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LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM EXCLUSIVE LIFE SCIENCE FEATURE leaders APRIL 2014 26 itting on the second- level balcony of the grand ballroom in the historic New York Waldorf-Astoria, my vantage point provides a birdÕs-eye view of the floor below. Today, the room serves as a central meeting place for attendees of the sixteenth BIO CEO and Investor Conference. I wonder aloud to my table guest, BelŽn Garijo, M.D., as to the uniqueness of being interviewed in this venue. Garijo, president and CEO of Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, leans forward and peers over the railing Ñ taking a moment to survey her surroundings. Laughing, she replies, ÒItÕs a theater, right?Ó in English adorned with a Spanish accent. Gesturing expansively with her hands, she says, ÒWhy do you think this Ñ unique?Ó revealing a witty side to a personality I would soon discover to be as dynamic as the company she leads. Leaning back in her chair, she smiles, declaring, ÒItÕs fantastic! Probably the most beautiful place I have ever been interviewed.Ó A 25+ year industry veteran, Dr. Garijo joined Merck Serono as its COO in 2011. Just two years later she was named president and CEO Ñ an unprecedented move by the $6 billion entity. Despite having more than 15,000 employees and operating in 66 countries, no woman had ever held this high a position of leadership within Merck Serono or even Merck KGaA Ñ the worldÕs oldest pharmaceutical and chemical com- pany. I asked Garijo to describe how it felt being named CEO. ÒI feel the responsibility on my shoulders,Ó she states. ÒMy chal- lenge is to build a team under the new leadership. Make sure they understand the expectations and how we are going to work together.Ó What about being the first woman CEO at Merck Serono? ÒI never felt I was developing in any role because I am a woman,Ó she replies. ÒI donÕt believe in that. I donÕt practice that. I prioritize tal- ent versus any other force that may come from politically led initiatives, and expect to be treated the same way.Ó Her answer is bold. Yet it aligns with the companyÕs recent penchant for embracing new ways of thinking and making game-changing decisions (e.g., announcing plans to build a new pharmaceutical plant, its second-larg- est, in Nantong Economical Technological Development Area of Greater Shanghai). GarijoÕs approach to changing Merck Serono starts with developing people, enabling risk, leading by example, and most interestingly Ñ refusing to play it safe. A RISK-SHARING APPROACH TO DEVELOPING PEOPLE When asked what best prepared her for taking on the position of CEO, Garijo shares a variety of experiences, such as relocating to different areas of the globe or taking responsibility for different therapeutic areas. ÒAt one point I made a firm, irrevocable decision that I wanted to get commercial experience,Ó she reveals. ÒBut I had no track record. Someone had to give me the chance to show that I could be successful.Ó In 2002, Garijo was given the chance, or should I say, earned the opportunity, and was appointed SpainÕs general manager at Aventis Pharma. However, it is neither the commercial exposure nor the diversity of other experi- ences to which she attributes being pre- pared as a leader. Rather, it was the experi- ences of leaders being willing to take risks on her throughout her career. ÒThere are a number of leaders who are able to trust you more than you trust yourself,Ó she explains. ÒWhen you are given the confi- dence and realize some leaders are ready to take risks to develop you and help you succeed, you learn this is something you must do if you want the organization to succeed.Ó This realization resulted in a new philosophy for her as a leader, and it has served as a guide throughout her career. She says if you want to become a better leader, take a risk-sharing approach to developing people. Such an approach requires being inno- vative in how you assess talent profiles. For example, donÕt get overly enamored of a personÕs experience or lack thereof. Instead, Garijo advises to assess potential, as experience can be learned. She uses multiple means to determine potential. The first is what she describes as having a real Ògut feelingÓ for assessing people, the result of her physician training. Another way she assesses potential is through per- formance. This requires three things Ñ a willingness to take risks, a readiness to share risk, and preparedness to actively mentor. Garijo explains it this way, ÒWhen I see potential in leaders lacking experi- ence, I try to see how much responsibility and accountability I can put on them. In this way, I become a mentor.Ó According to Garijo, the combination of potential and mentoring is extremely powerful, because it creates shared responsibility and shared risk. ÒIn my most recent experience at Merck Serono, I had a person in mind I wanted to serve as the president of Merck Serono Japan.Ó Garijo is referring to Paris Panayiotopoulos, who at the time did not have any previous Japanese in-country market experience. This fact did not pre- vent her from seizing the opportunity to implement her risk-sharing approach to developing people. Garijo admits mak- ing the move required more than just a willingness to take a risk. It also required trust on the part of company leader- ship. Panayiotopoulos spent 18 months as the president of Merck Serono Japan. This past November, he was appointed president and managing director of EMD Serono, and will be responsible for driving the strategic direction of the companyÕs commercial organization in the largest pharmaceutical market it the world Ñ the United States. Garijo is energized by successes such as Panayiotopoulos, and believes others are as well. ÒWhen the S MERCK SERONO'S PRESIDENT & CEO BELÉN GARIJO — ENABLING RISK AND REFUSING TO PLAY IT SAFE By R. Wright 0 4 1 4 _ F e a t u r e _ M e r c k . i n d d 3 0414_Feature_Merck.indd 3 3 / 2 4 / 2 0 1 4 3 : 5 4 : 3 6 P M 3/24/2014 3:54:36 PM