Eco Note by H. ELLA
THE LAST GIANT OF A BYGONE AGE?
When Daniel Vasella announced his departure from operational management at Novartis, it was as if a thunderbolt hit their hushed Swiss corridors. He wasn’t pushed out, had not reached his age limit and had not become the collateral victim of some mega-merger. None of these applied; the simple fact is that he is one of the longest-serving large pharmaceutical company managers who has decided of his own accord and for the good of the company to look for the high grounds, as he’s going to be President of the Board of Novartis, paying lip service to its shareholders who, in good European tradition, prefer a separation between operational and strategic management. Dr Daniel Vasella, who experienced the age of the mega-mergers in the late 1990s, is looking a bit like one of the last giants, as one of the last medical doctors to be in charge of a large pharmaceutical company. As we have observed in other such companies, a new generation of managers, who are not necessarily scientists, is taking the helm (such as Chris Viehbacher at Sanofi-Aventis, or Andrew Witty at GSK) at a time when the whole pharmaceutical industry is questioning itself. Novartis, with the arrival of Joe Jimenez, is no exception to the rule. These new managers, who have a brilliant track record and are renowned in sectors other than pharmaceuticals, will have to take the industry into the 21st century, mainly by coming up with new ideas. There should be no shortage of ideas with Dr Vasella, as in recent months, in an attempt to become a world player all the way from pharmacy to health products, Novartis has been looking for a connection with Alcon to develop its eye care activity. It will be interesting to see how Joe handles Daniel’s heritage, and disentangles Alcon’s shareholders.
© Bf - February 5, 2010 - No.449
Companies :
People :
Printable version
Aucun commentaire.
|
