In this week’s Superwoman Talk, entrepreneur Aileen Zumstein talks with Sandoz European head Rebecca Guntern, among other things, about which weaknesses of the healthcare sector are being revealed or aggravated by the corona crisis and how gender equal the pharmaceutical industry is.
This week, aizu founder Aileen Zumstein talks about the current situation in the pharmaceutical industry with Rebecca Guntern, European Head of the Generics Division of Novartis and member of the Sandoz Executive Committee, at the Superwoman Talk on F15' by Forbes DACH. For Rebecca Guntern, the clear priority is to ensure the continued access to generics. This is where the healthcare system is reaching its limits in the corona crisis: "More cooperation with politicians and the healthcare system is needed to define the right parameters to ensure the availability of medicines.
Rebecca Guntern is personally committed to gender equality, because she is convinced that this issue is a leadership matter. She has a mixed opinion about the state of female representation in leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry. Although the situation in the pharmaceutical industry is better than in other sectors, she says: "I believe that for many people – myself included – it is taking too long." Rebecca Guntern's own measures within Sandoz and Novartis are primarily aimed at the recruiting process and at flexible working models offered by the company.
Are you curious? The complete Superwoman Talk can be found on the digital channel F15' | by Forbes DACH or on their YouTube channel. The interview itself is held in German.
All questions in the video:
01:24 What did you take with you from your childhood that benefited your career?
02:30 What has changed for you personally in recent years?
03:27 Were there any hurdles or stumbling blocks that you struggled with?
04:25 What did you find very easy?
05:12 Some time ago, you said: "For a corporate career, you actually need three things: Network, will and luck." Would you say that is still the case today or has something changed?
07:00 How do you experience the pandemic? Are biotechnology and pharmaceuticals the winners of the still ongoing crisis?
08:40 Are there any gaps or weaknesses in the health sector that the corona crisis reveals or even exacerbates?
10:01 How has the pandemic affected your management style?
11:55 You are strongly committed to gender equality. What measures are you implementing in your company?
14:02 How do you generally assess the situation of women in management positions in the pharmaceutical sector? Do you think that something has changed in the last few years?
15:21 If you have difficult decisions to make, how do you proceed? Who belongs to your "Inner Circle"?
16:26 What is the next concrete ambition? What do you want to get out of the way, what do you want to win?
Superwoman is a programme of the new digital channel F15' | by ForbesDACH, on which discussions are held every Wednesday and Thursday at 11:00 a.m. with experienced entrepreneurs, managers, experts and with decision-makers who have a serious interest in diversity issues. With their knowledge, commitment and experience they show different views and possibilities on this complex topic.