Triangle East Chamber ’s Post

Magnificent 7 & Novo Nordisk Today begins the season for publishing the financial results of Magnificent 7 & Novo Nordisk. Below is a link to my previous posts about the results of these companies and more. https://lnkd.in/dkHNg_8Y

What a way to wrap up three weeks of business travel throughout Europe! I met with many amazing internal and external partners, visited five countries, four of which were first-time visits, and I celebrated my one-year anniversary with MilliporeSigma (Merck Group). I even got to have a reunion with a special former partner, Dagmar Schubert over dinner as it was a very short detour. I've learned so much, I don't even know where to begin. It has been quite a year. Last year, when I made the decision to embark on a new adventure, I didn't know what to expect and the unknown frightened me but excited me at the same time. I wasn't sure if I could do as well at a larger organization (imposter syndrome) and I remained consistent in the following ways to prepare myself for my new endeavor: - Communication: I communicated the responsibilities and assignments I was looking for to utilize and develop my skill set, as well as to keep me on my career road map. Thankfully, my leadership listened and took action. - Curiosity: I was open to live feedback, new experiences, new learnings, and the challenges (known and unknown). Thankfully, my curiosity didn't kill me. - Conscious development: I came into my role and new company with a 30/60/90 day plan and a road map. Thankfully, it wasn't deemed "too soon" for me to have a plan. - Networking: To be successful, I knew I had to know who my people resources were. Thankfully, everyone was willing to share their time and expertise! - Impact: I sought to make an impact wherever I was. Thankfully, the impact was measurable and visible. - Leadership: I sought to lead from where I was. Thankfully, it didn't come off as "bossy." To top off my Euro tour and one-year anniversary, I was nominated and accepted into Merck's High Potential Employee 2024 Cohort. I'm excited to explore the learning and networking opportunities this program brings in the year ahead. Now, I look forward to going home and spending quality time with my husband, daughter, and four-legged babies.

So, there is a Company that is apparently defying every economic theory of the last centuries. 📊 1st It reinvests all profits in R&D: no shareholders or managers dividends, no financial speculation, short term view ✋🏻 2nd 77% of vote rights go to a non-profit Foundation which but holds only 28% of shares 👩🏻🔬 3rd Board members are 6 scientists and 3 company employees, elected by company staff. ⚗ Well, not exactly the safest recipe on paper to confront with market turbulence and hypercompetition. However, that’s what led Novo Nordisk to hit over 500bln$ market value, surpassing giants like Tesla and LVMH. Not a startup or 'exploit', it was founded over 100 years ago by August Krogh, scientist and Medicine Nobel winner, proving that not just his chemical formula but also a potential new economic strategy might be possible and winning. #positivebusiness #inspiration #strategy August Krogh: https://lnkd.in/dYq5ZQEG Foundation: https://lnkd.in/daVJMUbY

An in-depth Novo Nordisk webinar series! Join me and their diverse team as they share first-hand experiences, challenges and career stories. #NovoNordisk #Webinar #CareerStories"

“To Heart and not to Hard” – that was the Novo Nordisk question. Browsing through Copenhagen airport on Thursday, I suddenly stopped, as my eye was caught by a book in the bookstore, on the “New books” stand: “Hard Kåre”, “the story of one of Denmark’s most successful businessmen”. The title says it all: Kåre Schultz was probably the most feared leader in Novo Nordisk, at least during the years that my insights come from, being an employee from 2009 - 2020. Stories about how the infamous “Oper-Man” (Operations Management Team) was led by Kåre Schultz, and the near-death experiences that people across the organisation had, when called upon to present status and progress to Oper-Man were many and quite dramatic. Anyone who has seen Robert de Niro as Al Capone, talking about “Team-Work” in “The Untouchables” will know what I mean. I must confess that I haven’t read “Hard Kåre” yet, but as I gather from the media reviews, the most interesting part of the book is the tell-all chapter about his exit from Novo Nordisk and the bitter and in his own opinion, “personal driven decision by an offended Chair of the Board” to pass him by as successor to Lars Rebien Sørensen. I would like to offer a different perspective… Novo Nordisk is not just famous for their outstanding drug portfolio, they are equally and perhaps even more so among employees, famous for the Tripple Bottom Line and the Novo Nordisk Way – the charter of values, behaviours and expectations. And where do these come from? Well, I give you “Heart Core” – thoughts about leadership”, the autobiography by Mads Øvlisen, CeO of Novo Nordisk from 1981-2000 and the image of decency, respect, empathy and humility. The two book titles – so close and yet as far apart as can be, demonstrate the core (sorry😉) difference between psychological safe and unsafe environments. Had the BoD appointed Hard Kåre Schultz as CeO, Novo Nordisk would have been in a dramatically different place today, financially successful no doubt, but at the cost of some the values that represent why Novo Nordisk is still considered one of the Greatest Places to Work. The most successful companies know to focus on the Heart and not just the Hard.   

For Australia to continue to compete as a leading hub for science and innovation on the world stage, it needs to invest and nurture those areas where it is unique and differentiated.

Great to see the Irish life sciences sector getting deserved credit today in The Times, for its amazing growth and economic contribution. Having worked on a number of expansion and investment projects with multinationals in Ireland, including in the life sciences sector, for me there two factors missing from the long list (not that I’m biased) of what makes Ireland a great place to invest: 1.      IDA Ireland (Ireland’s Industrial Development Agency), is a major differentiator for Ireland. I’ve seen first-hand the vital role the IDA plays in building relationships with global companies, showcasing Ireland around the world as a place for investment and having the foresight in the land it acquires and areas it champions for the future. For a small country, the IDA helps us punch above our weight significantly.   2.      Ireland’s talent pool also makes it attractive for science and technology companies, and further builds the ecosystem mentioned in the piece. Ireland has a young population, good rates of third-level / higher education and importantly strong STEM rates compared with EU and other western economies. In 2022 Ireland had the highest level of STEM graduates per capita among 20-29 year-olds in the EU. This is obviously helped by the jobs and engagement with schools, provided by many of the companies investing in Ireland, Apple in Cork or Astellas Pharma in Kerry are great examples of this. So the ecosystem keeps growing and hopefully more people benefit. #ireland #IDA #stem #lifesciences #tech

Denmark, with a population of 6m, has created and developed a company - Novo Nordisk - now worth over $400bn on the stock market. When debating industrial policy in Ireland we have two pillars to consider - FDI and Indigenous companies built from the ground up. The former is in rude good health while the latter needs an eco-system that can advocate and champion them when seeking permanent equity capital to grow globally from an Irish base. That ecosystem helped build one of the worlds leading ingredients company (Kerry), a global pioneer in insulation (Kingspan) and Europe’s largest airline (Ryanair) among others. This eco-system in under severe pressure for a variety of reasons, and is simply not producing a new generation of Kerrys or Kingspans. It needs something more than platitudes if it is to contribute to the Republic’s industrial future, one that must foster FDI inflow alongside home grown Irish led businesses with global ambition and access to the resources needed to achieve that. Coffee, smell, wake up and.