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Addressing the growth challenge
in Life Sciences:
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Carmichael Fisher’s perspective on the European Talent landscape…
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Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HQ
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+44 (0) 203 178 2630
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Executive Summary
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In this context, pharmaceutical companies are re-evaluating the type and quality of the leadership needed
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A daunting
array of challenges continues to affect
to meet their business objectives.
the global healthcare industry. Whilst the economic
slowdown continues to provide a stress test, the
To this end, three critical questions are in everyone’s
financial crisis is only one of the multiple aspects that
mind: How do the changes described affect the leaExecutive Search
are challenging the Life Sciences industry at present.
dership needs in Europe? What are the skills required
Budget constrains for healthcare spending, patent
to perform successfully and what is driving the talent
erosion,
limited
R&D
productivity
and
tighter
reguSydney • Melbourne • London • Lagos • Stockholm • Hamburg • Dubai
• Singapore
agenda?
latory controls are only few, amongst the challenges
pharmaceutical companies are facing today.
As an international executive search consultancy, Carmichael Fisher wants to keep abreast of the trends in
These trends are particularly acute in Europe where
the market and wants to learn about the
challenges
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United Kingdom and Germany, two of the largest
faced by the community of Human Resources profeseconomies, have put an end to free pricing for innosionals in the European Life Sciences industry.
Melbourne • Sydney • London • Lagos • Stockholm • Hamburg • Dubai • Singapore
vative
drugs. Moreover, most countries in the region
are restricting access through health technology
The purpose of this paper is to share the views of
assessment, value based pricing and other similar
Human Resource professionals on the major devemechanisms.
lopments in the European Life Sciences industry and
how they impact the talent agenda.
Against this backdrop, several analysts seem to think
that the worst is over. The expectation is that the
efforts of the industry in innovating business models
and investing in niche products will deliver results in
a not too distant future. The impact from lost patent
sales will decrease and will be compensated by pipeline and current portfolios focused on high-priced
Based on the views captured in the market, different
secondary care and orphan treatments1.
challenges and dynamics were identified with important implications for the acquisition, development
According to research, better times are ahead and
and retention of talent in Europe.
the ratio of new sales delivered by product launches
and current portfolios compared with those lost
In the major European markets pharmaceutical comfrom the expiration of patents is expected to recover
panies appear to be mostly concerned with adjusting
soon2.
to policy changes and restructuring. However, Human
Resource professionals still face a challenge in ensuring that the right level of capabilities remains in
place to deliver the business in the medium term.
1 Moody’s: Global Pharmaceutical Industry: Return to Earnings Growth in 2013 Keeps
Addressing the growth
challenge in the
European markets
Outlook Stable
2 Accenture: Beyond the Patent Cliff: Signs of Recovery for Biopharma
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“Pharmaceutical companies are now having to manage the same workload
London
• Stockholm as
• Hamburg
• Dubaiof
• Singapore
• Sydney • Melbourne
with
less• Lagos
resources
a result
the significant
restructuring that has
occurred in the last few years”.
Alain Proietti, Head of Talent Acquisition for Europe and Canada at Abbvie
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In this context, one of the key priorities for most
organizations is to ensure that growth in Europe can
fund expansion in other markets; therefore, for many
Human Resource professionals, the retention of
highly specialized competencies remains vital to protect the performance of the business in the region.
Furthermore, international mobility has become a critical aspect as candidates must be flexible and capable of supporting the needs of the business wherever
they are needed.
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Yet, whilst the talent market remains competitive,
Resource professionals interviewed have identified a general change of mindset
as a consequence of the economic outlook experienced during the last few years.
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• Singapore
several
of the Human
According to Alain Proietti, Head of Talent Acquisition
for Europe and Canada at Abbvie, “Pharmaceutical
companies are now having to manage the same
workload with less resources as a result of the significant restructuring that has occurred in the last few
years”.
This has important implications from a talent perspective. The drastic changes in business models
and the consequent de-layering that has shaped the
industry, have impacted on the availability of internal
opportunities, making the retention of talent more
challenging. In this context:
• Internal opportunities for upward progression
have become more limited
• Increasingly, industry executives are being asked to
take lateral steps and consider horizontal moves
• And ultimately, this requires the creation of job
experiences carefully designed and aligned to the
long-term needs of the business
According to Gary Sagar, Director of Talent Acquisition & Development at Amgen Europe, “Staff turnover has decreased as a result of the economic uncertainty and in this context, the long term financial
stability of the business is increasingly perceived as a
key aspect in the attraction and retention of talent”.
Compared to Western Europe, the challenge faced by
Life Sciences companies in Central and Eastern Europe appears to be of a different nature.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) continues to be
relatively attractive for large pharmaceutical companies wanting to establish R&D and Manufacturing
operations; lower labor cost and the availability of
medical competencies from academia are two important aspects to consider. However, companies in
the region still face a significant challenge in retaining
talent within marketing & sales, where high staff
turnover and a highly commoditized market impact
negatively on their ability to retain talent.
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The challenge here is to acquire selective capabilities
• For most of the executives interviewed, diverand ensure that people can adapt to internal procesLondon • Lagos • Stockholm • Hamburg • Dubai • Singapore • Sydney • Melbourne
sifying the employee value proposition at local
ses and to the culture of the business.
level is a key priority to attract talent in the region
In marketing and sales, a more restrictive access
This is viewed as a very relevant factor, particularly
environment combined with new product launches
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at junior level, given the need to reinforce the brand
increasingly focused on high-value specialty indicaproposition and build pipeline in line with the longtions brings a pressing need to engage with multiple
• Melbourne
• Lagos • Stockholm • Hamburg • Dubai
• Singaporeand target all relevant players.
termSydney
objectives
of the• London
business.
stakeholders
“Staff turnover has decreased as a result of the economic outlook
London • Lagos •in
Stockholm
• Hamburg
• Singapore
• Sydney
• Melbourne
experienced
the last
few• Dubai
years;
in this
context
the long term financial
stability of the business is increasingly perceived as a key aspect in the
attraction and retention of talent”.
Based on the views captured, there appears to be a
In this context, pharmaceutical companies have to
clear need to design job experiences that reinforce
adapt to a new cost structure and develop a more
the talent bench in the areas of P&L management at
integrated and customer-centric approach.
This
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Search
country level; furthermore, the limited command of
requires a close coordination amongst medical, sales,
the English language makes sometimes international
marketing, access and pricing functions but also a
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mandates more difficult to consider for talent identifocus on complementary capabilities in areas such as
fied in the region.
multichannel and digital marketing.
According to Giovanni Ravaioli, Head of HR Europe at
Biomarin:
Where are the skill and
capability gaps?
Through our interviews, two important aspects were
identified in terms of skill needs and capability gaps.
And Biotech?
Interestingly, emerging biotech companies in the specialty and orphan markets seem to be facing a different degree of challenge from a talent perspective.
In R&D, the significant shift from Reimbursement
to Value Based Pricing makes early clinical activity
increasingly important at country level, where scientific evidence is needed to support negotiations with
health authorities in domestic markets.
For these organisations, the tendency has often been
to over-hire, given the preference for tried and tested
candidates who can rapidly hit the ground running
and operate in a fast-paced environment. Whilst this
approach is clearly successful, it also shifts the attention away from a longer-term approach to talent.
As a result of this, new models of R&D have emerged with a focus on partnerships and collaborations between private and public sector. This often
results in the need to acquire competencies from
government and academia, and then integrate them
into a unique business context.
Several of the Human Resource professionals interviewed in Biotech feel that hiring at a more junior
level could provide an opportunity to build the talent
bench and align the talent strategy to the long-term
objectives of the business.
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Gary Sagar, Director of Talent Acquisition & Development at Amgen Europe
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To this end, Pharmaceutical companies have put
significant efforts in building internal recruiting functions with the view of centralizing recruitment efExecutive Search
forts and identifying internal opportunities to retain
talent.
• As organizations grow, it becomes imperative to
adopt a more strategic approach to recruitment
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• This requires a stronger focus on hiring at junior
However, whilst realizing efficiencies remains a priolevel whilst also building a talent management
rity in the current market conditions, the role of the
platform with processes that support a system of
Talent function is paramount and goes beyond the
career development
sole purpose of monitoring recruitment cost.
Conclusion: What is the
role of Talent
Management?
In summary, based upon the trends identified, the
Talent agenda for companies in the European Life
Sciences market is still focused on defining the new
capabilities required in light of the changing market
scenarios.
• Human Resource professionals in the industry
seem to be mostly concerned with managing attraction and retention of capabilities in specialized
areas
• And this is viewed as a key priority to defend low
single digit growth in the Western European markets
According to Gonca Igucoren, Global VP of Talent
Management at Actavis,
• The talent function plays a key role as a gatekeeper of the culture of an organization and promotes the role of talent in front of senior management
This also implies ensuring that the highest level of
integrity and consistency be maintained through the
hiring process.
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Carmichael Fisher Life
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Sciences
Practice
Carmichael Fisher’s Life Sciences Practice in Europe focuses on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
medical devices and diagnostic sectors. With offices
in London and Hamburg, Carmichael Fisher is experienced to conduct both local and pan European
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assignments in the Life Sciences markets.
Having lived and worked internationally for many
years, Carmichael Fisher’s team offers a diverse and
culturally sensitive approach combined with multicountry search capabilities and connectivity with
domestic markets in Europe.
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Carmichael Fisher’s breadth of experience includes
searches in general management, sales and marketing, business development as well as R&D, production, regulatory, quality and technical operations in
the European Life Sciences markets.
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Our Team
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Anke Janssen,
Director, Life Sciences, Europe
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Elina Kavouridi,
Senior Consultant, Life Sciences, Europe
Elina specializes in the Medical Devices and DiagnoAnke leads the Life Sciences Practice in Europe for
stics sectors. With over 10 years in Executive
Carmichael Fisher. During her 15 years in Executive
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Search
in
European
and
US
markets,
Elina
has
an
extensive
Search, Anke has worked with companies operating
network and deep industry knowledge. Her track rein various
industries, with a primary focus on Medical
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cord includes executive positions in general manageTechnology, Pharma and Biotechnology. She has sucment, sales & marketing, R&D, RA/QA and Medical/
cessfully completed searches on senior executive and
Clinical. Elina holds an MBA degree from the Universiboard levels and her breadth of experience includes
ty of North Carolina.
searches in commercial functions such as General
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Management, Business Development and Sales &
Marketing, as well as R&D, Operations, Procurement
Melbourne A
• Sydney
• London
• Lagos
• Stockholm
• Hamburg • Dubai • Singapore
and Quality.
German
national,
Anke
has worked
and lived in the United States, Belgium, Russia and
the United Kingdom. Anke holds a Masters degree
in Political and Economic Science from the Carl von
Ossietzky University in Germany.
Luigi Frezza,
Senior Consultant, Life Sciences, Europe
Luigi specializes in the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology
and CRO sectors. With over 10 years in Executive
Search, Luigi is experienced in working on international search assignments in R&D, medical, strategic
marketing and commercial operations in the European and US markets. Luigi’s background includes
search experience in boutique as well as large executive search firms, having worked in Rome, London
and Philadelphia. Luigi graduated with a Degree in
Political Science from the University of Bologna and
completed an Executive MBA from Cass Business
School in London.
Addressing the growth challenge
in Life Sciences:
Carmichael Fisher’s perspective on the European Talent landscape…
London
Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street,
London, EC2N 1HQ, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3178 2630
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