Previously, I was with (German pharmaceutical company) Schering AG, working in the global headquarters Berlin and Pakistan. After the merger with Bayer AG in 2006 and the subsequent creation of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, I became Country Division Head in Vietnam before taking on the same role for the country cluster of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei in 2012. The following year, I also took on the position of Managing Director of Bayer Co (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
By the time I came to Malaysia, the organisation here was already well established and in good shape. My first priority was getting insights into the local business and build up a relationship with the team I inherited. We reviewed our strategies and long-term plans for our pharma business, and developed a vision to become one of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in our country cluster. Finally, we implemented changes in the organisational structure to further increase efficiency and focus on strategic areas.
Bayer had a very successful year in 2014, Group sales advanced by 7.2 per cent, with emerging markets accounting for a disproportionately large share of growth. We are in the region with the best potential as most of Asia is enjoying a spike in consumer demand. Bayer has been in Malaysia for 50 years and we are in this market for the long term. We see great opportunities in this country, driven by the export market, and manufacturing and service sectors.
As Malaysia gears itself to become a high-income nation by 2020, it is anticipated that the majority of Malaysians will have higher disposable incomes by then, coupled with growing awareness of health services as well as greater demand for safe and high-quality food, just to name a few. This is where Bayer can play a key role – to help more Malaysians enjoy a better quality of life by bringing to the market innovative products and solutions that meet their growing needs.
One advantage of doing business in Asia is cultural diversity. Workforce diversity increases creativity within a company because, in my opinion, heterogeneous groups working together bring a variety of solutions to achieving a common goal. Diversity also allows a company to explore an issue from all different sides. There is incredible capacity for this region to grow, and I am confident our company will continue to further strengthen our presence with more investments in the emerging markets.
The Bayer Group aims to achieve strong sales and earnings growth for its Life Science businesses, namely HealthCare and CropScience, in the coming years. HealthCare is striving for strong sales and margin growth through 2017, driven mainly by some of the pharmaceutical products we recently launched – including our anticoagulant, eye medicine, cancer and pulmonary hypertension drugs, which have been crucial in making Bayer one of the fastest-growing large companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Our Consumer Care was greatly strengthened last year through the acquisition of Merck & Co’s over-the-counter business, while CropScience is also positive, with the agricultural industry benefitting particularly from Bayer’s new crop protection products.
We have a number of new and exciting projects in our pharmaceutical pipeline, mainly in the areas of cardiology, oncology and gynaecology. With our outstanding expertise in R&D and marketing, dynamic innovation pipeline, strong brands and a superior presence in emerging markets, we are optimistic for the future.
Ultimately, Bayer intends to focus entirely on the Life Science businesses – HealthCare and CropScience – and float MaterialScience as a separate company. Life Science currently already accounts for about 70 per cent of Bayer’s sales and 88 per cent of EBITDA before special items. Hereafter, Bayer is positioning itself as a world-leading company in the field of human, animal and plant health. Our intention is to create two top global corporations: Bayer as a world-class innovation company in the Life Science businesses, and MaterialScience as a leading player in polymers. Both have excellent prospects for success in their respective industries. (Bayer’s MaterialScience business is now known as Covestro.)
In recent years, Bayer’s centre of gravity has shifted greatly toward Life Science, especially after the successful launch of novel pharmaceutical products, the acquisition of Merck & Co’s over-the-counter products business and the very successful development of the CropScience division. The aim is to continue the positive development through further investment in growth.
A major reason for the separation of the MaterialScience business is to give it direct access to capital for future development. This could no longer be adequately ensured within the Bayer Group due to the substantial investment needs of Life Science for both organic and external growth. Also, as a separate company, MaterialScience can align its organisational and process structures, and corporate culture entirely toward its own industrial environment and business model.
The focus on Life Science means that innovation now plays an even bigger role in Bayer. In order to stay competitive and ensure that we remain successful in the future, Bayer is and will continue to be an innovation leader. Another key focus in Bayer is on people or talent development. It has been our company’s tradition to give high priority to the continuing education of our employees because personnel development enhances motivation and performance.
As a Managing Director, it’s imperative never to lose touch with what’s happening in and outside the company. So, being close to staff and customers, and having a good information network externally are keys to success. Secondly, you need to be able to take calculated risks and explore new things – to be decisive in the face of uncertainty and venture where others won’t. As a leader, you always have to be one step ahead.
