In this special bonus episode, I talk to Catherine Williams, Managing Director of MSD Denmark & Iceland. 

Catherine’s a warm and thoughtful leader with more than 18 years’ experience in a variety of commercial roles in the pharmaceutical industry and I felt there was so much to learn from her reflections that I wanted to share them with you as soon as possible.   

I’ve talked with previous guests about the need to be super-clear on the aims and desired outcomes of a collaboration, and Catherine builds on that by adding that defining and living your values is every bit as important as goal clarity for building trust between healthcare professionals and industry partners.  

Catherine believes that collaboration is essential for business success. and that it’s very important for commercial organisations to be upfront about what they want from partnerships and how they think they can contribute aside from financial support.  

We cover a lot of topics in this conversation – including the values of equity, honesty and respect that motivate her every day, the role of vulnerability in leadership and the lessons we can learn from the pandemic.  

You’ll hear her views on how unconscious biases and labels can be barriers to success, and why she’s committed to working towards the day when diversity and inclusion are so embedded in business that we no longer have to talk about them.  

When we relate to our colleagues and stakeholders on a human-to-human level and focus on our common goals of serving the population or reducing health inequalities, we can make the seemingly impossible happen. As she says, quoting Nelson Mandela: ‘Everything seems impossible until it’s possible.’ 

Enjoy! 

Email hello@dovetailstrategies.com or connect with me on LinkedIn with questions or comments about anything you’ve heard in this episode. I’d love to hear from you. 

Catherine’s on Linked In here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-williams-2b119313/  

Here’s the Peter Fuda blog she refers to, to help you reflect on your own values and goals https://legacy.enixa.co/5-powerful-ways-to-reflect-and-refocus-over-the-festive-season/ 

MSD Denmark links:  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/msd-danmark 

https://twitter.com/MSDDanmark 

https://www.facebook.com/msddanmark 

https://www.instagram.com/msddanmark/ 

This week brings the second part of my fascinating conversation with Jeremy Thorpe, the managing director of Tillotts Pharma UK.

Last time, we heard how consciously paying attention to other people’s perspectives has helped Jeremy and his team to build trusting partnerships with their customers that have contributed to nine consecutive years of double-digit growth. 

In this episode, you’ll hear his views on why pharma companies need to listen to patients direct. He believes that patients are the most important stakeholders in the supply chain, and talks candidly about finally realising that “it was time we stopped pretending we knew what it was like to be a patient.”

You’ll also hear how and why the company set themselves the audacious goal of becoming the preferred NHS partner in gastrointestinal medicine, and how that ethos guides every member of the team. It’s also central to hiring and retaining great people,  and the family-oriented culture makes Tillotts a desirable place to work. 

You won’t want to miss his frank reflections on getting things spectacularly wrong in the past, and learning from his mistakes.

I’m so grateful to Jeremy for his openness and generosity. Getting this level of insight from the head of a pharma company is really valuable, and I’m sure you’ll find his commitment to patients and the NHS as inspiring as I do.

Sadly, this is the last episode of the series. But we’ll be back in the autumn with more compelling stories about getting to the heart of health partnerships. Be sure to subscribe so you’re notified when we’re back!

Email claire@dovetailstrategies.com or connect on LinkedIn to send questions and comments about anything you’ve heard in this episode. I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for listening and see you next time!

Links 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-thorpe-72541b13

https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-munro-0b59b05

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tillotts-pharma-uk/

This week, I'm absolutely delighted to be joined by Jeremy Thorpe, managing director of Tillotts Pharma UK.

I was really keen to talk to Jeremy because he's publicly committed Tillotts to being the preferred partner in gastrointestinal (GI) health, through consistently delivering quality and value to the NHS, and supporting them to improve outcomes for patients. 

As you’ll hear, that partnership approach has led to strong commercial success.  In our conversation, Jeremy describes how Tillotts became the market leader in part due to the philosophy of “‘walking a mile in another’s shoes”. In other words, consciously considering all their stakeholders’ perspectives in order to solve thorny business problems.

Jeremy’s insights into the challenges he faced when setting up Tillotts in the UK are a compelling listen. And you’ll also hear about his commitments to the NHS and how he and Tillotts built trust with their customers by keeping their promises. 

I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I enjoyed the conversation. In fact, it was so good that we split the episode into two, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast and check out the next episode in the series to hear more from Jeremy.

You can follow Jeremy on Linkedin here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-thorpe-72541b13

Email claire@dovetailstrategies.com or connect on LinkedIn to send questions and comments about anything you’ve heard in this episode. I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for listening and see you next time!

Website: https://dovetailstrategies.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-munro-0b59b05