Enabling successful teams

Restructuring for Impact

Alyson shared a story of transformation at Servier, where, a few years ago, she led a restructuring effort to solve persistent issues in business development operations. Despite having processes, tools, and practices in place, she found cracks appearing in governance, communication, and data quality. Her commitment to addressing these pain points led to the creation of a new role: the “BD Coordination Officer,” designed to centralize project management from start to finish.

Empowering Teams Through New Roles

Alyson took a bold step by reorganizing roles within the team, pulling secondary tasks like data management and governance preparation away from licensing leads. By shifting these responsibilities to the BD Coordination Officers, who were trained to manage projects with consistency, the teams could focus on their core activities of search and evaluation. She emphasized that this change allowed the company to adapt rapidly to increased volume without sacrificing quality.

Navigating Resistance and Driving Change

Implementing this new structure wasn’t easy. Alyson faced initial pushback from teams who were accustomed to the old ways, but she persisted, presenting the benefits and gradually proving the value of the new model. Over time, the teams came to view the BD Coordination Officers as partners in the process rather than just administrative support. Her leadership in managing change led to significant improvements in data reliability and process consistency.

Upskilling and Autonomy

Alyson was also instrumental in upskilling the new Coordination Officers, guiding them to learn the language of science, understand therapeutic area priorities, and step confidently into meetings with seasoned scientists. This approach not only elevated the team’s capability but also allowed the organization to scale seamlessly with increasing demands.

Transforming Business Development at Ipsen

Jean-Baptiste recounted his journey at Ipsen, where he played a pivotal role in revitalizing the company’s use of Inpart, initially an underutilized tool. Tasked with embedding Inpart into the core of business development operations, he focused on redesigning processes to align the tool with Ipsen’s evolving needs, emphasizing that user engagement and management support were key to this transformation.

Championing a Culture of Knowledge Sharing

Jean-Baptiste spoke about the importance of maintaining a detailed record of corporate knowledge. By championing Inpart’s implementation, Jean-Baptiste helped Ipsen transition from fragmented communication methods (like emails and PowerPoints) to a centralized system that could track every opportunity’s history. This shift not only streamlined collaboration but also empowered teams to make informed decisions based on past experiences.

Adapting the Tool for Ipsen’s Needs

Jean-Baptiste’s approach was hands-on, working closely with different departments to customize Inpart. He spearheaded the development of the “one-pager” module, which facilitated early-stage assessments by allowing subject matter experts to input their feedback directly into the platform. This customization turned Inpart into a day-to-day tool for managing opportunities, making it integral to Ipsen’s processes.

Leading Transformation Amid Change at Novartis

Arun shared his experiences leading operational excellence at Novartis during a time of significant reorganization. As teams were being consolidated and processes were being standardized, Arun was brought in to navigate these changes and drive alignment across various business development functions. His efforts focused on creating a unified process for evaluating opportunities, ensuring consistency across therapeutic areas.

Harnessing Inpart as a Central Repository

For Arun, Inpart wasn’t just a tool but a vital component of Novartis’ corporate memory. He described how the platform became the first point of reference when evaluating assets, serving as a repository for past interactions, decisions, and reasons for declining opportunities. His personal commitment to improving data rigor led to the establishment of checklists and protocols to ensure critical information was consistently captured.

Balancing Legacy Systems and New Approaches

Arun acknowledged the challenges of integrating new processes while dealing with legacy data stored across various formats. He worked closely with his team to maintain a “one source of truth” approach in Inpart, while recognizing that some information still needed to be managed outside the system. His narrative underscored the ongoing journey toward fully harmonizing data management practices.