Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - (Page 10) Generics markets is highly complex, and few companies have done it on a global scale. • Operations: With increasing consolidation, economy of scale will be critical. With increasing globalisation, agile sourcing will be similarly important. Companies that achieve critical mass in manufacturing and the ability to source raw materials in an environment that is already seeing shortages will be the big winners. • Human resources: On a level playing field, the ability to attract and manage top talent can be decisive for competitive advantage. Global generics companies will therefore urgently need senior-level HR executives who can oversee world-class talent management, succession planning, international benchmarking of talent, and innovative reward and retention policies. At the same time, they must be able to nurture the kind of entrepreneurial cultures, flat organisations, and fast decisionmaking that first made regional generics companies successful. Where global generics companies find sorely needed new competencies will depend upon the precise nature of the job to be filled. For example: • Strategic marketing talent may be found among Big Pharma executives who oversee mature products in an international environment. • Executives from the food or cosmetics industries may possess the requisite capabilities in key account management, distribution, demand management, and category management. • Talent with the entrepreneurial mentality that the generics business rewards may be found in the fastmoving consumer goods industry. • Capability in global, strategic HR is widely distributed over many industries and may be found in many kinds of global companies. However, in order to find the right capabilities, generics companies will have to first break out of their traditional mindset about sources of talent. Traditionally, the industry has resisted importing executives from other industries. They have also been reluctant to bring in executives from branded pharma on the grounds that they are insufficiently entrepreneurial. While such resistance made sense for regional players, success in diverse global markets requires precisely the competencies found in other industries and particularly among many executives in global branded pharma. The emerging talent gap in generics also has implications for the careers of individual executives in both branded and generics companies. The career opportunities in global generics are unprecedented, and there is still time to seize them. Before doing so, however, executives should consider some basic questions: • Do I want to be in a sophisticated, biotechnology-rooted niche operation or in a large-growth generics company with highly complex business processes? • Am I temperamentally suited to the demands of a fast-growing, nonhierarchical organisation characterised by ambiguity, speed, and sometimes illdefined lines of authority? • As an executive in a generics company, how is global growth likely to affect the market value of my capabilities in the future? • What can I do to make sure that I am prepared for that future? With brand name drugs worth more than $43 billion in sales expected to expire through 2009, and the generics industry growing rapidly, branded and generic companies—and individual executives—face a future that will look far different from the present. How the story plays out will depend on the choices and commitments that are made now. For companies, merely plucking the right talent from the right places will not be enough. The top leadership of the organisation must also commit to giving these new executives the long-term support they need to adapt to the unique requirements of the generics business. For executives, the challenge is to prepare now for the changes that are coming in both sectors and position themselves to take full advantage of them. Boryslaw Czyzak is a partner at Egon Zehnder International. He can be reached at reached at Boryslaw.Czyzak@ezi.net Karena Strella is the global practice leader in the Life Sciences Practice Group of Egon Zehnder International. She can be reached at Karena.Strella@ezi.net 1 11 NEWS BRUSSELS REPORT 2 FROM THE EDITOR / NEWS 6 TWITTER 9 GENERICS 13 CALENDAR 14 ON THE MOVE CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO PHARM EXEC http://www.pharmexeceurope.com/europharmexec/newsletter/subscribeNewsletter.jsp
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 Contents From the Editor Social Media Generics Brussels Report Calendar On the Move Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Contents (Page 1) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 2) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Social Media (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Social Media (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Social Media (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Generics (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Generics (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Brussels Report (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Brussels Report (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - Calendar (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 11, 2009 - On the Move (Page 14)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.