortunately for scienceand pharma, in particularthat detour (into the nance industry) wasnt permanent. In 2007, Chui joined Novartiss global strategy team in Basel, Switzerland. A great move, she calls it. It gave me a chance to really understand top management, to look at what they consider when they make a decision. The ob-

servational approach paid off: just over feeling that, I can do things better and a year ago Chui was appointed No- faster if I do it myself. I think thats revartis head of strategic planning and ally a mistake, she says. For me, if you business development and licensing for can establish rapport and trust, then its a great opportunity to let go a little bit, Greater China. Once in China, Chui quickly became to let someone else take ownership and an integral part of the team, relishing develop their skills. Of course, you also the opportunities and challenges of this have to follow up, support them, and dynamic, growing market. She took a give them feedback. For all its buoyancy, Chui adds, leading role in realigning the companys operation from a fairly centralized model however, that the Chinese market isnt to a more exible, decentralized one, all about the rapid growing of talent coordinating projects that addressed re- and resources. Some people think that gionalization, key account management, somehow the sales magically happen, novel product launch mechanisms, and she says. Indeed, theres as much a need for lean in China as there is in the new channel development. Before the realignment, Chui says West. Characteristically, though, Chui that Novartis China was hearing a lot has her own views on what lean should of complaints from the front line. The mean. I dont think its just about the organization had clearly outgrown the bottom line, she says. To see lean way it had been working before in the simply as a way to improve the marcountry. She worked to push decision- gins is very short-sighted. For Chui, making to the front line and make the the most important objective is always organization more customer-centric. customer satisfaction. If that is failing, The process was complicated, involv- it doesnt matter how much you watch ing the revamping of a lot of our gov- the bottom line, youre dead in the waernance, a lot of our systems. But the ter, she says. Lean is about changing bene ts are now visible: Were much the mentality, changing the way we more aware of what the customers are work, being very innovative, and bethinking, we have much better feedback ing open to ideas from the front line. from the market, we have much faster This may not be as easy to measure as, decision-making, and we can identify say, procurement savings, but it really makes a difference. opportunities and act much faster. As well as remaining committed to Also crucial to Novartis recent strategy in China has been Chuis tire- her work with Novartisthe company less support and development of new has very big ambitions here; in the next talent. Working with colleagues from few years I would love to see us as the all divisions, she has sought to develop leader in ChinaChuis role is also leaders by helping them think more meaningful on a personal level. As a strategically and communicate their Chinese-American, she grew up in the knowledge in a more impactful way. I US, but her parents worked hard to keep see a lot of very energetic talent here Chinese culture alive in the household. that is probably younger than in other My mother would cook Chinese food at countries, and theres a huge opportu- home, we would speak Mandarin, and nity to develop it, says Chui. But its my parents would read poems to me in very easy for staff to get distracted Chinese, she says. None of that I really theres a million other opportunities in appreciated when I was growing up, but Chinaso its important to keep the when I started working here it all helped me integrate much faster and much betinformation lines very open. Effective delegation is key to Chuis ter. So, if coming to work in China was leadership style. What I see in a lot of not exactly coming home, it certainly managers, new managers especially, is a doesnt feel too far away.

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

SPONSORED BY

Soma Gupta
Senior Director & Commercial Team Leader, Oncology, Pzer s senior director and team leader in commercial development for P zer Oncology, Soma Gupta handles commercial oversight of P zer Oncologys newly emerging hematological malignancy assets and its early development portfolio. As a Pharm.D by training, Gupta says she thrives on the challenge of working in specialty categories where the unmet medical need is exceptionally high and the products delivered have a meaningful impact. Working on the commercial perspective for early and launch assets in oncology, where the science and treatment paradigm move so quickly, is particularly interesting since identifying the meaningful improvements early can make a world of difference in the therapy you ultimately deliver, notes Gupta.

To succeed as a leader, Gupta believes that technical pro ciency is absolutely necessary. According to the pharma veteran, you must know the nuts and bolts of your eld to earn the respect of a team and you must also know people. Knowledge helps establish credibility, but its emotional intelligence that will allow you to motivate and drive for results in large, cross-functional teams, she says. In order to adapt to tough times, Gupta stresses that leaders need to know what is most essential, and what is not. They need to embrace a not-onesize- ts-all style of leadership. In the simplest terms, the goal should remain to understand what motivates people and to leverage that to drive each individuals aspirations in line with the

business need, says Gupta. In an era where teams are increasingly virtual, getting the most out of every face-time opportunity remains critical to making sure leaders keep the people component of people management front and center. Not everything motivates the entire team in the same precise way; now more than ever, we need to spend the time to recognize that.

Steve Ertel

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Acceleron Pharmaceuticals hen Steve Ertel graduated from Duke University with a degree in biomedical engineering, he was one of only a handful of graduates in his major that decided to forgo medical or graduate school. Instead, he was ready to take his education and training to market. The rst job Ertel landed out of college was with a venture capital rm, which represented a combination of interests nance and business, applied to biology and medicineand supplied him with a rsthand look at how investors fund biotech startups, and what they look for. A couple of years later, Ertel went to work at Vivus, a biopharma focused at the time on erectile dysfunction drugs. When I was hired [at Vivus], I was employee

number 17, says Ertel. Working for a small company means wearing lots of hats, and gaining the kind of broad experience that is crucial in making good decisions, he says. At a smaller company, individuals can play a different role in affecting the strategic outcome of a company, since company SOPs arent yet written in stone, and new ideas are readily pursued. At small companies, you can feel your contributions and see them over time, and they have a really lasting directional impact on where your company is going. I nd that very rewarding, he adds. Today, Ertel is senior vice president, corporate development for Acceleron Pharma, a relatively small biotherapeutics company. Ive worked my way back now, after a number of years at top-tier biotechs, to try to take all of the experience and learnings from those larger companies, and apply them to earlier stage biotech companies, he says. In de ning his management style, Ertel emphasizes the importance of a broad understanding of the issues at play, prior to forming an opinion. Once you have an understanding of all the issues, you can focus on one or two key issues that ultimately drive the decision. Like most everything in biotech and drug development, the complexity and multifactorial nature of the issues can sometimes be confounding. If you can pair down the complexity to one or two issues, then you have a scope of the challenge you face thats manageable, says Ertel.

SPONSORED BY

Emerging Pharma Leaders 2011

Mark Iwiki

CEO, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals

n the short time that elapsed from receiving Mark Iwickis Emerging Pharma Leader nomination to speaking with the man himself, he had been promoted from COO of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals (Marlborough, Mass.) to the companys CEO (effective late June). The speed with which this career hike took place is in keeping with Iwickis progress at Sunovion (formerly Sepracor). Joining the CNS and respiratory treatment company as executive vice president and chief commercial of cer in 2007, he quickly revamped its commercial model and masterminded a move to singleterritory ownership. The success of this strategy caught the attention of Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma (DSP), a Japanese company seeking to expand its presence in the US. DSP acquired Sepracor in October 2009 and Iwicki became its president and chief operating of cer in early 2010. By late 2010, he was successfully leading the integration of the two companies. His recent rise may have been meteoric, but Iwicki is no ash in the pan. At 45, he has 22 years industry experience,

starting out as a rep with Merck Sharp & Dohme in 1989. From there he went on to the edgling Astra Merck where he helped to establish the health economics department and also worked alongside future AstraZeneca CEO David Brennanand then to Novartis, where he led the cardiovascular business unit. Being a sales rep was probably the greatest starting place, Iwicki says. You learn so much about customer contact and what our business is really all about. And the early roles I had at management level really helped me get a broad perspective of the industry and how an organization works. Indeed, Iwicki credits the variety of his early experiences with shaping his current management style, which colleagues say is open, warm, encouraging, and personal. Im a real walk-around kind of manager, he explains. Each morning you can nd me on the different oors talking to people, sometimes

just listening, sometimes rolling up my sleeves to work on a problem with them. I want the workplace to be a learning environment, very open, very collaborative. Being prepared to learn continuously is the most important attribute for a leader, Iwicki believes. Its easy to get complacent as you become more senior, thinking that youve seen it all and know it all. Its important to have an open mind, to realize that the real power of any organization comes from a group of people. Fostering a sense of inclusiveness and encouragement is important to Iwicki outside the of ce too. Helping and inspiring children, for example, is high on his personal agenda. A father of four, he currently helps to coach his childrens soccer and hockey teams, as well as serves as the assistant coach of three more youth teams. I feel like I need to give back to the community, he says. I see if I can lend a hand, if I can be a role model for the community in one way or another. He adds: It may sound a little bit corny, but I love making a difference. I love this industry; its one of the few industries where you can do goodgood for patients, good for doctors, good for society, and for yourself and for your family.

Stuart Sowder

Vice President, External Medical Communications, Pzer

ith three advanced degrees under his belt, Dr. Stuart Sowder, PharmD., JD, MBA, credits mother necessity as a major role in his drive for obtaining the tool set that he needed to succeed. After spending eight years working in healthcare (retail and hospital pharmacy) and obtaining his law degree, Sowder, who is vice president, external medical communications at P zer, decided that entering the pharmaceutical industry provided many exciting options for a lifelong career. For the past ve years, he has been leading P zers external medical communications team, which includes functions that work with healthcare providers and patients every day. As part of his de ning role, Sowder manages global medical information and publications to P zers transparency efforts such as clinical trial disclosure and transparency in grants. These days, he notes that pharma is focused on doing more with less to keep pace with the complex nature of in-

dustrys work. Responsibility is being pushed further down in the organization. And leaders must take notice: I think that today, more than ever, we must have a highly empowered organization to be successful, says Sowder. We must have talented people within that organization, who are accountable for delivering results in their respective areas with little practical oversight and guidance. Leaders must trust that people in their organization have the capacity and integrity to deliver results appropriately.